> On the Isle of Man-Eating Ponies
>  by Destiny Chaser
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> A Disturbing Report
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Flash Skies adjusted his stance, the soft soil feeling cool as it shifted beneath his bare feet while a light breeze tingled his exposed skin. He felt naked without his weapons and armor, never mind that he actually was naked; well, not entirely. He had kept his loincloth, despite the tribal queen’s insistence that he lose that too. The look on her face at his cheeky rebuttal still tugged at one corner of his mouth with amusement, satisfied as he was with his brief moment of wit.

Haha, Flash made a funny. He thought grimly to himself. But if he was going to risk death, it wouldn’t be as a total nature-colt; he would die with at least some dignity if it came to that. Well, as dignified as one could be while being somepony else’s lunch.  

Said somepony was presently twenty feet away from him, curiously eyeing him up and down with an almost childlike wonder on her face as she slowly stalked the perimeter of the fighting ring created by the bodies of her fellow tribesponies, who took no pains to conceal the ravenous looks in their eyes as they gazed with eager anticipation upon the two circling combatants with drooling countenances.

In addition to feeling the eyes of the hungry audience gathered on him, Flash could also sense the anxious gaze of his fellow squad-mates, particularly a certain perturbed bat pony who had all but needed an order to stand down when he had accepted the Queen’s challenge. He wondered why Rose Dust seemed so nervous, not that all of his teammates weren’t; well, except for Lumen Dawn. The unicorn appeared to be on the verge of tears…of joy.

Thanks Lumen, you’re a real pal. No, seriously. Just tell them to help themselves why don’t ya? ‘Yeah! He’s healthy! Delicious! And there’s enough of him for everypony!’ 

Flash made a mental note to haunt the insufferable snob of a pony if he died before taking his attention off of his team to focus back on his opponent. 

The islander was truly was an impressive looking mare, lovely even, if Flash could say so; though she reminded him more of a tiger than a pony, and that was not helped in the least bit by her tiger-orange coat, black mane and tail and yellow, slitted eyes; her t-bone steak cutie mark was also more than a tad disconcerting. More so than that, was the giddy, almost radiant joy and energy that she communicated in her movements; she was prancing like a filly.

Like the rest of her exotic kin, she sort of reminded him of a thestral without wings, if said thestral was about 15% larger, more sleek, and looked even hungrier. Then there were the teeth, those sharp, pointy pearly whites which she presently flashed at him in a genuinely friendly grin that reached all the way up to her sparkling eyes. Her fangs appeared more robust than those a thestral’s, but were just as sharp and looked more akin to tearing flesh and crushing bone than merely drawing blood.   

Flash was fairly certain, even blessed as he was with the speed and strength of a pegaus, that he would not be able match her physically, but was confident that he could use his incredible speed to stay ahead of her. He would need to be as quick as a stabbed rat if he wanted to avoid being crushed by her. After all, with my flight magic, I’ve got to be quicker than she is, right?

As if in challenge to his unspoken assumption, the landshark of a pony suddenly paused mid-step before launching herself at him in a somewhat astonishing display of speed, rapidly closing the distance between them in a veritable blur of fur, hooves, and far too many teeth.

Flash’s mind raced in an attempt to garner an appropriate reaction to the hungry lethality presently hurtling towards him to eagerly tear his throat out, but it decided to begin with a word to describe his initial impression of his impending peril,

Huh...Horseapples.  



Three days earlier.

“Princess Celestia, this is unacceptable! I demand that action be taken in the face of this, this monstrous travesty!” The tradespony known as Post Haste shouted, emphasizing his words with a loud stamp of his hoof on the throne-room floor.

Celestia sighed inwardly, praying for patience. This was not the first time the head of the merchant guild had demanded an audience with her in the past year, he always seemed to have a new complaint of some kind over some emergency, whether real or perceived. And the solar princess feared that, much like the colt who cried timberwolf, she might one day grow deaf to his pleas when an actual crisis arose, such as the one he was describing to her now.

According to him, one of the ships of his fishing fleet had been the victim of an unprovoked attack by a group of uncharted tribal ponies who lived on a small island off of the southeast coast of Equestria, right next to the merchant fleet’s fishing territory. Little was known about these reclusive ponies, who up to this point had largely existed only in tales and rumors. But what those rumors told, was of a tribe of savage, monstrous ponies with hooves of steel and teeth like lions who would devour anypony foalish enough to trespass on their territory.

Celestia had attempted to dismiss these stories over the centuries, as they seldom arose and carried little evidence of their veracity; that, and she knew just how much her little ponies tended to exaggerate their stories, especially when they allowed their fear of the unknown to get the better of them. But she knew better, she had long known the truth behind these tales that she had attempted to keep concealed from her subjects whenever they arose for the safety of all, but it seemed she wouldn't be able to hide the truth any longer. This latest incident was so dramatic to the point that that it could no longer be attributed to some some campfire story made to frighten foals. The best thing to do now, was to get ahead of the narrative, and that meant getting the whole story.

Apparently, the mysterious ponies had boarded one of the fishing vessels in broad daylight, attacking the captain of the vessel, an earth pony named Long Cast, and nearly killing him. According to the hospital reports Celestia reviewed, it sounded like the pony had been mauled by a pride of lions, having even lost a forelimb in the attack. And according to witnesses, the ponies responsible for the attack appeared very much like the tales suggested: tall and powerfully built, with strong jaws and mouths filled with razor-sharp teeth. Something like this simply could not be ignored.

I suppose it was only a matter of time before they were discovered, Celestia inwardly lamented.

“What would you have me do, Post Haste?” Celestia asked, keeping her expression neutral.

“I demand that you send the guard to wipe out these savage beasts before they can harm another pony!” He shouted with indignity.

Celestia frowned, “Post Haste, I will not entertain suggestions that we simply wipe out an entire group of fellow ponies over what was most likely a miscommunicat-”

“They’re not ponies, they’re animals your highness!” The billowing pony blustered in outrage. “You can’t reason with them, they tried to eat one of my workers for heaven’s sake! They must be put down, all of them! Why not send that, that hyooman or whatever it is he’s called, that pet monster of yours? I hear that thing’s merciless when dealing with the likes of-”

Celestia rose from her throne, flaring her magnificent wings, a hint of a glare in her narrowing eyes; the gesture causing Post Haste to instantly clamp up.

“Post Haste!” Celestia snapped, “Captain Flash Skies is a decorated officer of the Equestrian Royal Guard, not some brute on a chain and I will not have you refer to him or any of my military officers without the proper respect due to their station, do I make myself clear?”

Post Haste sheepishly cleared his throat before mumbling, “Ah, yes, your highness. M-my apologies…”

Celestia’s gaze softened slightly, though she still kept a bit of sternness to the tone of her voice, “I understand that you’re upset my little pony, and your legitimate concerns have been duly noted. I assure you that there will be a response, we will get to the bottom of this situation, and if it is found as you have described then the guilty parties will be severely punished. But it will happen according to my directives and according to the code of Equestrian Justice. Now, is there anything else?”

The somewhat mollified pony shook his head, “No, your highness, but I assure you, you’ll be wasting your time if you try to reason with these savages!” And with a dismissive flick of his head, the proud pony turned and exited the throne room, the doors closing with a hollow boom.

Celestia sighed before motioning with her head towards the two royal guards posted next to the doors a gesture that they were both well familiar with: I need the room.

Nodding in understanding, both ponies saluted before exiting out of the ancillary side entrance. Once gone, Celestia bowed her head, rubbing her temples with both hooves.

“'Pet monster?'” Flash Skies stepped out from behind the Sun Princess’ throne and casually leaned against its side with his arms folded, a mischievous grin on the human's face. “I gotta say, that’s a new one.” He said, a sparkle of amusement passing though his blue and violet starburst eyes. Celestia shook her head, casting an apologetic glance towards her loyal soldier, 

“I’m so sorry you had to hear that Flash, Post Haste has always been, well, hasty, for a lack of a better term, with his words and judgments.” The eighteen year old young man was wearing light tan utility slacks and a black shirt with his brown-leather jacket. Flash shrugged,

“Nah, I kinda like it,” he said with a small chuckle, “Has a nice ring to it, could make for a great unit nickname…” He said, tapping his chin in thought, “‘The Pet Monsters?’ ‘Equestria’s Monsters?’ No wait, I got it,” he said with a snap of his fingers, “‘Celestia’s Monsters!’” 

Celestia stared, her mouth partially agape before breaking out into a soft laugh, shaking her head, her previous stress forgotten,

“You are still such a colt, my little human,” she said, finally allowing herself to smile back at Flash’s grinning face. “I thought Ella would have worked that part out of you by now!”

“Well,” Flash said with a shrug and a quick glance at his wedding band, “She can try,” he chuckled, causing the Princess to laugh as well as he stepped forward to accept her offered embrace; she took the opportunity to give his silvery, windswept hair a nuzzle. After separating, Celestia’s tone turned serious.

“So my officer, what do you make of the incident?”

Flash frowned, “Well, it’s definitely worth investigating, but it doesn’t make any sense. Why would a hereto unknown tribe of apparently carnivorous ponies who were content enough to remain hidden for generations suddenly up and attack a fishing vessel? Something doesn’t add up." Celestia nodded,

“My thoughts exactly Flash, it seems that we’re not getting the whole story."

"Is there any truth to these rumors? You know, carnivorous ponies? I know its not outside the realm of possibilities, after all, we have our thestrals, but even they aren't pure carnivores." Celestia gave a sad smile,

"Many years ago, I learned of the existence of a tribe of earth-bound, carnivorous ponies, distant cousins of the thestrals. Because they are so different from us, and knew that they would be feared by other ponies, they requested to remain separate from the rest of Equestria; they are extremely territorial, and even I know very little about them other than that they are very dangerous and highly value their privacy. I want you and your team to travel to this island and investigate what truly happened, and if possible, to make contact with this community so that we may try to finally establish relations with them. Find out why they attacked Long Cast, and see what can be done to avoid such violent incidents in the future.”

Flash raised an eyebrow, “And if it was an unprovoked attack?”

Celestia’s eyes narrowed, “Then make it clear to them that I will not tolerate any further attacks on my little ponies, is that clear Captain Skies?”

Flash smiled and nodded, “Crystal, your highness.”

“Very well, you are dismissed Captain, I wish you and your team a successful mission.” Flash snapped to attention and saluted her before turning to leave.

“And don’t get eaten!” Celestia called out after him. Flash spun on his heel while walking,

“Eh, they’d just choke on me your highness!” He said, his spin carrying him full circle as he continued walking away.

Celestia shook her head, laughing softly to herself, “Such a colt…” She muttered quietly. After Flash had gone, she summoned back her guards, ready to face the next issue brought to her by her little ponies.
> Equestria's Finest
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Flash stepped out of the the newly constructed elevator that had let him out within the caverns of Canterhorn Mountain, deep beneath the castle. When Celestia had asked him where he would like his new unit's headquarters to be established, Flash had specifically requested this location as it served as both a secure location needed for a newly commissioned special operations unit with plenty of space to expand while at the same time, eliminating the glaring security oversight that the caverns had been for some time. The way he saw it, two birds with one really big stone. 

Though the compound was still not complete, with lights still strung along the sides of the stone corridors and cave walls to provide illumination for the many construction ponies and contractors still hammering away day and night. Flash had become so accustomed to the sound of drilling and air hammers that he wondered if he would actually get used to the sound of silence when all the work was done.

"So! Is it true? Are we on the job?" Slipstream exclaimed, the charcoal grey pegasus with his ever-frazzled electric yellow mane and tail seemed unusually eager for for some reason. Flash immediately started walking down one of the corridors towards his office,

"Shh, keep your voice down, bigmouth," Flash hissed as they walked past a group of chatting contractors huddling over some blueprints. True, all of these ponies were vetted, and had the necessary clearance to be down there, but the human didn't like taking any unnecessary risks with operational intel. Slipstream took to the air, flying backwards in front of his friend,

"Aww, don't be like that boss! It's been over a month since we've gotten to go knock some heads together! C'mon, spill it!" Flash rolled his eyes, but still managed a small smile,

"Yeah, we're on the job," he said in a low voice, causing his friend to do a double hoof-pump in celebration.

"You seem awfully excited about this Slips, care to share why?" The pony grinned,

"Oh come on, think about it! You've heard the stories: A tropical island? A native tribe of beautiful, probably very lonely mares, and one very available stallion still looking for a marefriend to bring home to meet the parents?" Slipstream said while pointing both hooves at himself and waggling his eyebrows, "Sounds like a dream come true to me!" Flash raised a skeptical eyebrow,

"Do your dreams threaten to possibly eat you?"

"Only on Tuesdays!"

Flash was about to comment that the pony should probably stop eating fire-hay snacks before bed when he sensed the presence of the almost stereotypically sneaky thestral waiting to pounce on him on the opposite side of his darkened office door. He tried to think of a solution while at the same trying to block out Slipstream's incessant chatter droning in the background, which was making it difficult to think. 

"You know what I'm saying?" Slipstream continued as Flash smiled to himself when a solution to both problems presented itself; he opened the door and stepped aside, allowing the spring-loaded bat-in-the-box to crash into his friend, "I think I should be really optimistic-OOAF!"

"Good morning Rose Dust," Flash said to the groaning pile of tangled limbs and wings, "Still not good enough, by the way."

The light grey, almost white-coated bat pony shook her head, flipping her indigo mane out of her face before looking down with her bright-pink eyes to see who she had crashed into, "Oh, heh, hi Slipstream."

A confused groan was her only reply. She climbed off of the stupefied pegasus and jumped around to look at her commanding officer, "How are you doing that!" Rose Dust asked, frustration scrunching her fuzzy face.

"That's my secret," Flash said with a smirk; he was honestly curious to see if his espionage agent could figure it out, as a test of her abilities. For now, she was still fishing.

"And I would appreciate it if you would stop breaking into my office, corporal." Rose Dust helped Slipstream to his hooves who took to the air, holding his head.

"Aww, you're no fun boss!" She said while glancing back at her cutie mark, a heart-shaped, unlocked steel padlock, "I was just, you know, practicing! Annnnd, sorta, hiding..." Flash raised an eyebrow,

"Hiding from what?" 

The yellow burst of what felt like a violent, very angry teleportation suddenly deposited his executive officer, team battlemage, and bestest buddy-who-couldn't-wait-for-his-Captain-to-get-hit-by-a-train-filled-with-nitro-glycerin-and-rusty-nails in the whole world, Lumen Dawn; and he looked oh so happy to see him. For some mysterious (probably) reason, the white unicorn's normally immaculately coiffed silver mane and tail were styled up into perfect Prench braids, complete with little pink bows.

Rose Dust immediately sprang to cover behind her commanding officer, rubbing up against the human's legs like a cat with an innocent look on her guilty face before looking shyly at the the near-nuclear unicorn, "Hiiiii Lumen," she said while batting her eyes at him, "Did we fall asleep on the job, cutie?" Flash cleared his throat,  

"Ahem, morning Lumen, uh, new manestyle?" Flash could hear the unicorn's teeth grinding over the sounds of construction echoing throughout the cavern,

"...Captain..." He hissed, his voice straining as he barely managed to cover his ever palpable disdain for the human with the thinnest layer of due-respect, "If you don't tell that two-bit, nasty skank of a mare to keep her filthy hooves to herself..." One of the unicorn's eyes twitched as he glanced at Slipstream who had somehow managed to shove both hooves into his mouth in an unsuccessful attempt to hold back his laughter. "Then I swear to Luna, I'll..." He paused, glaring at Slipstream; the pegasus appeared to be approaching critical mass.

"One word, peasant...If you so much as utter one. SINGLE. Syllable. Then your flank is-"

"BONJOUR MADEMOISELLE! YOUR HAIR! C'EST MAGNIFIQUE!" Slipstream exploded in the most horribly overdone, obnoxious Prench accent Flash had ever heard before rocketing down the corridor, cackling madly as the apoplectic unicorn seemed to be launching every spell he knew as he dementedly chased after the fleeing pony.

"YOU'RE DEAD PEASANT!"

"EXCUSE MOI, MADEMOISELLE!"

Flash sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "Guys," He began as an explosion shook dust from the ceiling,

"I BUCKING WARNED YOU!"

"HAVE YOU SEEN MY BAUGETTE?"

"Can we at least finish building the headquarters before we blow it up?"

"GONNA MAKE A BED FROM YOUR BONES AND SLEEP IN IT!"

"I mean, you know, if it's not too much trouble?"

"I AM PRENCH! HON! HON! HON!"

Rose Dust meanwhile ducked her head under Flash's fingers, trying to tempt a free ear-scritch from the human as if she had done nothing wrong. Flash sighed as he gave her fluffy, tufted soft ears a few well-placed scratches,

"See? This is why we can't have nice things," He grumbled; another explosion in the distance causing the entire mountain to tremble. Rose Dust hummed to herself while pushing her ears into the exquisite fingers,

"Mmmm, define 'nice'," she countered.

"AHHHHHHHHH!"

"AAARRRRRRGHHHHHH!!!!"
> Landfall
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Flash squinted at the blast of sea-spray kicked up by the sharp prow of their fast boat as it knifed its way through the choppy dark waters, the looming mass of the contested island gradually becoming visible through the grey overcast of the early morning. The black hull of the sleek, arrowhead shaped craft was enchanted for minimal water-resistance, allowing the craft to practically skip along the surface of even the roughest of waters, propelled forward by an angular pair of black sails that, thanks to another spell, automatically adjusted to the air currents, allowing the vessel to be operated by a minimal crew, namely Flash's team.

The human focused through the haze, his hawk-like vision scanning the distant shore with remarkable clarity thanks to his mother's magic, but other than sweeping hills covered with thick jungle foliage and a distance cliff face on the northwest side of the island, he couldn't make out any movement or life forms.

A sudden gust of crosswind caused his heavy, black traveling cloak to whip to one side, billowing like a column of smoke caught in a breeze and exposing his dark armor. It was the same type of enchanted plate armor worn by all the Royal Guard, imbued with spells to make it lighter and more resistant to damage, be it magical or otherwise. But unlike the rest of the Day Guard with its bright golden flare, Flash had his quartermaster procure for his team armor fashioned in a dark, blackish blue similar to the kind used by the Night Guard of whom Rose Dust formerly belonged. It had led to several new nicknames being applied to his new, but highly successful unit, stemming from either admiration or envy: the night prowlers, the dark knaves, and black bandits to name a few. But there was one one name in particular that brought a smile to the human's lips, 'The Blackguard.'

Yeah, that one might do nicely, he thought to himself. 

Flash stepped up towards the bow of the craft towards his latest recruit, "See anything, Sharps?" The slim unicorn with a tan coat, dusty brown mane and blue eyes slowly lowered the binoculars he held in one hoof, silently staring out into the distance for another moment before giving a slight shake of his head. The pony that was his team archer then pointed a hoof to the island, then to himself before holding it out and twisting it side to side, a suspicious look in his eye. Flash nodded in agreement,

"Yeah, you're probably right, they might already be watching us," he said. "Just keep an eye out while I check on the others." The unicorn nodded and resumed watching.

Flash still couldn't believe that nopony wanted Sharp Shot in their regiment on account of the small handicap that he couldn't, or wouldn't talk; nopony knew for sure. The private had become a bit of an outcast as a result, with some in his command even looking to drum him out of the guard. But there was something about the peculiar colt's calm and focused demeanor that immediately endeared him to the human.  

That, and the pony's near otherworldly speed and accuracy with a bow made Flash decide then and there that he would take the odd unicorn over an entire brigade of archers, and immediately offered the young pony a spot on his team; he even found the Sharp's unique method of communicating through small gestures or taps of horse code quite useful at times in tactical situations.

I mean seriously, his cutie mark is a set of crosshairs for Celestia's sake, what were they thinking?! Flash thought with incredulous shake of his head.

Making his way to the stern, he found the rest of his four squad mates in various states of preparation: tightening straps on their armor, checking weapons, and doing their level best to stay focused on the task ahead like the seasoned professionals they were,

"...Keep away from me you filthy guttersnipe!"

"...But I thought you looked dreamy sir..."

"...Do you think the mares speak Ponish?"

"...Focus less on mares and more on mission comrade..."

"Slipstream, cut the chatter! Lumen, stop flirting with Rose," Flash said, ignoring his XO's resulting gibberish-laden aneurism as he stepped to the back to convene with his staff sergeant, an earth pony named Sugar Rush.

"Sugar, you got an ETA?" The hulking, mountain of a pony from Stalliongrad with enough hard muscle to make even Big Mac look like a recovering anorexic looked up from his post of manning the tiller gave him a sharp nod,

"Da Captain, we should make landfall in less than twenty minutes!" He boomed in reply with his deep voice. Flash smiled,

"Good, Slipstream, since you're so interested in checking out the locals, I want you to fly ahead and do a little recon for us." The pegasus grinned in anticipation,

"Sure thing boss!" Flash's eyes narrowed,

"High altitude recon, Slips, don't make contact with the natives, not yet. I want us all to be together for the first encounter."

"Aww, shucks, and here I was hoping to make the first impressions." Slipstream said with a pout. Flash rolled his eyes,

"There'll be plenty of time for that later Lieutenant, after we've ensured that they're not going to be picking us out of their teeth, now go! We'll meet you on the beach in 20 mikes."

Slipstream saluted with one wing before crouching and launching himself straight up in a vertical climb, accelerating so quickly that contrails formed on the tips of his wings. Flash watched him go for a moment longer until he was out of even his sharp eyesight. He stepped up alongside Lumen who appeared to have composed himself and motioned with his head; the unicorn glared slightly at him but stepped up alongside the human,

"Sir?" He all but spat.

"Just in case things go south Lumen, I want you to have a spell ready that can cover our retreat."

"Hmph, already done, sir," he said while flipping through a selection of spells he kept in the wristband around his forelimb. "A simple flash-fire spell to create a wall of flames between us and any pursuers; and if that fails, I suppose I can just teleport us all back to the boat." Flash smiled and nodded his approval,

"Good plan," Flash commended, but could sense that his antagonistic teammate still wanted to say more. "Speak your mind Lumen, you know I want you always to be frank with me." Lumen let out a disgusted sigh,

"Why are we approaching this wretched island for all to see?!" He hissed, "If I wanted to, I could get in there, interrogate one of the brutes, find out what really happened, and be gone before they even knew what was going on! This is such a waste of my talents!" Flash chuckled,

"C'mon, Lumen, you know Celestia wants us to at least to try and be diplomatic about this. This island is their home, we should at least show them a little deference."

"Fine," the unicorn huffed, "But at least let me mask our approach so that we won't be complete sitting ducks when we hit the beach." Flash paused for a moment, and nodded,

"Alright Lumen, go for it."

Without another word, Lumen's horn shone with his yellow magic, immediately conjuring a swirl of mist that congealed around the speeding water craft, refracting the light so that they vanished from sight while a secondary spell smoothed their wake and muffled their sound so that all evidence of their existence vanished like a shadow in the night.



Slipstream cut a wide arc high above the island, angling towards the tall, dark grey cliffs. He breathed deeply from the relatively cooler, high-altitude air, enjoy the liberating sensation of being airborne again and away from that small, claustrophobic boat. 

The cliff that made up the northwest side of the island looked like somepony had cut a mountain perfectly in two, but only after slicing the top off. Making the looming piece of landmass appear as plateau that was left half-finished by its maker. Pulling his gaze away from it, Slipstream continued scanning the dark green jungle below, looking for any sign of movement or even signs of game trails amongst the foliage, but nothing came through.

Hmm, they're either all still asleep somewhere, or really good at hiding, he surmised. 

Slowing to a hover midair, Slipstream slowly looked at the jungle far below, trying to see if there was anything he missed, when he caught a sudden glimpse of fast movement out of the corner of his eye; but it wasn't movement on the ground, it was in the sky with him.

A hissing noise cutting through the air was his only warning, his ear twitching at the subtle change in air pressure caused by a rapidly approaching object.

Slipstream threw his helmeted head forward, narrowly avoiding the snap of jaws and the sharp teeth that clacked shut in the empty space his head had occupied not a second before. He glimpsed a flash of dark blue, grayish scales as a long body roughly contacted his armor, causing him to tumble head over hooves.

Shaking his head, Slipstream quickly gathered his bearings just in time to dodge to one side, narrowly avoiding the mysterious creature that had already rounded on him. The winged, serpentine like creature whipped about, moving through the air with the fluidity of an eel through water; but this time, it paused about 20ft away from him, hovering in place, uttering a shriek of displeasure.

Now able to finally get a good look at his mysterious assailant, Slipstream gasped as he beheld the airborne predator that he had read about in books, but had never actually seen: a Couatl. The winged serpent looked to be more than six feet long, and a foot wide at its thickest. It's muscular body was covered in bluish, gray scales like chainmail armor. A white, feathery down surrounded its neck like a lion's mane, matching the color of its feathery, powerful looking wings.  Its short muzzle was filled with rows of vicious, needle-like teeth, and there was a malevolent gleam in its hungry, crimson eyes.

"Well, howdy-do," Slipstream said in reply to the creature's angry snarl. "You the welcoming committee?" He heard another shriek rapidly rising from below him and caught sight of at least five more of the creatures homing in on his position. "And it seems you brought friends!" He shouted before diving off to one side to avoid them.

The serpents split up, unfurling around him like banners to hem him in and cut off his escape. One of them darted in for an an attack, but Slipstream was ready for it this time. The skilled pegasus cartwheeled through the air to one side, wing blades extending from his primaries with a snap. He lashed out as the couatl missed it's mark, it's vicious shriek turning into a wail of pain as it tumbled to the jungle far below, missing half a wing and trailing thick red blood.

The air vipers uttered a cacophony of angry shrieks and hisses, but at the same time, seemed to adopt a more cautious posture to their intended prey, wary of the little pony and its sharp blades.

"Hey guys, don't mean to be rude, but you haven't happened to know where I can find a local tribe of mares? You know, tall, beautiful, lots of sharp teeth?"

Another angry shriek rang out as Slipstream was forced to dodge another mouthful of flying fangs. "Yes! You have lovely teeth too but, uh, but I was kinda hoping for there to be a pretty mare attached to them? No offense, but you're not my type!"

The next 10 minutes turned into an aerial dance of death, with more and more of the savage creatures joining the fray from the holes in the distant cliff-face that Slipstream was able to now make out as the creatures' nesting ground. Every time he attempted to make a break for it, the couatls swarmed around him like a school of flying piranhas, cutting off his escape. He was pretty sure he was faster than them, but they were every bit as maneuverable, more so, weighed down as he was by his armor. And for every one he cut down, two more seemed to take its place. Now thoroughly drenched with sweat and the blood of the many wind serpents he had slain or wounded, Slipstream began to feel a touch of panic. He was getting exhausted, and was nowhere closer to breaking free. It was only a matter of time before one of them slipped by his defenses.

"Aw c'mon, I can't do this all DAY!" He shouted while pulling a tight loop, causing two of the charging serpents to smash face first into the other. A hard kick from iron-shod hooves broke the jaw of another coming up behind him while he brandished his blades in an arc in an attempt to clear the space around him. A sharp pain suddenly stabbed through his upper left shoulder as the sharp fangs of one of the creatures finally found their mark in the space between his armor and helmet.

Slipstream grunted as the heavy weight of the couatl bore him down through the air, it's thick, thrashing body keeping him from bringing his wing-blades to bear. Wasting no time, he extended one of his spring-loaded hoofblades from his right forelimb and gored his attacker straight through the eye. The serpent flinched violently before he managed to pry it off of his neck.

The rest of the couatls cried out in triumph as they dove after their wounded quarry. Slipstream gritted his teeth and tucked his wings in with a powerful flap, rocketing towards the ground below in a desperate attempt to reach it before he blacked out. His whole left side was already beginning to grow numb and cold from the venom he knew was now rushing through his bloodstream. 

From what he had read, he knew that couatl venom was not lethal, but designed to incapacitate their prey by putting them to sleep, and quickly too. He knew that he needed to get to the ground take shelter somewhere before his new friends could get to him and chow down on his unconscious body.

Slipstream reached the tree tops and dove just below them, zigging and zagging between the branches and heavy foliage to confuse his pursuers. A low hanging branch he missed tore his helmet off as he sped by; his vision was going double. Cursing, he sliced a heavy bundle of vines as he raced by, and was rewarded with the cries of displeasure as several couatls seemed to be entangled by the collapsing branches behind him. 

Speeding ahead, he paused a moment, perching on a thick tree limb like a bird, panting hard as he struggled to catch his breath. His ear flicked at the noise of several of the couatls still pressing on through the forest and making their way towards him.

"Oh come on!" Slipstream grumbled under his breath, "When they made you guys, they forgot to put in the 'quit'!" 

Looking down to one of the two bandoliers crisscrossing across his breastplate, Slipstream snatched one of the small, black hoofgrenades that he had brought along with him. They were still very new to him, based on human technology that Flash had given over to the department's newly formed research division; their quartermaster had been delighted at what he had managed to create as a result, and had issued the first batch to them after testing. They were round and slightly smaller than a tennis ball, but were packed with enough raw mana to reduce a timberwolf to splinters.

Pulling the pin out with his teeth and punching the top primer with his other hoof, Slipstream turned to face his charging hunters. "Hey! Got something for you!"

He counted to three, hearing the accompanying whine as the charge in the device built up before flinging it as hard as he could right into the midst of the angry swarm of snakes. Slipstream threw himself backwards off of the branch, flipping over and speeding away right as the grenade went off with a flash of blinding light and a deafening boom. The concussion of the blast caught the pegasus from behind and sent him spinning through the air.

He bounced hard off of several tree limbs and trunks, cursing all the way down to the ground below.

"Ow!"

"GAH!"

"Sonofa-"

"D'oh!"

"OOF!"

With all the grace of a falling rock, Slipstream finally hit the ground, bouncing a few times in the dirt before finally sliding to a halt.

"Owww...." Slipstream groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. His armor had taken the brunt of the impacts, but he still wasn't sure how bad he might have been hurt due to the numbness that had consumed the majority of his body. The good news was that he heard the shrieks of the couatls fading off into the distance as the winged nightmares seemed to finally decide that he wasn't worth it.

"Yeah, you'd better run..." He mumbled into the dirt, too tired to raise his head. He just needed to rest, sweet Celestia, he just needed to rest...Then he could get up and find the others, they'd be so proud of him.

Something cold, hard, and sharp suddenly pressed against the underside of his jaw. "Mmm, c'mon ma, five more minutes..." He moaned as he slowly raised his head.

Slipstream blinked at what he saw, uncertain if what he was seeing was real or an effect of the venom. There, at the end of the hoofcrafted spear presently pressing up against his neck, was the most beautiful mare he had ever seen in his life. 

Her sleek coat was like silvered steel, her flowing mane and tail the purest white, like a fresh snowfall in winter, and her cat-eyes, exactly like a thestral's, were the lightest blue, like the hue of an iceberg. What made the vision even more delightful, was that she was joined by two more equally lovely ladies who stood next to her, staring down at him with impassive expressions. One was forest green with a brown mane and yellow eyes, and the other the darkest black with a blood-red mane and orange eyes.

"Heh, wow, you're really pretty, I must be dreaming," Slipstream murmured. The silver mare's impassive stare was broken by an amused smirk as she gave him the most winning of smiles, revealing the sharpest, whitest teeth Slipstream ever did see, and make no mistake. 

They had a pair of visible fangs like a thestral, except they were larger, curved slightly backwards, and appeared to be mildly serrated on the backsides, as were the rest of their pointed pearly whites. It was like the Maker decided ponies fitted with teeth which looked lethal enough to make a jaguar jealous was somehow a good idea. Strangely enough, the unique dentistry complimented the mares' exotic look, and were kind of beautiful, in a terrifying sort of way.

"Oh...One of those dreams..." He sighed as his vision began to fade, "Is it Tuesday already?"
> Blood Tribute
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Flash managed to keep a friendly expression on his face, which was impressive given the veritable thicket of spears that were presently leveled at him and his team by the crowd of angry looking ponies as they stood there on the beach, the gentle noise of the waves breaking on the sand being the only sound presently punctuating the air.

It had been considerably longer than 20 minutes, and during that time, Slipstream had worryingly failed to show up. Who had shown up, however, was a patrol made up of more than a dozen of the island’s resident ponies who emerged from the tree line with no fanfare, sporting scowls and spears. The lead pony, a dark blue stallion with a brown mane and hooves and a particularly angry frown stood at the lead; his cutie mark was a gray, stone arrowhead that was nearly imperceptible against his dark coat.

The first thing Flash noted about these ponies is how tall they were, around four feet on average. And in the world that he came from where the average height was roughly three and a half, they were veritable giants; and each one built like an elite Royal Guard Stallion who guarded the Princesses. Any fight with them was going to be a painful prospect, one that the human was going to make sure to avoid at all costs. Far from being the flea-bitten jungle savages Post Haste made them out to be, these ponies appeared graceful, noble, and with a cold, intelligent gleam in their eyes that told of the cool, calculating mind of a predator. It would be a foalish last error to underestimate them.

“Outsiders not welcome!” He angrily repeated, “You leave, now!” He said, emphasizing his last word with a sharp jab of his spear. Flash sighed and attempted once more to reason with the pony whom he had decided to mentally refer to as Frowny McMunchface. Why? Because ponies are cute, that's why. Even the ones with scowls, spears, and lots of sharp pointy teeth. Being raised by them didn't change the human's perception of them. He allowed a look of concern into his features,

Well, at least they speak Ponish, he thought, grateful for small mercies of not needing to struggle with a language barrier.

“Please, my name is Captain Flash Skies. I come in peace on behalf of the nation of Equestria. I’m here to find out why you attacked and severely injured one of our ponies. I wish to find out what happened so that we might avoid such violence in the future.” The pony shook his head,

“No more words! You leave!” He shouted, baring his fangs, a few of his fellow ponies shouting in support as well. The pony appeared to be one of only three stallions in the group, though one of them looked young enough to still be considered a colt; the rest were all mares. Angry, dangerous, but beautiful looking mares, all of them sleek and strong with flawless, glossy coats of varying colors and hues. Flash cast a quick searching glance at the skies, his anxiety for Slipstream growing by the minute.

“If we leave without finding out what happened, then you force us to assume that it is only a matter of time before you hurt another one of our citizens,” Flash said, allowing a hint of iron to mix in with the sympathy in his voice, “Please, I know this is your home, so can’t we work together to avoid further violence? Perhaps I can deliver a message to my leader on behalf of your ponies?”

"You want words for the sun pony? You tell her to keep her greedy ponies away! If they harm our kind again, then we will kill them and eat their hearts!" Flash allowed some shock to be visible on his face in the form of a raised eyebrow,

"Harm your kind? Are you saying that our ponies harmed yours? If that was the case, then please tell us what happened so that we can make sure it never happens again."

The pony did not answer this time, but merely glared at Flash, his brown eyes squinting as he seemed to be reevaluating the human. 

Flash could sense his team tensing behind him, ready to leap into action if the pony turned violent. Flash for his part had kept his stance casual and unaggressive with his un-gauntleted hands clasped before him; his helmet was still attached to his belt, hidden beneath his cloak. The pony's nostrils flared, once more catching the human's scent, and by an unspoken signal, all of the spears were slowly withdrawn.

"What manner of creature are you?" The pony finally asked, "I know not your scent or kind." Flash gave a small smile,

"I am a human." The pony squinted in concentration,

"A hyoo-man?" He slowly enunciated, "Why you with ponies and not your own kind, hooman?" Flash resisted the urge to smirk; it never got old hearing ponies try to pronounce the name of his species for the first time.

"I lost my parents when I was an infant, the ponies of Equestria took me in and raised me, that is why I am with them." He answered simply enough.

A few of the tribesponies murmured to one another in their native tongue, which sounded smooth and sharp, like water flowing over hard rocks. Their leader cast a glare behind him, silencing them.

"And what is your name, if I might ask?" Flash inquired. The pony looked back up at the human, remaining silent for a moment,

"Hmph, my name not matter for now,"

That's okay, Mr. McMunchface.

"But if you want to see my leader, know that no pony sees our leader without first bringing tribute." Flash tilted his head slightly to one side,

"Tribute? What sort of tribute?" The pony seemed to smile for the first time, just a slight curl of his lips,

"A blood tribute, fresh kill." Flash smiled, if this pony was hoping to make him uncomfortable at the idea of meat and blood, he was in for disappointment.

"I have some rations of meat in my kit that my thestral companion and I both share," Flash said while gesturing to Rose Dust behind him, "Would that suffice?" Frowny's eyes widened slightly, but he shook his head,

"No, must be a fresh kill, fresh hunt!"

"I see, then will you permit me to hunt some game here?"

"No."

Flash smirked slightly, Well, look who's a clever little murder pony, he thought to himself. If he wanted to meet their leader, then that meant that he would have to leave the island and come back, all but guaranteeing that he would never be able to see them, or at the very least, would keep them away from the island for some time as fresh game would be difficult to transport and keep. This little requirement allowed the island ponies to slam the door in his face while simultaneously saving face diplomatically. He was genuinely impressed, but not deterred, and decided to throw in a little maneuver of his own.

"A fresh blood tribute? Alright then," Flash snapped his fingers, "Rose, could you be so kind as to bring me the med kit?"

The bat pony cocked her head curiously at him, but did as he said. In the meantime, Flash opened up his canteen and quickly drank most of its contents before pouring the remaining water out. Summoning his magic, he ran a quick surge of electric current through the aluminum container which had the double effect of both sterilizing it while at the same time evaporating any residual water into harmless hydrogen and oxygen gas.

The island ponies murmured among themselves as Flash removed his left vambrace and rolled up his sleeve.

"What are you doing?!" Rose Dust hurriedly whispered as she opened up the medical kit. Flash reached inside and took what he needed from the blood transfusion pack.

"Giving them what they want," He whispered back; he winced slightly as he inserted the needle into his arm, making sure the open end of the transfer tube was inserted in the canteen. For once, he was glad that he was far enough away from his mother that she would not be able to see in his mind what he was doing through their bond, he'd never hear the end of it.

"Here, hold this," he said to Rose Dust, handing her the canteen. Flash flexed his fist a few times as warm, crimson blood shot down the tube and into the canteen. The bat pony's nostrils flared at the enticing scent, her bright pink eyes wide with surprise.

"Hmph, you never offered me such a treat!" She accused under her breath. Flash smirked,

"Maybe because its illegal?" He said.

"That doesn't seem to be stopping you here," she countered.

"We're not in Equestria, little bat," he teased back with a wink. What he got in response was the most pouty bat face he had ever seen; he rolled his eyes, "Relax, I'll get you at next Hearth's Warming." 

Capping the canteen, now warm to the touch, he called Lumen Dawn over with a gesture of his head. "Lumen, if you would be so kind?" The unicorn stepped over, his posture haughty and confident. Flash honestly thought the white unicorn looked quite intimidating in his black armor with his horn protruding out the top of his helmet like a gleaming dagger; but he would never tell the pony that, he was proud enough as it was. Lumen's horn shone with a yellow glow as he cast his spell. Flash nodded his thanks,

"Now, so long as you keep the blood in this container, it should stay fresh for," he glanced back at Lumen,

"A year," Lumen replied, a smug look on his face. Flash raised an eyebrow in surprise; but of course, Lumen would never miss a chance to flex his magical might, or, was there something else to it?

Hmph, showoff, Flash thought, turning his attention back to the islanders, "-a year." He finished while tossing the canteen to Frowny pony who snatched it out of the air with his free hoof. Flash was thankful that it was only a pint, he could ill afford to feel lightheaded in a place like this. "Fresh enough for you?"

The pony looked dumbfounded for a moment, looking from the canteen in his hoof to the human while his fellow ponies curiously drew near, whispering to each other. Removing the cap, the stallion took a curious sniff and snorted, shaking his head before taking a small, cautious sip. The pony's eyes immediately went wide with sheer delight, as if he had tasted the most incredible thing in his life; Flash had to stifle a chuckle as the pony actually let out an adorable whinny of delight. The pony quickly put a hoof to his lips, looking embarrassed. 

"I think they like you," Rose Dust whispered as Flash reaffixed his vambrace.

"Lucky me," he said, not sure how to feel about the fact that he was on an island of meat eaters who apparently thought he was utterly delicious, if the drool now coming from some of their muzzles at the mere scent of his blood was anything to go by. The ponies were now talking in hurried, hushed voices with one another in their own tongue. One of the mares, a yellow pony with a dark blue mane and green eyes cast fervent glances at Flash as she spoke with Frowny. Another pony slowly reached for the canteen in his hoof, only to shrink back from a harsh rebuke he received.

Flash slowly took a few steps back until he was alongside Lumen Dawn, "Any luck?" He whispered. Lumen had been running a tracing spell since they landed which was designed to pick up the unique magical signature of their armor; it was a means for locating teammates in the event that they got separated. The unicorn gave a slow nod. 

"Towards the center of the island, though he hasn't moved. He's either immobilized, not wearing his armor, or-" he trailed off, not finishing his sentence. Flash tried not to grimace.

No, he's gotten out of tougher scraps, he'll be fine, he thought, trying to ease the worry growing in his heart for one of his oldest friends. He cast a glance at his executive officer, "If things go south, I want you to teleport to Slipstream's location and get him out, wherever he may be."

"And how will you all escape the locals without me while I go to save the peasant?" Lumen inquired, a hint of amusement in his voice. Flash didn't answer yet, as it appeared that their hosts had come to a decision. Frowny turned towards them, an anxious, excited look in his eye.

"Y-you, will come with us! I will take you to our leader," he said, a slight tremor in his voice. Flash's eyes narrowed slightly, the pony's eyes seemed to almost be glowing and his body seemed to tremble with an overabundance of energy. 

Well now, that's interesting, he mused to himself. "If it comes to that, I'll lead them away while the rest of you withdraw. I'll catch up to you later." He finally answered back. Flash motioned with his head for the others to join him as they joined the group of islanders and began heading for the jungle. Rose Dust walked on his opposite side while Sharps and Sugar took up the rear. Lumen smiled,

"What makes you so sure they'd follow you?" He wondered aloud. Flash tried to ignore the calculating look in the unicorn's eye,

"Follow me?" He asked, taking notice of all the curious, hungry glances directed at him, "We'll be lucky if they don't follow me home."
> Pleased to Eat You
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hunter was having a good day.

He felt, incredible…alive.

Never before in his life had the stallion felt such power, such energy coursing through his limbs as he did right now. The world around him felt like it was made of cardboard, and he was an unstoppable meteor of destruction. He actually had to force himself to walk at a sedate pace and not leave the group behind in a blur of raw speed. Everything around him stood out in remarkable detail. The individual hairs on a fly as it buzzed past him in slow motion, its wings appearing slow and lethargic. The exact number of ants swarming around the ant hill off the side of the trail, the detail of every leaf on every tree. All of his worries and anger from the previous week were lost in a haze of euphoria and energy, while the whole of creation shone with a vibrant intensity unlike anything he had ever seen. All of his other senses were amplified as well; scent, hearing, even touch. He could hear the heartbeats of everypony around him beating like a chorus of drums, he could smell the freshly laid eggs of the bird in a nest high above him, and even feel through his hooves the pitter-patter of insects as they scurried beneath the detritus of the jungle floor...it was thrilling.

He had been surprised when the hooman had offered his own blood as a tribute, and did not know what to make of it at the time. But now, he couldn't be more grateful for the unique gesture. Hunter's kind had always gained strength from consuming fresh flesh and blood, but nothing he had experienced before before could compare to this. Whatever this creature was, it's blood was particularly...unbelievably potent. And delicious. The creature had such an enticing scent to begin with that it borderlined unsettling, and Hunter had to resist the powerful temptation to consume the remaining contents of the canteen.

No, it belongs to the Queen... he thought to himself. Yes, she would know what to do with this creature. He had only taken a sip, so he knew that this blood high would sadly only last an hour or two at most. What was most profound about the blood’s effects however, was the additional sense he seemed to have developed that made him aware of the power and energy coursing through the air around him, as if the weather itself was now a living entity; something until now he had always been blind to, but now could see clearly. He could feel the pressure of the atmosphere around him, the massing of individual air molecules like so many grains of sand, and even which clouds contained the immeasurable fury of a charge of lightning. The hooman himself stood out most of all in this new sense, like a blazing torch; its body feeling as if it contained an entire thunderstorm trapped beneath his skin.

The one thing that did concern him, however, was the incredibly heightened sense of aggression he was now feeling towards everypony, everything around him and the constant concentration it took to keep himself from leaping at the creature to rip out its throat in sheer bloodlust. To tear, to rend, to feel its bones break between his teeth and its hot blood coursing down his throat…

Hunter shook his head, No! Stay focused. I must get him to the Queen, she will decide the best course of action. Still, he could not help but feel a little giddy at the potential future possibilities, and the reward he would surely get for bringing this creature home.

Hunter was having a good day.



The journey through the jungle to the village had been uneventful enough, though Flash had kept his senses peeled for any hint of trickery that might lead them into an ambush. He knew that each member of his team would be doing the same, just as they had been trained to do, and was confident of their ability to immediately react immediately should the need arise. The comforting weight of his alicorn-forged spear, Shadowbane, strapped to his back in its condensed form beneath his heavy traveling cloak, also inspired confidence. Its peerless abilities combined with its power to enhance his own inherent magic gave him the surety that he could get his team out of even the bleakest situations.

As the dense jungle parted, Flash was able to finally get a glimpse of the natives' village. The huts themselves were constructed of shaped timber bound in twine and covered with thatched roofs with drawn curtains servings as doorways. They were arranged in clustered groups, with hardened paths of earth networking each of them to the others. The constructs appeared well made and solid, assembled with obvious skill and care. The surrounding jungle itself formed a kind of natural barrier of protection for the dwellings, with the trees seeming to form a sort of fence. Some of the trees even had observation platforms built into the higher branches where he could see more of the tribal ponies stationed as lookouts.

Flash could feel a sense of anticipation building in the air as more of the villagers gathered to watch the strange group of warriors clad in dark armor presently being escorted into the center of their home. They whispered to one another in their own language, casting glances that were a mix of curiosity, interest, and in more than a few, open hostility, with a few even emitting low, threatening growls that Flash had never associated with ponies, sounding more akin to lions than equines. Slightly more unsettling, were the ones who scented the air before locking their gaze on him, a hungry look in their eyes.

Just try not to think about it Flash, he thought to himself. Which was easier said than done when one realized that they were presently surrounded by a herd of veritable landsharks who gazed upon him with a longing comparable to that of a starved changeling at a Hearts and Hooves Day festival.

"He's very close, sir." Lumen Dawn whispered to Flash, breaking him from his growing paranoia. "He's likely somewhere here in the village." Flash gave an imperceptible nod,

"Don't do anything unless absolutely necessary, don't strike unless they do something first." Lumen smiled,

"Oh I'm not so worried, I'm beginning to think ourselves in a most secure bargaining posture. After all, it seems we have something they want," he smirked. Flash chose to bite his tongue for now. 

Coming into the center of the village, they were greeted by a large raised platform with steps leading to the top. Spread over the front part of the stage, was a large arch adorned with the skulls of various creatures, with the majority of them appearing to belong to large predators, with the most prominent of them being that of a manticore of such enormity that Flash mused that when it was alive, was probably large enough to make him bite-sized, let alone one of these ponies. The primary fangs alone were longer than his hand. And there, sitting on a wooden throne under the center of the arch was a mare whose stature left no question in Flash’s mind as to who the leader might be. He found himself missing Slipstream’s obligatory sarcasm where he would no doubt say, I think this is the chief!

She was nearly as large as Celestia, with similar build: slender at the hips but with slightly more robust shoulders. Her glossy coat was of the deepest crimson, and her mane and tail a dark brown. She wore a headdress that looked to be the top portion of a panther’s skull, with two magnificent black and blue peacock feathers arcing off from either side like a pair of horns. Triangular marks of white war-paint colored either side of her face just below her yellow eyes like fangs, giving her fierce stature an even greater degree of intimidation; she did not seem pleased to see any of them.

Frowny climbed the short set of stairs, whispering something to his leader while showing her the canteen. After a brief exchange, she turned her attention back to Flash and his team, raising an imperious eyebrow. When she spoke, her husky voice was tinged with restrained anger, with just a modicum of interest in the unique creature that was the human before her.

“I am Chief Sanguina, Queen of Diomedia. Who are you? And why you dare trespass in our lands after your crimes against us?” Flash cleared his throat, trying to find his voice again after the silent trek through the jungle. He stepped forward and bowed respectfully, a hand across his breastplate,

“Your highness, my name is Captain Flash Skies, I come in peace on behalf of her Royal Highness Princess Celestia of Equestria. I thank you for permitting us in your lands and I seek an audience with you in order to come to an understanding of what occurred in the incident regarding an alleged attack by your ponies that resulted in grave injuries to one of our citizens.” Flash raised his head, waiting for her reply. Her eyes narrowed with barely contained fury,

“If you come in peace, why send spies against us?” She accused. Flash swallowed, trying not to sound nervous,

“We did no such thing your highness!” He replied, “Equestria sends no spies into your land-“ He began, only to be cut off when a group of the ponies stepped aside so that a hogtied and gagged Slipstream sans armor could be unceremoniously cast into their midst; an apple stuffed into his mouth. Slipstream looked up groggily and gave a sheepish grin around the produce in his muzzle. “-But…I did send a scout ahead to get a view of your lovely island.” Flash finished without missing a beat. Sanguina frowned, clearly not amused.

“One who talks too much was caught trespassing in our lands after he was attacked by wind-vipers, he make many rude comments about warrior Natarra’s flank.” She growled. Flash noticed a stunning silver mare with a snow-white mane glare down indignantly at Slipstream, a slight blush on her otherwise pale cheeks, and perhaps, a ghost of a smile?  

Slipstream managed to spit the apple out, “Well...how could I not comment on such perfection?” He blurted with all the grace and forbearance of the town drunk after an all-night bender, “She really is-” Flash moved so quickly that he appeared to have teleported, cramming the apple back into his friend’s face.

“And I THANK your Highness for his safe return, I hope he hasn’t been too much trouble for you haha,” he remarked, attempting to sound lighthearted while glaring out of the corner of his eye at Slipstream,

“Not. Helping." He hissed between clenched teeth. As relieved as he was to see his friend alive, he couldn’t allow Slipstream’s infamous mouth to completely ruin what was already a precarious situation. Flash noticed that a rudimentary field dressing had been applied to the wound on the pegasus’ shoulder, the blood stained bandages having an odd scent. The pony appeared intoxicated for some reason, and he realized it was probably a result of being attacked by these ‘wind-vipers’ the queen mentioned.

Likely a couatl, he mused, beginning to remember reading once about the flying serpents which were also referred to as ‘wind-vipers’. A pair of spear-wielding ponies stepped forward, forcing Flash back in a clear message that Slipstream was not free to go. Flash restrained himself from glaring at them in response before turning his attention back to the queen,

"You speak of 'crimes' being committed against you and your ponies your highness?” He asked, allowing authority to seep back into his voice, “What were these crimes? Because according to ponies from our merchant guild, it was your ponies who attacked them, and they have the bite-marks to prove it," Flash risked saying after a cautious glance at some of the tribe ponies. The Queen's eyes narrowed dangerously as she rose to her hooves; Flash had to force himself to not take a step back.

"Attacked?" She snarled, "I see that treacherous mainlanders only know how to speak in lies."

Flash resisted the urge to sigh, Here we go... 

"I'm not trying to deceive you, your highness. I'm only speaking of what I presently know. If you could be so kind as to-"

Flash felt his blood run cold as the pony was suddenly, inexplicably in his face, not a hand's breadth from him, her eyes boring into his, the hot exhalation from her nostrils on his skin.

...What...? Sanguina raised an eyebrow,

"'So kind as to,' what?" She finished for him. Flash felt his jaw go slack; a random 'Eep!' escaped from Rose Dust as he sensed his entire team stumble back a step in alarmed disbelief. 

Flash found himself at a complete loss for words, it made no sense; he had neither seen nor even sensed her movement. One moment, she was up on the platform glaring down at him. He had only blinked, and suddenly she was in front of him without making a sound. The pony examined him, with the casual air of somepony who had simply discovered an interesting bug.

"What you wish me to say?" She deadpanned, "Speak up boy!"

Flash felt nailed to the spot, like he did as a tween at the junior academy the first time the drill sergeant had singled him out, unable to even string a sentence together in his mind. He might have felt utterly embarrassed at stuttering during such a critical moment if not for the overwhelming feeling of helpless terror currently drowning out every other sensation and coherent thought.

"Ah, ahem, I, I mean, yes, sorry ma'am. Could you, ah, please, tell us what happened?" He managed to stammer. 

Flash remained as still as a statue as the pony slowly began to circle him, taking in his every detail with the practiced eye of a jeweler examining gems. Her movements were slow and fluid, like the smoothness of a shark as it effortlessly glided through a calm sea. She paused behind him and lifted the edge of his cloak to her muzzle, taking an inquisitive sniff before flicking it away. Flash shuddered as he suddenly felt the soft warmth of her potentially lethal muzzle by his ear,

"You wish to know truth?" She said in voice that was low, but carried with it the deadly threat of a volcano about to erupt, "Very well..."

In what Flash could tell was barely restrained rage, the Queen calmly launched into a methodical retelling of how it was actually the fishing merchants, who had in fact been harassing her ponies for months, driving them further away from their accustomed fishing areas that they relied on to feed themselves. The merchants had one day attacked her ponies after a verbal sparring, overturning one of their small canoes and even going as far as to steal their catches. When she then sent one of her trusted servants to speak to the captain of one of the merchant fleet’s ships, demanding that the ponies return the fish they had stolen and apologize, the captain treated her servant and his aides as savages and attacked them, her servant being mortally wounded in the resulting struggle.

In response to this outrageous atrocity, her righteously infuriated ponies had angrily attacked the captain and a few of his crew, mauling one of them terribly before being forced to retreat. Flash listened attentively to her entire account, while noticing with a growing apprehension that hadn't left him since the Queen's little display of power, the alarming levels of hostility and anger now being directed at him and his team. They were smack in the center of a hornets' nest, and it was time to leave before they got stung...and eaten.

Sanguina completed a last, slow circle of him, taking her time, with every step a calculated measure of her establishing her dominance over him.  She paused in front of him taking a moment to lock eyes with him, allowing her gaze to weigh heavily on him.  Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she slowly turned, ascending the steps of the platform to her previous position before sitting.

"Well," Flash began after the Queen resumed her throne, "This certainly makes much more sense now with your side of the story, and let me be the first to humbly apologize for the outrages committed against you and your ponies, it is a terrible mark on our Nation for which I am most heartily sorry. Is there any message that I might bring to my liege Celestia or anything we might do to atone for these crimes?" Sanguina stomped a hoof on the platform,

“Leave this place. And tell sun pony that if any of her wretched ponies dare trespass in our lands again, we kill them!” She snarled, emphasizing the last part with a flash of fangs. This was not the sort of ending Flash had hoped for, he knew Celestia was hoping for a peaceful resolution, but he could leave that for the diplomats. He had done his job. He had found out what had happened, and now it was time to leave before they invited him to stay for dinner. Every extra second he remained in the Queen's presence felt like a hideously unnecessary risk to life and limb.

“I sincerely regret that we could not conclude on more peaceable terms, but I will be sure to pass along your stern warning to Princess Celestia, we’ll get out of your mane now.” He said before casting a glance at Slipstream. “So uh, can I please have my Slipstream back now?” Sanguina glared, a hint of a smile on her lips,

“No. I think bird pony has dinner date with us. Now leave, while you still can,” she threatened, her voice turning even more ominous. Flash slowly lowered his hands to his sides, his care for his friend quickly causing him to forget his previous fear, and even his caution; he sensed his team slowly take on a defensive posture, the clink of armor sounding in his ears.

“That will not do, your highness. He is coming home with us.” He responded adamantly, his growing anger helping to overcome his fear of her. Sanguina shook her head, not taking her eyes off of Flash,

“He is spy, and punishment for spying is death!” She declared, “Surely your lands have similar laws?” Flash clenched his jaw, biting back the angry rebuttal he had in mind for a more measured response.

“Please, your highness, there is no need for further bloodshed. You must know that such an action will only provoke a more hostile response from Princess Celestia, one that she would certainly hope to avoid. Surely there is another way that we might resolve our differences?”

Flash hated this, hated playing the diplomat with all of the little subtleties of the game that were required to play it well. It’s not that he couldn’t, Sunset Shimmer had always encouraged him to put his intellect to work as a child, telling him that he was smarter than most children his age, but it was so much easier when Celestia just pointed him at a threat that needed to be destroyed. It was far less complicated to simply go Hooman smash!

Sanguina did not respond a first, allowing the tension to build. Flash could see a calculating look in her eye as she measured the level of his defiance. He couldn’t quite place it, but there seemed to be something more at play here by the look she was giving him, almost as if she were reevaluating her initial impression. Finally, she spoke, her voice calm but measured,

“We have custom, if a prisoner can defeat one of our warriors in single combat, he go free. But if he lose, we eat!” She said with a confident grin.

Flash groaned to himself, Of course that favors you. Your ponies aren't exactly pushovers, and Slipstream would struggle even if he wasn’t injured. But by allowing us a way out, however unlikely, you’re still coming off as the reasonable one in the end, nice. Now he saw why Frowny was such a shrewd negotiator. 

Flash looked at Slipstream, and cast a glance at his teammates behind him. They could still fight their way out, maybe. If Lumen could teleport them all out, they stood a good chance of escaping Scott free. But that would totally spend all of Lumen’s mana reserve, and there was a good chance that these ponies had countermeasures in place against such magical trickery. Instead, another idea came to his mind, one daring enough that it might throw Queen Nom Nom off of her game. Steeling himself against his instincts that shouted every warning, he boldly stepped forward.

“I have a better idea, let me fight in his stead. If you win, you get to keep me. But if I win, everypony goes home safe. But no matter what, even if I lose, you let Slipstream and my other companions go free.”

An audible gasp went through the gathered ponies, even his own team. Queen Sanguina’s jaw dropped slightly for just a second. It wasn’t much, but it was enough of a tell that Flash knew then that his little maneuver had caught her off guard. She immediately regained her composure,

“Why should I accept such terms? We already have prisoner!” She snapped. Flash opened his mouth to reply but was unexpectedly cut off by the last pony on the planet that he thought would support him,

“Because you would be getting the most unique, gourmet meal in the whole wide world!” Lumen Dawn announced with all the glee and fanfare of a used carriage sales pony at the county fair; it seemed to work as all of the ponies ears perked up in response. Lumen slapped Flash on the back, “Why yes indeed, you won’t hardly find another like him! This,” he said with a flourish of his hoof, “Is a human! One of only two in the entire world! And not just any human, why he’s the very first human in all of Equestria, and a perfect physical specimen! He’s healthy! Delicious! And there’s enough of him for everypony! A far better catch than any run-of-the mill Pegasus!” 

Flash tried not to gape at Lumen as the natives murmured to one another in renewed interest.

“What do you think you’re doing, Lumen?” Flash hissed under his breath. The unicorn kept smiling at the queen,

“Why, just supporting my Commander’s vision of leadership, sir.” He whispered back from the corner of his mouth.

More like, hoping to turn me into kibble, Flash grumbled interiorly. 

Flash watched in the meantime as Frowny whispered something in the queen’s ear before hoofing her the canteen containing the his blood. She gave it an odd look before putting it to her lips for a small sip. Her eyes immediately widened with gleeful shock, and Flash thought he saw a shimmer of light pass through them as she turned her attention back to him, a toothy grin on her face,

“DONE.” She said with a rather disturbing amount of enthusiasm.

“But know this,” she continued, “We not make this easy on you. Our warriors fight bare with no weapons, no armor!” Flash gave a slow nod to this demand,

“As you wish,” he conceded with some reluctance. Once more, this turn of events favored her. True, his inherent magic made him as strong and agile as a pegasus, but at the end of the day, he was still a relatively soft and meaty human without his armor, while the island ponies had tough hides, hard hooves, and sharp teeth which hardly made for a fair contest. Just one more obstacle to overcome. Flash sighed to himself in resignation.

“And you will face our fiercest warrior!” Sanguina declared. A ripple of fear seemed to go through the gathered ponies at the mention of this mysterious pony. Flash blinked as he felt the earth tremble behind him with the ominous thud of impossibly heavy hoofsteps. He spun around, and found himself looking up; the natives parted like the sea before the Almighty as the biggest pony he had ever seen stepped forward out of the crowd, casting a deepening shadow over the relatively tiny human. 

Flash withheld an incredulous laugh as he felt the temperature immediately drop. The pony, if the monster could still be called that, was taller than a Clydesdale horse, its brown hide rippling with muscle and crisscrossed with countless scars. Its black mane was bowl cut, which comically obscured the behemoth’s eyes but did nothing to make the ogre of a pony appear any less intimidating. A row of jagged fang sprouted up from the nightmare’s pronounced underbite; its lips rippled as a low growl that sounded like two mountains being ground together escaped from the chasm of it's throat.  

“Gospodi pomiluy…” Sugar Rush muttered under his breath muttered as he caught sight of the titan, the strong earth pony taking a step back in caution. Lumen Dawn’s smug grin failed, the white unicorn turning even more noticeably pale shade; Sharps glared, the fearless colt wordlessly slipping an arrow into a bow constructed of pure blue manna while Rose Dust huddled closer to the human, another ultrasonic  ‘eep!’ Escaping her lips. Never before in his life had Flash ever seen such a beast of a pony; the anomaly was big enough to bite him in two.

“So,” Flash began with a grimace, “This, is your fiercest warrior, huh?” The queen rolled her eyes,

“No, him Little Tiny.” She said. The beast took one massive step to the side, revealing the striking orange mare with lemon yellow eyes and a pitch black mane and tail standing behind him. The pony was slightly taller than the average mare, about four feet by Flash's estimate. Her body was smooth and sleek, taught with lithe muscle like that of a jungle cat. Her hooves were also a matching black to her mane and tail, a rarity among mares. She held a confident stance, with her chest puffed out; and rather than coming off as hostile, her entire demeanor conveyed a kind of radiant joy that made Flash almost want to smile if not for every one of his instincts of self preservation presently screaming at him to run for his life from the terrible danger he now sensed he was in; the hair on the back of his neck stood completely on end. She immediately perked up at the sight of Flash with a rather disturbing look of gleeful mania not unlike Pinkie Pie at a ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party. Sanguina smiled,

“This Ferra. She, my daughter, will be your opponent.” She said with pride in her voice accompanied by a smug, knowing grin.

“Hi there!” She beamed with an energetic smile before zipping up to Flash who practically stumbled back in surprise.

“Hi, I’m Ferra!” She exclaimed, holding out a hoof, “Pleased to eat you! I mean, meat you! I mean, meet you!” She said with a nervous laugh while shyly dipping her head, placing a hoof against her chin, an innocent blush coloring her cheeks. Flash blinked again, wondering if this pony was even real. He noticed with growing dread that the other tribeponies continued to back away fearfully, a small foal ducking behind their parent’s legs with a pitiful whimper.

Oh, this bodes poorly…

“You smell nice!”
> Staying Alive
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Flash staggered backwards as the pony known as Ferra eagerly leapt forward, the orange mare placing her dark hooves up on his shoulders while sniffing the human up and down as if she were simply a large friendly dog that was just happy to see him.

“Wow! You’re neat! I’ve never seen or smelled anypony like you! Are you really called a hooman? Do you always walk on two legs? Why do you wear all of this stuff?” She rattled off while looking him all over with a joyful grin.

Flash stammered while trying to gently pry off the inquisitive equine without appearing rude, which was easier said than done seeing as the mare seemed to have no concepts of personal boundaries. Thankfully, Rose Dust came to his aid, pushing herself in between the pair with a smile, showing her own small fangs,

“Hi! Nice to meet you, uh, Ferra? Say, could you give us just a few minutes? Thanks!”

Ferra grinned, “Sure! But how many is a 'few'? Is that like, two? Or three? It’s hard to tell, everypony thinks it means a different amount, but I think-“

Flash had to ignore the pony’s ongoing monologue about the meaning of words as Rose Dust motioned with her head for him to join her and the rest of the squad in a huddle.

“Sir,” she began in a hushed tone, “Are you sure this is the best approach?”

“Da Captain, this seems like unnecessary risk,” Sugar Rush added. Sharp Shot glanced back at Ferra who was continuing her bubbly babble as if she were still part of the conversation before looking back to Flash and raising a skeptical eyebrow.

“See? Even Sharps thinks this is a bad idea,” Rose Dust continued. Lumen Dawn meanwhile smiled smugly,

“Yeah, gee, it would be a real shame if you went and became a manwich. Look, Flash, while you’re busy becoming part of this balanced breakfast, can I keep Shadowbane?”

“SHUTUP LUMEN,” everypony said at once. The unicorn rolled his eyes, but kept his peace,

“Hey, can’t blame a stallion for hoping…” he muttered to himself.

Rose exhaled in irritation, “Sir, I know you’re good, but these ponies, that mare, are highly unusual ponies. I mean, Sanguina managed to get in front of you without any of us even noticing! And that Ferra," she cast a wary glance at the unnaturally cheerful murder pony, and seemed to shudder before continuing, "She seems to be a strange one even by her own kind's standards…” 

Flash sighed, “Look, I appreciate all of your concern for me,”

“I wouldn’t call it that,” Lumen mumbled under his breath.

“But trust me, I’m going to be fine. If for whatever reason the worst should happen, we’ll make a break for it. Don’t worry, I’m not just going to just let them eat me.”

Flash’s teammates took one more glance at the pretty pony princess presently prancing in a circle while merrily prattling on about the many varied and interesting ways she had learned to field dress prey using only her teeth. Rose Dust groaned, placing a hoof against her face,

“I hope you know what you’re doing, sir.”



Flash expanded his spear Shadowbane with a flick of his will, planting it into the ground. He then placed his helmet on top of it before removing his cloak, breastplate, cuirass, and other parts of his black steel armor. Rose Dust stood behind him, her ears twitching as she glanced back and forth while nervously kneading her front hooves into the ground in front of her. He wondered why she seemed so unnaturally skittish, a far cry from her normally carefree, mischievous attitude.

"Sir, are you sure this is a good idea? I think we should reconsider-"

Flash heard the words catch in her throat as he removed his tunic, revealing the patchwork of scars he bore on his back and torso from his ill-fated encounter with Tirek and various other scraps he had been engaged in during his relatively short life; the only normally visible scar he bore was the one across his right eye, so he knew he had probably shocked her.

"I told you Rose, it's going to be fine," he said, glancing back at her. "And what's with you anyway? I've never known you to back away from a challenge."

The cream-colored thestral looked away for a moment, "It's...nothing, sir. It's just, well..."

Flash smirked as he finished his preparations and turned around, "Hey, don't worry!" He said, taking a second to ruffle her ears, "I know what I'm doing."

He noted how she looked less than convinced as she flipped her mane out of her pink eyes, worry coloring her features.

Odd, I wonder what has her so upset? Eh, I'll ask her about it later.

Flash stepped forward to meet his opponent. The rest of the Diomedians had formed a large ring around the two contestants with their bodies, their eyes showing a mix of wonder, anxiety, and eager anticipation. Sanguina rose to her hoofs from her throne, surveying the spectacle before her. She looked down at Flash, seemingly curious at the human's bare form; he then noted the look of disapproval she cast at him.

"I told you, our warriors fight bare! Remove that garment!"

Flash glanced down at his undergarment, the last stich of clothing he had left on. He raised an eyebrow, "Really? I'd rather not." Sanguina stomped her hoof,

"No choice! You remove it! No trickery!"

"No." An audible gasp went through the villagers; Sanguina bore her fangs,

"What you say?!"

"I said no, your highness, with respect. I am a human, not a pony, and I will maintain some measure of dignity," Flash retorted, before a smirk came to his lips, "Though if you really want it so badly, come and take it." 

In all truthfulness, the words had already left his lips before Flash could wonder if his mouth had just written another check that his body wouldn't be able to cash. It seemed to pay off though as a wave of snickering laughter went through the gathered onlookers. Sanguina turned an even deeper shade of red, which Flash thought was remarkable given that she was already such a bright crimson in color.

"Ahem, fine, no more delays!" She stammered before recovering, "The match begins now! And do not forget the price you must pay if you lose." She warned.

Flash nodded respectfully, the smirk still not fully fading from his face as he turned to face his cute but no doubt, deadly opponent.

Ferra trotted back and forth like a child unable to keep still. She kept her eyes fixed on him the whole while, her head swiveling as she paced. It was then Flash took notice again of an odd detail he had noticed earlier on some the ponies, but had forgotten to ask about; the first one being Frowny. On their two front hooves, a kind of wave-like pattern had been carved into them, like the representation of a river on a map.

Of the few ponies that had these carvings, most of them bore a single line of waves. Frowny bore two, and Ferra seemed to have three.

"Before we begin," Flash began, "I have a quick question." Ferra froze, her smile widening; Flash wasn't sure if she was aware of just how terrifying that made her appear.

"A question? Sure! Shoot!"

"Those lines on your hooves, what do they mean? And why do only a few ponies in your village have them?" Ferra giggled,

"Oh that's easy, those are called 'Hunting-Lines' silly!"

"Hunting lines?"

"Yup! A pony gets them if they are able to successfully hunt and kill another predator without using tools or weapons, they use only their teeth! Which is really, really hard because the monsters here are really, really strong!" Flash felt his heart sink at that news,

"I see, and the number of the lines?"

"Are for the number of successful hunts!" 

Flash looked at her hooves and counted three sets of the wavy patterns, more than anypony he could see around them. For the first time, he was beginning to second guess his little gamble.

"Three lines," he murmured, "So you've had,"

"Yup! Three successful hunts! Only momma has more!"

Spectacular... Flash groaned internally.

"And after a successful hunt, we put the skulls of the kill in a place of honor!" Ferra exclaimed with a wave of her hoof. Flash took a glance at the arch over Sanguina's throne and with dawning horror, realized that all of the skulls where those of predators.

"And after this fight, I'll have four! Because you're a predator, right?" Flash blinked,

"...I suppose?"

"Great!" Ferra said, prancing in place with innocent glee. "Wow, you're the best, really! As a super-duper thank you, I'll make sure your skull goes in the best place of honor, thankyouthankyou so much!"

"...You're, welcome?" If Flash wasn’t presently trying to wrap his mind around the collision of worlds this mare's existence represented, he might have felt true fear. As it was, he simply felt boggled at her very being. It’s another Pinkie Pie…with teeth...

“Fighters stand your mark!” Sanguina shouted. Flash watched as Ferra immediately tensed up; he lowered his own stance slightly in preparation,

“Begin!”



...Horseapples!

Flash instinctively arched his back and sucked in his gut as he flung himself backwards from Ferra's gaping jaws which snapped shut on the space his abdomen had occupied only a millisecond before, close enough for him to feel the heat from her breath on his abs.

Buck ME she's fast! Flash thought, not expecting a terrestrial based pony to be able to move so quickly; he had previously thought such speed was solely the territory of pegasi, griffons, and anything else with flight magic. But this mare didn't seem to fall into the category of any kind of pony he had ever known before. And it wasn't just her speed, all of her movements were so precise, without a single wasted movement or loss of energy, with each step flowing perfectly into the next. It was was beautiful as it was terrifying, like poetic death in motion.

Flash scrambled to stay out of her reach as Ferra swiped at him with her front hooves before seamlessly spinning into a buck from her powerful hindlegs, followed by another near-instantaneous snap of her lethal jaws that closed on the afterimage the human had left behind as he put on a desperate burst of speed. He took special care to mind his footing, knowing that with one misstep, and she would have him. Mercifully, as fast as she was, Flash found that he was a bit faster still, and managed to just stay just out of the range of her attacks. But rather than growing frustrated at her inability to land a hit, the mare seemed to only become more excited, as if she were enjoying the challenge her quarry presented.

Buck.

Bite.

Lunge.

Feint.

Spin, repeat. 

Each attack was just as strong as the one that preceded it, with no sign of the pony tiring.

Flash twisted away from a particularly fast kick that Ferra had launched at him from one rear hoof whose reach she managed to extend by stretching out from one of her front limbs in a pony-style of the splits, grazing his left shoulder. She paused to stare at him after finally being able to touch him,

"Wow, you're quick!" She commented with a giggle.

"Yeah, good thing too!" Flash managed to respond between pants, rubbing his stinging shoulder; his heart was pounding in his chest.

"And funny!" She said with another sweet laugh. "But say, why haven't you tried to hit me yet? Doncha wanna win?" Flash managed a small, shy smile,

"Well honestly? I don't like to hit mares," Flash responded truthfully, Plus, you really haven't given me an opportunity to, you crazy pony! Ferra's eyes sparkled,

"Aww, really? You're such a sweet guy! Is that what you smell so yummy?"

"Uh," Flash stammered, put off by her directness. She giggled again,

"You're so nice! Such a shame that I gotta kill you," Ferra said, her ears drooping slightly, "Don't worry though, you won't feel a thing!" No sooner had the words left her mouth, than her front hoof twitched, sending a jet of dirt directly at Flash's eyes.

Flash smirked as he twitched his head to one side to effortlessly dodge the incoming debris, taking a second to appreciate how accurate the pony had been with the well-aimed shot, only to put his face directly into the path of the second spray of soil that, unbeknownst to him, she had simultaneously flicked with her tail, predicting exactly where his eyes would be when he dodged.

CLEVER GIR- Flash didn't have time to finish his panicked thought as a wall of soft fur and hard muscle crashed into him with the force of an avalanche. Even without his sight, he could still sense her coming with his ability to feel her bioelectric field, but his momentary shock at being blinded had caused him to hesitate for just a second, and a second was apparently all Ferra needed to catch him.

Flash instinctively threw up his left forearm in front of his neck as he stumbled backwards, just in time to catch the sharp teeth that would have otherwise closed on his throat. Time seemed to slow down as he felt her fangs sink into his flesh, which oddly didn't seem to hurt at first. Thinking quickly, he simultaneously jammed the thumb of his free hand into the underside of the ferocious pony's jaw, right into a bundle of nerves which he knew would prevent her from closing her jaws completely.

Flash heard her snarl as Ferra pushed forward and then pulled back, driving him to one knee with her prodigious strength while she attempted to shake her lower jaw free from his grip; but he held firm. He knew that there was enough power in those jaws of hers to bite his arm clean off, and it was only his grip on that vital pressure point under her lower jaw that was preventing her from doing just that. Flash heard shouts of astonishment from the other Diomedians as well as cries of alarm from his teammates.

Blast it, they better not interfere! Flash grunted as he clenched his core muscles in an attempt to wrest his arm free from her maw which was now beginning to burn with pain as Ferra's teeth continued to cut into his flesh, the bloodthirsty pony stubbornly refusing to let go of her prize. He could feel his blood flooding into her mouth and knew he had to get her off now before she severed any major arteries or tendons. 

It was true, Flash was loath to ever strike a mare, and the action made him feel sick to his stomach. But hey, when it's your arm about to be bitten off, he knew exceptions had to be made; he could hate himself later. Biting his tongue to stave off the pain and with a colossal heave of effort, Flash managed to twist her head to one side before throwing his elbow forward hard, catching her in the side of the head.

He gasped with relief as he felt her quickly release his arm and stagger back from the blow; Flash leapt backwards several feet to put some distance between them. He took the merciful moment of breathing room in order to wipe his eyes so that he could finally see and assess the damage.

"Don't any of you DARE interfere; corporal!" Flash snapped at his team while pointing an accusing finger, particularly at Rose Dust whom he saw beginning to subtly pull out one of her kunai from her vest with a wing claw; she winced as if struck. He hated to yell at her, he knew she only wanted to help him, but he couldn't accept it, not yet anyways. If the rest of them got drawn into a larger fight, somepony was certainly going to die. As it stood, he was still confident he could end this conflict without killing anypony, and if somepony did have to die, he preferred it to be him rather than one of them. That being said, he had no intention of dying so easily.

Sensing that Ferra hadn't moved to reengage him, Flash quickly assessed the damage to his arm. It looked pretty bad, and he hoped that it was only because it was such a messy wound. The flesh was slightly torn, with deep puncture wounds imprinted in the shape of the pony's jaws. That said, he was relieved to feel that he could still move all of his fingers as well as his hand, so he knew that she had missed his vital muscles and tendons.

Stupid! Stupid Flash! He mentally chastised himself; mercifully, it was only a nasty flesh wound. But with it bleeding pretty badly and him already down a pint of the vital bodily fluid, Flash knew he had to end this quickly before he was done in by light-headedness. He looked back up to his opponent and gasped.

Ferra was standing about twenty feet away from him with her back to him; her movements were jerky and odd. The pony shook her head violently from side to side, snorting and grunting; something was wrong. Flash almost moved in to attack, but his instincts held him back, screaming danger as the hair on his neck began standing on end.

He was about to call out her name, to ask if she was alright when Ferra's head snapped around to look at him; Flash recoiled in horror.

The pony's lips had stretched back in an extreme kind of snarl, grisly exposing her gums and fangs, the blood on them only adding to the nightmarish look. It reminded Flash of the way a shark appeared right before it struck, jaws hyperextended and eyes rolled back. The fact that her irises had also shrunk, drastically increasing the whites of her eyes, only served to complete the look. She breathed a low snarl, the joyful pony he had initially seen was gone, replaced by this seemingly mindless force of violence.

Flash heard Sanguina shouting something somewhere in the background as the other Diomedians also backed up in terror, widening the fighting ring. He couldn't tell what she was saying, but he thought she sounded worried.

He didn't have time to consider the implications of that before Ferra exploded towards him at more than double the speed she had moved before, her hoofs creating such powerful tremors in the earth that he could feel them in his teeth.

Without thinking, Flash flung himself flat on his back, the mare shooting over him, her fangs missing him by inches. Rebounding like a spring, Flash kicked back to his feet, immediately diving forward and rolling to the side in order to dodge Ferra's next attack.

Dirt sprayed up from the mares hooves as she immediately sprinted in a tight half-circle, homing in on his new position like an arrow loosed at a target. With no time to dodge, Flash put up his arms in a cross guard, just in time to catch the mare as she crashed into him like a runaway train, slamming the human into the dirt on his back, nearly knocking the wind out of him.

Flash curled up his right leg, putting his knee into her barrel, which was just enough to hold the crazed mare back who snapped viciously at his face, her fangs only inches from his nose. He felt a surge of panic as the pony hooked her forelimbs around the back of his head, pulling it towards her mouth like an apple with her deadly embrace.

Oh, BUCK THIS! Flash thought as he felt her teeth nearly touching his skin. Drawing on his magic, Flash unleashed his trump card in the form of the lightning that the pegasus weather magic in his blood caused to build up in his body, charging himself like a live wire. The results were dramatic. With a loud bang, the discharge of energy flung the deranged pony off of him and up into the air. She slammed back down into the earth, her body twitching from the shock as she tried and failed to get back on her hooves.

Knowing that this was his chance, Flash tackled the mare, putting her in a choke-hold and locking his legs together around her hindquarters. Ferra thrashed from side to side with wild energy, rolling them both through the dirt as she attempted to break free. Flash held on with all his might, the thought of holding back long gone; he couldn't believe how strong she now was and knew that if she managed to get lose, it would be curtains for him, as he no longer possessed the energy to evade her any longer.

Ferra swung her head back, clocking him below his right eye with the back of her skull. Dazed, Flash held on, praying that she would begin to tire.

Will she ever quit?!

Mercifully, the steady pressure he had been applying to her neck the entire time seemed to finally be taking effect. He felt her shudder as her struggles started to weaken and her pulse begin to slow. Holding on until he was sure she was out, Flash released the pony and pushed himself to his knees, panting hard. He was covered in dirt, the sweat and blood on his skin causing the dirt to form a thin, slick muck over most of his body. The ponies around him stared in silent shock, in disbelief over the outcome of the fight. Sanguina herself had a look of fearful horror on her face, her mouth hanging open in shock, and her eyes filled with the longing of every parent who wished to rush to the aid a child in peril.

Flash looked down at Ferra, the unconscious mare at his knees now appearing no more dangerous than a sleeping filly, a vast improvement in his opinion over the nightmarish display she had presented only moments before. He looked up expectantly at Sanguina,

"Well?" He demanded between pants, "Is it over? Is this a win?" 

The queen blinked, seemingly unable to find her tongue, "You mean, you're not going to kill her? This was a fight to the death!"

Flash glared back in righteous indignation, "What?! No! Never! I was never going to hurt her! I'd never want to harm a pony!" He angrily retorted.

Rose Dust's eyes widened as she saw the human's shield-shaped cutie marks on his shoulders flicker for a moment with a mysterious light.

The Diomedians' renewed gasps of shock and wonder echoed throughout the area, their chatter escalating in volume, with some even shouting out defiantly in their native tongue. Flash didn't know what they were saying, but he hoped to Celestia that he didn't just violate some unknown, sacred almighty-law of bullspit that would see him roasted and spitted in reprisal for his well-meaning but poorly chosen act of mercy.

Sanguina stomped her hoof loudly on her platform, "SILENCE!" She bellowed, immediately quieting her ponies.

Flash looked down as Ferra stirred, her ears twitching from the echo of her mother's shout. She groggily looked up at the human and smiled weakly,

"Morning," Flash said kindly.

"Uhn...what happened? I can't remember...Did I...lose?"

Flash couldn't help but smile back a little, incredulous that the pony who only moments before was about to core his head like an apple with her teeth could look so innocent and disarmingly cute. Ponies... He sighed.

"Let it be known!" Sanguina shouted, snapping Flash back to attention. "That the Equestrians...are not our enemies!" The ponies broke out into cheers, much to Flash's pleasant confusion. The queen looked down at Ferra who pushed herself to a sitting position, "Daughter, you lost. You should be dead, but the Equestrian spared you. You owe your life to the hooman!" She said to renewed cheers and stomping of hooves.

Flash felt embarrassed, and attempted to clarify his intentions, "No, that's not really necessary, I was never going to-"

"Therefore!" Sanguina shouted, cutting the human off, "You owe him the Life-Debt!" Flash wasn't sure what that was, but what he did know was that he didn't like how Ferra suddenly perked up at that, a joyful gasp escaping her lips.

"For the rest of your life, you will follow the hooman Flash Skies!"

"Wait, WHAT?!" Flash blurted, but Sanguina pressed on,

"You will guard his life with yours! You will serve and protect him all days, for the debt of your life and the honor of our ponies! This sacred bond is declared by your mother and queen, and witnessed to by your fellow ponies!"

Ferra leapt to her hooves, cheering the news, "Yes mother, I understand! I'll do it! I'll be sure to protect him always!"

Flash's loud objections were drowned out in the thunderous shouts of joy as Ferra suddenly tackled the befuddled human back to the dirt in a bone-crushing hug.

"Don't worry Flash, I'll watch over you always, even while you sleep!"

Flash wasn't sure if it was the blood-loss or the horrifying image Ferra's words had planted in his mind, but he was beginning to feel light-headed. 

...What...just happened?
> Invited to Dinner
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Try to hold still, Captain," Sugar Rush said as he continued to bind Flash's badly mauled forearm in white bandages. Flash did his best to comply, despite the dull haze hanging over his mind as well as the pounding ache pulsing up his arm now that his adrenaline rush had worn off. He couldn't understand why it had not fully healed yet, even after applying the effects of a healing crystal from one of their med-packs.  Lumen Dawn had even been gracious enough to cast a cursory spell of his own, though he made no point of trying to hide his open disappointment that the human wasn't presently occupying the bellies of their hosts. Even though these efforts served to stem his bleeding, the wounds remained open and fresh.

"Stand aside, staff sergeant." The earth pony's eyes widened as Sanguina appeared behind them, her daughter Ferra beaming at her side. Flash was surprised too, not expecting her to address his NCO by his actual rank. Most of the village ponies had begun to disperse, or at least spread out into a more relaxed grouping than the battle-ring they had previously formed. Sugar Rush hesitated at first, not wanting to move. Rather than appearing angry, Sanguina gave him a gentle smile,

"Please, staff sergeant. I just want to help," she said with measurable kindness. 

Wait, what happened to her voice? Flash almost said out loud. Sanguina's voice had changed, sounding less husky, with a more mild, sweet tone that almost reminded him of Celestia though still slightly deeper. Her ponish was also clearer, no longer broken but articulate and concise.

Flash nodded to his teammate and Sugar Rush finally relented with a small nod of his head, stepping to one side. Sanguina nodded her thanks before stepping forward.

"Remove your bandages, Flash Skies," she said. Flash stared for a second, slightly confused, but did as she asked, exposing his badly torn flesh. He nearly recoiled in shock as Sanguina suddenly took hold of his arm and before he could object, licked his wounds with her warm tongue.

Flash stumbled backwards as she released his arm, "Whoa! Hey! Your highness, that is hardly necessary-" He stopped speaking though as a warm sensation flowed through his limb. He looked down and gasped as he saw his injury rapidly begin to heal before his very eyes until his arm was whole and sound once more. Sanguina licked her lips with obvious delight, smirking at his confusion while Ferra squeaked with an adorable giggle.

"The bite of my ponies has a certain magical quality to it. Once bitten, the prey's reflexes begin to dull and the wounds dealt by our teeth are slow to heal. All I did was remove that effect from your arm so that the healing spells you had applied could take effect."

Flash's eyes widened slightly in dawning comprehension, So it wasn't just that Ferra was getting faster, I was getting slower?!

"Flash Skies," she continued, disrupting him from his thoughts, "Would you and your fellow ponies accept my invitation to stay with us this evening for a banquet in your honor?"

Flash looked up from staring at his arm, opened his mouth to speak, but paused, still shocked as he was by the effect that her touch had had on his arm. The growing fog that had been hanging over his mind, dulling his thoughts and movements, began to lift as well, allowing him to think clearly once more. He glanced back at his team, five heads shook back and forth at him. He felt himself groan internally as he looked back to Sanguina, her face expectant, "It...would be an honor, your highness, thank you for your hospitality."

The sound of five hooves slapping five separate faces resounded behind him. Sanguina smiled,

"Wonderful. Now, would you please join me for a moment Flash? There are some matters we need to discuss. Ferra?" The orange pony perked up, joy radiating from her face,

"Yes momma?"

"Would you be so kind as to care for our guests while I speak with Flash? See to their comfort."

Ferra nodded eagerly, "You bet! Come on everypony! Let me show you where we're going to have you for dinner! I mean, make you for dinner! I mean, where we'll eat dinner, yeah! That's it!"

Flash took one more glance back at his teammates as he readied himself to follow after Sanguina, their disapproving glares promising bloody revenge upon him if things ended up going south while Ferra pranced gleefully around them, talking a mile a minute.

Better and better, he sighed to himself.  He redonned his black trousers, boots, belt, and tunic before securing Shadowbane in the small of his back in its condensed form. He withheld putting his full armor back on, but opted on wearing his steel bracers just in case somepony tried to take a bite out of him again. After securing his heavy traveling cloak around his shoulders, he followed after Sanguina, his heart steady and his mind buzzing with questions.



Sanguina stepped through a dark cloth door held open for her by one of her ponies into what looked like a wooden long house, beckoning the human to follow her. Flash paused as he sensed somepony behind him. He turned around to see Sharps looking up at him, a skeptical, defiant look on the scrawny colt's face. Flash smiled,

"Hey, thanks for following me Sharps, but it'll be alright."

Sharps narrowed his faded blue eyes and stomped one hoof, tilting his head slightly to one side, looking unconvinced. 

"Yeah, I know, okay. Keep an eye out for me, will you? Thanks Sharps." Sharps gave him a sharp salute before taking up a position on the other side of the doorway, opposite the Diomedian pony on the other side while Flash walked inside after Sanguina, the curtain closing behind him. The young stallion gave a confused, curious stare at the smaller Equestrian but quickly looked away as the tan unicorn cast him an intimidating glare from under his black helmet. The tribal pony deciding to go back to just looking straight ahead.



Flash stepped inside the dwelling, which was well lit thanks to the daylight pouring in through a square opening in the ceiling while the warm glow of burning oil lamps chased away any shadows the sunlight did not reach.

The walls were adorned with ornate woven fabrics that looked to be images of the nature of the island around them: rivers, waterfalls, depictions of trees, and several more depictions of two-dimensional ponies engaging fierce beasts in battle with their teeth and spears. It was truly a fascinating display of their culture, and Flash may have been able to appreciate it more if it were not for the sudden rush of lightheadedness that assailed him, causing him to stumble forward as the floor nearly rushed up to greet him.

A strong hoof caught him, arresting his fall and helping him back up to his feet. “Careful, Captain," she warned, "You’ve lost quite a bit of blood.”

Flash shook his head as he made himself alert again. He looked up, Sanguina smiled slyly at him, her gaze somewhere between kind and calculating.

“Sorry, thank you, your highness.” He replied, feeling a bit bashful, but also a little vulnerable. Her change in demeanor towards him, from being openly hostile to almost friendly was unsettling to say the least. But he knew she was right, he had lost a lot of blood. In addition to the pint he had given up earlier as a peace offering, Ferra had swallowed down quite a bit herself when she had clamped down on his arm with her mouth.

Sanguina stepped over to a small table where a clay teapot and cups were waiting. She filled one of the cups and handed it to him, “Here, drink this. It will help to restore your strength.”

Flash hesitated a moment, but accepted, nodding his thanks. If she were planning on killing me, she'd hardly need to drug my drink. He concluded. But that still didn’t stop him from subtly waving his hand over his drink, the enchanted sapphire he wore on a silver ring on the forefinger of his right hand, a gift from Luna, would alert him of any poisons, drugs, or spells; the ring remained silent. He took a sip of the herbal tea and though bitter, he found its effects immediate. A comforting warmth blossomed in his chest, spreading to his whole body and steadying his limbs with renewed strength.

Flash pulled up the left sleeve of his tunic and lifted his bracer to peak at his skin; no trace of the injury remained. He frowned, beginning to feel a bit frustrated.

"Alright, with respect, what is going on your highness? What happened to your voice? You're not talking to me like you did before." 

Sanguina removed the white panther skull from her head, placing it on a stand while removing her other adornments until she was in her natural form. Flash finally took notice of her cutie marks, a set of step pyramids on her crimson flanks. He could see five layers of the wavy patterns on her front hooves, completely filling them, which made him realize with astonishment that there were fine carvings of the patterns even in her primary fangs.

How many monsters has she killed?! Flash wondered with alarm.

The large pony sighed, wiping away the white war paint from her face with a damp rag before finally turning about to face him. He had to admit, she looked far more approachable without her adornments and war paint, save her fangs. She gave her head a shake, her eyes squeezed shut while rubbing the back of her neck until there was an audible crack. She loosened her glossy brown mane so that it cascaded over her shoulders before giving him an apologetic smile,

"Well, honestly? It was all a test."

"A...test?" Flash said, wondering if he had misheard her. 

Sanguina nodded, "Everything happened just as I told you, dear child. For almost a year, the ponies of those merchant ships treated us as if we were something less than equine, despite how patient we were with them. And I knew that after the incident, they would no doubt report us to Celestia as dangerous, uncivilized savages. So I had a thought, what if we were? How would the coming Equestrian inquiry treat us is if they found us as seemingly savage as reported? How would they respond? So by my command, we played the part. We played the part of a cliché just to see how you would treat us. If you treated us with the same disrespect as those merchants did, then I would be further convinced that Equestrians were all alike. But, if by chance, you treated us with the same dignity as you would any pony, despite our appearances and behavior, then those merchants who treated us with such hostility were the exception, and perhaps it would still possible to have good relations with Equestria."

Flash stared in surprise for a moment, somewhat incredulous as he began to review all the events in his mind in light of this revelation, wondering how much of their interactions were just a test.

"So, you really weren't going to eat Slipstream, were you?"

Sanguina shook her head, "No, though we are carnivores, we would never eat another pony. The very idea is barbaric. The suggestion that we would was just another test to see how you would respond. I was, curious to see how much of the stories about my ponies you believed."

Flash shrugged, "To be honest your highness, I didn't have much to go on, so I wasn't sure what to believe," he paused, "But you weren't going to just let him go either, were you?" He said, raising an eyebrow. The pony's countenance darkened slightly as she shook her head,

"No, we weren't. I had not yet decided what we were going to do with him, I was, am, still very enraged over the death of one of my ponies." Sanguina glanced away for a second, and Flash could see her hold back a surge of intense rage for a moment. When she spoke again, her voice was just above a whisper, but sounded no less threatening as she spoke through clenched teeth. "He was one of the gentlest among us, and a friend. How could they just kill him? I could not, will not simply let that go without some sort of retribution." She turned to look hard at him, before looking away, slowly pacing the room like a stalking wolf, taking measured, controlled breaths as she deliberated within herself.

Flash tensed at her momentary hostility, making ready to defend himself, so wrathful did she seem at the moment. At the same time, he let his features soften, "I am so sorry, your highness." He said with all the compassion he could convey, truly saddened by her loss, and angry at the carelessness of the pony who let it happen. He would see to it that he would answer for it. For the first time, he felt like he was beginning to see the real pony that Sanguina was. A strong, wise leader that cared deeply for her ponies; somepony who had been deeply hurt by loss. At the same time though, he couldn't help but feel like she was still making up her mind about what to do with him.

The pony paused, turning her piercing yellow eyes on him, her gaze hard and her features implacable. Flash steadfastly held her gaze though, not backing down, awaiting to see what she would so. After what felt like an eternity, with Flash even going so far as to making calculations on how quickly he could exit the building, he saw the light seemingly shift on her face as her expression began to soften ever so slightly,

"When you offered to take your companion's place, I was genuinely surprised," Sanguina said, glancing away for a moment before she turned back to look at him. "But I also saw an opportunity for retribution. If one of the sun princess' own died a bloody death in the course of an agreed upon duel, well then, she could not accuse us of hostilities now, could she? And at least there would be blood paid on part for our loss. But, now that I consider it," she grumbled before taking a breath, holding it for a moment before sighing, bowing her head slightly, "That might have been a bit shortsighted and hasty on my part to say the least."

For a long moment afterwards the room was silent, Sanguina seemingly lost in thought as she stared absently at one of the wall hangings. Eventually she came to with a shake of her mane. She looked over at him, smiling wryly at him with a sidelong, knowing glance,

"You're something special to her, aren't you?"

Flash smirked, "You might say that," he said. And to a certain moon pony... He thought, shuddering at the thought of what Luna might have done if he had gotten himself killed. But in the end, he remained confident that he was going to win or he would have never offered the challenge in the first place.

"Tell me though, would Ferra really have killed me?" Sanguina gave him a hard look before conceding with a nod,

"Yes, but if you had surrendered during the course of the fight, say, after she had injured you, I would have considered sparing you."

"And were you really planning on eating me?" And are you still planning to? Flash worryingly wondered to himself. Sanguina paused and gave him an appraising look, as if he were some prized trophy at a festival,

"Well..." She finally admitted with a sheepish grin that made Flash want to laugh out loud at her sudden display of nervousness. He bit his lower lip to suppress his grin. Despite the morbidly disturbing information that she and her ponies may or may not have been planning on devouring him, he couldn't help but feel amused at how the fierce warrior queen who before had filled him with such dread now seemed to be embarrassed to actually admit that eating him was not the best option. She snorted in annoyance at his amusement,

"Oh stop that!" She glowered, her cheeks flushing slightly in embarrassment, "Don't you realize what a walking temptation that you represent to us? You're lucky that somepony hasn't tried to get the jump on you yet!"

"Oh, I'm becoming more aware." Flash said with a modicum of gravity, not wanting to tempt fate. "I became quite aware of that as soon as I walked into your village and saw how your ponies looked at me." 

Sanguina sighed, "I don't know if you can fully appreciate it, but your blood, your very scent is incredibly, no, unbelievably enticing. I've never experienced anything like it. And for whatever reason, your blood has a particularly potent effect on us."

"What do you mean?" Flash asked, now curious. Sanguina reached over and picked up of the table the canteen containing his blood, giving it a measure look,

"Consuming fresh blood naturally increases our abilities, I'm sure your thestrals experience a similar effect as they are distant cousins of ours. But we've never experienced anything like you, Flash Skies. Speed, strength, aggression, all are increased dramatically by the smallest taste. I myself had to concentrate intensely to maintain my focus after sampling your donation."

"Is that why Ferra seemed to lose control after biting me?" Flash asked, recalling in his mind the horrifying countenance that seemed to warp the pony into a monster. Sanguina nodded solemnly,

"It was worse than that," she gravely admitted, pausing a moment in thought as if reluctant to reveal what she was about to say next before finally speaking.

"It's called 'blood-frenzy'; thankfully it's very rare, I've only seen it a hooffull of times myself in my many years. But when it occurs, it is almost always fatal, and not just for the unfortunate soul who succumbs to its feverish grasp." Flash's eyes widened in alarmed comprehension as she continued,

"We're not sure what triggers it, but when it happens, the pony becomes mindlessly savage, and will attack anypony, even their own loved ones are no longer distinguished. The pony will not wake from their state for hours, and often has to be killed in self-defense by those whom they are attacking as there is rarely a way of safely restraining them in the wildness of their strength and aggression."

Flash swallowed as he felt his throat go dry at the implications of what she was telling him, and now understood why Sanguina had seemed so frightened when Ferra had attacked him in that state. "So, when you told Ferra that she owed me her life, it wasn't just because I refused to kill her, was it?" She smiled sadly at him,

"Exactly," she confirmed. "You also saved her from the blood-frenzy. I wasn't sure what I would have done if you hadn't awoken her." She admitted, bowing her head solemnly. He could still see her downcast eyes which were heavy with the tide of caustic emotions that she had been holding back for far too long. The long-held anger and unanswered grief she had been brooding on for weeks had finally been brought to the surface in the course of their conversation, only to be lanced by the intense gratitude she now realized she felt towards him; he could see it beginning to seep through her features.

Flash paused a moment to recall the memory of when Ferra had gone wild, and had heard Sanguina call out to her daughter in her native tongue, and now understood why she had sounded so worried, frightened at the time.

Flash's next consideration was to ask if the whole 'life-debt' for Ferra was really necessary, as he'd rather not be gifted with what was the equivalent of a pet tiger, but was abruptly snapped away from his thoughts as Sanguina suddenly stepped forward and embraced him with her neck, a single forelimb pressing into his back and squeezing him into her warm, soft fur, "Thank you, Flash Skies. Thank you for saving my daughter." She breathed into his ear.

He stiffened at her touch, completely caught off guard by the intimate gesture. It was honestly the last thing on Equus he expected her to do and was at a loss on how to react. At the same time, he could feel how she was trembling, her body shuddering with intense, repressed pain. He hesitated at first, not knowing if it was appropriate, before cautiously returning the embrace, placing his arms gently around the strong neck of the larger equine and lending what comfort he could. Her grasp on him tightened.

Flash realized that as her ponies' leader, she probably had no one to confide in anymore, especially with the death of her friend, and had yet to properly grieve. So he relented to remain with her in that moment for as long as she needed, giving the poor mare a moment to finally have some relief from her pain.

After what felt like a few minutes, Sanguina finally pulled away, sniffing as she wiped away a stray tear from one of her eyes and cleared her throat. She left a hoof on his shoulder for a moment longer while looking into his eyes, and the appreciation Flash saw in hers made him feel that at last, the two of them had finally come to an understanding. The door was now open for a new relationship, possibly even a friendship, to begin.

"If you tell anypony that I cried, I will eat you myself." She half-jokingly threatened, giving his shoulder a small squeeze which drew a nervous chuckle from the human,

"My lips are sealed." He reassured her. "And you can be certain that I will inform Celestia of the whole truth of what happened here." Sanguina smiled and nodded,

"Thank you, and give her my best. It's been a very long time since I've seen or spoken to ol' solar flank," she said, giving the top of his head an unexpected, affectionate nuzzle through his platinum hair before stepping away, a curious look in her yellow eyes.

"Hmm, wind, fresh rain, sunshine and clouds. Tell me, you're a hooman, so why do you smell like a pegasus?" She said, her nostrils flaring as she scented the air again; she cocked her head to one side, pausing in thought before adding, "And some, what is this, a...changeling?"

Incredible, their sense of smell is so precise that they can even smell magic?! Flash thought, amazed at this new revelation. Twilight would lose her mind if she knew such an ability existed!

He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Eh, it's kind of long story, your highness," he said, not knowing where to begin. Sanguina grinned at him,

"Well, perhaps we can discuss it over dinner tonight?" She said while gesturing towards the exit with one hoof.

"Just so long as I'm not the dinner," Flash murmured under his breath with a sigh.

"Certainly not!" Sanguina said, giving him a gentle bump with her shoulder as they walked towards the door together.

"Probably..." She added with a wink. Flash tried not to groan,

It's gonna be a loooong night...
> Conspiracy with a Side of Snuggles
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Slipstream stretched his wings and yawned, still feeling groggy, but vastly better now that his wounds were healed. He had yet to put back on his armor and gear, but still made himself useful by keeping an eye on the ongoing activity around the village while making it a point to still appear both intoxicated and disinterested. The villagers were in a flurry of activity as they bustled about with eager energy, gleefully anticipating the coming feast of rich foods and joyful celebration that would end with full bellies and a great night's sleep under Luna's moon. 

He felt happy for them, but more than that, he felt a deep feeling of gratitude. Gratitude for being alive, and towards his alien friend who had once more stuck his neck out for him.

He glanced over at Rose Dust who continued to nervously pace back and forth, her pink eyes never once leaving the wooden long house that their captain had entered.

"Hey Rose, if you keep that up, you're going to wear a hole straight to Ponyang," Slipstream said with a smirk. 

"He's been in there too long," the anxious thestral murmured to herself.

"Oh come on, if Queenie was really planning on eating him, we should have at least heard some screaming by now," he joked, drawing a nasty glare from his normally cheerful companion. Slipstream raised his hooves,

"Kidding, kidding, but seriously Rosy, you need to chill. Everything's going to be fine now. I mean, Sharps is standing guard, do you really think our little anomaly would really let anything happen to Flash? He'd be stacking bodies at this point if something like that happened." 

This seemed to finally have an effect as Rose let out a sigh, "Yeah, I guess you're right. But seriously, how can he be so reckless with himself?! I mean, did you see his body? He's a year younger than I am and he already has more scars than a one-eyed minotaur juggling axes at a fight club!"

Slipstream smiled, "I've known Flash since we were both foals, that's just who he is. He never hesitates to throw himself into danger for us ponies. He's not reckless, it's just his devotion to Equestria often outweighs his sense of self-preservation, that's all."

"He won't live to see the birth of his own foals at this rate," Rose grumbled, rubbing the bridge of her muzzle.

"Nah, you don't know the human like I do. He's more crafty than he lets on."

"Da!" Echoed Sugar Rush, walking up towards his two companions, "No worries Rybka, you see. Captain has more lives than sack of cats!" The deep blue earth pony clanked to a halt in his armor next to the much smaller bat pony, heartily clapping her on the withers with what was meant to be a friendly gesture, not noticing that he almost knocked her off of her hooves.

Rose Dust chuckled a little as she wriggled out from under Sugar's massive hoof, ruffling her leathery wings. "Yeah, maybe you're right," she said before her tufted ears swiveled around towards a sound that caught her attention, her head following suit.

At least five pairs of enormous eyes belonging to a clutch of small fluffy foals were curiously peering from around the thick wooden legs of one of the tables that had been set up for the coming celebration. Rose Dust giggled to herself, forgetting her worry,

"It seems we have some company, boys." Slipstream turned to see the group of foals hiding shyly a few feet behind him under the table.

Rose Dust slowly moved towards the small ponies, a series of small clicks and squeaks emanating from her throat which caused the ears of the foals to twitch as they hesitantly began to approach the larger ponies. She smiled, leaning down to bump muzzles with a small, yellow filly who was the first to draw near. The other ones soon got over their fear, blinking up at the adult ponies with their large adorable eyes.

Slipstream felt his heart melt a little as a few of them came up to him, "Aww, well aren't they just the cutest little-" Slipstream blinked as the foals collectively smiled at him, revealing five shark's worth of small, sharp teeth, "...Bundles of nightmare fuel that I've ever seen..." he mumbled while scooting back a few feet; even Sugar raised an eyebrow in alarm.

Rose Dust meanwhile, had removed her helmet and pressed the quick-release tab under her cuirass so that she could slip out of her armor, setting it off to one side. She flicked her indigo mane out of her pink eyes,

"Hmph, clearly you boys have never been to a thestral rookery," She said before emitting a soft squeak that drew the foals' attention, "C'mere ya little cuties," she said with a grin, stretching out on the ground like a cat. The foals immediately responded by running over and smothering her with their furry little bodies in a tender display of snuggles, nuzzles, nips and squeaks.

Slipstream felt his jaw drop slightly in shock as he watched his teammate reveal a side of herself that he never knew existed, as she allowed the fuzzy little land piranhas to energetically roughhouse with her in a combination of playful headbutts, gentle bites, and all manner of play-fighting; she didn't even seem to mind the one presently tugging on one of her ears with his little sharp teeth, though a gentle warning growl occasionally emitted from her throat if one of the foals got too rough with her or one of the other foals. 

"Yeaaah...Did you know that Rose was a secret den momma?" Slipstream remarked to Sugar, the massive earth pony cleared his throat,

"Ah, best not ask questions you do not want answers to, comrade." Slipstream opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted by the bursting sound of a messy teleportation spell. Lumen Dawn was suddenly next to them, the white unicorn panting from exertion while smoke from his hastily cast spell curled off of his ears and tail."

"That *gasp* mare...is...CRAZY!" He exclaimed between gasps for air.

"Hey, you were the one who volunteered to distract her, sir," Slipstream smirked in amusement.

Lumen Dawn grumbled under his breath, but it was true. He had volunteered to distract Ferra so as to give them all a moment of relief from her endless, homicidal-laced enthusiasm about life on Diomedia, but more importantly, to take the opportunity to plant the idea in her wacky head that as the human's protector, she had the duty to eat Flash if the two of them were ever in danger of being captured by an enemy so as to guard against the loss of sensitive intelligence about Equestria. He nearly had her convinced that it was what the human really wanted as it was his job to protect Equestria at any cost.

Tartarus, maybe she'll just eat him anyway, I doubt she'd need much of an excuse given that she starts drooling at the mere mention of him, Lumen pondered to himself. He was interrupted from his happy fantasies of the human being mauled to death when he caught sight of the pleasantly purring pony presently buried under a small mound of furry little heads and twitching ears. He uttered a disgusted noise,

"Ugh, Corporal, what do you think you are doing debasing yourself like that?" Rose lazily opened one contented eye, twisting her head to smile up at him,

"Why, winning the hearts and minds of the locals, sir," she smugly responded. Lumen snorted,

"Hmph, if that's what you want to call it," he said with a dismissive flick of his head while turning to walk away.

"What's the matter Lumen, afraid of having foals someday?" She playfully taunted after him. Lumen turned his head and glared his indignation at her as his ears shot up, a touch of red coming to his cheeks; he coughed to clear his throat before turning away, grumbling angrily to himself about 'lowborn trash' while Sugar Rush and Slipstream snickered to themselves at his expense.

As the sun dropped lower, they saw Flash finally step outside with Sanguina, the two of them appearing relaxed in the other's presence. Slipstream smiled before snatching up his gear, hurrying off to find a way he could be helpful to his friend.



Bloodsport downed another draught of mango wine, slamming his wooden tumbler down on the table, lazily eyeing the pitcher in front of him which tempted him for another drink. Though it was not nearly as tempting as a certain other object in the village that he couldn't take his mind off of, no matter how much he drank.

The human...He grumbled inwardly. It had angered him that the Queen had not just simply killed him in retribution for the crimes committed against them, but not as much as he was now upset by the fact that she had placed the ridiculously tantalizing creature under her protection, making him off-limits as a prey item.

He tried to put his mind off of it, the thought of indulging his blood lust, but the second he had considered the possibilities of how good it would feel had set his hooves to itching with desire, it was maddening to resist. 

"Aww, what's the matter Bloodsport, trying to drown your disappointments in drink?" 

Blood Sport cast a glance at the grinning black stallion with orange eyes and a dark blue mane before turning his attention back to his tumbler with a grunt.

"What do you want, Obsidian?" He mumbled as his companion pulled up a stool next to him,

"Want? Well, what if we both want the same thing?" Bloodsport's brown ears perked up, turning to stare at his friend who smiled slyly at him, "A pebble for your thoughts?" Bloodsport snarled, turning back to his tumbler,

"It's not right," he hissed, "For the Queen to just let them go like that, after what those Equestrians did to us! Somepony needs to do something about this!"

Obsidian chuckled, "You can drop the righteous outrage Bloodsport, I know you're just using that as an excuse, a reason to justify, maybe, having just a little taste."

Bloodsport swallowed nervously, "Well, can you blame me? You smelled that thing's blood, we've never experienced anything like that...How can we just let something as good as that slip by?!"

Obsidian remained quite for a long moment, looking up in thought, "I suppose he could have an accident during the night? After all, the island is a very dangerous place for foreigners, especially at night. You never know what might happen."

Bloodsport felt his heart grow still, Is he actually suggesting... He looked over and saw that the sly grin had never left Obsidian's face, a spark of mischievousness glinting in his friend's narrowing eyes.

"Ahem, well," he sputtered, glancing back and forth. "What, uh, did you have in mind?" Obsidian grinned,

"I thought you'd never ask."

The two ponies continued whispering in hushed undertones, a plan steadily forming between them as their fellow tribesponies hurried about around them in preparations, aloof to the conspiracy forming in their very midst.

At the same time, across the village square, a certain, scrawny young unicorn sat very still at another table, his face a hard mask of neutrality, as it almost always was; his ear occasionally flicking, while his horn emitted a barely perceptible, soft blue glow; the only visible evidence of the subtle hearing enhancement spell that he had been casting for the last twenty minutes.

After a few more well-timed minutes, Sharp Shot ceased his spell, casually downing his drink before affixing his black helmet back onto his head. He discretely trotted off towards the jungle, a gleam of cold focus fixed within his icy blue gaze.

The coming night would conceal much, but not nearly well enough, not from him.
> The Main Course
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Flash blinked slowly, trying very hard to resist the greedy demands the latest scene of absurdity before him was making on whatever dwindling remains of his sanity this crazy day had left him with. It could go buck itself.

"Ferra?"

"Yes, master?" The orange pony who had been practically glued to his hip for the last hour beamed with her palpable cheer,

Flash groaned internally, biting back a curse, "Please Ferra, don't call me that." 

"Whatever you say, master!" Ferra replied with an impish grin.

Flash felt his eye twitch, but decided to press on, "Tell me, what am I looking at?"

Ferra giggled, "Why that's your dinner, silly!"

"Dinner...right…"

There was no other word to describe it but insane. Before him, underneath the towering canopy of ancient trees that marked the heart of the village, was what could only be described as an apotheosis of a feast lay before him. In the center of the grand table, large enough for 50 ponies to sit around, arranged among countless other savory dishes prepared with supreme skill and care, sat an utterly enormous roasted boar the size of a small carriage, glistening with a mango reduction glaze that caught the flickering firelight, releasing a mouthwatering aroma into the night so tantalizing that Flash thought that it might tempt even the herbivores among them into trying a bite.

Alongside the otherworldly centerpiece, were platters adorned with exotic fruits, meticulously carved and bursting with vibrant colors, lining the table. Juicy slices of succulent melons, exotic mangoes, and ripe papayas mingled with native fruits that Flash could not begin to identify were laid out for the guests who might be less inclined to partake of the main course. A main course made possible, if the fresh set of lines carved into Ferra's hooves were anything to go by, by the disturbingly joyful murder pony at his side, positively brimming with glee.

Flash swallowed, his throat feeling dry at the realization that this monstrous beast, probably large enough to require an entire squad of trained soldiers to slay, was taken down singlehoofedly by the mare he had fought earlier, making him wonder if his victory over her had been some lucky fluke. 

"Ferra, did you hunt that monster all by yours-OW!"

Ferra had unexpectedly bashed his hip with a brutal headbutt, an exuberant, "YES!" accompanying her rather painful display of affection.

Flash hissed, rubbing his bruised thigh, "Celestia's beard! What the hay was that for Ferra-" His next words died in his throat as did the glare on his face the moment he looked down to see the little pony smiling up at him with a look of utterly disarming innocence. Her yellow eyes sparkled with laughter, her tail wiggling like that of a puppy happy to see the one they loved. 

Is this mare for real? Flash pondered to himself, You put your hide at risk just to get me dinner?! She must really believe in this whole 'lifedebt' thing! Which means... He grit his teeth, forcing himself to smile so as not to scream as the realization hit him like a buck to the face, I'm responsible for her now... He knew he would have to find a way out of this later, for both their sakes. But for now, he simply sighed in resignation, reaching out to appreciatingly scratch one of her soft ears, "It's, wonderful Ferra, thank you so much for this."

The happy pony emitted a pleased purr from her throat, a sound that Flash didn't know that pony's were capable of, while rotating her head into his touch, clearly enjoying her first ever ear scritch. 

Stepping up to his side, Sanguina, adorned in a regal cloak woven with intricate patterns, smiled approvingly down at them.

"Well then, shall we begin?"



Bloodsport suppressed an irritated snarl as he prowled the village's perimeter, his wine-addled mind making decision making all the more difficult. He couldn't believe that Obsidian had gone behind his back, spilling their carefully crafted plan to nearly half a dozen other ponies in the tribe.



"Just how many others did you tell Obsidian?!" Bloodsport hissed through clenched teeth, glaring daggers at the four other ponies milling about behind his dark-coated partner.

Obsidian rolled his eyes, "Oh get over yourself Bloodsport, did you really think we would be able to take down that creature on our own? He defeated Ferra in single combat for Sanguina's sake! We need the backup if this is going to work. Just meet at the rendezvous point after sundown like we agreed and let me handle the rest."



Bloodsport snorted in frustration, hating the idea of splitting the human with anypony else. Though he hated to admit it, Obsidian did have a point.

That creature did defeat Ferra, how can I take down such a monster on my own?! The thought was a chilling one to consider, and he didn't like the odds of trying to jump the human himself. Even if he managed to gain the element of surprise, there was no guarantee that he would be able to overpower the strange visitor on his own.

Think! Think! He accosted himself, regretting that he had more to drink than he should have in the attempt to calm his frayed nerves. 

He thought back to the fight between the human and Ferra again, trying to remember something, some sort of weakness that he might be able to exploit; and then it hit him.

Ferra, he realized, She became so unbelievably powerful after getting its blood, and so did Hunter! Recalling the way their pack leader had practically left an afterimage in his wake after sampling the human's blood offering.

Bloodsport's smiled as the image of the canteen filled with the precious fluid drifted across the forefront of his hazy mind, and the realization that the Queen had left it unattended. He shuddered at the thought of what would happen if he were caught, but quickly overcame any misgivings with the assurances that he would just sneak a sip, just enough to give him the boost he needed to ensure victory.

And then I'll show Obsidian, I'll show him that I never needed him or his brilliant plans! Ignoring the hiccup that rattled his body, Bloodsport shook his head, taking a quick look to make sure nopony else was around before slowly, silently, making his way towards the Queen's longhouse.



The vibrant sounds of drums and rhythmic singing in the native ponies' curious tongue filled the air as the sun dipped below the horizon, casting a warm glow over the tribe's village. Colorful banners swayed gently in the breeze, decorating the huts and creating a festive atmosphere.

Though a bit stilted at first, it did not take long for the Diomedians to warm up to their guests, especially when the wine began to flow. Eventually laughter and conversation echoed through the village as both Equestrians and natives shared stories and experiences, breaking barriers of language and culture until the air was filled with a contagious sense of joy and ease.

Flash was seated to Sanguina's right as the guest of honor while Ferra sat attentively next to him, attending to his every need no matter how politely he tried to decline it. As the evening wore on, the Queen wasted no time in peppering the human with a flurry of questions, everything from his peculiar nature and the present state of Equestria, to how he came to such a position in Celestia's Royal Guard. He was happy enough to answer her questions, and it didn't hurt that she was a marvelous conversationalist with a wit and genuine charm of personality that made her the life of the party.

"Haha! So your mate is a changeling, no wonder I could smell her magic about you!" Sanguina said with an amused grin.

Flash felt a touch of heat warm his cheeks at the mention of his wife, "No, no, she's a human like me, she simply has the magic of a changeling, sort of like how I have the magic of a pegasus."

"So that makes her at least part changeling, yes? Just as you are part pegasus?" Sanguina responded, her eyes glimmering with mischief and delight. "Has she bore you any young yet?"

Flash felt his cheeks turn uncomfortably hot, he cleared his throat, "Ahem, we are expecting, yes. Twins, actually."  Sanguina grinned at the admission,

"Ah ha! And not even a year into your marriage! You have a most fruitful union young Flash, may you be abundantly blessed and sire a long lineage of offspring!" She exclaimed while raising a polished stone goblet of wine in a toast, to which the ponies at table exuberantly joined in. 

Flash tried not to blush further with the embarrassment of once more being made the center of attention. At the same time however, he felt a growing unease about the information that Sharps had relayed to him earlier in the evening, how the particularly observant colt had overheard a few of the tribesponies discussing an ambush of the human later that night. Flash had thanked Sharps for his vigilance and asked him to discretely inform the rest of their team, but had declined to tell Sanguina yet, lest the information turned out to be nothing more than the idle chat between two immature colts and the Queen take offense to the suggestion that her ponies would try to harm him after she had extended her protection to him.

She probably wouldn't appreciate that very much, Flash thought with a sigh.

A stirring in his lap brought him out of his inner debate as he glanced down at the small, gray bundle of warm fluff that was the small foal asleep in his lap. Flash smiled, and used his free hand to gently pet the little pony slumbering there. At some point in the evening, Rose Dust had dropped the sleepy little foal she had been carrying into his lap as she walked by, smirking sweetly as she went. The little one wasted no time in immediately latching on to Flash's left thumb, causing him to wince as he felt sharp little teeth just barely break the skin, drawing a few drops of blood; it quickly fell asleep, sucking on his thumb like a pacifier all the while.

Hmph, enjoy the snack little guy. Just don't get a nightmare and bite my finger off and we can stay friends, alright? Flash mused with a smirk, idly wondering if Luna monitored the dreams of these ponies as well, he'd ask her about it later. Politely excusing himself to have an after dinner stroll, Flash rose from his seat, taking the sleeping foal which was small enough to hold along his left forearm with him. He kept the little thing hidden behind the fold of his cloak, seeing no reason to disturb its slumber, nevermind that it still had not released his thumb. Ferra perked up as he moved and left her seat as well, intent on following him.

"Ferra, you don't have to follow me everywhere." He said with an exasperated smile.

"Why not?" She asked, tilting her head to one side genuinely confused. Rather than try to explain to her his discomfort in always having a shadow and seeing that he might actually hurt her feelings if he asked her to stay, he relented,

"Ah, nevermind. Come on, why don't you show me around your home?" Maybe I can tell you about Sharp's little observation from before and see if it's a good idea to tell your mother.

She grinned and eagerly complied, walking just ahead of him and to his left. The pair of them made their way around the smaller tables that surrounded the main one they had been seated at. Flash spotted Sugar Rush at one of them, in the middle of one of his boisterous stories about his homeland to the delight of the engrossed ponies around him. Several other of the villagers eyed him as he walked by, and he nodded respectfully at them which seemed to put them at ease as they flashed toothy grins back at him.

The night had grown cool, and the sound of crickets and other night critters created a chorus of background noise that wasn't altogether unpleasant. Flash glanced at the orange pony at his side, noticing that her yellow eyes glowed faintly in the reflected light of her night vision. Huh, just like thestrals, neat.

"So Ferra," Flash began after they had made their way away from the larger gathering and began to walk between the many huts that made up the perimeter of the village, "How do you feel about, you know, having to leave your homeland to come follow a guy like me around?"

She flashed him a happy grin, "I think it's great! I've always wanted to see the world outside of my home." She gleefully exclaimed.

"Yeah, but, wouldn't you rather stay with your fellow ponies? I know what your mother said and all after our fight, but,"

Ferra stopped walking and looked up at him, her smile fading slightly for the first time, "But what?" She asked with a flick of her ear. Her eyes had suddenly taken on the edge of a hard look in them, one that seemed to look right through him, scrutinizing his intentions. Flash paused as well, calling to mind what he had observed earlier during their fight, that her cheerful, slightly crazy disposition in reality masked a very cunning intellect, one that took notice of every tell and detail. It was a rather disturbing combination. 

She would be a right terror at poker, Flash thought for a moment before choosing his next words carefully. "Well, it seems kind of unfair, don't you think? Having to leave everything you've known? Dedicating your entire life to somepony you've just met? I truly appreciate the gesture, but-"

A low, warning growl deep within her throat interrupted him, causing Flash to realize he had inadvertently offended her; he tensed slightly, making sure to tuck his grip on the foal resting under his cloak just in case he had to move suddenly.

In the blink of an eye, she was suddenly standing on her hind legs, her hooves resting on his shoulders so that she could look him right in the eye, glaring with controlled outrage. Flash for his part just managed to keep a calm composure, even though he was once again flabbergasted at just how quickly this pony could move when she wanted to. She's just like her mother...

She simply starred at him. For more than a minute, Ferra's challenging gaze peered deep into Flash's two-toned eyes, searching for any sign of weakness or hint of disrespect; her lip was slightly curled in a partial snarl, allowing the moonlight to reflect off of some of the sharp tips of her gleaming white fangs. Flash held her gaze, calmly letting her search his intentions while at the same time, not daring to back down from her challenge. After what felt like an eternity, he saw some of the tension leave her face as she exhaled hotly through her nostrils, her snarl disappearing.

"Don't make light of my life, master." She said softly, though her words carried the force of a continental shift. Flash didn't answer, so she continued. "Life, is the most precious thing to us. You spared mine, though you had no obligation to. On top of that, you saved me from a bloodfrenzy. Such a precious gift, requires its due in return. If I didn't do anything less than watch after yours, I would be disgraced, as would my fellow ponies." Ferra said, pausing a moment to let what she said sink in before concluding  "So don't make light of my duty, of my choice, ever again."

Flash couldn't help but be in awe of her slightly, Wow, here I am, thinking I'm doing her some sort of favor by releasing her from what could be a lifetime of indentured servitude and she almost threatens to bite my face off for even suggesting it. That's some crazy kind of loyalty...

Flash nodded slowly once, a small, almost delirious smile tugging at one side of his mouth as he accepted his fate, "I understand Ferra, and I'm sorry. I'll never question it again," He paused before adding, "And thank you for looking after me." He said, letting genuine gratitude and appreciation for her warm his words. 

Like a switch had been flipped, her bright smile and bubbly disposition instantly returned, immediately draining all the tension from the moment; it felt a bit unnatural. 

"Great! Though if you're ever about to be captured, is it true that you really want me to eat you, just like Mister Lumen said? ‘Cause I think that’s a great idea!" She said with an excited, hopeful wiggle of her black tail.

Flash felt his eye twitch again as he made a mental note to throttle a certain unicorn later, but before he could manage a reply, he felt a familiar tingle on his forehead, one caused by the charm Sunset Shimmer had placed on him as a young boy, and that he knew from long experience indicated malicious intent and immanent danger.

He saw Ferra, who still had her forelimbs resting on his shoulders, squint in confusion as she noticed what he knew would be the glowing outline of a shimmering, two-toned red and yellow sun, Sunset's cutie mark, appear on his forehead. "Hey, what's that-"

Time seemed to slow down as Flash placed his hand on Ferra's chest, shoving her to one side while immediately ducking under the attack he had only just sensed barreling through the magnetic field of their surroundings. At the same time, he tightened his grip, taking special care to keep the slumbering foal still cradled in his left arm secure; the snap of teeth whipping by his ear a telling sign of just how dangerously close he had come to a hosting a state funeral.

Time resumed with the loud crash and splintering of wood caused by his assailant overshooting his mark and slamming through the wall of an empty hut. Ferra immediately rolled to her hooves without missing a beat, springing in front of Flash in a defensive posture, an angry snarl curling her lips.

Out of the wreckage burst a white stallion with a blood-red mane and tail, and Flash instantly recognized on the small equine the same crazed look of blood-frenzy that had afflicted Ferra. The pony's lips were curled in a gruesome grimace while his eyes sported a wild, unfocused tenor.

"Ferra, fall back!" Flash instantly commanded. He winced again as he felt the tiny foal still in his grasp tense in its slumber at the sound of his raised voice; tiny sharp teeth sinking further into his thumb.

"Master?!" She countered in confusion, flicking an ear back at him while not daring to take her eyes off of the threat.

"Trust me!" He assured her.

As one, the two of them sprang back rapidly as the wild stallion leapt at them with a savage roar, hitting the ground the two of them had just occupied with such force that it threw up a cloud of dirt. Moving like a pair of blurs, Flash and Ferra covered the short distance separating them from the well-lit village center, sliding to a halt and turning to face their attacker within sight of the other ponies.

Gotta make sure we got plenty of witnesses for this next part, Flash thought while casting a glace at Ferra who readied her stance, snarling a challenge at the charging stallion.

Quickly reaching into the small of his back with his free hand, Flash drew the spear Shadowbane from it's scabbard and in a single, fluid motion, whipped it out from beneath his swirling dark cloak; with a single thought, the enchanted spear immediately responded to his will, extending from its condensed form to it's full length in an instant.

Flash couldn't help but feel an excited grin begin to pull at his lips at the exhilarating sensation of power he always experienced when drawing the peerless weapon; his magic harmonizing with that of the alicorn who forged it. Shadowbane practically hummed with crackling energy, making if feel as if the weapon was alive, eager to join in the fight at hand, thrilled at the chance to finally shine again.

And shine it did. Sending a surge of lightning down his arm, Flash held the spear aloft over his head, right as the crazed pony leapt straight at them again, jaws agape, only to tumble to the ground with a cry of pain as the dusky spear head ferociously ignited with all the collective intensity of Celesita's day focused into a single point. So great was the light unleashed by that incandescent glow of unmatched fury that it caused the entire surrounding region to be illuminated; consumed in rays so bright that the portion of the night sky directly above the village temporarily traded the inky blackness of night for the bright blue of a high noonday sun.

Flash meanwhile, didn't take his wary gaze off of the pony now writhing on the ground before him, desperately pressing its hooves against its tortured eyes, all while ignoring the gasps of Ferra and the other ponies gathered behind him as they starred in awe with unharmed eyes at the dazzling display of light being cast by the enchanted spear. It pained Flash to see the poor colt suffer, but he had to be certain that he had managed to blast the crazed pony back to its senses.

After another moment, sensing that the danger had now passed, Flash slowly tapered off the energy he fed to Shadowbane, causing the light to gradually wink out of existence, returning the spear to it's ordinary appearance. The gathered ponies murmured in wonder as all eyes turned on the human and the pony still moaning in pain at his feet.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Hunter, aka Frowny McMunchface, the blue pony Flash remembered first meeting on the beach, shouted while rushing forward with a pair of spear-wielding warriors; he looked as cheerful as ever. At the same time, a teleport burst behind Flash, depositing Lumen Dawn and Sugar Rush at the ready, the latter somehow managing to appear  intimidating even though he was sporting a large, feathered headdress for some reason; Rose Dust and Slipstream joined soon after, dropping down from the night sky as silently as shadows to land on either side of their human leader. The two sides eyed each other cautiously, but not hostilely. 

"Flash Skies!" Sanguina exclaimed, her ponies parting, allowing her to stride up to the human's side; she looked from his spear and down to her subdued pony, a serious look on her face. "What was that? What was that light? And why did it harm my pony?!" She demanded, though not unkindly.

"Because the light from Shadowbane will only harm those of ill-intent." Flash calmly replied, remembering what Celestia had told him when she first gifted him the weapon. "This pony launched an unprovoked attack against myself and Ferra, I was merely defending us."

"N-no! He's lying!" Bloodsport weakly protested, his eyes still unable to focus.

"Liar!" Ferra hissed.

"Silence!" Sanguina commanded, cutting off the growing chorus of whispers. Flash remained perfectly still as the queen looked him up and down, as if searching for something. She pulled back his cloak and her face momentarily softened with a glassy-eyed look of sympathy when she spotted the sleeping foal still tucked in the human's grip. She smiled gratefully at Flash before turning her hardened gaze on Bloodsport; a deep growl rumbled in her throat.

"I see no wound on the human, and yet I can smell his blood on your breath. Care to explain this discrepancy?!" 

While his sense of smell was not as sharp as the Diomedians, it was still far sharper than any normal human's; and now that she had mentioned it, Flash could indeed detect the scent of blood coming from the pony known as Bloodsport. Oh buck it all, the canteen! He realized.

Bloodsport didn't answer, but merely trembled where he lay on the ground before his queen. Sanguina's eyes narrowed viciously, her palpable ire casting an icy chill over the gathered crowd.

"I see," she ominously intoned, taking an imperious stomp forward. "And what do you have to say for your treachery?"

Bloodsport cast a frightened glance at Flash, eyes pleading for mercy, "It, it wasn't just my idea! It was Obsidian, he, he tricked me! He said that the human was a threat, that we should take action for our ponies, he was setting up an ambush!"

Sanguina lowered her head to the cowering pony, her voice barely above a whisper which did nothing to dampen the terror induced by her soft words, "Oh? And where, praytell, is Obsidian now?"



"MMMMPHHH!!!"

Obsidian was having a bad day. Everything had been going so well, his plan stood ready to be executed without flaw. It seemed that nothing could go wrong, everything was ready, nothing could stop them! Of course, until something did. Even though he had seen it, he still couldn't believe it. It was suddenly there. In the midst of them. All around them. Even above them! Making himself and four seasoned hunters who had each taken down beasts appear as incompetent and helpless as blind foals stumbling in the dark. 

The sight of everything being undone in an instance by an anomaly that should not be with such speed and precision was an affront to his very understanding of the world. He wanted to vent his outrage, to curse the scrawny mainlander who had somehow managed to take his perfectly prepared ambush apart with such humiliating ease; but as it was, with the vine now tied around his muzzle, the most eloquent thing he could manage at the moment was more, "MMMMPHHH!"

Obsidian glared, but the tan unicorn did not even look at him, infuriatingly remaining as silent and expressionless as a stone, as if he had done nothing more interesting than sweep a floor, and instead took one last survey of his hoofiwork. Two ponies tied up in a slightly twitching, groaning sack, with another pony strung up by his hooves in the trees, completely unconscious and hanging like meat. A fourth garroted to the trunk of a tree, struggling on the very tips of his hind hoofs so as to not be strangled; and Obsidian himself hogtied and muzzled like hunted game. The black pony felt himself embarrassingly flinch as the unicorn's cold, indifferent blue eyes fell on him.

With a satisfied snort, Sharp Shot affixed his helmet back on his head, turned hoof, and walked back towards the village, extinguishing the blue light at the tip of his horn as he went, leaving the soundly defeated Diomedians alone in the dark.

Obsidian was having a very bad day.
> Just Desserts
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Flash stifled a yawn as he stood on the white-sanded beach, watching his team prepare their boat for departure. It had been a long night, and an even longer morning. Sanguina had been on the warpath, insisting that nopony would rest until all guilty parties who had betrayed her trust and threatened her guest were found and punished. Once more, he found himself being thrown another diplomatic curveball when the queen had asked him to choose the punishment for the ponies who had literally plotted to kill and devour him, even going so far as to suggest that she ought to give him their hides in retribution, which served to put the fear of God into them. 

In the end, Flash had pleaded for leniency, asking that Sanguina give them the equivalent of community service, which seemed to impress her in addition to earning him the awe and gratitude of the ashamed prisoners; he argued that his very presence represented an unprecedented temptation, a reality that he would be more mindful of in the future if he ever came to visit again.

A short distance away stood Sanguina with a small contingent of her ponies behind her, including Hunter. The regal mare was presently talking to her daughter in a gentle tone, speaking in their native tongue. Flash couldn't help but smile at the tender scene; even though he did not understand what she was saying, the tone clearly communicated a special love. It made him pause and think of his own mother, Bright Skies. She was too far away to communicate with telepathically, but he could still feel the warmth of her life-force within his own heart; he was grateful that was something he could always feel regardless of distance.

Flash watched as Ferra pranced once in place, stomping her front hooves into the sand, smiling up at her mother. The happy pony said something briefly in response in their language before nuzzling into the larger mare's neck; Sanguina responded with an affectionate nuzzle of her own. Opening her eyes, Sanguina looked over at Flash and smiled, motioning with her head for him to now approach. 

"Ready to go, Ferra?" Flash asked as he stepped up next to them. 

"You bet!" She exclaimed, prancing gleefully in a circle around the human before giving him a small shove with her head.

Flash staggered, but managed to keep his footing this time, becoming more accustomed to Ferra's rather kinetic methods of showing affection. He chuckled, giving her soft mane a quick ruffle, "Great, why don't you go give the others a hoof? Especially Lumen, he'd love it if you would help him. I'll be there in a minute."

As she sprinted off to the boat, Sanguina stepped forward, smiling warmly at him. "You know, she's taken rather quickly to you. I think that is a good sign for the future."

"Don't worry your highness, I'll make sure she's safe with me in Equestria."

Sanguina nodded, "I thank you for that, but also, keep safe yourself, little one. Don't think I didn't notice yesterday how marked your young body already is by battle; I would hate to see one with such a good heart lose himself before his time. Do not allow your selflessness to outweigh your own sense of worth, child." 

Flash couldn't help but chuckle at that, causing Sanguina to raise an eyebrow,

"What is it?"

Flash shook his head, "Nothing, it's just that, well, it's funny how so many mares in my life end up trying to mother me, that's all."

Sanguina smiled sweetly at him, "Well, perhaps you need it more than others." She glanced behind herself and motioned with her head. Flash watched as Hunter stepped forward, holding a plain wooden box about the size of a loaf of bread. Sanguina opened it, and pulled out a curved dagger about eight inches long sheathed in a brown leather scabbard.

"Here, a small token of my appreciation to you, dear child," She said while handing him the weapon.

Flash eyes widened as he accepted the dagger, which felt surprisingly light in his hands. The hilt was tightly bound in a dark brown leather, and the pommel appeared to be fashioned from a highly polished, smooth black diamond. Drawing it from it's sheath, Flash was surprised to see the sharp blade was not any kind of metal, but what appeared to be bone, a deep white in color. It was smooth but incredibly sharp; he noticed that the inner edge was slightly serrated with fine teeth.

"It was carved from a dragon's fang," Sanguina said in answer to his unspoken question, "Taken a very long time ago from a very cranky dragon by a younger and much more foalish mare who thought she was invincible." She said with a wink.

"Wow, it's incredible," Flash murmured in amazement. Dragon bones of any kind were exceedingly rare, and held magical properties, many of which were not even fully understood, that many a mage and researcher would give just about anything to get their hooves on. It was quite the gift.

Flash pulled back his cloak and immediately fixed the dagger to his belt with pride, "Thank you your highness, I am honored to receive such an item from one such as yourself."

Sanguina nodded in approval, "May it serve to keep you safe in your travels my dear, and perhaps, serve as a reminder to not carelessly rush into the jaws of danger so swiftly?"

Flash laughed, "Well, so long as they're not your jaws, your highness." That earned him a laugh from her, one that reached her eyes. Sanguina shook her head,

"Don't tempt me little one, you're still a treat to us." 

She then embraced him with a forelimb, giving his forehead a small, tender nuzzle. "Farewell, Flash Skies. Thank you for your efforts to bring peace between us and your ponies. I look forward to when we may meet again."

Separating, Flash graciously thanked her in return for her kindness to him before turning and walking back towards the boat, the bright sun and blue skies above made the calm sea sparkle in beauty. As he approached, he noticed another pony, a stunning white mare with a silver mane and tail, Natarra he recalled, gingerly approach the boat and tap Slipstream on the shoulder.

The pegasus turned and started as she smiled at him; she leaned forward and whispered something into his ear before giving his cheek a small nuzzle. She smiled at him again before turning and walking slowly back from where she came. Slipstream stood stock still like a stature, his mouth hanging open and his wings hanging limply to the sand.

"Hummina-hummina-hummina..." He mumbled as Flash walked past him,

"C'mon lover colt, we have to get moving if we want to beat the tide." He said with a smirk.

"But...but...she...I..."

Flash sighed and rolled his eyes before hefting the love-struck stallion over one shoulder, carrying him towards the boat. "It's alright buddy, she'll be here when we come back."

Slipstream feebly reached out with his forehooves, "But she's here now..."



Sanguina stood on the beach, watching the small black craft sail away until it was nearly out of sight. She sighed, a sense of relief joining the slight sadness in her heart, but one that was also tempered with hope for the future. Hunter approached his Queen, standing loyally at her side. 

"A 'life-debt'?" He remarked, finally breaking the silence. "I don't think I've ever heard of that one outside of the history scrolls." 

Sanguina smiled, not taking her eyes off of the horizon, "Oh hush, Ferra needed to get off the island at some point. And this way, we'll finally be able to find out what dear old Celestia has been up to after all of these years; and through the eyes and ears of one of our own no less."

Hunter glanced down in thought for a moment before looking back up at her, "Do you think it's safe?"

"Of course Ferra will be safe, she is more than capable of taking care of herself."

"I wasn't talking about her."

Sanguina's lips twitched slightly in an amused smirk, one rear hoof nervously tapping the sand, "Probably."



"Farewell and adieu to you fair island ladies...Farewell and adieu to you ladies with fangs...For we've received orders set a sail back to mainland, and never-a-more shall we see you again..." Slipstream mewled sadly to himself while looking forlornly at the shrinking island, his forelimbs dangling over the side of their boat; the blush had yet to fade from his face.

"Aww, cheer up Slips!" Rose Dust said, placing a comforting wing across his withers. "I'd say mission accomplished! You wanted to meet a nice mare, and you did!" Slipstream uttered a mournful whimper in reply.

At the front of the boat, Flash noticed Ferra had Lumen trapped in the bow, jabbering incessantly to him about all the ways she thought they could work together. The unicorn's eye twitched as he cast a glance at the human that screamed 'help'; Flash smiled and waved. Turning to the rear of the craft, he joined Sugar Rush and Sharps, the latter of whom was manning the tiller.

"We make for home, Captain?" Sugar inquired. Flash smiled and shook his head,

"Not yet Sarge, we got one more little courtesy call to make first."



Post Haste confidently climbed the luxurious wooden staircase that led to his office. It had been a long day, but there was still time before the sunset to take care of a few end of the day details. He was in a good mood, word had reached him a few days prior from his well-placed sources that Celestia had dispatched a team of specialists from the Royal Guard to deal with the problem he had reported to the Princess. He liked that, the fact that the government had acted so quickly on his complaint and that the problems he had encountered with these savage island outliers over the last several months would soon be handled, and at the taxpayers' expense no less. 

He had briefly looked into the possibility of hiring mercenaries for the job in case nothing was done, so he was glad to hear that a solution that didn't pull at his purse strings would soon be had. It was too convenient; soon this mess would be somepony else's problem and he could finally seize hold of the new zoning permits around the contested sea lanes which would see a further expansion of his company's holdings within the merchant guild.

The brown earth pony smiled to himself at the thought of all the favors he would collect from the other members of the guild who would be lining up for a chance to extort profits from new areas that until now had been officially off limits. True, he had to omit that little detail that his ships had been in an area that they weren't authorized to be in when the attack had occurred, but what Celestia didn't know wouldn't hurt him. 

Most ponies wouldn't dare to try to pull a fast one on the Princess, she had been at this game for far too long to be easily fooled. But Post Haste was not most ponies. No, he had taken risks that others were too scared to even consider, he had worked hard, pushed the limits, bent and even broken rules when necessary. He had gotten quite good at gaming the system to his advantage, and there was no doubt that all of his efforts had paid off handsomely. He was head of the merchant guild. Nobles at court begged for his influence and favor. The empire he had built was secure, and if he had anything to say about it, would remain so for years to come.

Post Haste reached into the inner pocket of his green vest to retrieve the key to his office, the door of which was constructed of choice mahogany that he had paid an exorbitant price to have inlaid with a various number of wards and the very best of security spells, ensuring that nopony could sneak in to have a peek at the inner workings of his business models, the records of which he kept so meticulously. Such efforts had allowed him to forecast business models and plans that left most of his competitors in the dust. So one might imagine the shock he felt when the door to his office swung freely inwards the instant he pushed the key into the lock.

Swinging the door open in alarm, Post Haste felt his heart skip a beat at what he saw. There, sitting in one of the guest chairs in front of his desk, sat Celestia's human, casually flipping through one of his logs with an air of indifference, acting as if he hadn't even noticed the pony walk into the room. A stack of logs sat on the small table next to him.

"What?! You, but...how, HOW did you get in here?!" Post Haste demanded.

"Through the door." The human calmly responded, not even bothering to look up. With one hand he turned another page in the log, while his other remained occupied gently scratching the ears of the stunning orange mare resting at his feet. Poste Haste hadn't noticed her in the dim lighting as the office was only illuminated by a few rays of the late afternoon sun peaking through the half drawn curtains. Now that his eyes adjusted to the low light, he could clearly see how beautiful she was. Her black mane and hooves were like polished ebony, and her features smooth but powerful in appearance; her eyes were closed in the appearance of sleep, and there seemed to be an odd purring coming from her for some reason.

Snapping away from the pleasant distraction, Post Haste glared at the human, "That's a lie! The door-"

"Is warded?" Flash interrupted, again without looking at the pony, "Yes, with some of the best spells I've encountered so far, must have cost a pretty bit; but they were still no match for my battle mage, he is quite gifted."

Post Haste's eyes widened as a white unicorn in the same style of black armor being worn by the human stepped out of the shadows in the far corner of the room, a dismissive, haughty look in his golden eyes.

That's Noble Dawn's brat! Post Haste realized in alarm. Noble Dawn was his archrival at court, whose family had been the main armorer for the Equestrian Guard for generations.

"And as far as the lock?" Flash continued, snapping the pony back to attention, "Let's just say that I know a clever bat."

Post Haste jumped at the sound of the office door slamming shut behind him. He spun around to see a bright grey thestral with vibrant pink eyes and a deep indigo mane leaning against the door, a small, unfriendly smile on her pretty face, the dim light gleaming off her sharp fangs; she too was equipped in the same style of black armor.

The earth pony backed off a few steps, fuming with outrage. He turned around only to see a second, smaller unicorn and a pegasus had joined Lumen; as well as a huge, hulking earth pony, all of them clad in the same dark armor.

Hot anger burned in Post Haste's heart. How dare they, how dare any of them intrude on his privacy! Absolutely nopony was allowed in here but him, who did they think they were?!

"Oh, do any of you braindead morons have the slightest comprehension of the mess you've just gotten yourself into?" Post Haste snarled; nopony answered him, pretending as if his presence didn't matter. Post Haste grit his teeth, glaring hatefully at them all, but especially at the arrogant alien sitting in his chair.

"Not as big of a mess as you're in, apparently." Flash finally said, "I think Princess Celestia would be quite keen to hear about your little side hustles in reserved territories. Trespassing, trafficking in stolen goods, unauthorized intrusions on sovereign states, criminal negligence, ponyslaughter? Oh, and lets throw in obstruction of justice for good measure. You've been a very bad little pony, Mr. Post Haste."

The way the human talked to him, like a parent scolding a child, even though the miserable whelp was not even half his own age, only infuriated Post Haste all the more. It was same way Celestia had always talked down to him and other ponies; he truly was her pet.

"This is a outrage!" Post Haste angrily exclaimed, "You come onto my property, with no warrant-"

A knock at the door cut him off midsentence, Flash smiled.

"Oh, speak of the devil, whoever could that be?"

Post Haste jaw dropped as he watched the thestral open the door to let in a slim, pale coated unicorn with a neatly combed brown mane holding a rolled up scroll in his dull grey magic. The pony wore large framed glasses and a tacky looking tweed jacket.

"I'm here to serve a warrant for the search of premises of a Mr. Post Haste?" He announced in a nasally, official sounding voice. Post Haste's heart twisted as he caught a glimpse of a pair of city guards in their signature silver-steel armor waiting further outside. 

Flash motioned for the unicorn to approach, "Wow Quick Note, you work fast! I wasn't expecting to see anypony for at least another hour."

"Hmph, your praise is hardly necessary in this case Captain Skies, I would be embarrassed if I couldn't perform such a standard assignment efficiently, especially in matters of the crown." He said while adjusting his spectacles.

"Warrant?!" Post Haste blustered, "What are you talking about you foal, let me see that!" He snatched the scroll angrily and unfurled it, eyes racing over the words only to feel his stomach sink when he saw the Royal Crest of the High Court at the bottom of the parchment. At the same time, his heart soared with a glimmer of hope when he saw no signature affixed at the bottom to grant authorization for the warrant.

"Ha! This edict is worthless, it's not even authorized!" Post Haste crowed triumphantly, only to flinch when the document was snatched from his hooves so quickly that it seemed to have vanished. He looked and back and forth only to see the human signing the document with a quill hoofed to him by Quick Note.

"It is now," Flash replied before rolling up the warrant and handing it back to the court clerk.

"What?! But, but you can't just-"

"Actually, I can," Flash interrupted, "I have point authority to approve on-the-spot search warrants in regards to cases involving violations of international law, and especially when it's related to Equestrian National Security. The only caveat is that the court gets to send their own investigators to monitor my search."

"Will that be all, Captain Skies?" Quick Note asked in his nasally tone, sounding impatient, "I would like to begin the process of cataloging now if you don't mind." Flash smiled,

"Just a moment Quick Note, I need a few minutes yet with our gracious host before you and the other fine officers of the court dismantle the place," he replied.

"Hmph, see that you keep it brief, I'll be waiting outside." Quick Note said before turning hoof and exiting the room with his nose held high, Rose Dust closing the door behind him.

For the first few moments, nopony spoke; the only sounds in the room being the low purring coming from the mare resting at the human's feet and the soft noise of another page turning as Flash continued to help himself to the merchant's private logs. Post Haste was practically shaking with rage now, glaring with murderous hate at the human.

"Oh, you think you're going to cause problems for me, human?! Or any of you for that matter!" Post Haste shouted, turning about at them all. "Your careers, your reputations, your very lives as you knew them are OVER!" He laughed, feeling his courage grow at the thought of the reprisals he would visit on them. "Do you really think you could just waltz in here like this, violate my privacy, and simply walk away without any consequences?! Don't you realize who I am?! Whatever it is you think you know about me, whatever it is you think you've learned, none of it will stick! And in the meantime, I think I'll make it my personal hobby to ruin each of your lives one by one, starting with that wretched whore of yours, human!"

A chill seemed to go through the room, and Post Haste could almost swear that he just felt the temperature suddenly drop. Though he was trying his best to get some kind of a reaction out of the enigmatic creature before him, the human didn't seem to be paying attention to his venom laced rant, so he furiously pressed on, "Oh, did I touch a nerve? The big bad human angry? Ha! By the time I'm done with you, Cloudsdale, no, all of Equestria will be screaming for the expulsion of both of you alien abominations back to whatever disgusting hole you crawled out of! You'll be lucky to-"

A deep growl rippled through the room cutting Post Haste off, his eyes immediately shot to the orange mare now stirring from her rest. He gaped in growing horror as the mare stretched and yawned wide and slow, revealing a terrifying display of gleaming white fangs.  She affectionately leaned her head into Flash's hand, savoring the touch for a moment before her yellow cat eyes snapped open, locking on to the pony now trembling before her; the shimmering, merciless orbs reflecting a slight glow within the dim light of the room.

Post Haste felt his mouth go dry, his throat practically cinching close in terror. The beautiful mare he had been eyeing not moments earlier was in fact, a monster. "You-you brought one of those savages...here?" He whispered, all of his previous bluster and bravado quickly melting away. 

Flash placed his hand gently on Ferra's neck, "Peace Ferra, it's alright." The mare relaxed, slowly lowering her head back to her forelimbs, though her unblinking eyes remained focused on Post Haste, her gaze vicious.

"Sugar?" 

"Da Captain?" The massive earth pony responded, stepping up next to Flash who motioned for him to come close,

"Pozhaluysta, ubedites', chto nas ne bespokoyat," Flash said in a low voice.

Sugar smiled slightly and nodded, casting a knowing smirk at Post Haste, "Ponyal, Kapitan." 

Sugar Rush motioned with his head and as one, everypony in the room began to head towards the exit, save Flash and Ferra.

"Hey, hey! Where do you think you're all going?! Get back here! I'm, I'm not through with you yet!" Post Haste shouted, trying to sound in command, but for the life of him, he couldn't get the nervous tremor out of his voice, nor slow his heart now hammering away in his chest.

"Rose?" Flash called out as she held the door open for the others while they filed out; she snapped her gaze to him. "Would you be a dear and stay for a bit longer? I'll need another witness." She smiled and nodded before closing the door behind the last of her team and standing guard.

Post Haste stared in disbelief at her as all semblance of control that he thought he had still possessed left him. He turned round on Flash,

"Now, now see here, you have no right-"

"SIT. DOWN." The human ordered, his voice soft as a secret but as hard as iron.

Post Haste took one look at the human's blue and violet starburst eyes and instantly regretted it, there was no mercy to be found in them. Instead, he saw a cold, provoked fury, the likes of which instantly filled him with a slowly growing dread over his earlier, poor choice of words; he immediately fell to his plot before his trembling legs could give out beneath him.

Flash quietly closed the logbook in his lap and placed it neatly on the stack with the others. With his other hand, he continued to idly scratch behind one of Ferra's ears who remained glaring at the pony across from her, a vengeful look in her eyes.

"Now then, Mr. Post Haste. You and I are going to have a nice little chat about the importance of honesty, and about how Princess Celestia simply cannot wait to hear you tell her the whole truth about exactly what happened that day..."

Ferra growled, Post Haste whimpered.
> Tea for Two
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The corridors of Canterlot Castle seemed especially quiet to Ella as she followed her escort Dawn Shine towards Celestia's private study, the butter-cream colored earth pony with a light-blue mane and tail, brown eyes, and a feather-duster cutie mark setting a moderate pace for them both, as if the mare didn't want the human to strain herself.

Always so considerate, Ella thought to herself with a smile. She had always liked how gentle Celestia's head of household was, and thought that the little pony looked especially adorable in her little French maid uniform. She already saw all ponies as overwhelmingly cute since coming to this world, but the almost comical appearance of the mare's outfit only added another layer of it so that it now borderlined ridiculous; like dipping candy into a bowl of sugar.

Ella herself was wearing a black column skirt with A-lines around the midriff to allow room for her expanding belly which was also wrapped in a sea-blue sash. A white cloak with a light-green liner was affixed about her shoulders with a silver broach; the hood of the cloak raised to cover her golden hair. The entire ensemble, of course, was another design from Rarity, who did not even try to hide the fact that the color schemes she continued to design for her reflected those of a changeling, something that Ella found immensely amusing. 

Ella had been surprised when she had returned home early from the hospital only to find a sky chariot and an escort waiting for her outside her home in Ponyville, with an invitation to join Celestia for an afternoon tea, an invitation which she was happy to accept, knowing from experience that it meant she had an update for her on Flash and when he would be returning from his latest mission; that, and Celestia was a joy to be around.

She had been a little frustrated when Nurse Red Heart had sent her home early once more from her job at Ponyville General, but she really didn't have a choice in the matter, being that Red Heart was both her boss as well as being her OBGYN. Ella still couldn't get over how quickly the dedicated mare had studied and absorbed the medical manuals Flash had fetched for her from Earth so that she could take up the role, but Ella knew that it was for the best. With the strong likelihood that the two babies she was carrying would be anything but normal, human doctors from a very non-magical world would not be an option lest an obvious discrepancy be noticed in a routine checkup, like wings.

Yes, that had been the latest marvelous discovery during the magic enabled ultrasound that she underwent at the beginning of her second trimester, confirming a longstanding theory of Twilight's that the pegasi magic which Flash inherited from his mother Bright Skies had affected his entire biology, even down to the genetic level. Her resulting geek-out, or 'Twilighting' as she learned her friends called it, was the stuff of legends. Flash had ended up hiding in a closet just to get away from the young alicorn's obsessive need to conduct further research.

Still, the happiness that the incredible discovery had given her young husband was truly touching, so happy he was to learn that his children would potentially have something that he never had but longed for, the ability to fly.

"Here we are mistress Ella," Dawn Shine said, stopping outside and holding open the white and gold doors of Celestia's private study, "Princess Celestia will be with you shortly." Ella smiled,

"I told ya before Dawn, you don't have to call me that." She replied, her Brooklyn accent still noticeable even after being in Equestria for almost a year.

"Right, sorry mistress Ella, I mean, Ella! Sorry!" She blustered, looking down nervously, a slight blush in her face.

Ella chuckled, reaching down to gently scratch behind one of Dawn's soft ears, causing the little pony to look up in surprise, but at the same time, unable to hide the obvious delight visible in her eyes resulting from the pleasant sensation.

I could probably take over this world through the power of scritches, Ella mused to herself. Curious, Ella widened her perception, allowing her changeling senses to observe Dawn Shine's aura; it was positively blossoming with various emotions in a veritable cornucopia of colors: the bright gold of joy shot through with little streaks of the pale blue of uncertainty, the light green of curiosity, and all wreathed in the light pink of love and appreciation. It smelled like a mix between flowers, crushed spices, and fresh pastries; like warm cinnamon rolls fresh from the oven. The taste was-

Ella blinked and withdrew her senses, snapping herself out of the moment before she could get carried away.

"Heh, thanks for your help Dawn, I'll go wait for the Princess now." Ella said while withdrawing her hand. The little pony smiled and dipped her head,

"Of course Ella, I'm sure she'll be along shortly."

Closing the door, Ella leaned her back against it, sighing as she removed her hood and stared up at the ceiling.

"That was too close," she murmured in admonishment to herself, remembering what a bad idea it was to open her senses so freely without an appropriate food source on hand when she was hungry, or in this case, starving. It created an unnecessary temptation, never mind a potentially dangerous situation. Ella shuddered, remembering what happened to her when she had tried to simply ignore her new hunger when she had first gotten her magic; she ran her tongue over one of her small fangs, something she did without thinking whenever she got like this.

Ordinarily, Ella knew she could make it around a week between feedings on a full tank of love before her hunger began to make itself known. But with the growing energy demands of her pregnancy, she felt like she could barely make it a day now before starting to feel peckish; and Flash had been gone for more than two days now. For just as the twins had inherited their father's magic, they had apparently inherited their mother's, which created its own unique set of challenges; the amount of love they could consume from her in the course of a single day was impressive to say the least, to the point that passive feeding on whatever ambient love was floating around could no longer cut it. She felt them stir,

"I know babies, momma's hungry too," Ella said with a small, tired laugh, resting a hand on her belly. "Hopefully your father will be home soon and then we can all eat." Twilight and her other friends were normally a reliable fallback, they were always more than happy to share their love when Flash wasn't around. But they had been kind of busy the last few days and besides, Ella didn't like the idea of just popping in for an unannounced visit just as an excuse to feed.

Oh hey Applejack, how ya doing? Me? Oh nothin much, I just happened to be in the neighborhood, say, I know you're busy and all but if it ain't too much trouble, do you mind if I snack on you? Don't mind me!

"Yeah, that's totally not creepy at all," Ella said with a sigh, pushing herself off the door to walk about the study. The curtains had been drawn about the windows, casting a shadow over most of the room, but she didn't mind. Even the darkest nights were like daytime to her with her night vision. She was already familiar with the space, but still enjoyed looking around. There didn't appear to be any new additions in the floor to ceiling bookshelf that made up the back corner of the room behind Celestia's desk, which appeared less cluttered than usual. The white wingback chairs and glass tea table were still in their usual places, as was the large, white and gold trimmed padded dais by one of the windows.

Feeling a bit curious, Ella stepped over to it and ran her hand over its soft, silky surface; it felt nice. 

Celestia probably wouldn't mind if I sat here for a bit, she thought while sitting down, sinking into the soft material. The minutes went by, marked by the steady tick of the stately grandfather clock on the other side of the room. The relaxing sound combined with the comfort of the dais began to make the young woman feel a little sleepy. Ella thought about getting up and walking around to stay alert, but the dais felt warm, and she was already feeling a bit chilled because of her hunger.

Ella pulled her cloak a bit more tightly about her while stifling a yawn. Boy, it's been more than twenty minutes, she must be busy. She hesitated at first, but then slowly laid down on her side, tucking her legs up underneath her cloak. That felt nice, very nice. It couldn't hurt to just rest her eyes for a bit, right? She didn't want to be caught on Celestia's private lounge when she entered the room, but felt assured that she would sense the Princess' aura approaching long before that happened and would quickly compose herself. After all, she wasn't going to fall asleep, she just was going to rest a little, yes, just a little rest...



Warm.

Ella felt so wonderfully, supremely, warm and comfortable. That was the first thought to cross her sleepy mind. It felt as if she were cuddling a cloud, such was the softness that surrounded her, except that this cloud was warm, and seemed to be cuddling her in return. It smelled nice too, like fresh earth, clean air, and wild flowers. It also seemed to be exuding a most fragrant love, love that tasted so sweet and smooth, like the richest hot chocolate-

Like a pane of glass shattering, Ella's eyes abruptly snapped open, her head popping up in a tangle of golden bed-head between some very large, primary feathers of the purest white.

Celestia didn't even turn her head, calmly turning the page of the book laying in front of her crossed forelimbs with her golden magic; Ella could see the smallest wry smile curling one side of her mouth.

"Good afternoon, Ella," Celestia said, her voice gentle and mild, "I trust you're feeling well rested?"

"...eeep..." came the young woman's most eloquent reply, her face turning as pink as the motherly love she could see radiating off of the Princess in great waves; she shrank back under the wing.

Celestia emitted a small chuckle, closing her book and turning to look down at the comparatively smaller human cowering in embarressment under her wing at her side. She smiled warmly,

"Forgive me if I surprised you my dear, but you looked a little chilled when I walked in, and I didn't want you to catch cold in your condition." Ella noticed that the Princess had removed her crown and other regal adornments, it didn't make her look any less majestic.

Catch a chill, right! Grab a blanket? Posh! We have soft cuddly pony monarchs with fluffy wings for these sorts of things! Ella swallowed nervously,

"Sorry for falling asleep in your spot, I didn't mean to," Ella said, finally managing to find her voice. Celestia's wing gently tightened it's hold on her, pressing her into the pony's warm side,

"There is nothing to apologize for my dear, you are always welcome to relax here." Celestia replied reassuringly, still smiling, though her eyes held a hint of amusement at the human's bashfulness; Ella could clearly see a flicker of green mischief ripple under the pink glow of the pony's love.

Ella's eyes widened as the love surrounding the princess suddenly intensified, nearly bowling her over in what she now realized was a free invitation to sate her hunger.

"You look positively famished my dear, please, I insist." Celestia said with an encouraging nod. Ella struggled not to gape at the sheer amount of affection presently overwhelming her senses that the Princess had for her. She had already grown familiar with how motherly Celestia was with the vast majority of her subjects since she had first arrived in Equestria, and how that love had been graciously extended to her from day one. But compared to what she had experienced back then, Celestia's love for her now seemed to have intensified by an exponential degree; she was loving her as if she were her own daughter. It was all too much.

Alright, I don't care if she's an immortal pony princess who controls the sun, she's getting hugs.

With a wordless exclamation, Ella flung her arms around the alicorn's soft, strong neck, burying her face into her soft coat; Celestia responded with a gentle caress of her lower jaw over the crown of the young woman's head.

"You know you really are best pony, you know that?" Ella mumbled into the pony's fur between great draughts of the love she was presently inhaling.

"Mmmm," Celestia hummed while continuing to nuzzle the human, "That's very kind of you to say my dear, but I figured that if I am the one sending your husband away all the time, that the least I could do is to ensure that you don't go hungry in his absence." Ella could only laugh softly at that one, now knowing the reason why Celestia had invited her over to the castle seemingly out of the blue. She sighed at the wonderful sensation of relief that came with her hunger being finally sated, and made sure to extend a tendril of the new energy out to the twins. To her surprise however, she sensed that they were now asleep, and only then realized that Celestia must have fed them too while she was resting.

Yup, definitely best pony. After a while, Ella relaxed her grip, but remained leaning against her, simply enjoying her comforting embrace. A thought caused her to smile,

"You know, Flash did tell me once that I hadn't lived until I slept under somepony's wing. I see he wasn't exaggerating, it was really...nice."

Celestia chuckled, "That sounds like Flash, in fact, after he out grew his mother's wing, it was a guilty pleasure of his to sneak naps under my wing whenever he could until he was eleven years old."

Ella laughed, "Really? Ha! Oh boy, I'm gonna tease him with that one for sure, haha! He really is still a baby pegasus at heart, ain't he?"

"I find it one of his most endearing qualities," Celesita agreed, amusement evident in her voice.

"Do you think he'll be back soon?" Ella asked to which Celestia nodded,

"Indeed, I expect he will return around sunset to present his report, would you care to wait with me for him?"

"You bet!" Ella said before adding in a more serious tone, "I just hope he hasn't gone and done anything too crazy this time, he gets into such trouble sometimes ya know?"

"I'm sure he's fine Ella, you'll see."

"He'd better be," Ella glowered.



Flash sneezed explosively, turning his head to avoid sharing it with anypony.

"You alright, sir?" Rose Dust asked.

Flash shook his head to clear it, "Yeah, just an odd feeling that's all."
> The Final Course, 'To-Go'
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Flash felt the air whoosh out of his lungs and his back pop audibly in several places from the enthusiastic embrace Ella had wrapped him in, her incredible strength a tell-tale sign that she hadn't gone hungry while he was away, something he had been worried about when he left. He noticed Celestia casually observing their happy reunion, looking about as pleased as the cat who ate the canary, leaving little doubt as to who the culprit responsible for supercharging his wife might be. He mouthed his thanks to the Princess for her care; she smiled.

"Oh, I'm so glad you're back Flash!" Ella exclaimed, finally releasing him, but not before planting a kiss on his cheek, causing his face to instantly flush hot. He noticed the slitted pupils of her blue eyes quickly flit over him, searching for any sign of injury. 

"I could tell," Flash said with a laugh and a roll of his shoulders to realign his spine. He had removed his travel gear and armor before being informed to report to Celestia's study, opting for a simple black battle dress blouse with grayed out rank insignia and matching trousers; the rest of his team adorning themselves similarly. It wasn't unusual for him and his team to conduct their after mission reports with the Princess in her private study, but this was the first time Ella had ever been present for one. A not unwelcome surprise, but it did catch him slightly off guard, making him almost forget his team as well as Ferra standing behind him; he still felt himself blush every time he saw his beloved Ella, as if it were still his very first time seeing her. That never got old.

"I wasn't expecting to see you here, but I'm glad you are." He said while casting another grateful grin at Celestia who acknowledged him with a smile and a small dip of her head before rising to her hooves and spreading her wings in welcome,

"Welcome back, Captain Skies, and the valiant members of the Black Guard, I am very pleased to see that you all made it back safely, and for the initial report you sent indicating the overwhelming success of your mission. I am very proud of each of you, my little ponies."

Flash could easily tell how each of his teammates stood a little taller at the praise from their Princess, particularly Lumen Dawn, who seemed to swell with pride. He was the one after all responsible for sending the report of their successful mission. 

"And a very special welcome to our honored guest," Celestia continued, drawing all eyes to the orange mare standing attentively close to Flash, "Welcome to Equestria, Princess Ferra."

Ferra quietly stepped forward towards the solar princess, but rather than the explosion of enthusiasm and energy akin to a chipmunk on expresso that Flash had been expecting, he found himself shocked to see her usual exuberant disposition replaced by a remarkably calm demeanor. The pony had adopted an air of grace in her movements, carrying herself with all the regal bearing of one well-practiced in the expected mannerisms of a royal court. Flash could practically feel the astonishment of his teammates behind him as well.

"Princess Celestia," Ferra said in a soft voice, bowing low before the alicorn, "It is an honor to be welcomed by you to Equestria, my mother sends her deepest regards."

Flash felt Ella's hand wrap around his while they all watch the meeting unfold, Celestia smiled sweetly down at the smaller pony, and to their collective surprise, responded to Ferra in her native tongue, the flowing language rolling off her tongue with practiced ease. The effect was immediate, with Ferra immediately raising her head, her eyes wide with evident delight and awe.

Ferra responded in kind before jumping forward and leaning into Celestia with affection, reminding Flash how Twilight would do the same in her younger days. Celestia leaned down and gave the mare a tender nuzzle. The two broke contact after a moment with Celestia casting a glance at Flash and whispering something to Ferra who giggled sweetly in response before nodding eagerly and turning towards the pair of humans. Flash took that as a cue,

"Ah yes, Ella, I'd like you to meet Ferra. She'll uh, be staying with us for the foreseeable future." Ella gave him a curious look but didn't question him, turning with interest towards the pony now approaching her. Once more, Ferra's movements were back to their usual energetic vibe, though Flash noticed she seemed to move cautiously towards Ella in an obvious display of sensitivity to her present condition.

"Hi! I'm Ferra! Wow, master was right, you are prettier than him! And you have babies!" Ferra sniffed at Ella's belly, "Two of them, wow! I can already tell that they are just so special and sweet and I just can't wait to meet them!" She exclaimed while prancing once in place.

"'Master?'" Ella inquired with an incredulous glance at Flash who rubbed a hand behind his head,

"Eh, it's kinda a long story honey, I'll tell you later." Ella nodded before slowly reaching a hand out to the fanged pony in front of her. Ferra sniffed at her hand inquisitively before immediately leaning into it with an affectionate purr. Ella laughed while dropping to one knee, drawing the pony into a warm embrace and scratching generously behind both of her ears, the volume of her purring increasing.

"Aww, well ain't you just a sweetheart!" Ella exclaimed, "Have you been lookin' out for Flash for me?"

"Mmm-hmm!" Ferra squeaked in reply, clearly enjoying the contact too much to say any more.

Flash sighed with a sense of relief seeing how well the two of them were already getting along, alleviating some of his earlier concern as to how Ella might react to her. Now if only he could figure out a way of explaining to Ella the reality that Ferra would now be an integral part of both of their lives for the foreseeable future. But before he could think of that, he still had to give a report to Celestia, and while she was waiting patiently, he could tell was eager to hear more than what was itemized in the brief preliminary report he had sent earlier.

The next hour passed fairly quickly, with Celestia asking direct questions and Flash giving her direct answers, including any details that he judged to be of particular importance. Occasionally, Celestia would ask a question of one of his teammates for further insight or for their opinions on certain events, but overall, it was a pretty straightforward affair. Refreshments were even brought in at one point, creating a more relaxed atmosphere overall; and by the time he had concluded, with assurances that Post Haste would be seeking an audience with her in the very near future.

By the time he had finished, Flash could easily tell that Celestia was extremely pleased with him and his team, especially considering that this was the first time she had entrusted them with a diplomatic mission, and a critical one at that. By the affectionate look in her eye, one he was very familiar with, Flash knew that she would probably want words with him in private later, chatting with him about what lessons he had learned and all that.

Love you too, Princess. Flash said back through his smile. Celestia rose to her hooves,

"Thank you Flash, that will be all for now." Celestia said after he finished. "Please, feel free to relax and enjoy yourself this evening. You have more than earned it, my little one."

Flash responded with a small bow before turning to join his wife who was still chatting with with a very contented looking Ferra. The rest of his team had also relaxed a bit more, congregating around the table of refreshments and chatting about the recent events. Flash for his part wanted nothing more than to go home and have a quiet evening with Ella; he felt utterly exhausted and worn out by the last three days. But he knew it couldn't hurt to hang out for a little longer, or so he thought.

Ella stood and faced him as he approached, a slightly astonished look on her face. "Ferra tells me that you saved her life, and that it's her job to now protect you? Just what happened over there babe?" Flash gave a tired chuckle,

"It wasn't as dramatic as it sounds, I'll tell you all about it at home, love."

"Hmph, well I for one think our leader is being far too modest my dear," Lumen Dawn boasted, the unicorn swirling a champagne glass full of sparkling cider in his yellow magic as he stepped up next to the two humans. He had a warm grin on his face, but that evil look in his eye made Flash's blood run cold.

No, you wouldn't dare... A quick exchange of glances with the imperious unicorn told Flash that Lumen knew exactly what he was thinking, 'I would' his eyes clearly communicated.

"Whatcha mean, Lumen?" Ella asked, now interested.

No, please. Have mercy... Flash's eyes now all but pleaded, knowing that threatening glances would only make it worse. Lumen's smile took on a venomous tone, looking about as merciful as a snake with a cornered mouse.

"Oh, how can I describe it? The peasant!" Lumen exclaimed, instantly drawing a bewildered Slipstream into a half embrace with his magic before unceremoniously tossing him aside, "In the captive of our most fearsome hosts, his fate in peril! And what does our fearless leader do? But offer his own flesh and blood in exchange for his release, with simply no concern at all for his own safety!"

Ella's eyes angrily flashed with a green glow, the thick glass tumbler in her grip forming hairline cracks, "Oh really?" She hissed. Flash faltered,

"Ahh haa, I think that's enough for now, Lumen, it wasn't really that bad-"

"Please Lumen Dawn," Ella interrupted, glaring at her husband, "Do continue. I insist."

Flash felt himself practically shrink as his number two proceeded to describe in utterly unambiguous detail exactly what transpired from the moment they landed on the island. From Flash giving his blood as an offering to the hungry carnivores, to the death match with Ferra that nearly cost him his arm. Ella listened with rapt attention, her appearance calm, but with the threatening stillness akin to that before a catastrophic, disastrous storm.

"Honestly," Lumen said with feigned admiration, holding a hoof against his forehead, "I simply do not know if I will ever be able to live up to my captain's heroic, selfless example of leadership. He truly is a model for us all!"

The glass in Ella's grip shattered as she slowly turned her incensed gaze on the younger man that was her husband.

"N-now dear," Flash began, slowly backing up, "It wasn't really as bad as it sounds."

"Oh really?" Ella snarled, advancing on him, "Told them to 'help themselves,' did you? Offered yourself as a free lunch, did you?" Ella accused, drawing all eyes in the room on the couple.

"Well, yes, I mean, no, it really wasn't quite like that!" Flash placated holding up his hands in defense, Ella bared her fangs.

"Here we are, about to bring two tiny terrors into another friggin' world, and you go and get the brilliant idea to offer yourself up as lunchmeat?! I thought you promised me you would stop being so RECKLESS!" 

Flash continued to back up, stumbling and almost falling until he was stopped by the hard peytral and soft fluff that was Celestia's chest. He gazed up at her, in a piteous plea for help, but saw in her kind pink eyes a look that clearly said, 'Sorry my little one, but you're on your own with this one.'

"No! You got it all wrong Ella, I had everything under control, everything was fine! I mean, it was all just a test in the end, right? I mean, Ferra really wasn't going to eat me haha uh, I mean," Flash glanced at Ferra, "Were you?"

The orange pony grinned innocently, her eyes squinted close, eagerly nodding her head in what Flash considered to be a far too excessive display of enthusiasm. Ella's eyes illuminated with green light, her golden hair waving with invisible power.

Flash took one last glance up at Celestia in a final plea for assistance, the alicorn responded by leaning down and whispering into his ear the only piece of advice her multiple millennia of wisdom could provide, "Run."



Rose Dust sighed, rubbing the bridge of her muzzle as another crash echoed from the open door to the corridor outside of Celesita's study.

"Flash Alexandrov Skies, you'll get BACK here if you know what's good for ya, C'MERE!" Ella's voice rang from somewhere outside.

"That was really low, sir," Rose Dust said with a disapproving frown, turning to Lumen Dawn who for once, looked positively cheerful.

"Ella, think of the children!" Flash shouted back, his voice distant.

"DON'T YOU TELL ME TO 'THINK OF THE CHILDREN' BUSTER! NOT AFTER WHAT YOU'VE PULLED!"

"From what I've heard, female changelings have particularly volatile emotions when they're pregnant," Slipstream chimed in, "But something tells me you knew that already, didn't you Lumen?" The unicorn took a sip of his cider and grinned,

"What? I think she deserves to know what her husband has been up too, I honestly thought she'd be proud!"

Sharp Shot snorted in disapproval.

"Sharps is right," Rose Dust opined, "More like, you hoped she'd finish the job the Diomedians couldn't!"

"Ah, no worries comrades," Sugar Rush assured, "Like I said, Captain has many lives, he'll be fine," he said, wincing as another crash shook the castle, "Even though this might cost him a few, miloserdiye."

Ferra sidled up to Rose Dust, playfully bumping flanks with the light grey thestral, "So, if she kills him, does that mean we get to eat him?"

"What?! No! I mean, that's not-" Rose began but tapered off, honestly unable to tell if the mare at her side was joking or not. Ferra paused a few beats before adding,

"Maybe just a nibble?"

"YOU CAN'T HIDE FROM ME PONYBOY! I CAN STILL SEE YOU BEHIND THERE!"

"...Maybe a little."



Slipstream stretched out in the empty bathtub in the spacious bathroom, honestly surprised at how comfortable the curved porcelain felt on his back despite the hard surface. He managed to find entrance through one of the windows in the tower that the room was located in. Meanwhile, his human friend continued struggling with the door.

"So...lemme get this straight," Slipstream mused, "You're wife's basically a changeling, right?"

"Pretty much," Flash replied, grunting with effort.

"So she feeds on your love?"

*Mmmphf* "Yeah."

"So, you're pretty much food for her, right?"

"I suppose so?"

"Well, if you ask me, I think you should tell her that I think she's being pretty hypocritical right now about you and Ferra."

"OH WILL YOU JUST SHUT UP AND HELP ME HOLD THE DUMB DOOR?!" Flash screamed as the heavy wooden door shook violently with another bang.

"You're only delaying the inevitable, Flash, AND I HEARD THAT SLIPSTREAM!"



Flash yawned as he rolled over to get comfortable, which was easy to do on a cloud. The only thing missing was a blanket and it would be no different from his bed back at home. Sure, it would have been nice to actually be back at home, but seeing as that wasn't an option for the moment, he would have to make do. After all, it wasn't too unusual for the other members of his tribe to sleep on a stray cloud when in a pinch, lots of stallions he knew did it! And this one wasn't too difficult to get to as it was just above the castle, though he did need a boost from Slipstream to reach it.

Besides, Canterlot at night was a beautiful view, especially under the light of Luna's full moon. He stared at the heavenly body for a moment before slowly closing his eyes, so ready to finally get some sleep. It was an awfully big moon, now that he thought about it. In fact, wasn't it actually a waning crescent when he first got up here? Why was it now full?

"What is this I've heard, that thou proffered thyself as vittles? Came a familiar, echoing voice.

Flash's eyes sprang open, only to be greeted by the sight of the moon, though it was no longer the moon, but an enormous, glittering blue eye filling half the sky with it's perturbed gaze.

It took Flash all of a second to realize that he had fallen asleep without even realizing it as the entire sky and even the cloud he was lying on warped into a manifestation of Princess Luna the size of a small mountain. He found himself resting on the warm, fuzzy bridge of her enormous muzzle, staring into two angry orbs larger than train tunnels, and feeling very, very small.

"Uh, h-hi Luna," he weakly offered. "Nice night?" Her eyes narrowed threateningly,

"That depends, my little one, on exactly what sort of explanation you have for me..." She ominously boomed, her voice shaking the dream world around them.

Flash stifled a whimper, deciding instead to count his blessings as he got on with it.

After all, at least I'm getting to sleep! And by the looks of things, it was going to be a long, long night.
> Epilogue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rose Dust bowed low, her muzzle practically touching the hardwood floor of Luna's private quarters as she waited for her liege to acknowledge her. The room was dark, even for her eyes, concealing most of its features within the shadows, the scent of lilacs teasing her sensitive muzzle. But there, somewhere within the darkness, was the night mother. The sensation of her immense power was unmistakeable, though her movements betrayed not a single sound to her sensitive ears.

"Rise, my child, and thank you for coming on such short notice," Luna said softly while silently emerging from the shadows, her glittering midnight blue mane and eyes seemed to emit a soft glow while not illuminating anything around them.

"Certainly night mother," Rose responded, "I am honored to be of service." She swallowed past the nervous lump in her throat, anxiety clawing at her heart, uncertain if her Princess was about to chastise her for the many close calls the human had in their mission. Luna's face appeared inscrutable for a moment before breaking into a small smile, immediately easing her tension.

"Peace child, you did well, there is nothing to fear." She assured. Rose Dust breathed an audible sigh of relief, her ears drooping slightly,

"Thank you, night mother," Rose hastily said, dipping her head in a quick bow.

"But, I do have some questions. First, tell me, does he suspect you?" Rose Dust shook her head,

"No night mother, he suspects nothing. I have succeeded in completely integrating myself within his team. Captain Flash Skies has taken me completely into his trust." Luna nodded,

"Very good, and what were your impressions of his actions after this latest endeavor?"

Rose Dust paused for a moment, reflecting on all she had observed of her Captain in this mission, comparing it to all she had observed in the 10 months she had known him thus far. 

"He's very capable, impressively so, especially given his age; I've rarely seen such natural ability in a warrior. He remains calm, even when in high stress scenarios, adapting quickly to changing situations, and knowing how to think on his feet while constantly planning ahead. And he does all of this while seamlessly integrating all of the resources at his disposal. Also, his selfless example of leadership is very encouraging to say the least, for he thinks nothing of facing danger head on for the sake of us ponies. And," Rose paused, wondering if she should say the next part before saying it, "And I must say, that I very much enjoy working with him, and the rest of the team as well."

Luna smiled at her honesty, "There is nothing wrong with admitting if you are fond of working with him my child, your assessment of his capabilities and style of leadership is just what I expected to hear. However, I sense you have something else on your mind?"

Rose shifted on her hooves, not meeting her Princess' gaze for a moment, feeling uncomfortable for having to be critical of her Captain. She looked up at Luna, her gaze hardened, "But he's also young, reckless! Twice I watched him risk his very life, he could have been killed and he didn't even seem to care! He almost got his blasted arm bitten off and he shrugged it off like it were nothing more than an inconvenience! Even while bleeding out in front of a hundred predators who were clearly salivating for his blood." Rose grumbled at the last part, still upset a little for the moment when Flash had yelled at her when he noticed her preparing to intervene.

Luna nodded, "As I suspected. He is indeed still young and overconfident, something that I'm sure will be worked out in time, but we must ensure that he has that time. Therefore, Corporal Rose Dust, I am changing your mission parameters."

Rose perked up, shaken out of her reminiscing by Luna's sudden change of tone.

"Your mission, is now moving from one of observe and protect, to protect and intervene. If he should take any action that you deem unnecessarily risky to his life and wellbeing, then you are hereby ordered to prevent it, even if you must go so far as to restrain him!" Rose Dust's jaw dropped slightly in shock, but Luna continued, "Even if he should give you a direct order, do not fear repercussions for disobeying him, for I am granting you authority that will supersede his should such an occasion arise." Luna's horn shone with her sparkling blue magic and a small, silver medallion marked with her lunar crest appeared before Rose Dust who slowly reached out and took the offered object. "Merely showing that medal will gain you the cooperation of your teammates or at the very least, prevent them from obstructing you in your duties."

Rose Dust stared down in awe at the small medallion in her hoof, sealed with the Princess' own crest, it's very appearance automatically granting her more authority than even a flag officer should the need arise. She knew she should thank her Princess for entrusting her with such an important responsibility, but was held back by the sudden pang of guilt she felt in her gut at the thought of confronting the human she had come to trust and admire. It did not go unnoticed,

"What troubles you my child?" Luna asked. Rose swallowed nervously before looking up at her Princess,

"It's just that, well, I think this may be a mistake. After all, everything turned out exactly as Flash said it would. He reassured me over and over that everything would be fine, that he had the situation under control. And as much as I disagreed with him at the time, he turned out to be right. And..."

"And what?" Rose paused a few beats, staring at the floor as she struggled to put her feelings about her Captain into words. She looked up, locking eyes with her Princess,

"And I've learned to trust him, to trust his judgment. He's never led us wrong yet, and his confidence isn't just for show; I think he knows what he's doing. So maybe, just maybe we shouldn't be so, hasty?" Rose Dust caught the raised eyebrow Luna gave her and uttered a small 'eee' in distress, quickly ducking her head in a bow, "Your, your highness! I didn't mean it like that, I was merely suggesting-"

Rose Dust was cut off as she felt a gentle hoof touch her chin, slowly raising her face up to meet Luna's, who rather than appear upset, gave her a kind look of such warmth and compassion so as to flood her heart with immediate relief.

"Your loyalty to your Captain is most admirable my dear, it is for that very quality that I chose you for this mission. I understand if you find this distasteful, what I am asking of you is not easy. However, Flash Skies is one of Equestria's most significant treasures, and it's wasteful for him to be so foalishly exposed to such unnecessary dangers, Regardless of what my sister thinks... Luna thought, keeping that last part to herself.

"He will grow in wisdom and strength over time, but for now, while he is still so young, we need to protect him, just as he desires to protect us. Can you help me to do that my child?"

Rose Dust looked down at the medallion in her hoof, the vivid memory of Flash's deeply scarred body passing before through her mind, and that iconic scar over his right eye. Looking back up at her Princess with renewed determination, she gave a sharp nod, "Yes night mother, you can count on me."



Flash sighed in contentment, his arm gently tightening it's hold around Ella's waist, pressing her soft form into his side as she rested her head on his right shoulder, his own head leaning down onto hers. Ferra lay curled about their feet, the tiger-orange mare resting her warm, fuzzy head against Ella's bare feet, guarding them from the early morning chill while her jet-black tail was wrapped protectively around Flash's ankle. She softly purred as she seemingly slept, but Flash knew better by now. Even when the mare seemed to be sound asleep, he knew that it was almost always a ruse, that she was in fact very alert, using all of her keen senses to monitor everything going on around them.

They were sitting on the wooden bench on the front porch of their home which was situated facing away from the Everfree Forest, not too far from Fluttershy's cottage. The sun had not yet risen, but he could see the warming horizon, signifying that Celestia would soon raise the sun.

Flash enjoyed the peace of the predawn, making use of it to ponder all that he had gone through during the last several hours. With a little help from his mother Bright Skies, he had managed to make peace with Ella, but only after receiving the dressing down of his life via his dreams from Princess Luna about his recent actions, actions which, in part, he still defended as necessary for the good of Equestria. True, to placate her, he admitted that he could have done better on some points, but hindsight was always 20/20.

Yes, and a wise gentlecolt will always be mindful of how his actions affect the feelings of a lady, especially those of his wife. 

Flash smiled at the touch of his mother's thought's, he reached out with his own, allowing her to feel his gratitude, I know mom, and thanks again for helping me smooth things over. He could feel her smile and laugh a little,

Of course my love, that's what mom's are for. She gave him the equivalent of a mental embrace and a kiss, wrapping her mind around his before reluctantly narrowing their connection, as she knew that Flash wanted some privacy for now. He embraced her back, sending a mental image of him visiting her later that day. She responded with a burst of excitement before severing the connection, leaving him alone in his thoughts. He would always be able to feel her, no matter how narrow the connection, but he was grateful that they could gain privacy from each other when the need arose.

He was distracted from his thoughts when a very vocal finch suddenly alighted on top of the banister of their front porch, its shrill voice trilling away its enthusiasm for the approaching dawn of a new day. As cheerful as it was, Flash didn't appreciate how it had interrupted the peaceful silence he had been enjoying with his wife. Sucking in a breath of air, he blew out with purpose, attaching his will and magic to the air and atmosphere in the same way the rest of this tribe did with their wings, creating a strong gust that blew the noisy intruder off of it's proud perch with an indignant squawk, chittering in displeasure at him before zooming off. Ferra's ear flicked, but she remained in her place; Ella giggled at Flash's casual display of magic, making him smile. 

"I'll never get tired of that," she said.

"Of what?" Flash asked, knowing well of what she meant, but still desiring to hear her voice the matter anyways.

"Of that. Of you pony boy, showing me something magical each day, even if it's plain to you, it's always special for me. I don't think I'll ever get used to magic." Flash smirked while caressing her shoulder,

"You can see, sense, and even consume the entire spectrum of another being's emotions and energy as easily as you breathe. You stick to walls and can see in the dark, and yet you think a little parlor trick like me moving some air is neat?" Ella nodded against his shoulder,

"Mmm hmm!" She hummed, squeezing herself closer to him and causing him to laugh softly before breaking into a small sigh,

"Sorry again Ella, it was never my intention to scare you like that." He felt her smile,

"Yeah, and I'm sorry too, I shouldn't have freaked out on ya like I did. It's just that, ugh, everything feels dialed to eleven right now." She said with a huff of frustration.

"It's alright, I know that this hasn't been easy for you."

A few moments of silence went by, and during that time, Ella took one of them to look up at her young husband, admiring how his silvery hair sparkled in the early morning twilight, his blue and violet starburst eyes starring off at the horizon deep in thought. She could see his powerful aura radiating warmly with a rich, rose-gold colored hue, the full force of the boundless love he had for her on display right before her very eyes. It made him appear older, more mature than his actual years, causing her to remind herself once more that he was nearly four years younger than her, only eighteen. She had never thought that she'd ever be a mother someday, her old life was far too dark for her to ever even consider the possibility. But now that it had happened, she was so glad that it did, and grateful that it could be with such a good man like Flash. Feeling a sudden movement in her lower belly, Ella smiled at an idea,

"Hey Flash,"

"Mmm?"

"You want to know somethin' that's more amazin' than all the magic here in this world?"

She placed her right hand over the top of his, the one around her waist, and lifting, placed it over her belly, right where she could feel the gentle kicking of tiny feet. She heard him gasp softly,

"That right there. Can you feel that Flash? We did that. By th' grace of God, we made these two little miracles. You're a father now babe, that's somethin' I want you to remember from here on out, yeah?"

Flash felt like he could tremble. He could feel them. He could feel their tiny movements, their life-force, and the small magnetic fields produced by their little bodies. He could even feel the slight tug on his energy as his two children began to feed on the love he was projecting out towards them.

My children. It still felt surreal at times that Ella was here with him in Equestria, when for his whole life, he never expected to even see another human, a female of his species, let alone to be married and to have children with her; he assumed that he would always be a virgin. It caused him to consider that perhaps, he hadn't allowed that incredible reality to fully sink in yet, to fully appreciate the new status quo of the sudden changes in his life and the responsibilities they now carried with it. He squeezed her hand,

"Thank you Ella," Flash whispered, "I understand. From now on, I'll be sure to remember that always."

Ella kissed him softly on his cheek, closing her eyes as she leaded her forehead against his temple, "You promise?"

Flash smiled. One of his favorite stories about their religion that Ella had told him about during their engagement was the one with the boat and all the animals. He couldn't quite remember the guy's name at the moment, but what he had loved so much about the story was it's ending, and how God had used a symbol that was so dear to his tribe as a sign of His promise.

Concentrating his will, he put his hand over his mouth, focusing on the air in his lungs and the atmosphere around them. Cupping his hand, he breathed out a gentle stream of air that condensed before them into a very fine mist, spreading out and covering the grassy area just in front of their porch just as Celestia's sun breached the horizon, its warm rays refracting into a small but brilliant rainbow that covered their front yard in a magnificent array of sparkling colors; Ella gasped, squeezing his hand.

"Yes Ella, I promise."

The edges of Ferra's mouth curled up slightly, the volume of her purring increasing as the small family welcomed the beginning of a new day with a new, brighter horizon.


~Fin~