Arrival

Book One: Arrival

I remembered waking up, confused and alone, rain pattering against me. The last memory I had was of running an experiment in my lab, and then a sudden power surge. I opened my eyes and took in my surroundings. I appeared to be in a field, or perhaps a park of some kind. I got up, shaking the wetness from my coat; I hated the rain, especially when if felt so thick.

"Wait, that’s not rain, it’s...chocolate milk?" I said aloud. I sat down and looked around again, this time looking farther than my immediate surroundings. I was in a park, I could see a dirt path some ways off a few benches dotted here and there; there was a small village in the distance, perhaps I was in a frontier settlement? Then I looked up into the sky and saw the source of the strange precipitation: puffy pink clouds. This place was clearly not anywhere I was familiar with, let alone the impossible weather.

"And why are those buildings flying!?" I cried, seeing some of the buildings in the village begin to levitate, ignoring gravity like it were simply a nagging old mare. What kind of a place was this? Pink clouds, chocolate rain, flying buildings. There was no way that I was actually in such a place; I had to have been knocked unconscious by the surge. And now I was dreaming of a strange land with cotton candy clouds, yes, that’s it... Then why does this all seem to real? I needed to find somepony before I went insane, even if it was just a figment of my imagination. So I got up and started walking toward the levitating town, seeing no place that seemed remotely normal in this strange area and hoping to find some relief from this madness. After a few minutes of walking I could see something transpiring a ways off, six ponies and...

"What is that?" I whispered. It had the head of a pony but the rest of it looked like some mash up of other things; a dragon, a lion, and other strange parts forming an amalgamation of many animals, which formed one strange being. There was no way, not even in my wildest dreams that I could conjure up something that strange. It seemed that nothing in this land was normal, and it was in fact very real. I got closer to hear what was going on, and try to get some piece of information that might hold together my wearing sanity.

"Discord!" one of the ponies called, a lavender unicorn. "Stop this now!"

So that strange being was named Discord. A fitting name for something so disjointed, but not much to go on.

"But this is so much fun," the creature replied. "You can't tell me you don't like some of the changes I've made."

So it wasn't always like this here, all full of impossibilities; Discord was causing all these strange phenomena. I decided to stay clear until I can find out more about this place and what exactly I had stumbled onto.

I crept away from the confrontation and continued on towards the chaotic little town, though chaotic would be putting it mildly. The roads were soap, not dirt; there appeared to be some strange rabbit creatures on tall spindly legs running about, and then there were the ever-present pink clouds, which began to look more and more like cotton candy.

After a few moments of running around the town, avoiding panicking ponies and stampeding critters, something strange happened; day spontaneously gave way to a moonless night. Using magic for illumination to see where I was going, I was barely able to avoid hitting a lamp post. I continued on my way until I arrived at a large tree that appeared to be a library. Just the place of learning I need to gather more information, and more importantly, perhaps find out why I was in this impossible place.

Seeing no one around, I let myself in. The inside was not extravagantly detailed, like some libraries I had seen, but it was wall to wall books, at least up to the second story, if not higher in some places, though, there was no real distinction between floors. I called out to see if anypony was around, but I got no response. Shrugging, I quickly scanned the bottom few shelves of books for anything on Discord or on this land. Seeing nothing on Discord, I settled on a book I found on the history of “Equestria." Well now I knew what to call this crazy place, but things were only getting worse outside, so I couldn’t stay and indulge my curiosity, nor ease me.

The sun had replaced the moon once again, thought I had a feeling that it could change at any moment, which did nothing for my nerves. The creature Discord was now sitting on a throne amidst a scene of chaos; the ground itself was now a checkerboard pattern, and they were things that made my mind bend. The six ponies from before were nowhere to be seen. Against my better judgment, and what little sanity I had left. I decided to confront this Discord and see what information I could get, curiosity being something I could hold onto. Who knew, maybe I could help fix the whole impossibility situation. I warily approached Discord and he gave a great laugh.

“Ha ha ha, what do we have here? Some brave pony attempting to stop me? Ha!” I waited until his laughter died down, taking some time to get a good look at all his different features.. It took awhile, and thus I was able to study him a great deal.

“Stop you? Why stop something as interesting as this? Chocolate rain, nice; soap roads are faster than dirt. And floating buildings, cool,” I said, now essentially trying more than anything to avoid angering him.

“Hmm, now that’s a surprise. Somepony enjoying the chaos? That’s something you don’t see every day,” with a quick snap of his fingers, Discord changed day to night again. “Or every night,” Discord chuckled. With another snap of his fingers day returned and he began scrutinizing me.

“One problem I can see with all this,” I said, trying to comprehend the power he just displayed, and doing a rather poor job.

“Oh, and what would that be my little friend,” Discord appearing behind me and putting an arm around me and resting a taloned claw on my shoulder.

“There’s nopony around that likes what you’re doing.”

“Well it’s not my fault if they don’t enjoy chaos as much as me. So what are you going to do about it Mixer?”

“Wait how do you...”

“Know your name? I’m Discord, the embodiment of chaos. What don’t I know. Well,” Discord said, “take your best shot.” He waved his hand and painted a bullseye on his serpentine body. I hesitated; I had no doubt that this creature could withstand any attacks I put forth, and do far worse back to me.

“What’s wrong? Don’t have the nerve to try?” he asked in a mocking tone.

I wasn’t about to get caught in an obvious trap, so I took option C, “Well, I can’t see this ending well. So I don’t think I will.”

I quickly turned to leave but did not get more than two steps before I was stopped by Discord’s voice.

“That’s not how this game works. You see, when I say take your best shot, you take your best shot. That, or I’ll just have to punish you for not playing.”

Drat, now I was caught between a rock and a hard place.

“Well, it wouldn’t be my best shot if I wasn’t prepared, now would it,” I said, hoping my incredulous luck would hold. Discord gave a grunt.

“Well played. You have half an hour before I start causing more chaos.”

“Deal,” I replied, knowing that half an hour wasn’t enough to prepare any kind of potion potent enough to boost my magic, though I doubt I would be able to make something that powerful without a time constraint. Seeing no other option, I went off to hash something together. I had very little time and no ingredients, so I hurried to a nearby forest to see what herbs I could find. After a few minutes of looking I found something that had potential: poison joke.

"Well it's worth a try," I said to myself. Without proper tools I had to improvise. As a mortar and pestle, I had to settle for a nearby rock and another, flatter rock. Grand, I know, but beggars can’t be choosers. I carefully plucked some of the wonky blue flowers with my magic, careful not to get any of their transformative oils on me. After a few minutes of mashing the petals between my fabulous pair of rocks I had a slightly clumpy blue paste. Not exactly the consistency I would have liked, but I didn’t have proper tools or enough time to grind it more thoroughly, not if I was actually going to make something out of it. I proceeded to make a potion with my bluish paste that I would somehow trick Discord into drinking. Just how would I get him to drink a potion that would likely have bits of flower petals in it? I hadn’t quite gotten that far yet, I was lucky enough to have a plan at all. With little time left I finished mixing the potion, though it was kind of cloudy. I took my potion, put it in a bottle I found in somepony’s trash, and hoped that Discord wouldn’t notice the slight smell to it.

“Well, well, well, you’re back, and with a minute to spare,” Discord addressed me as I approached.

“Yes, I’m back, but not to fight,” I said, a little winded from the run.

“Oh?” Discord asked raising an eyebrow. “So that means I get to cause more chaos. Yay,” he said, rubbing his claw and paw together.

“You didn’t let me finish. I didn’t come to fight, true; I came here to make peace," I began, words springing forth of their own will. "After all, how could I stop you, the embodiment of chaos, in half an hours preparation? So, I brought you this,” I pulled out the Poison Joke potion, really hoping that he would buy my bluff. “This little beauty is better than chocolate rain. Just try it.” I said levitating the bottle his way, sweating more than a little.

“Better than... Well, you sure are full of surprises. First you say you enjoy the chaos, then you want to stop me, now you want to make peace! Ha ha, most ponies would call you crazy. I like that,” he said, taking the bottle in his claw and uncorking it. He drank the potion from the bottom up in one, bending my mind twice over. There was a pause, then Discord started to convulse and shift around as if in pain or discomfort. Suddenly he grew still, then burst out laughing flowers.

“Oh, that was a good try,” Discord said as he wiped a tear from his eye. “Poison joke! How did you know it was my favorite?”He snapped his fingers and the ground turned into an even more garish checkerboard pattern. “Go home Mixer; you can’t stop Discord.”

I was already running away before he could finish. At this point I trying to think of a way to stall for more time, and barring that, what life might be like as a shrub, as it was just as likely that Discord could turn me into one. As I reached the edge of Ponyville, thinking that a shrub would be a mild punishment, I heard Discord’s cries from the center of town.

“Nooooooooooooooo…” was the piercing protest. And all of a sudden, all things that had been chaotic returned to normal. I pinched myself to make sure I was not hallucinating, or perhaps that I was in fact dreaming, and that I would soon wake up from this crazy nightmare. After a few painful pinches, and one slap in the face, I determined that what I was experiencing was in fact real. Curious what could have stopped something as powerful as Discord, I debated whether that was something I would want to get tangled up with. Not wanting to have a repeat of my engagement with Discord, I carefully crept back to see what had happened. I came upon the six ponies I had seen earlier, standing before a statue of Discord in a rather awkward position, laying on the ground. Five of them wore ornate necklaces that matched their cutie marks, while the sixth, the purple unicorn from before now had a crown of sorts that matched her cutie mark.

I briefly wondered if they could be royalty, and took a deep breath to compose myself before stepping out into the open.

“What happened?” I asked as I approached.

One of them, a buttery yellow pegasus jumped slightly, but they all turned to face me.

“And just who are you?” asked a cyan pegasus. Much to my surprise she was sporting a prismatic mane, complete with each color of the rainbow. I wondered if such coloration was natural or not.

I made a small bow, hoping that if they weren’t royalty, they wouldn’t be offended by the gesture, and if they were, that they would be satisfied with it.

“My name is Mixer. But, you have me at a disadvantage Miss...?”

“You’re not from around here are ya?” an orange earth pony asked in an accent that was common among the more far flung settlements.

I hesitated, not knowing how much to hide, or how much to tell them.

“No, suffice to say that I’m not.”

A pink earth pony mare giggled, “Oh course he’s not from around here, otherwise we’d already be friends.” Her tone and demeanor were somewhat unsettling, seeing as how her hair looked like it had been styled by a candy machine, and she sounded like a foal on the tail end of a sugar rush.

“Allow me to introduce us,” the purple unicorn said, stepping ahead of the group. “My name is Twilight Sparkle, these are my friends, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy,” she said, gesturing to each of them in turn.

Rainbow Dash was the cyan pegasus, Pinkie Pie was, well, obviously the pink mare, Applejack was the orange earth pony, and Fluttershy was the pegasus that had jumped when I first arrived. Rarity was the only one who had yet to speak, and she was a unicorn with a pure white coat and a styled purple mane, no doubt the product of careful grooming.

I took another bow, “It is a pleasure to meet you your highness.”

Twilight seemed to blush a little and Rainbow Dash let out a snicker.

“Ah think ya got the wrong idea mister. That’s crown’s not fer royalty,” Applejack said.

“Pardon?” I said, confused.

“That’s her Element,” the orange mare explained.

“Element?”

“I’d love to stay and have some proper introductions, but shouldn’t we be getting back to the princess?” Rarity asked, her tone almost as elegant as her mane. If any of them seemed like royalty, it was her.

“It was nice meeting you Mixer, but we have to go,” Twilight said, getting back to her friends.

“Likewise Miss Sparkle. But, uh, is there anywhere around where I can stay? I don’t have any accommodations at the moment, and I could use some time and space to think.”

“I guess you could stay at the library, at least until we get back,” she said, turning to leave with her companions.

“Thank you for your gracious hospitality,” I called after them as they left, taking the statue of Discord with them.

After the six ponies left, I found the library, though this time with little difficulty. In broad daylight I could see that the library was built into a tree. What an odd place, but then again, I had seen far stranger in this land just a few hours prior.

I went inside, assuming that nopony was there, and was surprised to see a small reptilian creature picking up some books.

“Uh, who are you?” the creature asked me.

“Who, or what, are you?” I countered.

“My name’s Spike, and I’m a dragon. Why? haven’t you ever seen a baby dragon before?”

It took a few seconds to register the word “dragon”.

“Come again? Did you say, dragon?”

“Yeah. Are you alright?”

Finally giving up, I let out a sigh, “Aside from the multiple near-mental breakdowns today, I suppose so.”

“Okay... So, why are you here?” he asked.

“I was directed here by a Miss Twilight Sparkle. She told me I could stay here until she returned.”

“Oh. So you’re a friend of Twilight’s?”

“Well, I don’t think friend is the correct word. Acquaintances maybe. In any event, she told me I could stay here.”

Spike shrugged, “Alright.”

After an almost awkwardly long pause I asked, “Do you run this place? All by yourself?”

He gave a little chuckle, “No, Twilight runs the library. I’m her assistant.”

“Oh... I apologize if I might have left a mess, I came in here during the... chaotic, events earlier.”

He gave another shrug, “I didn’t even notice anything out of place.”

I watched for a few seconds as he placed a few more books in spots on the shelves. I couldn’t help but stare at what I assumed was the only living dragon specimen in existence. I had seen illustrations of dragons, and a few bones in museums, but there hadn’t been a living dragon in almost five centuries. I was so deep in thought that I almost didn’t register that he was talking to me.

“Hello? Are you sure you’re alright?”

“Oh, sorry... It’s just... Oh, how to I explain this. You’re the first, and only, living dragon in known existence.”

He looked at me like I had grown a second, and possibly a third horn.

“What are you talking about? Are you sure you didn’t hit your head or something? Or spend the last few years under a rock?”

Well, I couldn’t really fault him, with all the things I’d seen in my roughly three hours in “Equestia” I had seen so many things I had thought were impossible. What was one more.

“Well, I have absolutely no clue if I hit my head or not, I kind of just woke up in a park with chocolate milk raining on me. And as for living under a rock, I’d say the royal palace is about as far from a rock as a pony can get,” I replied.

Now it was his turn to look surprised. “You live in a palace? Does that mean you’re a prince or something?” he asked, his eyes lighting up somewhat.

“No, nothing so fanciful. I’m simply the royal chemist. I make most of the potions and other mixtures the palace needs.”

“A whatnow?” he asked, looking confused once again.

“A chemist. You know, mixing elements, compounds, the occasional bang. Stuff like that. Surely you have chemists here?”

He shook his head, “There’s a zebra who does something like that in the Everfree Forest, but she’s more of a witchdoctor than a... whatever-it-is.”

I let out a sigh. I appeared that the rather simplistic architecture was an indication of their technology. It had to be if they use such an archaic term as “witchdoctor”.

“Then, maybe I should read a few things, get brushed up on Equestria,” I said, looking for the book I had seen before.

“If you’re not from Equestria, then where are you from?” Spike asked, grabbing a couple of books.

“I’m... not sure I should say. Hay, I don’t even know if the name would mean anything to you.”

“What, is it some kind of secret?” he asked, giving me a curious look. “Are you some kind of secret agent or something?”

“First of all, no, I’m not a spy, I don’t have an eye for espionage, and even if I did, I have no way of contacting my homeland. Secondly, in the case that it might become sensitive information, I’d rather not say yet.”

“You mean you can’t get home?”

I hesitated. With all the insanity going on, I hadn’t really thought much about the fact that I was in fact, stranded in this land with no way of contacting the king, or anypony else. I mean, sure, I could do some short distance teleportation, a few meters or so, but I had a feeling that I was far beyond that.

“I don’t think so. I don’t even know where home is from here. I don’t even know exactly where here is.”

Spike seemed to ponder this for a moment, “Why don’t you just start looking over these books, I’m sure you’ll find what you want to know in there a lot better than I could tell you.”

And so, I did as the little dragon instructed and took the small stack of books and began to read them in a corner of the room.

It was a few hours later when Twilight finally arrived at the library. As it turned out, she and the other ponies that had been with here were given medals for bravery. Most likely for defeating Discord. Thankfully, it did give me some time to learn about Equestria, at least enough to have a working knowledge.

Twilight trotted upstairs with her medal, returning a few minutes later with a quill and a blank scroll.

“I hope you’ve been making yourself comfortable,” she said, sitting down at a desk against the wall.

“As much as I felt comfortable with, yes.”

She looked slightly confused, but returned to her what she was doing at the desk.

“Did Spike give you any trouble?”

Deciding not to give her the same confusion I gave poor Spike, I replied, “No, not at all.”

It was then that my stomach decided it was time to remind me of its existence, letting out a low grumble.

“Hungry?”

I gave a sheepish grin, “Well, to tell the truth, I haven’t had anything to eat since this morning. By this time, it was well into the afternoon.

“I’ll have spike make something for us. Then maybe we can talk a little. I understand you’re not from Equestria?”

I was a little taken aback, “H-how did you know?”

“Spike left me a note. He said I might want to talk to you, but I thought I would give you some time to settle in before bombarding you with questions.”

“That’s very kind of you Miss Sparkle. But it’s well within your right, given the generous hospitality you have shown me.”

“Nonsense. Spike!” she called, beckoning her assistant.

Spike soon scampered out of what I assumed was the kitchen wearing a pink apron. It was kind of comical, but I thought it rude, impolite, and in general unwise to laugh. Even if Spike was only a baby dragon, I had no doubt he still could breath fire, even if he seemed agreeable enough.

“Can you get us a couple daisy sandwiches please?”

“Sure thing Twilight,” he replied returning to the kitchen.

“Thank you again for your hospitality. It’s not often a pony would be so generous to a complete stranger.”

Twilight’s face grew slightly puzzled again, Why?”

“Well, in the city, you mostly have family to look after you, otherwise everypony is independent. Though everypony does tend to rely on other ponies, no matter how much they would like to say otherwise.”

“That sounds... difficult,” she said, clearly trying to find a word that wouldn’t sound insulting.

“It can be, but most ponies find somewhere to fit in. The whole city is kind of like a well oiled machine that way. Everypony has their place, whether they know it or not.”

“Interesting...” she said, scribbling down something on the scroll.

A few seconds later Spike returned with the sandwiches.

It took all my restraint to keep from grabbing one off the tray en route and making it disappear.

Twilight got up from the desk and sat by a small table that was set in the center of the library near a couch.

Spike set the plate down on the table and retreated back to the kitchen.

“Come on over,” Twilight said with a giggle. “By the way you’re eyeing those sandwiches you seem pretty hungry.”

I complied, walking over to the table and taking a seat, grabbing a sandwich with my magic en route and bringing it to my mouth as I sat down. It was in no way the same as a home-cooked three course banquet, but to me, it tasted like the best thing in the world. I’m sure a mildly soft rock would taste good at that point.

I hungrily devoured the sandwich without further ceremony.

“I think we’re going to need some more sandwiches,” Twilight mused.

“Sorry,” I apologized, “I usually don’t eat like a starving animal.”

“It’s quite alright. You should see Pinkie Pie eat cake.”

I ate the other sandwiches in a similar fashion, stopping only when there were no more.

“Feel better?” Twilight asked, watching as Spike brought her a sandwich of her own.

I nodded, wiping the crumbs from my mouth.

She took a bite of her sandwich then set it back down, taking up her scroll and quill in its place.

“So, I hope you don’t mind if I ask you a few questions...”

Twilight put me through a battery of questions, ranging from what my home was like, to what kind of foods we ate. It was the most extensive list of questions I could have been asked, and I answered most of them fully, only avoiding certain sensitive bits of information. It took a couple hours for her to finally exhaust her list, and by then the sun had gone down, casting the outside in shadow.

“I hate to sound rude, but I should be going; if there is any place to stay for the night, I should probably find it soon,” I said, standing up and stretching.

“But it’s dark outside. You can’t just go stumbling around in the dark.”

“I don’t have to worry much about the dark,” I said, my horn letting of a soft glow that illuminated a few feet in front of me.

“Could you even pay for someplace to stay?”

“No, I suppose not,” I confessed, “You don’t happen to have any, uh, bits was it?”

“I do, but you can stay here for the night, no need to go searching for someplace in the dark.”

“Oh no, I couldn’t. You’ve already been so kind to me already. I don’t want to take advantage of your hospitality.”

“It’s not taking advantage of my hospitality. Really, it’s alright.”

“Very well. I meant no disrespect. I am truly grateful that you’ve been so kind.”

“Spike, can you get a spare pillow and blanket for our guest,” Twilight called to her assistant.

I watched as Spike ran upstairs to fetch the requested items.

“Where were you intending for me to stay?” I inquired.

Twilight rolled up her scroll and put it on the desk, “We don’t have another bed, but I hope you don’t mind sleeping on the couch. It shouldn’t be too bad with a pillow and blanket.”

“Thank you. I have fallen asleep in less comfortable positions. Working late nights leads to the occasional night asleep at the desk.”

Spike came down the stairs in short order carrying a bundled up blanket and a small pillow.

I took them from him and thanked him, setting up the couch to serve as a temporary bed.

Spike headed back up the stairs with a yawn and Twilight followed after him a minute later, carrying some things from her desk.

“If you need anything, feel free to help yourself. There fridge is well stocked and the bathroom is upstairs on the left,” she said, nearing the top of the stairs. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, and thank you once again,” I called up to her as she reached the second story and disappeared from view.

I laid down on the couch and pulled the blanket over me. If the surroundings were any indication, the nights could get cold, especially with no apparent heating system, though I can understand a lack of heat inside of a tree.

It took me several minutes to calm my mind enough to sleep, but I could not help but worry if I would be able to return home or if I would be stuck here.

Meetings and Meltdowns

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Book Two: Meetings and Meltdowns

I woke up slowly, the kind of slow creep towards consciousness. I yawned and rolled over, falling onto the floor.

“Huh?” I said out loud. I had almost forgotten the events of yesterday and was disoriented for a moment while I looked around the library.

“Oh good, you’re awake,” said the now familiar voice of Twilight Sparkle.

“What time is it? I asked, untangling myself from the blanket.

“The sun’s been up for over an hour. You slept in quite a lot,” she said,taking a sip from a cup that was floating next to her, surrounded in a purple aura.

After disentangling myself, I folded up the blanket and placed it on the couch with my magic.

“Did you sleep well?” she asked, setting her cup down on the table.

“Yes, I slept fine. Thank you for allowing me to stay.”

“You don’t have to keep thanking me, it was nothing really.”

“As you wish.”

I looked over as Spike came down the stairs, carrying a pair of saddlebags with Twilight’s cutie mark on them, clearly marking them as her’s.

“Are you going somewhere?” I asked.

“Yes, and you are too.”

“What?” I asked, now curious.

She opened up one of the saddle bags and placed a few scrolls inside. “I thought I would give you a tour of Ponyville. I’m sure my friends would like to meet you. And then I was planning on bringing you to see Princess Celestia this evening. She sounded like she wanted to meet you.”

“You’re taking me to your Princess so soon? I would have thought there would be preparations to make for welcoming somepony from another country. That is to say, I wouldn’t expect such a warm welcome with the circumstances of my arrival.”

“Why not? From what you said, it’s not your choice to be here, but you tried to help out without even knowing us,” she said, putting a pair of books in the other saddle bag.

“True, but it was kind of a pitiful effort. I’m just kind of surprised of the lack of caution you ponies show.”

Twilight gave me a look that was partly puzzled and partly perturbed.

“I meant no insult, I just think that you’re very quick to trust me. Trust is not so easy to come by where I come from.”

“I guess that explains why you were showering me with thanks last night. That also explains why you seemed a little guarded when I was asking you all those questions,” she reasoned, putting on her saddlebags.

She went to the door and opened it, Spike following close at her heels. “You coming?”

“Will the library be alright unattended?”

“It’ll be fine silly, now let’s go, I have a few ponies I would like to introduce you to.”

I went through the door while she held it. It appeared she wanted to make sure I went outside.

A yellowish pony with an orange mane waved at Twilight as she passed.

“You ponies seem very friendly, though I suppose that is normal for small communities.”

“From your description, your home is even bigger than Manehatten,” Twilight said, closing the door.

“From what I saw of Manehatten in your books, yes.”

“Then Ponyville must seem like a really small place.”

“Yes. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to get use to it that quickly though. I haven’t been outside of the city, so this is all kind of strange. Though, I suppose a small community does have its advantages.”

Twilight seemed to be satisfied with that answer and nodded before trotting off.

I followed her through the town, looking over the buildings and the residents as they wend about their business. Some ponies were peddling produce and other items from stalls in the market. Others were walking about, headed to destinations unknown. Others still were at an open air restaurant, enjoying late breakfasts, early lunches, or some combination thereof.

Twilight continued walking, pointing out specific shops and other buildings that she thought I should know about. It was at one of these buildings that we stopped: Carousel Boutique.

Twilight explained that this was where Rarity lived and worked as a tailor and dressmaker.

The building itself was almost three stories tall, two actual floors topped with a small spire. The first floor looked quite large and the outside of the building had pillars to help support the structure’s weight. The second story had a set of statues on it, giving show to the building’s name.

Twilight went up to the door and knocked.

A few moments later, Rarity appeared at the door wearing a pair of red glasses.

“Hello Twilight. I see you brought a guest.” She moved out of the doorway and beckoned with her hoof, “Do come in.”

We were ushered inside to a room full of ponnequins, some were bare while others were adorned with dresses at different stages of completion. In the center of the room was what appeared to be a platform for displaying or modeling dresses and off to one side was a red couch, along with a blind to change behind.

“Welcome to Carousel Boutique. I apologize for the mess, I was trying to brainstorm for a new line of dresses,” the white mare said, closing the door behind us.

“Rarity, I’m showing Mixer around Ponyville, and I thought that I’d introduce him to everypony,” Twilight explained.

“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you darling. We didn’t get a chance to be properly introduced before,” she said, giving me a short bow.

“The pleasure is all mine,” I said, bowing in return. “Twilight has been very generous to me, allowing me to stay at the library last night.”

“You poor thing. Didn’t you have any place to stay?”

“I’m afraid not. Coming here was... spontaneous, and I wasn’t really prepared,” I replied, not wishing to take the time needed to give her the full explanation.

“Well, I’m glad that you could at least stay at Twilight’s. Do you know how long you’ll be staying here in Ponyville?"

“Uh, Rarity, Mixer’s kind of stuck here,” Twilight interjected.

“Stuck? You mean he can’t leave?” Rarity asked, sounding concerned.

“I’m afraid so. I cannot return home, at least for the time being,” I said.

“That’s awful! Simply dreadful. You can’t go home? I’m so sorry dear.”

I put up a hoof to hold back further words of sympathy. “It’s alright. For the time being I think I can manage, though I do hope to return as soon as I am able.”

“Well, if I can help in any way all you need to do is ask,” she offered.

“Thank you, I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Well, we should be going if we want to see everypony today,” Twilight said, heading for the door.

“Very well. Goodbye Rarity, and good luck with your dresses.”

“Goodbye Mixer. Good luck to you as well,” she said as we walked out the door.

“She seemed very nice. She also seemed like she’s from a high class family,” I commented.

“Yes, Rarity does pride herself on being ladylike,” Twilight mused, walking in a new direction.

We continued until we came to what appeared to be a life sized gingerbread house, complete with icing and gumdrops.

“This is Sugarcube corner and this-”

The door flew open to a shower of streamers.

“Welcome to Ponyville!” came a cheer from the door.

“...Is where Pinkie lives..."

The mare in question appeared in the doorway with a slice of cake in hoof, which she proceeded to jam in my face. I have to admit, for force-fed cake, it tasted pretty good.

“Pinkie,” Twilight admonished.

“What? I throw everypony a welcome to Ponyville party,” Pinkie said.

After clearing the cake from my face I was able to speak in my own defense.

“Uh, hello...” I said, not knowing what to expect after getting cake shoved in my face.

“Hiya!” Pinkie said cheerfully, as if she hadn’t just covered me with streamers and cake.

“Pinkie, first of all, how do you know that Mixer is even staying in Ponyville?” Twilight asked.

“You mean he wasn’t doing some sciency stuff in a super cool lab, then was mysteriously teleported here when Discord was making everything all crazy and flip floppy?”

Both Twilight and myself were dumbfounded. I could have sworn my jaw actually hit the ground.

“How did you know that?” Twilight asked, regaining her composure first.

“Lucky guess,” the pink mare said happily.

“Does...Does she do this all the time?” I asked, still completely struck that a mere guess was so dead on.

Twilight gave a heavy sigh, “Not all the time, but yes.”

Pinkie just giggled and trotted around us.

Spike nudged me to snap me out of it. “Don’t think about it too hard.”

“Pinkie, I brought Mixer so I could properly introduce him to everypony,” Twilight explained.

“Everypony? Did he meet Cranky? Or Cheerilee? Oh! Did he meet-”

“Pinkie!”

“Oops, sorry.”

“I didn’t literally mean everypony, I just meant us six.”

“Oh, well in that case,” she stopped mid sentence and turned towards me, “Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie!”

“Nice to meet you, again. In case you don’t remember my name it’s-”

“Of course I remember your name silly! It’s Mixer. I remember everypony’s name!” she said cheerfully.

“Apparently you also like to cut ponies off,” I muttered.

“Well Pinkie we should get going. So far he’s only met you and Rarity,” Twilight explained, trying to hurry us on our way.

“Okie-dokie-loki” Pinkie chimed, before trotting back inside.

Twilight let out a sigh of relief and we continued on our way.

Next we went toward the edge of town to a small cottage that looked like it was built entirely from plant matter, the roof looking as if it were the top of a tree.

“This is where Fluttershy lives. She takes care of all the critters in Ponyville.”

“One pony takes care of all the animals in town?”

“Yes. Fluttershy is incredibly good with animals,” Twilight replied, walking up to the door and knocking.

To my utter surprise a white rabbit answered the door.

“Who is it Angel bunny?” came a soft voice from inside.

“It’s me, Twilight, and a guest. Can we come in?” Twilight asked, poking her head in the door.

“Oh, of course, come in.”

The rabbit, Angel, hopped out of the doorway and Twilight and myself went inside.

The interior of the cottage was full of birdhouses and other animal related objects such as feed bags and food and water dishes.

Fluttershy herself was sitting a mouse in a ridiculously small wheelchair that seemed to be made for it.

She finished with her “patient” and looked up at the two of us.

“Hello. What brings you here?”

“Well Fluttershy, I was introducing Mixer here to everypony,” Twilight explained.

“Yes, we were not properly introduced last time we met,” I said.

“Well I’m happy to meet you, Mixer.”

“The pleasure is all mine. Twilight has been a gracious host, and everypony else has been friendly thus far, if a little strange.”

“Strange?” she questioned, looking at me quizzically.

“We just came to from Pinkie’s” Twilight explained.

“Ah,” she said, apparently understanding.

I took this time to take another look around. It was in this survey that I noticed that the rabbit was giving me a strange look. I couldn’t tell for sure, but it seemed like he was either sizing me up, or giving me the stink eye.

“What are you staring at?” Fluttershy asked.

“Him,” I said bluntly, pointing at the strange rabbit.

“Oh. That’s just Angle bunny. Say hello Angel.”

The rabbit crossed its arms and stuck its nose in the air.

Now, normally I would only be minimally insulted if a pony did that, but a rabbit doing it was surprisingly rankling.

“He must be hungry,” Fluttershy said. “He gets grumpy when he’s hungry.

It was hard to believe that she was defending the insulting lagomorph, but I turned my gaze from him and back to my host.

“Sorry for the in and out Fluttershy, but we should get going,” Twilight said. Her timing seemed better than perfect on two occasions now.

We waved a goodbye to Fluttershy and left her cottage, taking a dirt road that ran parallel to town.

“Where are we going now?” I asked my guide.

“We’re going to Sweet Apple Acres. It’s an apple orchard run by the Apple family.”

“So I take it we’re going to see Applejack next.

“Mhm,” she answered picking up her pace just a bit.

As we trotted along, I wondered how things would go later, for when I was to meet with the princess. Up until just a day ago, I didn’t even know that there was any major civilization outside of the city. Sure there were frontier settlements trying to escape the pressure of the city, but nothing near an independent nation. In a manner of speaking, I was going to be the first diplomat in the entire country. No pressure.

In short order we arrived at the orchard and we came to a barnyard.

Now, mind you, I came from a big city, a sprawling metropolis of spires and skyscrapers. Being somewhat of a scholar, I knew something about smaller settlements, which was why Ponyville’s appearance wasn’t so shocking, but this orchard had a single red barn and a small farmhouse.

The well trodden earth of the barnyard told of generations of hooves that had trampled the soil into the well beaten paths that ran around the orchard. The air carried the smell of apples, a sweet smell that almost completely masked an indistinguishable under odor of something pungent.

All in all, yep, it was a farm alright.

We walked over to the barn where the door was left ajar, whether from carelessness, disrepair, or simple utility, I did not know. Inside the barn was dimmer than outside, but I could clearly make out a large stallion moving hay.

“Hey Big Mac, is Applejack home?” Twilight asked the veritable mountain of pony.

“Eeyup,” came the simple reply as he finished what he was doing.

“Mixer, this is Big Macintosh. He’s Applejack’s brother.”

“Nice to meet you,” I said as Big Mac walked up to us.

Now, I’ll admit, I’m slightly taller than most ponies but this mammoth was a full head taller, and possibly twice as wide at the shoulders, as I was. It was a little intimidating.

“Eeyup.”

I looked quizzically at him. “Is that all you say?”

“Nope.”

“Big Mac isn’t much of a talker,” Twilight explained.

“I see..”

“So, is Applejack out in the fields?”

“Eeyup.”

For his imposing stature, Big Mac seemed amiable enough, and he seemed friendly enough.

Twilight thanked the red giant and we made our way out of the barn and out to the orchard proper, walking among the trees filled with apples.

“I don’t see any workers out here. Are they all on break?” I asked, looking around at the bins of apples dotted here and there among the trees.

“Workers? The Apple family runs the orchard by themselves,” Twilight said, scanning for the orange farmer.

“It must be a big family to take care of so much land.”

“Oh, it is. The Apples have family all over Equestria, but Applejack and Big Mac are the only ones here that work the fields. Apple Bloom is still too young, and Granny Smith, well, she’s a little past her prime to be bucking apples.”

“You mean to tell me that two, TWO, ponies harvest all these apples by themselves?!”

“Mhm,” came the calm response.

My jaw dropped. I would have expected ten, maybe twenty unicorns at the very least to be able to farm such a plot of land; but, two ponies, and earth ponies at that, harvesting all the apple trees on an orchard that stretched for acres? To say that was a herculean task was an understatement, it was flat out impossible.

A dull thump shook me from my stupor as we came within sight of the farmer. She was rearing on her front legs by an apple tree.

“Hi Applejack!” Twilight called.

“Heya Twi,” she called back before giving the tree a mighty kick, sending every single apple tumbling down into a waiting pair of bins.

My jaw dropped again. The strength it would take to drop one apple from the tree was impressive, but all of them? I’d have to wager one kick from those legs could break a pony in half.

She appraised her work and, seeming to be satisfied, started towards us.

“So, Ah see y’all brought a guest with ya. I just wish ya would’ve told me, Ah could’ve prepared a proper welcome.”

“Sorry AJ, it was kind of a last minute thing. Besides, I’m trying to stick to a schedule so we can’t stay too long,” Twilight explained.

Applejack let out a little giggle, “You an’ yer schedules.” She then turned to me and extended a hoof, “Howdy there. If y’all didn’t hear, Mah name’s Applejack.”

I grabbed her hoof to shake it and was surprised by the vigor of her shake.

“Ah remember you. Weren’t you the one that showed up after Discord’s shenanigans?”

“Yes, that was indeed me. My name is Mixer, in case you didn’t remember. This is quite an orchard you’ve got here.”

“Mhm, best apples in Ponyville. All grown right here.”

She went over to a tree and gave it a kick. This one yielded more than just apples however, as a cyan bundle fell on top of the apple farmer.

“RD? What’re y’all doin’ in Mah apple trees?!”

The bundle turned out to be a pegasus, the same one from the day before. Rainbow Dash.

“I was just taking a break from the weather job, and I thought I’d take a quick nap.”

“I betcha you were eatin’ some apples too,” she snorted, pushing the pegasus off of her.

“Maybe one or two,” the cyan weather pony replied sheepishly.

It wasn’t completely unheard of for pegasi to be dispatched to alter the weather patterns in the city. After all, between artificial thermals from the buildings and the winds from out at sea the weather could be erratic. But there were hardly even any clouds in the sky, so why would a weather pony even be out?

“Well, this saves some time,” Twilight said.

“It does?” Applejack and Rainbow Dash replied in unison.

“Rainbow Dash, this is Mixer. Mixer, this is Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said, speeding introductions along.

Unlike every other pony Twilight introduced me to, Rainbow seemed to size me up first.

“You’re the guy from yesterday right? The one who showed up after we stoned Discord?”

“Yes.”

“So what’s so special about you? You don’t look any different than any other stallion.”

It seemed that she had a bit of a barbed tongue.

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight admonished, “He may not look like it, but he’s from another country.”

“Oh, so he’s not just a regular old pony.”

I don’t know what irked me more, the backhanded comment or the nonchalant attitude.

Twilight frowned slightly but continued, “Yes. In fact, I’m taking him to see Princess Celestia after this.”

“And you weren’t going to bring us?” Rainbow questioned.

“Sorry, but this is kind of official Rainbow.”

“I can be official,” she protested.

“No RD."

“Besides, you can pay me back by helpin’ me with the apples,” AJ said.

Rainbow Dash let out a groan, “Fine.”

This place sure had a strange diversity of ponies. From the hyper Pinkie Pie, to hard-working Applejack, all the way to Rainbow Dash.

“Well, we should get going,” Twilight said, directing me back toward the barnyard.

We left the two mares to their apple bucking and started our way back toward Ponyville proper.

“Hey, where’s Spike?” I asked, noticing for the first time that he wasn’t with us. In fact, I don’t think he had been with us since our visit with Pinkie Pie.

Twilight took a quick look around and then her face got worried. “Wasn’t he right behind us?”

“I remember him being with us back at Sugarcube Corner.”

“Wasn’t he at Fluttershy’s?”

“I don’t think so, though the rabbit was taking up a good portion of my attention.”

“Maybe he’s with Pinkie then.”

“Or maybe he forgot something at the library?” I suggested.

“Wait right here, I’ll go check,” she said, before disappearing in a flash of light.

I was familiar with teleportation magic, but even I could only go short distances, while the library was quite a distance away.

A minute or so passed before she reappeared with Spike riding atop her back.

“I found him eating cupcakes in the library,” Twilight said, giving the dragon a disapproving look.

“What, I got hungry... besides, I could barely keep up with you when you left Sugarcube Corner. It’s like you were trying to get away or something.”

“Well, now that that’s done with, shall we continue?” I asked.

Twilight’s face brightened back into a happier look and she nodded, “Yes. I’m sure the princess will be excited to meet you.”

The three of us continued to the train station and boarded the train. It wasn’t terribly modern, but it was a sign that there was at least some technology in this country.

The ride to Canterlot was short and uneventful, though it did give me a chance to think on what I would say to the princess.

If the ponies of Ponyville were anything to go by, I might expect a feast in my honor or some other such thing, these Equestrians seeming so hospitable. On the other hoof, it might be a tense meeting. I know how royal matters can quickly become concerns.

It all boiled down to the princess’ disposition on what I would say, and since that was the case, I decided to just wing it.

We arrived in a sizable city, nothing overly large, but it was definitely a city and not a town.

We got off the train and were greeted by a pair of pegasi in golden armor. Their coats were snow white and their eyes were a piercing blue. It was probably an illusion bound to the armor but it still seemed real enough. It was an impressive move for a society that, up until this point, had only shown signs of being peaceful and blissfully unaware of conflict.

“Right this way," said one of the guards, “The Princess is expecting you.”

“Of course. Come on Mixer,” Twilight said, nudging me forward.

One thing was for sure about the guards, they had an undeniable presence about them. Even though they keep a polite distance from us it was clear that it was a courtesy, not a standard.

We walked past many buildings on our way towards the castle. It was an interesting building to be sure. A bold architectural move to build on the side of a mountain, even having some parts cantilevered over the edge as they were. It gave the castle an almost fantastical property, like it defied gravity to sit as a symbol. A symbol of what though, I wasn’t yet sure.

I also noted the demographic of the city. It was primarily unicorns, unlike Ponyville, which had a fairly even mix of unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies. They also seemed to be dressed in fine clothes, indicating that it was a thing of status to live here, and that many of the residents were likely nobility.

We finally reached the castle doors, which were large double doors, easily three times the size of a pony. Possibly for admitting troops perhaps?

We stopped and two more of the clone-like pegasi opened the doors for us.

Aside from a small foyer, the doors led directly to a large throne room. The vaulted ceiling was impressive and was supported by white marble columns. On either side of the room were stained glass windows which, at a glance, seemed to show images of some kind. But that wasn’t the most impressive thing in the room. No, what was the most astounding was the figure sitting on a raised throne towards the back of the room was a mythic figure: and alicorn!

I could feel my heart skip a beat at the mere sight. All manner of study had gone into the stories of alicorns, but all scientific inquiry had led to the conclusion that they were merely symbolic of tribal cooperation. But this? This was a living, breathing alicorn. Her coat was pure white, an unbroken expanse of alabaster glory that seemed to let off its own glow. Her mane was even more astonishing. It was multi colored, but unlike Rainbow Dash, whose mane was prismatic, her mane was an auroric, literally flowing with green, blue, and pink. It seemed to be blown by an invisible wind, as was her tail that was similarly colored. Most impressive of all was her size, she was twice as tall, if not more, than I was. All I could do was stand in the doorway and stare, completely awestruck.

“Mixer? Are you okay?” Twilight said, prodding my in the side.

“She...sh-she’s...” was all I could muster. After all, I was in the presence of what amounted to a god.

Twilight gave me a strange look and then both of our attention was drawn by motion from the throne.

The alicorn had risen to her hooves and began to walk toward us.

Her face wore a warm smile as she neared us. It was something that I could have sworn had a power all on its own.

When she reached us I bowed as low as I could, almost flattening to the floor.

I would have said something, but what do you say to a god?

“Princess Celestia!” Twilight said happily.

I heard her move, but didn’t lift my head from the ground.

Then it hit me, “Princess?” I couldn’t help but look up.

She giggled. It was a heavenly sound. “Rise. You don’t need to bow, much less that far.”

I stood back up and saw that Twilight and Spike were standing beside the princess.

“I...I’m sorry. It’s just... you...” I felt like an utter idiot, stuttering in front of an alicorn. So much for first impressions.

Spike nudged her leg, “He’s a little goofy around new things.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, your majesty. This is... new, to say the very least.”

“From what my faithful student has told me, you were send to Equestria unexpectedly. And it couldn’t have been an a more inopportune time. I apologize for you having to deal with Discord.”

“There’s really no need to apologize. I-It’s not as if you brought me here.” Even though I was able to speak somewhat coherently, I still couldn’t help but stutter.

“Even so, I am sorry you had to deal with it. But where are my manners, we haven’t even been properly introduced. My name is Princess Celestia.”

I made another bow, “And my name is Mixer, your highness. It is an honor to meet you.”

“And it is a pleasure to meet you Mixer. But you don’t have to continue bowing now.”

“But-” I began to protest, but was silenced by her raised hoof.

“Don’t feel obligated to bow simply because you are from another country.”

“It’s not just that m’lady. You’re... well... you’re an alicorn.”

She let out a little giggle, “Does that mean then that my sister and I should bow to each other?”

I opened my mouth to say something, but no words came out. There were not one, but two alicorns in Equestria.

“Uh, princess, I think you might want to take it easy on him,” Twilight suggested, apparently seeing all my cognitive function leaking out from my ears. At least that’s what it felt like.

“Hmm?” she seemed to only now be realizing that I hadn’t yet closed my mouth and my eyes were some mix between glazed and pained. “Are you alright?”

“T-t-two...” was all I managed before my poor mind couldn’t take it anymore and shutdown.

“Oh dear...”

Setting down Roots

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Book Three: Setting Down Roots

I awoke to find myself in a very soft bed, the kind of bed where you could almost feel yourself sinking into, like a giant cloud that was eventually going to swallow you up in its soft fluffyness.

Then it all came rushing back: the train ride, the walk through Canterlot, and the meeting with the alicorn princess.

Perhaps it was the time unconscious, but my mind was finally able to process the information I had been given before. This country, Equestria was ruled by not one, but two alicorn sisters, one of which I met. Or at least I assumed they shared leadership, otherwise that would lead to one power struggle I wouldn’t want to be anywhere near.

Well, that did explain one thing, no nation would be stupid enough to start a war with Equestria, not with two alicorns at its head.

I’m sure that just those two alone could level New Pegisopolis, though, by Celestia’s demeanor, I doubted that I had to worry about that. At least I hoped I didn’t.

I reluctantly got out of the bed and stretched. Judging by the light, it was late afternoon, early evening.

I let out a sigh and went to the door, hoping that I could find my way around the castle by myself instead of waiting for somepony to fetch me. But as soon as I opened the door, I saw that on either side of me were two guards, which, up until a few hours ago, would have made me jump, but at that point, I think you could have told me that the sky was purple and I would have just shrugged and said, “Okay.”

“You’re awake,” the one to my right said calmly. “The Princess wishes to see you.”

“Very well, lead the way.”

And so, the guards detached from their posts and led me through the halls of the castle. I have to admit, it was pretty impressive architecturally, completely different from most of the designs I was familiar with.

But, I was unable to appreciate it for long, because we arrived at the throne room shortly, entering from a side entrance.

“Greetings Mixer, I hope you’re feeling better,” came Celestia’s greeting.

“I am, thank you. Though it’s still completely astonishing. Forgive me if I offend you, but where I come from, alicorns have been relegated to myth and fantasy.”

“No offense taken. I can understand what a shock it must be to see myths come to life.”
“I also apologize for earlier, I shouldn’t have passed out simply from information.”

“It’s perfectly alright, Mixer. But, now that you are awake, I think it is time that we talked”

She got up from her throne and beckoned me to follow her as she walked towards a doorway towards the back of the room.

I followed her through the door and into a hallway filled with stained glass windows, some of which depicted scenes, while others were oddly blank, showing only the vein like pattern separating the colors.

“Are these windows significant?” I asked, hoping I didn’t sound too stupid for asking the obvious.

“Yes, they depict important points in Equestria’s history.”

That made sense, since close to the end of the hall were a couple of windows depicting Discord. It appeared that my arrival wasn’t his first appearance.

We reached the end of the hallway and went through another doorway, this one leading to a winding staircase that led up to floors above.

“If you don’t mind my asking, where are we going?”

“We’re going to wait for my sister to return.”

“She’s away?”

“Yes. You’ll see soon enough.”

I shrugged and followed her up the stairs.

As we walked up the seemingly endless spiral of stairs, I noticed that the light was fading, indicating that the sun was setting.

“So, where is Twilight?” I asked, trying to break the silence with something other than steady hoofsteps.

“Twilight and Spike have gone back to Ponyville. Don’t worry, you will be returning to Ponyville tomorrow as well.”

“I’m not to stay at the castle?”

“I think that you would be more comfortable in Ponyville. Besides, I hear that somepony wants to see you again.”

“And who would that be?”

I couldn’t tell, but I could have sworn she smiled as she said, “Oh, I think you’ll find out.”

For all her straightforwardness, Celestia could be rather cryptic at times.

Without any other points of conversation to spark up, we traveled the rest of the way up the tower in silence, and by the time we reached the top, the sun had almost completely disappeared beyond the horizon.

The room we finally came to was circular, with a doorway leading to a balcony with a telescope on it. It was spacious enough, though fairly bare of furniture, with only a few cushions for sitting on near the walls. The telescope was another out of place piece of technology, but it appeared that the advancement of Equestria’s technology was somewhat fragmented.

Celestia’s horn glowed with a golden aura as she set two cushions near the center of the room, giving a clear view out of the balcony doorway.

I stayed standing until she motioned for me to take a seat.

Now, the pillows were sized for an alicorn, so I could easily lay upon it, but I decided instead to sit, for the sake of being polite.

For minutes we simply sat there, watching the sun slowly dip below the horizon and the sky turn slowly from a dull red to the deep blue of twilight.

“Isn’t the sunset a beautiful sight,” Celestia said, catching me off guard.

“Y-yes, I suppose it is. I must confess, this is the first I have watched in some time.”

“That’s a shame.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, when is your sister arriving?”

“She should be here shortly.”

And as if on cue, a form landed on the balcony before us, before folding its wings and walking into the room, now lit by magical torches. I didn’t notice them before, so they must have a magical timer. Clever.

As the form stepped into the light, it revealed an alicorn whose coat was deep blue, like the night sky, with a more navy colored mane that twinkled like the stars. It was blown about just as her sister’s was, as if by some unseen wind.

“Greetings sister, I take it everything went well?” Celestia asked the newcomer.

“Yes sister, We had no problems raising the moon, as always. But who is this? He doth not look like one of our subjects.”

Her archaic dialogue seemed strange, but I was not about to point it out. Aside from being impolite, that would have probably been offensive.

“Luna, I would like you to meet Mixer. He’s not from Equestria.”

“Wait, did you say ‘raising the moon’?” I asked, the words finally catching up with me.

“Yes. Surely thou knew where We were?”

“But the... that... no...” my words were having trouble again. It seems that science had some competition. Some rather stiff competition.

Princess Luna looked at me like I was growing a second horn, something that would probably have surprised me less.

“Where exactly are thou from, to not know of the royal sisters and their duty of raising the sun and moon?”

“What,” I said flatly. No matter how ludicrous it sounded, I was not about to lay down and accept that two magical beings, even if they were alicorns, moved celestial bodies on a whim.

This time, even Celestia gave me a weird look.

“The planet moves around the sun, and the moon orbits the planet. That’s just...just how it works. It’s been scientifically proven for centuries.”

Luna and Celestia exchanged a glance before Celestia spoke, “Are you referring to astronomical principles?”

At this point my jaw dropped, “You mean you study astronomy?”

“Of course, otherwise we wouldn’t be able to manage the sun and moon without causing natural disasters or a gravitational imbalance with the orbital cycles.”

I just decided to stop while I was still cognizant, “Okay, so I guess you do move the sun and moon...”

“You are very strange,” Luna said, grabbing a cushion for herself and sitting across from Celestia and myself.

“Well, in my defence, about ninety percent of what I thought I knew has been turned on its head in the past day or so.”

“So, in other words, everything you know is wrong?” Celestia asked.

“You could say that.”

“Hast thou been living under a rock?”

I sighed heavily, “I seem to be finding that I may as well have been.”

“It is okay, We have only recently returned. That is why We speak as we do,” Luna said.

“Returned from what?” I asked.

“Oh, that is right. Thou art new to Equestria.”

“We can save that story for another time,” Celestia interjected, “For now, I wanted to talk about your homeland.”

“Well, I hope you are comfortable, because there is much to discuss...”

One long night and several explanations later, the princesses seemed to be satisfied with my answers

“So, you’re country doesn’t have that much magic in it.”

“No, and from what you have said, and the implications of such, it is entirely possible that is why we have no dragons, or other magical creatures that Equestria has.”

“And thou art very kind for answering all of our questions. We shall let you rest before your return to ponyville.”

“Yes,” I began, but my words were cut of, or perhaps punctuated, by a long yawn.

Celestia yawned herself, looking a little tired.

“The room you were in before is still open to you,” she said, standing up and stretching, placing her pillow back by the wall with her magic.

“Thank you Princesses,” I said with a bow, “You have been very kind to me, and I thank you.”

“Thou art welcome. I hope that you will find a way back home soon. But thou art welcome in Equestria regardless.”

“Thank you,” I said, standing and moving my own pillow back to the wall.

Luna got up as well and replaced her cushion by the wall.

On the way back down, I was flanked on either side by alicorns. It was strange really. Once or twice I felt one of their manes brush against my fur, and contrary to how they looked, they felt like a regular mane, if a little light. Their fur as well, was odd, they each has different coat properties.
Celestia’s coat was soft, almost like air every time I accidentally brushed against her. Luna on the other hoof had a coat that felt thinner, like it was in two layers, and the top layer was only a few wisps of fur.

It was enough to keep my mind occupied enough to stay awake down the flight of stairs. Perhaps that’s why they did flank me down the stairs, to ensure I didn’t fall asleep on my hooves. That would have probably been quite unpleasant, if not downright painful.

Eventually though, we made it to the bottom of the stairs and the sisters let one of the guards take over in escorting me to my room.

At that point my mind was numb from being tired, and I fell asleep almost as soon as I laid in the bed.

I awoke early the next morning. Odd, considering how late I was up.

I rubbed my eyes and got up, stretching and letting out a long yawn. I had no way of knowing how long I was actually asleep, but it didn’t feel like much.

I looked out the window of the room and saw the sun was just above the horizon, meaning that it was probably an hour or so since the sun came up and most ponies would have started their day. Now, I say most ponies because I have a tendency to work late nights, sometimes through the entire night, and sleep in well past sunrise. This is also why it was early for me to be waking up.

I went out of the room and sure enough, there were two guards on either side of my door.

I bid them good morning and proceeded to the throne room by myself, feeling confident enough that I could take a couple corners without getting lost.

When I reached the throne room, Celestia was sitting upon the throne, looking as if she had been awake for hours, which was very well possible since she raised the sun. Raising the sun, now that was a concept that would take some time to get used to.

“Good morning Mixer, did you sleep well?” she asked.

I stifled a yawn before replying, “Yes, I slept fine.”

She gave me a small, yet still warm, smile, “Are you hungry?”

I could feel my stomach rumble in reply, “Come to think of it, yes, yes I am.”

She waved her hoof and a guard detached himself from his post at the wall and came to stand in front of her, “Please take our guest to the dining hall.”

“Yes Princess,” the guard replied with a salute. He turned to me, “Right this way,” and began leading the way to the dining hall.

While we walked, I had a brief amount of time to appreciate how hungry I actually was, not having eaten since almost a day prior. How I hadn’t felt hungry until Celestia brought it up, I’ll never know.

In short order, we arrived at a spacious hall with a long rectangular table and a vaulted ceiling. Arches and the like seemed to be quite a favorite architectural option in Equestria, at least with their masonry.

Almost as soon as we arrived, a well dressed stallion entered the room.

“Have a seat sir, and we will bring you out something right away,” he said in a professional tone that spoke of experience with serving guests.

I chose a seat close to the middle of the table with my back to a window, so I wouldn’t have to deal with the sun in my eyes, and instead I could see the rest of the room as it was light by sunlight.

While I was waiting for my breakfast, my mind began to wander as to what exactly I would do to try and get home.

From looking at maps of Equestria at Twilight’s library I could tell that it wasn’t on the far side of the badlands, since it had a record of land from one shore to the other. That was also supported by the time difference between when I arrived, and what time it was when I was in my lab. That might be why I woke up so early. I also considered that Equestria could be to the far north or south, but that was ruled out by the temperate climate, which wasn’t too far off from almost sub tropical climate of New Pegisopolis. In the end, it seemed that I was definitely on a different continent, and that I would have to cross the ocean if I wanted to get back home; but, that might not be possible with Equestria’s technology, since it’s geography would almost eliminate a need for large sea-faring vessels.

As I was beginning to think on alternate modes of transportation, the same stallion appeared with a plate of pancakes and a bottle of syrup.

This struck me as a little odd, but not unheard of cuisine, since there wasn’t many syrup supplies in New Pegisopolis, it was mainly a rare treat for lots of ponies. Perhaps Equestria didn’t have such sugar restrictive climate.

I looked at the fluffy golden circles and got a whiff of blueberries. If I didn’t have so much self control, I might have just started tearing into them without any form of utensils, but I took the time to pour a generous layer of syrup on the three pancakes and cut them into bite sized pieces, which seemed to make me hungrier as I got them ready to eat.

One wonderful thing about magic is that you rarely, if ever, need to use a fork or a spoon, which is why I picked up a piece of golden deliciousness with my magic and popped it into my mouth. Between the rich taste of the syrup and the fabulous flavor of the blueberries, I almost shed a tear at the culinary mastery that went into these perfect pastries. And then I immediately proceeded to make them disappear.

In a couple of minutes, all that was left of the pancakes were a couple smears of syrup, and some small crumbs. I let out a contented sigh and leaned back in my chair, savoring the aftertaste of blueberries and syrup, and enjoying the warm sunlight on my back.

As I was enjoying the moment of contentedness, Princess Luna walked in, and I sat back up.

“Good morning Princess.”

“Good morning Mixer, We trust that thou slept well? Didst thou enjoy thine morning repast?”

“Yes, I slept just fine, and breakfast was excellent.”

“Wonderful. Art thou ready to return to Ponyville?”

“If you don’t have anything else you wish of me, then yes.”
She nodded, “Very well. Thou art to go to the train station and travel back to Ponyville where Twilight Sparkle will be waiting. Upon your return, she is to show you to your new place of residence.”

“Oh, you’ve arranged for someplace for me to stay?”

“Verily. We think that it will be to your liking.”

I got out of my chair and bowed, “Thank you very much for your generosity.”

“It is no trouble. Oh! Didst the kitchens make pancakes this morning? Never before have We had such delightful delicacies.”

Her break of formality kind of threw me, but what gave me more of a surprise was when the server brought out three plates of pancakes, each piled high, with fluffy goodness.

“Indeed, they are very good.”

“Good? They’re MARVELOUS!” she said, the last part of her sentence resonating around the room and ringing in my ears. “Oh, We are sorry, sister has been trying to help our control of the royal canterlot voice. She says that it can be... jarring to our subjects.”

I gave my head a quick shake, “No no, it’s alright, just unexpected.”

“Well, thou should be on thine way, lest ye miss the train.”

“Goodbye Princess Luna,” I said with a bow. I could have sworn that as I was leaving the room, I heard her begin to unceremoniously chow down on the pancakes.

I retraced my steps through the castle back to the throne room, where Celestia was still resting upon her throne. It almost seemed like she never left that seat aside from when she escorted me to my meeting with her and Luna.

“Ah, Mixer. Did you enjoy your breakfast?”

“Yes, it was fantastic. And Luna said something about housing for me in Ponyville?”

“Ah yes, we have arranged for a place for you to stay in Ponyville. Twilight will show you where it is. It has basic amenities, but if there is anything you need, you need only ask, and I shall see to it that you get what you need. Of course, this courtesy is only until you are settled in and are able to provide the necessary funds.”

I was speechless. I was being given not only a house, but anything that I needed to begin a new life in Equestria.

“Th-thank you Princess,” I said with a bow.

She smiled, “You’re very welcome Mixer. I hope to see you again some time in the coming months.”

“I would be honored to return to Canterlot.”

“Well, the next train to Ponyville leaves in a few minutes, you don’t want to miss it.”

“Goodbye Princess Celestia, and thank you for your generosity and hospitality,” I said with one last bow.

Then she did something that made my jaw drop, she gave me a slight bow, “I wish you the best of luck luck Mixer.”

With that, I left the castle and began making my way to the train station. As I walked, I noticed that I outpaced almost everypony on the street, who were all ambling along as if they didn’t have anywhere in particular to be. And odd thing for a city, even one as small as this, but I guess that when everything is centralized, there isn’t much need to hurry. I however had to cross a considerable amount of ground to get to the train station.

When I arrived at the train station, I went to the ticket booth and was greeted by a young looking mare with a peachy coat and and orange mane, “Hello sir, how may I help you?”

“Yes, I was told that I should take the train to Ponyville.”

“Ah, you must be the v.i.p. that they mentioned this morning. Here you go,” she said, sliding a ticket over the counter. “Enjoy your ride sir.”

I thanked her and got on to the train just as the conductor was calling, “All aboard!”

I took a seat in one of the cars farther back and looked out the window as the train got underway. It would more than likely be the last time I rode the train for a while, at least for free.

Not long after the train got moving, the conductor came through the cars checking for tickets. I showed him mine, and he looked it over. After a moment, he seemed satisfied and gave it back to me, moving on to the next passenger.

The ride to Ponyville gave me time to consider what I could need that the princesses hadn’t provided for me. For starters, there would be some basic chemistry equipment, and materials, though I didn’t know if it was even possible to get most of the chemicals I was accustomed to working with. I might even have to produce my own chemicals as I needed them. Aside from those, then I wouldn’t really require much, maybe some extra lab space, but that’s it. I could live out of a single room if I had to, which I had on more than one occasion.

Then I thought about what I would do to get myself going. The obvious choice would be to start out making potions, but Twilight had hinted at a zebra that already made quite a variety of potions. The second immediate option would be to make some basic things, soaps and cleaners, maybe some bonding agents, things that didn’t require a great deal of chemical wizardry. Then things started to taper down to either finding a job working for somepony else, or trying to make use of my side hobby of music. I wasn’t the best musician ever, but I was alright, and even mediocre musicians could make a living if they got lucky. But that was a last resort, I would much rather be doing my own work.

My wandering thoughts had a very nice effect of eating up time, and soon I found that the train had arrived in Ponyville and ponies were starting to get off. I joined the crowd and found Twilight and Spike waiting for me on the platform.

“Mixer!” Twilight called, trotting up to me. “So, how was it?”

“It was definitely an experience.”

“You must be ready to see your new home.”

“Yeah, I want to see what all the fuss is about.”

“Well then, let’s get going,” Spike said.

Twilight and Spike proceeded to lead me through town and out toward the outskirts of Ponyville. I wondered if it was a precaution for the chemistry.

We eventually came to a large tree, much like the one the Library was inside, and I noticed a few windows adorned it’s trunk.

“Well, it sure is... different.”

“It was kind of short notice, but it’s got everything you need, two bedrooms, a living room, kitchen...” Twilight began, rattling off the different features of the literal treehouse. It sounded like a fully furnished house, albeit, with less floor space.

After a minute or so of listing off every single detail, Spike was yawning, and I found myself tuning her out.

“Twilight, why don’t we just go inside, then I can see for myself.”

“Oh, right,” she said with a slight blush.

“About time,” Spike mumbled.

I walked over to the door and opened it. The inside of the house was dimly lit, with only a few spots illuminated by the sunlight streaming in the half shuttered windows.

“It’s a little dark, don’t you think?”

“That’s because you haven’t turned on the lights silly,” Twilight giggled, pushing past me and turning on a few magical light sources with her magic.

Once the place was well lit, I could see more clearly the layout of my new house. The entrance was a simple door, though there was a coat stand next to the door. Immediately inside was a kind of foyer, a smaller room from which I could see into what looked like an eat-in kitchen, and a living room on the other side.

“Well, are you going to look around?” Twilight asked.

I decided to check the kitchen first, thinking that it would be the smaller of the two rooms. It turned out to be medium sized, with a small circular table that appeared to be fused to the floor in the center of the room. No doubt some form of magic. Off to one side was a sink and faucet and a counter on either side and a small window above it. Farther down the wall was a small stove and a fridge.

“It looks pretty nice for a last minute thing.”

“This is nothing,” Twilight said, “You haven’t even seen the rest of the house.”

Hearing this got me interested, so I followed her into the living room, and was surprised that it followed the curve of the tree almost all the way around, only stopping at the wall that separated it and the kitchen. There was a large window with a curtain drawn across it that looked like a manticore could easily pass through it if it were open. Towards the center of the room was a large couch, but aside from that the room was bare of furniture, save for a tall clock in the corner.

“Well, there sure is a lot of room here.”

“Come see the upstairs,” Twilight said, ascending the spiraling stairs that hugged the core of the tree.

As I followed her up, I saw Spike go and flop down on the couch, “You two go ahead, I’ll just check out this couch.”

The upstairs wasn’t much to speak of, just a small circular room with three doors, separating the room into thirds.

“These two are bedrooms,” Twilight said, pushing one of the doors open revealing a small bedroom. “The other one is the bathroom”

“Well, this is a pretty bare bones place. It’s got all the essentials, but it’s nice and roomy.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

“Now, Princess Celestia mentioned asking for things I needed.”

“Of course. What exactly did you have in mind?”

“Well, I’ll need the basics for starters, test tubes, bunsen burners, beakers, stuff like that. And I might need some materials to build a shed outside to run experiments in, or maybe just make an addition to the house.”

“Oh, don’t worry about a lab, there’s a basement for that.”

“Really?”

“Yes, the entrance is outside though.”

“Then let’s go check it out,” I suggested and began trotting down the stairs.

When we got outside there was indeed a cellar style door by the trunk of the tree that led down into a small circular room.

“Well, it’s not what I’d call five star, but it’s got enough space for what I need, at least until I can start getting the bits to make a better lab.”

“See, isn’t it great?”

“Indeed, this house is perfect, and a better gift than I thought I was getting.”

“Well, we better go back inside and get Spike. I bet he’s fallen asleep by now.”

So, we proceeded to gather Twilight’s assistant, who turned out to be dozing just as she had suspected.

“Does he always sleep this much?” I asked.

“Sometimes he just likes to take a nap.”

“Well, it’s not like he’s hurting anything.”

“True, but we should let you get settled in,” she said, picking the sleeping Spike up off the couch with magic, and laying him across her back.

“You could stay if you want, I owe you a lot after all.”

“It’s alright, you can get settled in and take some time to compile a list of things you need and come see me tomorrow.”

“That sounds like a fine idea.”

I escorted Twilight and her sleeping passenger to the door and said goodbye.

It was odd, really. I was in a house in another country that was mine. It was more than I had in New Pegisopolis, and I’d been living there my whole life.

I walked back through the house and found some paper and a quill. A quill, another technological shortcoming of Equestria.

I took the paper and quill and sat down on the couch to begin my list.

Canterlot Wedding: Part 1

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Book Four: Canterlot Wedding
Part 1

It had been three months since my arrival in Equestria. Three very long months. At first the business of settling into my new house and getting on my hooves financially was enough to keep me occupied, but as it dragged on into my second month, and I was starting to do some good. if light, business, I began to think of home. By the time month three hit, I was starting to become depressed, despite occasional visits from Twilight and her friends. Even a visit to Canterlot was not enough to lift my spirits for very long.

One of those days in the third month I was not feeling up to work and Twilight had come over to check up on me.

“Mixer, I‘m a little worried about you. I’ve heard that you’ve been coming up late for business and my friends say that you’ve been kind of down when they come to visit,” she said, taking a seat on the couch.

I didn’t want to worry her too much so I tried to convince her I was alright, “It’s nothing to worry about Twilight, just a little homesick is all. I’m sure it’ll pass in a few days,” taking a seat on the other end of the couch.

“But it’s already been a week and Pinkie said you didn’t let her in the other day when she came to visit.”

“Well that’s Pinkie, she can be a little grating on me at times.”

“That’s not really an excuse to not let her in.”

I gave a sigh, “It’s alright Twilight, really. I appreciate your concern, but there’s nothing to be concerned about.”

“I don’t know... How about I come check on you tomorrow to see if you’re feeling better?”

“That sounds just fine Twilight.”

She got up from the couch and made her way to the door, “Alright, I’ll be back tomorrow.”

“Bye Twilight,” I waved from the couch.

She lingered for a moment with the door open, taking one last searching look at me before closing the door and leaving.

When I was sure she was gone, I let out a heavy sigh. I didn’t want Twilight fretting over me so much. It was almost embarrassing.

I rolled onto my back and closed my eyes for a nap, hoping that maybe I would feel better afterwards. Sadly, I was mistaken and my mood was little improved, and most of the day had been wasted.

Feeling even more dejected, I went up to my room and went through some of my things, tidying up to keep myself busy. It wasn’t long, however, before I began to grow bored with the endeavor and stopped. It was frustrating not even having the ambition to finish simple tasks, but that just made me feel worse.

Since I was bored and had skipped lunch with my nap, I decided to make myself something to eat. Thankfully, the need for food outweighed anything else, and I was able to make a good enough dinner, just a couple of daisy sandwiches, but it was something in my stomach.

Even though I had taken a nap earlier, I felt tired, and so I trudged up the stairs to my room and laid down on the bed. It was pretty comfortable, nothing like the beds in the castle in Canterlot, but it was nice and soft, and big enough that I had room to toss and turn without falling out of bed.

Before I knew it, I had fallen asleep. Unfortunately, it only seemed like a few seconds before I woke up again to the morning sun.

I let out a groan, knowing that Twilight would be coming to check on me today, and knowing that she wouldn’t leave until she was sure I was better, or until I agreed to let her take me to a doctor or something. Being that I didn’t think she needed to make such a fuss about it, and hoping that her finding me not at home would dissuade her from pressing the issue, I went outside and took a walk by the Everfree.

The Everfree Forest was something of an anomaly. All the ponies in Ponyville feared it, mostly because of it having independant weather systems and dangerous creatures. I found it less frightening and more intriguing, but there is a fine line between curiosity and foolhardiness, so I usually kept my distance. Today though, I was able to take a good look at it while I was walking.

The trees on the very edge looked very similar to those in Ponyville, if a little overgrown and unkempt. Beyond the fringes though, I could see that the forest quickly darkened, and the plant life on the ground grew wild and unruly. A pony with the right skills could find many exotic flora in the Everfree, which is why I’m sure Zecora established her hut there, close to as many of the most hard to reach plants as possible.

After about half an hour, I had walked almost the edge of the Everfree and Ponyville when I heard somepony’s calls on the wind. It was faint, but I could barely make out somepony calling my name. It appeared that Twilight was going looking for me, and had more than likely recruited her friends to help her.

Were I in a better mood, then maybe I would have come to their calls and explained things, but at the time, I was in no disposition to explain myself, so I decided that I would find someplace to wait them out. To that end, I decided to find a tree near Fluttershy’s cottage that I could climb without too much trouble and wait for Fluttershy to return home, signaling that they were done trying to find me, and I could walk back home.

Much to my delight, I was able to make it without being bothered and found a nice low branch on a tree that was wide enough for me to lay on. Much to my dismay, however, Twilight seemed determined to fine me, and when it was well past noon, there was still no sign of Fluttershy’s return, and I began to doze in the warm sun.

I must have fallen asleep, because I was woken by Fluttershy’s voice.

“What is it Angel bunny?”

I cursed inwardly, I had forgotten about the rabbit. I had only seen Angel once or twice before, and from the first time I saw him, I knew, it was hate at first sight. And the feeling was mutual.

I watched with baited breath as the small white demon tried to tell Fluttershy where I was, and after a minute or so, she looked up in my direction to see me staring down at her.

“Mixer? What are you doing up there?” she asked as she fluttered up to my height, hovering in the air.

If it were anypony but Fluttershy, I would have felt wine telling them a lie or half truth, but it made me feel guilty thinking about lying to Fluttershy, so I settled for looking away and saying nothing. The pinnacle of maturity, I know.

“Twilight’s been worried sick about you. We’ve been looking all day for you,” she said, her voice gentle, but laced with concern.

“I... wanted to be alone,” I said lamely.

“Then why didn’t you just say something? I’m sure Twilight would have left you alone if you just asked.”

“Well, I thought she’d press the matter and insist I see a doctor or something. I know she’s concerned, but I don’t need her fretting over me like that,” I said, sitting up on the branch. It actually felt good to tell somepony about my troubles, and Fluttershy was easy to talk to.

“Why didn’t you tell her yourself?”

I let out a sigh, “Because, I didn’t think she’d listen, so I avoided her instead of arguing.”

Fluttershy, perched carefully upon the branch, now that there was more room. “Why don’t you come down from the tree and go talk to Twilight? I’m sure that if you tell her what’s on your mind she’ll listen.”

“I’m sorry to say this Fluttershy, but I don’t think she will. And at besides, she’ll be mad at me for making her worry so much.”

“All the more reason to talk to her now,” Fluttershy said with a kind smile.

Her patience with me was touching. I’d never really known anypony who would put up with so much and still be so kind. I actually shed a tear.

“Why are you crying?” She asked, her voice edged with concern again.

I wiped the tears from the corners of my eyes, “Well, I’ve never had anypony to talk to before, not like this. And you’ve put up with me, even though I’m difficult.”

“That’s what friends are for,” she said, giving me a short hug. “Now, how about I help you down from this tree and we go talk to Twilight?”

I nodded, “Alright.”

So, Fluttershy helped me get down from the tree, which was thankfully easy, and we made our way to the Library. As you could expect, Twilight gave me a tongue lashing, but Fluttershy helped keep it to a minimum, and before long I was trotting happily out of the library with Fluttershy.

“Thank you Fluttershy, I’m not sure if I would have been able to do that without your help.”

She smiled at me, “No trouble at all, I’m just glad everypony’s happy.”

I gave her a hug, “And I am, so Twilight doesn’t have to worry about me anymore, and I can get back to work.” I thought I saw a tinge of blush grace her cheeks for a moment, but it must have been a trick of the light in the setting sun.

“Goodbye, Mixer.”

“Bye Fluttershy,” I called as I waved. I didn’t know what it was, but Fluttershy had made me feel happy again. As time went on though, I found out why. I found that I had started to fall in love with her. Unfortunately, I had a busy schedule most of the time, and couldn’t find time to properly express my feelings for her.

Two months later, it seemed I had missed my chance when I had gotten an offer to take my business to Canterlot.

I was stunned to get the offer, but apparently, good word of my work had reached Canterlot, and somepony wanted me to move in. I was hesitant, but I needed the bits if I was going to look into finding a way home, so I accepted. Within a week of moving to Canterlot, I had an actual store set up, and was making good business with the high society.

I sent a few letters back to Ponyville, after all, I did still have good friends there. I didn’t get much back however, and soon, I was getting too many orders to have time to write letters. I was a little sad, but my work kept me going, even though so far, my attempts at finding a way back to New Pegisopolis were coming up empty.

I was just getting ready to close my shop after a solid twenty four hours of attending to customers. Apparently, there were whispers of a wedding, and everypony wanted extra coat care products. I’d started that side project shortly after getting to Canterlot, but I ended up being almost exclusively devoted to making beauty supplies for the local salons and private buyers alike. I’d even had Prince Blueblood come to my store once after some debacle with his normal store. Apparently, they had given him some bad hoof cream or something. I didn’t pay much attention to the details, as it was more whining that anything. In the end though, he paid a good sum, and went away slightly less whiny.

As I was about to lock up shop, there was a knock at the door, so I went to see who it was. I found a mailpony holding a letter.

“I have a letter for a mister Mixer,” he said.

“I’m Mixer,” I replied, taking the envelope.

He tipped his hat to me and went on his way.

I finished locking up the store and opened the envelope on my way back to my apartment. Houses were at a premium in Canterlot, so I decided it was more prudent to pay a monthly rent then spend all my bits on a house that would be empty most of the day.

As I pulled out the contents, I noticed that it was an invitation, more of a notice really, to the wedding of Shining Armor and a Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. I was not familiar with this “Princess Cadenza” but I had heard of Shining Armor, and a wedding of that stature would no doubt be a grand spectacle. I was not accustomed to weddings, and decided not to attend the vows, but arrive for the reception. If anypony was curious as to why I didn’t show up, then I could just say that I was busy. I looked back at the notice and saw the date and time of the wedding, in a mere two days.

And for the first day, I was inundated with work again. Last minute orders and ponies buying what I had left in stock mostly, but it was enough to keep my busy.

On the second day, I closed the shop, and most other places were doing the same. It seemed that everypony was going to spend all day preparing for the wedding the next day. I even decided to take some spare bits I saved up and get a tuxedo for the occasion. I even took the time to get my mane somewhat styled. I usually didn’t care what my mane looked like, but I hadn’t exactly been keeping up on my personal grooming with work running me ragged, and I knew it was in poor taste to look disheveled in front of royalty.

The next morning, all of Canterlot was bustling with activity. Ponies dressed in finery of all varieties were bustling about, trying to fit in visits to one place or another before the wedding. What was odd though, was the fact that there was a magical barrier around the city. When they put it up, the guards had come around saying that it was a precaution, and everypony took it at that, but it made me wonder why they had it up only now, and not all the time. Maybe it was hard to keep up, so they only used it for occasions when a lot of important ponies are gathered in one place.

When it was almost noon, I began ambling my way towards the castle. The vows were going to be done soon, or so the schedule said, and the reception was going to start at 1, so I was trying to arrive around 12:30. Then I heard it, almost imperceptible at first, but then everypony heard it. There was a great cracking sound as the barrier over the city gave way and swarms of black bug-like creatures descended on the city.

They were horrific, insectoid ponies, at least they looked somewhat like ponies. They had a greyish green or black exoskeleton, with veined green wings, like a bee almost. They made a sound like bees when they flew too, a loud buzzing noise that permeated the air. They also had horns, and some were cloaked in green magic as they came hurtling down like meteors into the city. The most disturbing thing about them was their pupil-less eyes, just a wall of cloudy blue-grey.

They weren’t individually strong, as the guards and even ponies who were brave enough to fight, like myself, were able to dispatch a few, but for every one that somepony could take down, there were five more waiting to fill its place. They had too great of numbers to fight, and just as they were about to overcome me and do Celestia knows what with me, there was a pulse of pinkish energy emanating from the Castle. The blast seemed only to affect the insect like creatures, who I later found out were called changelings, and blasted them away like hay in a hurricane.

Ponies flocked to the castle to find out what had happened. I was among them, especially wanting to know what in Tartarus had just happened.
As the ponies arrived at the castle, it had appeared that the wedding had been interrupted, and that there would be an explanation after the wedding, which went off without a hitch. The reception was a great party held in the castle garden. It was almost like the Grand Galloping Gala that I had hear about. The music was provided by a DJ named Vinyl Scratch from Ponyville, that is, with a little help from Pinkie Pie. By the end of the night, I had worn myself out dancing and partying and gladly fell asleep in my apartment.

Best. Day. Ever!

Canterlot Wedding: Part 2

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Book Five: Canterlot Wedding
Part 2

I woke up with my head in a fog.

Ugh... what happened last night? I wondered, but my mouth didn’t want to cooperate, and so I was stuck with mental reflection.

I remember... a wedding? Yeah, a wedding, but there was something else too... Something was niggling in the back of my mind like I was missing something.

There was a party... I remember a party... and dancing... The thought of dancing made my muscles sore, more than they ought to.

Then something hit me, I was fighting... but... we won, didn't we?

I tried to force my eyes open, but they refused to cooperate. The rest of my body was more or less as stubborn and it took a tremendous effort just to raise my hooves to my face. It wasn’t the tiredness in my libs however, and I soon felt that I was suspended in some kind of gel like substance. My eyes opened with some effort and I saw that I was in a green translucent pod of some sort. Out of my pod I could barely make out other pods like my own with their own occupants, looking like they were still fast asleep.

I struggled to push my way to the bottom of the pod and started to push against the membrane, which gave after a little effort, spewing it’s contents onto the floor.

I coughed up some green slime and wiped my eyes as I looked around to see where I was. I was horrified to see that I was in the Canterlot castle throne room, except that it wasn’t like I remembered. Rows upon rows of pods were dangling from the ceiling, each containing ponies. It was like something out of a horror story, but it was very real to my dismay. I heard a squelching sound as a pod nearby broke open and a pony gushed out along with the green slime. After a moment, I saw that it was Twilight. She must have come to the same rude awakening that I had, and broken free. I felt by blood freeze when I heard a chuckle of laughter from a voice that seemed to be more than one voice at once.

Twilight’s face turned into an equally terrified visage as we both looked to its source, a large changeling sitting on the throne that would normally be Celestia’s.

“Guards, seize these two and see to it that they are tucked in tighter this time,” the voice said, ending in a warble of laughter.

Two changelings descended to the floor and were stalking toward us. Twilight looked frozen in fear, but my fight or flight response was to get out of there, so I settled for something in between. I tore at the nearest pod, dragging the gooey pony with me as I ran toward Twilight, hooking a hoof under her and pulling her with me toward our nearest avenue of escape, a window.

If I had known that that particular window was leading to a sheer drop off the mountain, I probably wouldn’t have been so eager to jump through it.

“Hold on!” I hollered as we crashed through the window, shards of glass only leaving small cuts on my face as we hurtled out over the abyss.

I heard Twilight scream as we began to plummet toward the forest below. Thankfully, the fall was long enough that Twilight had enough time to compose herself and teleport us just a few dozen feet from the ground.

I was still clinging tightly to her, my eyes closed tightly when we came to rest gently in a pile of leaf litter.

“We’re alive?” I asked nopony in particular, opening one eye. “We’re alive!”

Twilight was less thrilled, but she gave a sigh of relief to find that we were, more or less, intact.

I took this momentary pause to see who exactly I had rescued, since they hadn’t made any commotion since the fall. To my an Twilight’s astonishment, it was Fluttershy. I’m not sure if it was luck or providence but I was glad that it had been her, although she still seemed to be asleep.

“Are you crazy?!” Twilight yelled, her voice hoarse and strained.

“Sorry, it was the first thing I could think of.”

“You could have killed us!”

“Would you rather be a pod pony?”

Her ears flattened, but I think she appreciated what a stroke of luck it was that there had been a way to escape at all.

“We should probably move, they might not look for us, but we don’t want to risk it,” I said, standing up and testing my muscles, which were tired, but still strong.

“Who died and made you leader?: Twilight asked indignantly.

“I’m sorry, but who just saved your flank?”

“And that automatically makes you leader?”

“I think it at least gives me some credit!”

Twilight was glaring at me, but she didn’t say anything back.

“Listen, I’m sorry for being short with you, but this could very well be a life or death situation, and from what I saw up there, you couldn’t react fast enough.”

“I admit that you’re right, I didn’t act, but I think I can do a lot better now that we’re out of harms way.”

“We’re not out of the woods yet.”

She frowned, “Not funny.”

“I wasn’t trying to be. Now let’s stop arguing with each other and try to see if there’s anyplace more safe to spend the night, it feels like afternoon to me.”

Twilight looked up, but the sky was blanketed with grey clouds, “I can’t be sure, but I think you’re right.”

I picked up Fluttershy and situated her on my back with magic, while Twilight looked around and tried to determine out heading.

“I think Ponyville is this way. Maybe if we-”

“If we go there, then we might get captured. It’s better if we avoided civilization for now.”

Twilight frowned sadly but nodded, “You’re probably right.”

The two of us began making our way through the Everfree towards Ponyville for the rest of the afternoon, being careful not to leave the protection of the forest. If ponies wouldn’t go looking in the Everfree, then hopefully changelings wouldn’t either.

When it began to get dark, we stopped and decided it would be better to sleep in the trees than on the ground.

Twilight and I sat on either side of Fluttershy, keeping her from falling out of the tree.

As I was nodding off, I heard Twilights crying.

“Twilight?”

I heard her sniff, “What?”

“Are you alright? I mean, you know...”

“I...I’m afraid. Afraid for all our friends. Afraid for my family. Afraid for Spike.”

“I know how you feel... Everything seems so bleak. But we can do this, I know we can.”

“You think so?”

“I know so.” I reached around Fluttershy and placed a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder.

She seemed satisfied with that and gave me the best hug she could around Fluttershy, “Thanks Mixer.”

When I woke up in what I assumed was the morning, I was groggy and almost fell out of the tree. Thankfully, I was awake enough to catch myself.

“Huh?” I grumbled.

It took me a second before I remembered what had happened the day before. I looked over and confirmed that with the sleeping forms of Fluttershy and Twilight next to me.

It was light enough to see, but it was especially overcast, and we’d have to be careful moving around. If we couldn’t see anything coming, then we wouldn’t be able to do anything about it. Hopefully though, that worked both ways, and if there were changelings looking for us, they would have a harder time finding us.

I took the time to climb down from the tree and look around before Twilight or Fluttershy woke up, that was, if Fluttershy woke up. I tried not to think about that possibility and looked around until I heard a yawn from above me.

“Twilight, is that you awake?”

“Huh?” came her confused reply. I could imagine her looking around above me.

“Down here.”

“What? Mixer, what are you doing?”

“I was looking around to make sure we were still safe.”

“And?”

“It appears that we are alone for now. I suggest we get moving quickly.”

I heard her yawn, “Alright, I’m lowering down Fluttershy.”

I saw Fluttershy’s tail drape down first, then the rest of her body followed, enclosed by a purple glow.

I got underneath her and felt her weight shift fully onto my back, “Okay, I’ve got her.”

Twilight followed shortly, almost slipping down the trunk of the tree.

“Do you know where we’re going?” she asked.

“I didn’t have a particular direction. I was hoping maybe you could make a suggestion as to where to go, since canterlot and no doubt Ponyville are under Changeling control.”

She thought for a minute, “Hmm... What about Zecora. Her hut is in the Everfree Forest, so she could have escaped the changelings. Maybe she can help us.”

I nodded in agreement, “That sounds like our best bet. Let’s just hope you’re right.”

So, we began heading toward Ponyville, Twilight leading the way. I had been to Zecora’s hut maybe twice, but Twilight seemed to know about where it was, so it was better for her to lead.

“How’s Fluttershy doing?” she asked as we were skirting Ponyville.

I turned my head around to look at her.

Her head was drooping, resting against the base of my neck, with her mane dragging on the ground a little. Her wings were relaxed and the tips touched the ground every few steps. Her breathing was normal, but deep. She looked healthy, but she still hadn’t woken up.

“She looks fine physically, but she’s still out.”

“I was afraid of that...” she sounded concerned, and there was a tinge of sadness to her voice as well.

“Do you think it’s because she’s a pegasus? We broke out of that dream, but we’re both unicorns. Maybe we were able to get out because of our innate magical abilities.”

“That would explain why she hasn’t woken up yet, and why there was nopony else. But then that raises the question, how can she escape that? Will it wear off, or do we have to defeat Chrysalis?”

“Chrysalis?” I asked.

“Oh, that’s right, you don’t know...”

Twilight explained to me how the queen of the changelings, Queen Chrysalis, had captured princess Cadence, and taken her place as Shining Armor’s bride, planning to feed on his love and take over. She also told me how she was the only one to realize it until it was too late. By the time she revealed herself, Shining Armor was unable to hold the barrier, and the changelings invaded. It was Princess Cadance’s and Shining Armor’s love that had expelled the changelings, or so we thought.

It appeared that at some point, something had happened and the changelings had somehow won. That was the only explanation for why things went as they did.

“So, maybe Chrysalis had some kind of spell over Cadence, because I remember fighting changelings, but the blast of magic form Princess Cadence and Shining Armor saved me from being overwhelmed.”

“So she must have done something just before that,” Twilight reasoned.

“Whatever it was, it doesn’t matter right now. The only thing that matters now is getting to Zecora’s hut without being caught.”

And it seemed that our objective was at hoof, because the trees thinned, and we could see Zecora’s hut in the gloom.

“There it is!” Twilight cried, almost shouting.

“Let’s hurry. We don’t want to attract any attention to ourselves, changeling or otherwise.”

“Right, sorry,” she apologized and crossed the gap between the trees and the door of the hut.

“There aren’t any lights in the hut. Do you think she’s out?” I asked.

“I hope not,” Twilight replied, knocking on the door.

It appeared I was right, because there was no answer, only silence.

“I have a bad feeling about this...”

There was a rustling in the underbrush behind us and Twilight and I wheeled around. Well, she wheeled around, I did my best to turn quickly without dropping Fluttershy.

The leaves parted to reveal tall grey and white mohawk, sported by none other than Zecora.

Twilight sighed, ”Thank Celestia it’s you Zecora, we thought we’d been found.”

“Indeed, it is lucky you found me.”

I felt a knot in my stomach. The few times I had spoke to Zecora, she had always spoke in a rhythmic cadence, rhyming her words flawlessly. This was neither rhythmic, nor rhyming.

“Zecora, what’s wrong with your voice?” I asked wearily.

“Whatever do you mean? Do I sound hoarse? It must be a trick of the ear of course.”

I set my jaw. It was possible that this was really Zecora, but if it wasn’t then changelings adapted very quickly to mask suspicion. This one had already picked up the correct rhyming scheme, but it didn’t have the cadence or the smoothness to be Zecora.

“Twilight, back up,” I said cooly.

“What? But it’s Zecora,” she said, clearly perplexed.

I shook my head, “No it’s not.” I addressed the changeling, “You caught on quickly, but you obviously haven’t perfected the disguise.”

It looked shocked, “How can you say it is not me? When I find you under my tree.”

My jaw actually dropped. It was getting better with every passing second.

“See, there’s nothing to worry about, Mixer,” Twilight said, trying to reassure herself more than me.

There was a whirring sound that drew all our attentions, and a strange set or rocks came flying out from the undergrowth, spinning through the air at the changeling. It gave out a startled cry as the rocks wrapped around its legs and each other, holding it fast.

“Zecora!” Twilight cried. But I knew better, and looked towards the source of the strange projectile, and saw a cloaked form make its way out of the bushes.

“Zecora,” I said, breathing a sigh of relief.

“Look now at what you two have done! Coming to me while on the run. If I had not been here, you two would have surely disappeared,” she chastised.

Twilight looked between the real Zecora and the changeling, confused, but relieved by my reaction.

“Thank Celestia it’s actually you. But what are we going to do about that?” I asked, indicating her imposter.

“Worry about that imposter not, for now that it’s bound, it’s bound for the pot.”

The changeling looked afraid, and began struggling against it’s bindings, but Zecora was upon it in and instant, delivering a swift kick to its head, knocking it out.

“Now help me get this inside, and I’ll give you two someplace to hide,” she said, opening the door to her hut.

Twilight took Fluttershy from me so I could drag the unconscious changeling inside. It was odd, really. It felt much lighter than it should have for its size, so dragging it wasn’t as hard as I had thought it would be, but it was still awkward to get it inside the door.

“It’s seems Fluttershy has fallen quite ill. Tell me pray, how this transpired, while I get started lighting this fire.”

“...So as you can see, we’re in dire need of help,” I said, finishing our story.

“I see your plight. You were coming to me in your flight. I am sorry to say, that all the help I can offer is letting you stay.”

“Anything that you can offer us would help,” Twilight said.

“But I want to ask, can you do anything to help Fluttershy?” I asked.

“Hmm... Her problem is not one I’ve seen before. I fear that with this, magic is at the core.”

“But she’s been free from magical influence for almost two days now,” Twilight said.

“Then there is no more we can do. Waiting is what I recommend to you.”

I sighed, “Thank you for your help Zecora.”

“You are welcome my friend, but I must to this changeling attend,” she said, loading the still unconscious changeling into the boiling liquid in her cauldron.

Twilight and I looked away while she was going about the slightly ghastly business, and decided to move Fluttershy to a more comfortable spot on a circular carpet.

“Her mane’s kind of dirty from dragging on the ground,” I commented, “ I wish we had something to clean it with.”

Twilight glanced back towards Zecora, “Well, we have enough warm water...”

I lowered my voice to a whisper, “Do you think she’ll be alright?”

“I hope so,” Twilight whispered back.

I took a look down at Flutterhsy and turned back to see Zecora now done with her task.

“Do you think we should have a watch?” I asked, worried about possible changeling attacks in the night.

She nodded, “Yes, that idea is good indeed, and I think the first watch should be thee.”

I nodded, “Alright.”

“Come Twilight, we must rest. I’m sure that Mixer will do his best.”

Twilight got up and walked with Zecora into another part of the hut that I could only assume was the bedroom, leaving me with Flutterhsy and a strange smell in the air coming from the cauldron. With nopony to see me, I let a tear roll down my cheek.

Whether I had the strenght I had been showing to Twilight or not, I was practically a wreck after what had happened. My temporary home was now under the control of a malicious insectoid race, all of the friends I had made were in pods except Twilight and Fluttershy, and one of them was in a coma. What was worse was that with Fluttershy being in the state she was in, I felt my feelings for her start to surface again, making the situation that much worse.

I walked over to Fluttershy and laid down next to her, listening and feeling her deep even breathing.

“Why did things have to happen like this?” I asked softly, talking more to myself than Fluttershy. “Why couldn’t things have just ended happily? Maybe if they had I would have gotten the chance to tell you how I felt. Then again, I might just have stayed busy and been unable to talk to you at all.”

I gave a sigh, “Fluttershy, no matter what happens, I just wish you could know that I love you...”

I closed my eyes and let a few more silent tears roll down my cheek. A few of them slashed on the side of Fluttershy’s face, leaving the fur where they touched slightly darker.

I felt something shift next to me and opened my eyes to see that Fluttershy was stirring.

“Huh?” she said sleepily, her eyes opening slowly.

“Fluttershy?” I almost thought I was dreaming.

“M-mixer?” her eyes were fully open now and she was looking up at me.

I hugged her, “Are you alright?”

She seemed kind of bewildered, but she was able to answer, “I-I think so. What happened? Where are we?”

I let her go from my embrace, “We’re at Zecora’s hut in the Everfree Forest. And as to what happened... well, you know how the changelings attacked during Princess Cadence and Shining Armor’s wedding?”

She nodded and her face became concerned.

“Well, they succeeded, and put everypony in pods. Twilight and I were the only ones to ‘wake up’ and we managed to free you before we escaped, but you’ve been asleep for two days,” I explained.

“Oh my...”

“Yeah... So we came to Zecora’s to hide until we come up with a plan.”

“Where are Twilight and Zecora?’

“They went to sleep for the night while I stayed watch.”

She took a sniff of the air and her nose wrinkled, “And what’s that smell?”

“You don’t want to know,” I said flatly. “By the way... did you hear anything I said?”

“What?”

“I mean, when you were asleep.”

“Oh. No, I don’t remember anything.”

I nodded sadly, but quickly looked back up at her, “You should probably try to get some rest yourself, we don’t know if you might be weak after that ordeal.”

“But I thought you said I was asleep for two days?”

“Well, it might not have been true sleep, but I suppose you’re fine,” I observed.

“Well, I certainly feel fine,” she confirmed.

“I think we should wake up Twilight and Zecora so they know that you’re awake,” I suggested, heading for the bedroom door.

“That won’t be necessary Mixer, we already know what’s gone on with her,” Zecora said, heading me off.

Twilight came rushing out and hugged Fluttershy,” I’m so glad you’re alright, Fluttershy.”

I looked to Zecora, “How did you know?”

“Did you think that we truly slept?” she leaned in closer, “Don’t worry, your secret will be kept.”

I couldn’t help cracking a small smile. Zecora may be mysterious, but she was wise.

“But come now, to bed we must go, for tomorrow is a day for planning, you know,” Zecora said, motioning for us to follow her.

I hadn’t realized it, but I was tired after the journey there and the long explanation, and was thankful to see a large circular bed against the back wall. It was strange actually, the bed was large enough to accommodate at least five ponies, but as fas as I knew, Zecora lived by herself. It was also odd to see animal pelts as blankets, but then again, she did live in the Everfree Forest.

“But what about a watch? We’ll all be asleep if any changelings come around.”

“Fret not Mixer, they’ll not come around. With that brew’s smell, timberwolves will abound.”

I nodded, that was actually very clever. With Timberwolves prowling around attracted by the smell, not many creatures would be brave or stupid enough to try and get close.

I looked dubiously at the bed as Zecora climbed into it and laid her head on a pillow. It wasn’t like I couldn’t sleep with other ponies, but I would be the only stallion in a bed with four three mares. I felt a little uncomfortable, but I slept towards the foot of the bed while the girls slept by the head.

It wasn’t long before I drifted off to sleep. But it wasn’t exactly restful, and I was plagued by nightmares.

Canterlot Wedding: Part 3

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Book Six: Canterlot Wedding
Part 3

I awoke to something hard bumping into my head. It seemed that mornings were just not my thing. I opened my eyes to see Twilight’s hoof twitching by my head, giving me another soft kick in the face. I rolled off the bed and stretched, avoiding any more potential head injuries than were absolutely necessary.

I looked over at the bed and saw that Twilight and Fluttershy were snuggled up together, sleeping soundly while Zecora was nowhere to be found. The ever present cloud cover made it hard to tell what time it was, but I had to guess it was about sunrise.

I walked out of the bedroom and saw Zecora stirring the cauldron.

“I hope you don’t intend us to eat changeling stew for breakfast,” I grumbled.

“About breakfast you should fear not, while you were sleeping I cleaned out the pot,” she replied.

“So, what are you cooking?”

“Something full of energy. I think that it will help thee.”

I shrugged, “So are we going to wake the others, or let them sleep?”

“We cannot let them sleep, we have a schedule to keep,” she said, walking towards the bedroom.

I took the opportunity to walk over to the pot and take a sniff. It smelled bitter, but at the same time it had a fragrance about it that was invigorating.

I heard yawning from the other room as Zecora roused Twilight and Fluttershy. It wasn’t long before the three of them were walking out from the bedroom. Fluttershy and Twilight both looked sleepy, but it wouldn’t be long before they were fully awake.

“Come you three, grab a bowl. Drink of this, drink it whole,” Zecora said, getting a ladle for the concoction in the cauldron.

I grabbed a wooden bowl and held it up with magic for her to fill. Twilight did the same, looking at it dubiously, while Fluttershy held out the bowl with her hooves. Even Zecora grabbed a bowl and gave herself a serving.

“Well, bottoms up,” I said, draining the warm, thick liquid from the bowl. Zecora did the same happily, while Fluttershy and Twilight each started with a sip.

I could feel warmth filling me up, easing any soreness or tiredness from my body and replacing it with energy and strength. It made me feel like I could run from one end of Ponyville to the other without stopping, twice. Twilight and Fluttershy instantly perked up after finishing their bowls.

“Wow! I feel great,” Twilight commented.

Zecora gave a chuckle, “Now that you’re ready to go, our plans we must grow.”

“Well, Twilight, do you have any ideas?” I asked.

“Well, we can’t get into Canterlot, it’s far too risky... and there probably isn’t anypony left in Ponyville that hasn’t already been caught.”

“Fluttershy, can you think of anything?”

“Oh goodness no. All the poor critters probably already ran away.”

“Zecora?”

She smiled, “You ask us what we should do, when the one here with a plan is you.”

I was taken slightly aback. I had a few ideas swirling around in my head, but I thought Twilight would have a better plan than I would.

I could feel all three of them looking at me expectantly while I tried to pull together a plan.

“Well...there are dragons in Equestria, right? Well, why don’t we ask one of them for help? I know Spike’s a dragon, so why not ask a more mature dragon?”

Twilight and Fluttershy looked dumbfounded, but Zecora still wore a knowing smile.

“You can’t be serious, Mixer,” Twilight said, being the first to find her tongue. “Spike’s a baby dragon, he’s grown up around ponies. Most dragons are fierce firebreathing beasts!”

“B-besides,” Fluttershy stammered, “There aren’t any dragons around here.”

“What do you mean there aren’t any dragons around here?”

“All the dragons migrated a couple of months ago, don’t you remember?” Twilight lectured.

“Well, don’t you know where they migrated to?”

“Well...” she said, looking away.

“Well?”

“Well... yes, but it’s extremely dangerous!”

“And the changelings aren’t? We need to consider more risky options, Twilight,” I countered.

“But how are we going to convince a dragon to help us? Most of them would probably rather eat us for a snack then talk,” Twilight huffed.

“Do you not remember Twi? The dragon moved by Fluttershy,” Zecora said.

Twilight’s eyes brightened a bit, but she still seemed unconvinced, “How do we even know that that one dragon would be there?”

“You said all the dragons migrated, right?” I asked.

Fluttershy looked terrified.

“Yes, but Fluttershy is terrified of dragons,” Twilight explained.

I looked to Fluttershy, “Would you be willing to help us talk that dragon into helping us?”

She half hid behind her long mane, making a squeaking sound.

“Please Fluttershy, you’re our only hope.”

“O-okay...”

“But what are you going to do with a dragon, if we can get a dragon?” Twilight asked.

“Well... You don’t suppose you’d be up for a ride, would you?”

“WHAT?!” Twilight about shrieked.

“I mean, you can direct him to do what we need to do.”

“And what exactly is that?” Twilight asked, her voice strained.

“Well, lots of fire, roaring, making a big scene to draw the changelings’ attention. While you’re doing that, then maybe we’ll be able to sneak into Canterlot,” I said, making up the plan as I went.

“And then what? Are you trying to get me killed?”

“Well... we could...” I got an idea, but I was sure they weren’t going to like it, “We could get Discord to help.”

“WHAT?!” came the cry of all three of them. “Are you some kind of nut?” Zecora added.

“Well, he’s the embodiment of chaos, right? Well, he wouldn’t like all this gloom anymore than we would, and if we could give him a sweet enough deal, then maybe he’d be willing to help us.”

“I thought you were crazy when you suggested my riding a dragon, but freeing Discord? Have you gone completely insane?” Twilight questioned.

“Listen, if it’s just me and Fluttershy, we could get to him and free him. Zecora could sneak into Ponyville and free the ponies there.”

Fluttershy looked even more dismayed now.

“So, you’re saying that while I ride on the back of a dragon, you two are going to sneak into Canterlot and free the embodiment of chaos, while one lone zebra is going to free all the ponies in Ponyville from pods?” Twilight challenged.

“Well...yeah,” I said plainly. “I know it’s a very desperate plan, but desperate times call for desperate measures.”

“But assuming you could get a dragon to help us, and get into Canterlot, and free Discord, and convince him to help us, you’d be unleashing worse onto Equestria than the changelings,” Twilight said.

“Well, you can always use the Elements on him after we’re done,” I reasoned.

Twilight groaned, “That’s not the point! Discord could just as easily turn on us while we’re doing this plan of yours, or take the Elements before we could use them on him.”

“No risk, no reward,” I said flatly. “We can either try my plan, or sit here and hope we go undiscovered until we grow old and die, or the changelings move on, leaving Equestria an abandoned wasteland.”

Twilight bit her lip, and Fluttershy cowered behind her mane.

“Then let us try. The time has come, to do or to die,” Zecora said, looking more resolute.

“You’re willing to try this crazy plan?” Twilight asked Zecora incredulously.

“Yes Twilight, I won’t just cry. As my teacher once said, ‘do or do not, there is no try’”

Twilight gave a heavy sigh, “I guess you’re right, we’ve got to try something at least.”

I looked to Fluttershy, “Fluttershy, will you help us?”

“If we are going to try this, we need you Fluttershy,” Twilight urged.

“If everypony needs me... I guess I’ll help,” she said weakly.

I nodded, “Twilight, you’ll have to lead us to the dragons.”

“Alright, I think I can remember where they are.”

“You three go ahead to the dragons’ lair. I will stay here and begin to prepare,” Zecora said.

“Stay safe Zecora,” I said as I headed toward the door.

“How much farther?” I asked Twilight.

We had been traveling for half the day, and the terrain was starting to get more rocky.

“Not much farther,” she replied, forging ahead.

Fluttershy was dragging behind but keeping up with us, though I had to fall back to pull her forward a couple of times.

Looming ahead of us was a low plateau, but there was plenty of forest between us and our destination.

“How do you plan on finding the dragon we’re looking for exactly?” Twilight asked.

“Well, I was hoping that you two could recognize him, and if not... well, we can always ask.”

“You plan on just asking for a dragon?” Twilight deadpanned.

“Well, I was hoping that you could just recognize him,” I said defensively.

She sighed, “I can’t believe I agreed to this plan...”

We carried on in silence as we drew close to the plateau. The slopes were bare of any vegetation, and the faint smell of brimstone was hanging in the air as we began to climb.

“Since this is my plan, I’ll do all the talking. You two stay a close, but at a safe distance, I know a little bit of magic to shield us, but it won’t hold up under more than one dragon.”

“But shouldn’t we be in front?” Twilight asked. Fluttershy was still silent.

“No, if we fail, you two need to get out of here as soon as possible and return to Zecora. I’ll try to cover you, and I’ll make it back to you if I can,” I said, thinking about what I would do if things went south.

It wasn’t too long before we reached the top of the plateau, or rather, the caldera. Beyond the lip, it sloped back down into a shallow bowl, with some pools of lava here and there. Adolescent dragons were bathing in the lava, while elder dragons were sitting near the rim, soaking up heat from the ground.

I wasn’t sure if it was the heat of the ground, or the dozens of dragon eyes looking at me, but I felt like I would burn to a crisp when we crested the rim.

I took a tentative step forward to test the gentle slope, and began walking slowly into the cater, casting weary glances around at the dragons watching us. This was a volatile situation and I was beginning to have second thoughts about the plan.

An adolescent dragon in a nearby pool of lava splashed some our way and I took a step back as the ground sizzled. He laughed and submerged himself back in the lava, satisfied at scaring us.

I continued on until I was stopped by a burst of fire, “What business do you have here?” a perturbed voice said from behind the fresh cloud of smoke.

I cleared my throat, “We have come in search of a dragon.”

The dragon, a large green wyrm many times my size, was gazing down at me with blazing orange eyes, “Well, you have found one, now begone.”

“I apologize, but we are looking for a specific dragon, one that we have had dealings with in the past, and we require his aid.”

Curls of smoke rose from his nostrils as he gave a snort, “You think to come here and ask favors?”

“Were the circumstances not so dire we would not intrude, but there is no recourse so we came here seeking the help of a mighty dragon,” I said, hoping a little flattery would help.

“So, you would risk being burnt to a crisp by an angry dragon?” his eyes narrowed at me.

“Yes,” I said confidently.

He drew in a breath and I covered my face, putting up a magical barrier. But fire never came. Instead, he let out a chuckle.

“It amuses me to see such foolhardy bravery from a pony every few centuries.” He glared down at me, “Now, go find this dragon of yours and leave before you outstay your welcome, pony.”

“Thank you. We will conclude our business as soon as possible,” I said, giving him a quick bow before running back to Twilight and Fluttershy, who was covering her eyes with her wings.

“We should find that dragon quickly.”

Twilight nodded and gave Fluttershy a nudge to get her moving. It took three good prods before she actually got moving.

“Fluttershy, Twilight, do you recognize him from these dragons?”

Twilight looked around and Fluttershy peeked out from behind her wings.

“O-over there,” Fluttershy stammered, pointing at a large red dragon, snoring by the edge of the crater. The only problem was that he was on the other side of a pool of lava, and going around would entitle going around two large sleeping dragons.

“I’ll go over and get him, Twilight, you keep an eye on Flutters,” I said, making my way towards the lava pool.

I looked at both the dragons and decided that I might be able to get past them if I was careful and not too loud.

So, I started to tiptoe my way past the first dragon. It was the smaller of the two, and a dark forest green color. It let out a puff of smoke as I was passing by its head and I suppressed a cough, and my eyes began to water. Thankfully, he stayed asleep, and I continued on to the next dragon, a crimson red behemoth.

I made sure to take extra care to be quiet around this one. It looked like he could snap me up in one bite. Thankfully, this dragon was also a heavy sleeper, and didn’t notice as I crept past him.

I was finally out of the danger zone, and now in the incredible danger zone, as I walked up to the sleeping dragon. I took a deep breath and gave his snout a gentle nudge.

I jumped back as his eyes shot open from just that little touch. Apparently, he was a light sleeper.

He rose up and glared down at me, curls of smoke and puffs of flame coming from his nostrils, “You have two seconds before I turn you to ash.”

“We need your help. Changelings. Yellow Pegasus. Look,” I said, spitting out the words and pointing over to Fluttershy.

The dragon’s head swung over to see Fluttershy, eyes wide and cowering in his direction. I was glad to see that he was less angry for it. Unfortunately, he was still angry at me for waking him up.

He picked my up with his giant claws and held me in front of his muzzle, “Why did you wake me up from my nap?”

“Changelings have invaded and we need the help of a mighty and noble dragon to defeat them,” I said, trying to fight down the fear of being burned alive.

He let out a puff of smoke that made me cough, “Why?”

“As far as we know, we three and one other are all there is to fight them. We can reward you for helping us.”

He scratched his chin with his free claw, “How much?”

“Gems, gold, whatever the princesses will allow, which I’m sure will be a great sum for saving all of Equestria.”

“And what would I have to do?”

“Well, we can discuss that when we have everypony together so, could you please put me down?”

He snorted and set me down, “And where did you think of talking?”

“Outside of the crater, on the side of the mountain perhaps?” I said, taking a few steps back.

The dragon stretched, “Very well, meet me on the side of the mountain.”

I watched as he made his way over the lip of the crater before motioning Fluttershy and Twilight over.

Fluttershy, still paralyzed with fear, was teleported by Twilight to me and we made our way over the rim of the crater and down to where the dragon was. I was very thankful to be away from so many living furnaces.

The dragon was waiting near the base of the slope, and he seemed to be more amiable now.

“Well, now that everypony, and dragon, is here, we can hammer out the details,” I started. “Now, Mr. Dragon, we will be needing a distraction, and by we I mean Fluttershy and myself. The plan is for you to fly with Twilight on your back above Canterlot and get the changelings’ attention.”

“A distraction? That’s it?” he asked indignantly.

“No, not at all, you will get their attention, and then you can burn as many of them as you please, the more the better.”

“And why am I carrying a pony?”

“Because Twilight will be watching your back and making sure you don’t get captured.”

“Is that it?” he asked, crossing his arms.

“Well, we have a plan, and there should be some fighting if things go our way, and we need you to help out. You don’t mind the taste of charred changeling, do you?”

“I’m willing to try something new,” he answered.

“Alright, so you’ll help us?”

He scratched his chin in thought.

Fluttershy spoke up, apparently no longer so afraid, “Please Mr. Dragon?”

“Alright, I’ll help.”

“Great! Uh, would you mind carrying us back to Zecora’s?” I asked.

They all looked at me strangely, Fluttershy and Twilight more out of concern, the dragon more out of curiosity.

“We can’t afford to waste any time. If we travel on hoof, then it will be nightfall when we get back. If we fly, we’ll get there in two hours tops.”

Twilight gave a heavy sigh, “I suppose you’re right.”

“Cheer up Twilight. This means that when you have to do your part of the plan, it won’t be your first time on a dragon’s back.”

She rolled her eyes, “Let’s just go.”

The dragon lowered himself to the ground so we could board. Fluttershy hesitated before fluttering up to join Twilight and myself. Twilight sat in front, with Fluttershy sandwiched between us so I could catch either of them if they fell.

“Hold on,” the dragon instructed as he spread his wings, giving them a great flap to propel himself off the ground.

I had to admit, it felt pretty amazing flying on the back of a dragon. Well, besides the lack of ground and the constant fear of falling off. I’m sure it was easier for Fluttershy, but Twilight and I held onto whatever we could, tightly.

As predicted, we arrived at Zecora’s far faster than if we would have walked. Of course, on the approach we had to fly low to avoid detection. Zecora looked impressed when a dragon lumbered into the clearing around her hut.

“You have come back. It is now we should begin our attack,” she said.

“We should wait until morning. We can use the dim light of dawn to get a head start on our infiltration, and then as the sun rises, Twilight and our dragon friend can begin their part,” I countered.

“I think Mixer’s right Zecora,” Twilight said, “We can get some rest before we begin.”

“At dawn on the third day, look to the east. I will be there,” she replied. We waited for a few seconds. “… so you may end Chyrsalis’ reign of fear.”

“I hope you don’t intend for us to wait three days,” I said offhandedly.

“Yeah, we could use a rest, but that’s a little much,” Twilight added.

Zecora just smiled and gave her head a little shake, “Worry not my friends, tomorrow morning shall be the end.”

I gave a dry laugh, “ I just hope it’s not the end of us.”

Twilight shot me a look.

“So...um, we were going to talk about the plan when we got back,” Fluttershy said meekly.

“Right,” I nodded. “So, Fluttershy, myself, and Zecora are going to sneak into Ponyville under the cover of darkness. We’ll split up there to our respective roles. Zecora will go free as many ponies as she can, and Fluttershy and I will go to the train station and find a hoof car to get to Canterlot with. The train is probably not even working, and besides, it would be too conspicuous.”

The dragon was leaning in, listening intently.

“When the sun rises above the horizon, Twilight and our fiery friend here will fly out towards Canterlot and that will be our signal to get a move on. While Fluttershy and I find and free Discord, Zecora, you need to get all the able bodied ponies you can muster and try to find the train if you can. An army, even an untrained one will draw even more attention away from Fluttershy and myself, and you can even help with liberating Canterlot.”

“Do you even know how to free Discord?” Twilight questioned.

“I have a plan, yes.”

“So long as you’re sure...”

“Twilight, if I were sure of anything at this point, this wouldn’t be such a desperate plan. Now, once we free Discord, then we will have an edge over the changelings, and Twilight and our dragon friend can join us in fighting in earnest. Remember, the objective here is to find the Elements of Harmony and free the other bearers. Twilight, you know where the Elements are kept, so that’ll be your job while Fluttershy and I free the others.”

The dragon gave a snort, “Is that all? You ponies really are crazy.”

“I’d rather be crazy and free than sane and in a pod,” I countered.

“If you are done, then we should turn in. Before the sun rises our plan starts early,” Zecora said, walking towards her hut.

I looked at Fluttershy, Twilight, and the dragon, “Everypony, and dragon, ready?”

They all nodded.

“Then let’s get some rest. We’ve got a gambit to run in the morning.”

“Do you really think this plan is going to work?” Fluttershy whispered as we crept towards the train station, taking the back alleys and slinking from cover to cover.

“No, but it’s too late for second guessing ourselves now. Look, the train station is just over there.” I pointed towards the front of the building.

There were two changelings wandering about the train station. They didn’t look too attentive, but they were still a complication. If they saw us, then whatever changelings that were in Ponyville would be on us like flies, more or less literally.

“We should be careful, we can’t afford to get caught now,” I whispered back. I watched the changelings for a minute before formulating a rout that would work best. “Okay, we’re going to sneak around the building to our left, then we need to get to that patch of bushes. From there, we can get behind the train station and in the clear.”

She nodded.

“My darker coat is less visible, so I’ll go first. Stay hidden until I give you the signal to move. And move quickly when I do.”

She nodded again, this time a little slower.

I took a look at the the horizon and saw the sky begin to acquire a pink hue. We would have ten to fifteen minutes before Twilight went into action, so we had to move fast.

I scurried to the corner of the building and double checked to see if the changelings had noticed. They hadn’t and I motioned to Fluttershy when both were looking away.

As soon as she had crossed the gap, I made my way around the house to the edge where we’d have to leave from.

There was a good ten feet between the building and the bushes that we had to get to, and that was an incredibly long distance to make without being seen.

I waited for an opportunity, then dashed for the bush. Luckily, I made it without either of the changelings noticing. Unfortunately, as I was waiting to signal Fluttershy, a third changeling joined them. That complicated things further, and I had to wait a good two minutes before I could signal Fluttershy. After that though, we were able to sneak behind the train station without any trouble.

“It’s almost sunrise,” I said, looking around for a hoof cart.

“I think there’s a hoof cart over there,” she said, pointing to a small door with a set of tracks leading up to it.

We rushed to the door and opened it to see an old hoof cart that looked like it hadn’t been used in years, which it probably hadn’t.

“Let’s hope this thing doesn’t squeak,” I said, pushing it onto the rails. Thankfully, the wheels at least didn’t squeak.

“How did you know that they would have one of these?” Fluttershy asked, stepping up unto the cart.

“How else would they get out to make repairs to the track,” I said plainly, getting into position and giving the bar a push down. It was stiff, but with a little effort I got it to move.

We started to pump back and forth, getting the cart moving. It we were barely out of Ponyville when a roar carried through the air.

“That’s the cue. Let’s see how fast we can get this old baby moving.”

Fluttershy and I began to pump furiously to speed ourselves along. As we did, we could see the dragon flying into position, and the changelings rising to meet it. There was a group flying from Ponyville, but a larger swarm coming from Canterlot.

It took about five minutes to get to Canterlot, and by that time I was sweating profusely and Fluttershy had already stopped to take a break.

“We should get off here,” I said huffing, just outside Canterlot.

Fluttershy nodded, huffing herself. She was more frail than most ponies, but she was able to keep going for far longer than I had expected at our brutal pace. If the circumstances weren’t so dire, I wouldn’t have pushed her that hard, but it had to be done.

I lifted her onto my back with magic and carried her into the city, darting into an alley to set her down and let her catch her breath. After a minute, her breathing became more regular.

“Are you ready, or do you need more time to rest?” I asked, scanning the area for changelings.

“No, I can go on.”

I walked back over to her and helped her up, “Then let’s get going. I know my way around better, so I can take us down the safest paths.”

She nodded and followed me through the alleys and backstreets. It seemed unnecessary, as we didn’t see anything moving outside, but I was not about to walk out in the open, where any hidden changelings could get the jump on us. The roaring was also another reason why we didn’t see any changelings. They must have been getting closer to Canterlot, because the roaring was getting louder.

When we reached the last of the buildings before the castle, we were able to see what was happening. The dragon was diving and swooping through the air, blasting at the changelings that were swarming around it with fire. It looked like he had to catch Twilight a couple of times as he did his aerial maneuvers, but they were alright for the moment.

“We need to hurry. The sooner we free Discord, the sooner Twilight can get back on solid ground,” I said as I sprinted towards the gardens.

There was no point in trying to sneak across the space. There was no cover, and it was light enough now that it would be foolish to think that we wouldn’t be spotted. Our only bet was cross the gap as soon as possible and hope that we weren’t spotted by any guards.

Fluttershy flew after me as I dove through a hedge, and rolled out the other side covered in leaves.

“Where should we look?” she asked, her head swinging from side to side.

“Well, we should try the center of the gardens, that’s where he’ll probably be,” I said, shaking the leaves and twigs off my coat.

She hovered above the ground as she searched while I scanned from the ground to see if I could spy Discord.

I heard Fluttershy call to me from the other side of a hedge, “Over here.”

I rushed around to see her standing in front of the petrified draconequus.

“Now we just have to get him out,” I said, looking him over. A roar from behind me punctuated our urgency.

“But how?”

“Well... discord?” I answered.

“Huh?”

“Well, he’s the embodiment of chaos, so...”

“Isn’t that enough chaos?” Fluttershy questioned, motioning towards the dragon.

I shook my head, “It has to be a break in harmony. So... we have to fight I guess.”

She paled, “I don’t want to fight you!”

“No, not like physical fight, like an argument.”

“Oh... well... in that case...” she stammered, looking around.

“What about... Angel.”

“What about him?” Fluttershy asked, looking confused.

“Well, for starters, he’s a nasty little vermin.” There were few things that I disliked about Equestria, but that rabbit was one of them.

Fluttershy gasped, “You take that back! Angel is not a vermin. And he is not nasty.”

“Of course he is. All I’ve ever done to the little blighter is look at him, and he hates me.”

“You must have done something to upset him.”

“Upset him? I caught him trying to throw a carrot at me once. He. doesn’t. Like me. And I don’t like him right back.”

“How can you be so mean to a poor little creature like that?”

“Poor little creature? That little puffball isn’t a poor defenseless animal. He’s smart enough to hate me.”

“But he’s still just a defenseless critter.”

“If he’s a defenseless critter, then I’m a dragon.”

“You might as well be! Being so heartless to poor Angel.”

“How can you defend that little... little... scoundrel!”

Fluttershy cringed like I’d struck her, and her eyes began to get wet, “And I thought you were better than that.”

“I know you’re naive, but how can’t you see that rabbit for what he really is?!” I snapped.

Fluttershy turned away and started crying as she ran into the garden.

“Bravo. You just made a filly cry,” Discord said with a slow clap.

I bit my tongue and refrained from insulting him, “Discord, we need your help.”

He looked surprised, “Me? Little old me?”

“Yes, you,” I said flatly. “No doubt you already know what we need.”

He frowned, “You’re no fun.”

“This isn’t the time for fun.”

“Oh but it is. At least for me,” he said, ending off in a burst of laughter.

“We-” I started, but was shushed by Discord’s claw.

“Yes, yes, I know, save the princesses, stop the big bad changelings,” he said, making a little stages with puppets depicting each, “But what’s in it for daddy Discord?”

“Well, nothing if we fail,” I said.

He snapped his fingers and the stage disappeared. He rolled his eyes, “Like that’s going to happen.”

“And if we do succeed, then we’ll negotiate with the Princesses.”

“And what’s to stop you from turning me back to stone as soon as I help you with your little plan?” he asked, turning himself into a mock statue.

“Listen, we don’t have time for this. We’ll talk about your reward when we’re done. Will you help us?” I asked, holding out my hoof.

“Hmm...” he said, scratching his chin. “It’s a deal,” he chuckled as he shook my hoof with his tail.

“Thank you. Now, go help Twilight.”

“Ordering around your partner is hardly a way to start,” he said, giving me puppy-dog eyes.

“Please.”

“Please, what?” he asked, holding his clawed hand up to his ear.

“Please, help Twilight!”

He snapped his fingers and was in a military uniform, “Yessir!” And with that, he disappeared.

With Discord dealt with, I went into the gardens where Fluttershy had gone to find her. I felt terrible about making her cry, even if it had to be done. There were a lot of things that had to be done that day that I wouldn’t like.

As I walked through the gardens I heard soft crying and stopped to try and locate the source. It seemed to be coming from in front of me and to the right.

I walked closer to the bush and whispered in a soft voice, “Fluttershy, is that you?”

My only answer was more crying.

I crept closer to the bush, “Fluttershy?”

“G-go away,” she sobbed.

I took a step back, “Listen, I’m sorry. I... I didn’t mean to make you cry. I just knew we had to get in a fight, and I had to let myself get carried away and... I know it’s not much, but I’m sorry, truly I am.”

I heard her sniff, “I-I know you only did it t-to free Discord. But it was still v-very hurtful.”

I could hear her voice shaking, “I know... I know what I said was hurtful, and I wouldn’t blame you if you never forgave me for it, but right now, we have a job to do, and that job is rescue our friends.”

She sniffed again, and stepped out of the bushes, bits of debris in her mane and tears staining her cheeks, “Y-you’re right, we have to save our friends.”

I nodded, “Let’s go.”

I turned and went back to where Discord’s statue was to find him lounging on a couch with Twilight nearby.

Discord lifted a pair of sunglasses and looked at us, “Looks like the two lovebirds are done kissing and making up.”

It took every bit of restraint I had not to go off on him, and I had a feeling that he knew it.

“I saw the train heading towards Canterlot while I was up in the air. You managed to free Discord and get him to help us,” he gave a little wave, “And now we just have to get the Elements and our friends,” Twilight said, rather resolutely.

“We’ll need disguises to get inside. Twilight, how good are you at illusions?” I asked.

“Oh, do allow me,” Discord said gleefully, and rubbed his hands together. He produced a red cloth and draped it over Fluttershy and I. When he pulled it away, we both looked like changelings. “Ta-da!”

“Twilight, get moving, we’ll try to have the others free as soon as we can,” I said to her.

She nodded and rushed off to get the Elements.

“Now, Shall we play a game?” Discord said with a devilish grin. He snapped his fingers and all of us were teleported.

I was next to Fluttershy, but Discord was nowhere to be seen, though I could hear him.

“Hello, Chrissy,” he chortled.

“Discord,” said an oddly modulated voice, dripping with disdain.

“Now is that any way to treat a guest?”

We peeked out from where we were and saw the throne room, still filled with pods. Chrysalis was standing in front of the throne and Discord was floating in the air in front of her.

“What do you want, draconequus?” Chrysalis demanded.

“Oh, me? I just want to play a game,” he snapped his fingers and Chrysalis’s horn and wings disappeared. “Tell you what. If you find Princess Celestia in all these pods in one hour, you win.”

“And what do I get if I win, serpent?” she was practically spitting daggers.

“You get your wings and horn back, oh, and I’ll give you your little escapees back.”

Discord snapped his fingers and a large hourglass appeared. He flipped it, “Go!”

Chrysalis started to look through the pods row by row, trying to find it from afar, but she spotted us first, “You two! Get over here and help me find the princess!”

Fluttershy and I scurried over to help, not wanting to blow our cover.

“Ah, ah, ah” Discord admonished, “that’ not playing fair.” He snapped his fingers and the pods started shifting around. It was like a giant shell game. Fortunately for us, the game master was on our side.

As Chrysalis gave a shriek of rage and frustration, Fluttershy and I found Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie all clustered together.

We waited until Chrysalis was out of sight before freeing them and running for the door. They were all awake, but they were still barely able to move, so I had to more or less drag them with my magic.

Discord was waiting for us outside with Twilight. I set down the bearers to find that I looked like myself again, and so did Fluttershy.

“What’s going on?” Rarity asked, being the first to come to.

“What in tarnation?” Applejack followed suit, shaking her head.

“I just had the strangest dream,” Pinkie said.

Rainbow just kind of groaned and rolled over, “Five more minutes...”

“Wake up! We don’t have time,” I hissed, shaking her until she was firmly awake.

“Quick put these on,” Twilight said, putting the Elements on their respective bearers.

“DISCORD!” came the almost earth shattering bellow. Chrysalis was quite peeved.

“Where did you hide the princess?” I asked.

Discord showed a new ring, “Like it?”

I looked and saw that he had shrunk down the pod, princess and all.

“Quick, we don’t have much time,” Fluttershy urged, looking nervously back at the throne room.

The six of them got into a circle, and Discord snapped his fingers and the pod was normal sized, and he had a bowl of popcorn. Twilight’s eyes started to glow solid white, and a strand of rainbow energy joined the six Elements.

“No!” came a hiss from the throne room door. Chrysalis was standing there, her face a mask of rage.

Then there was a blinding flash of light from the Elements and I felt it’s power wash over me as it raced outwards. I saw it fling Chrysalis back, and the pod around Celestia dissolve. Of course, I also saw Discord snacking on popcorn as he watched. He probably found it amusing not to be on the receiving end of that.

As the wave went outwards it also seemed to get brighter, and a quick look outside confirmed that the sky was blue and there was not a cloud in the sky. A quick listen also brought the sound of cheering to my ears. It was faint, but I heard it.

“Ugh... what happened?” Princess Celestia asked, raising her head off the ground.

“Princess!” Twilight cheered, giving her mentor a hug.

“Why in the hay is Discord free?” Applejack asked, looking at him suspiciously.

I took in a breath to explain, but Pinkie started talking first, “Was it because you were the only ponies that weren’t captured, and he was part of some super dangerous, super risky plan to save all of Equestria?”

I couldn’t even form words, just make some sounds like an idiot. She just gave a big smile.

Discord nudged me and whispered in my ear, “Don’t think on it too hard. Even I don’t know how she does it.”

I was able to take that as some consolation.

“What is Discord doing here?” Celestia asked.

“Well, like Pinkie said, he helped to rescue you. I’d hazard to say that he has just saved all of Equestria from changeling subjugation.”

“Oh, don’t take it too personally Celly, I dislike grey and drab as much as anypony. Give me stripes and polka-dots any day.” To punctuate his point, he snapped his fingers and was wearing a hideous outfit with striped pants and polka dot shirt. I think I heard Rarity faint.

“But he did help us,” I added.

“On what terms?” she asked skeptically.

“Well, we didn’t lay down any terms. I promised him we would negotiate after we were successful.”

“If I may interject you’re highness,” Discord said, “Would you pardon a poor draconequus?” He was in prisoner’s clothes with handcuffs and a ball and chain. “It gets ever so boring being trapped in stone.”

“We should have a Discord day! And chocolate rain every Tuesday!” Pinkie piped up.

“Oh, I do like that idea,” Discord said.

“Whoa whoa whoa, You mean I’d have to deal with cotton candy clouds every week?” Rainbow questioned. “Not happening.”

“Please Dashie?” Pinkie pleaded, “Not even once a month?”

Dash rolled her eyes and sighed, “Fine... but if I get stuck, you’re responsible!”

“Okie-dokie-loki!”

“Actually, that Discord day doesn’t sound like a half bad idea,” I said, “It would let him blow off some steam, er, chaos.”

Celestia looked between us, “Very well, Discord will be pardoned from being imprisoned in stone, and in return for saving Equestria, one day of the year will be set aside for him to cause chaos, but only for one day. One. Day,” She said, giving Discord a stern look.

He just looked innocent as a halo appeared above his head. Oh course, as soon as she looked away it fell around his horn.

“And I suppose some chocolate rain every once in a while does sound rather pleasant.”

“Yay!” Pinkie cheered.

“Twily!”

“Twilight!”

I heard Shining Armor and Spike call out. Spike came racing over to Twilight and hugged her. She returned the hug.

“I missed you Spike.”

Cadence was following Shining Armor as they walked over to us.

I bowed, “It is an honor to meet you.” I turned to Celestia, "I know this is a time for reunions, but I believe that there is still a wedding to be had.”

“You are absolutely right, Mixer,” Celestia said, smiling.

After everypony got taken care of and looked after, the wedding was set up again, and this time it went off without a hitch. I was in attendance this time, and I wore the suit that I had rented for the occasion. It was heartwarming to see Cadence and Shining Armor get married, and the reception afterwards was pretty fun too. Vinyl Scratch, or DJ Pon3, as was her stage name, did the DJing with guest DJ Pinkie Pie. Twilight showed off her “dance moves” and Rainbow did the sonic rainboom. Rarity danced with some of the posh ponies of Canterlot.

I danced a bit, but hung out on the outskirts of the major partying. That is, until I decided to take a walk through the gardens. The moon was out, the music was playing in the background, the air smelt crisp and clean, it was frankly a perfect night for a walk in the gardens.

I reached a clearing and sat down on a bench, looking out over what I could see of Equestria over the edge of Canterlot. It was strange really, I wasn’t even from this place, yet, I had helped save it. Stranger still, I felt like this place was my home more than I ever did in New Pegisopolis.

My thoughts were interrupted by a rustling and the feeling of feathers brushing my side. I looked to see Fluttershy sitting next to me.

“F-Fluttershy,” I stammered.

“It’s a lovely evening isn’t it,” she said, seeming to ignore my surprise.

“Yeah, it is...” I gave a sigh. “Listen, Fluttershy... I’m sorry about what I said to you. I never wanted to hurt you...”

“I know,” she said, looking at the moon, “You were just trying to help everypony.”

“No, it’s not okay... I care about you Fluttershy, and...and it hurt to see you cry like that.”

She blushed slightly and looked at me, “Really?”

I could have swore I turned redder than a tomato, “Mhm.”

She turned back to the moon, and leaned her head on my shoulder.

“Lovely night, isn’t it...?”

New Beginnings

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Book Seven: New Beginnings

A few days after Shining Armor and Princess Cadence were married I was summoned to the Castle by Princess Celestia herself. She had sent a scroll that instructed me to conclude any business I had for the day and report to the throne room as soon as I was able.

I wasn’t having a particularly busy day so I just closed up my shop and made my way towards the castle. I didn’t want to make the Princess wait, especially not since it was all but an order.

As I neared the castle, I saw that there were more guards than usual; not surprising considering that Equestria just came off of a short lived changeling occupation.

I walked up to the guards near the gates, holding the rolled up scroll with magic. “The Princess requested my presence?”

One nodded, “Yes, she has been expecting you.”

The other opened the door for me and I stepped inside the castle, crossing the foyer towards the throne room’s large double doors. Two more guards were posted outside those but I didn’t need to ask them for entry, they were already moving to open the doors.

I glanced at them a little nervously as they closed the doors behind me and followed on either side. I was not expecting and escort but, as before, I could not fault the extra security.

I stopped in front of Celestia’s golden throne and bowed. “You wished to see me, Princess?”

She gave me a smile and motioned for the guards to give me some more space. They complied and took a few paces back, giving me ample space. “I’m glad you were able to come so quickly, Mixer,” she said, looking down from her throne.

Bowed my head to her. “I came as quickly as I could, Princess, as per your request.”

She got up and made her way down the stairs leading to the throne and motioned for me to follow her. “Would you care to take a walk with me?”

If being the king’s royal alchemist had taught me anything about royalty it was when they asked a question like that complying wasn’t optional. I walked over to her and followed as she began to walk the halls of the castle. I kept a reasonable distance between us, being too familiar might not make the guards too happy, and I preferred not to get mistaken for a changeling spy.

“Twilight has told me that you were instrumental in helping to free Equestria from the changelings, yet you have claimed no such involvement. Why?”

The question caught me off guard. I hesitated for a second before finally speaking, “I wouldn’t say instrumental... I mean, the Elements of Harmony did most of the work. Well, them and Discord. How is that situation going by the way?”

She closed her eyes and gave a sly smile, “I know that you’re trying to deflect the question.”

I sighed. I guess that it’s pretty hard to slip anything past an alicorn. “I suppose that without me, Twilight may have been the only one to awaken, and I doubt she could have gotten away on her own,” I said.

“She also said that it was your idea to get the help of a dragon.”

I was starting to turn red. I really didn’t want to be grilled about my crazy, reckless, desperate plan, especially by the Princess. “Y-yes... and Discord...”

At this point in our walk we were passing by the gardens and the princess stopped. “So you thought it was a good idea to recruit a fire-breathing dragon and release the embodiment of all chaos?” The question did not seem particularly reproachful, but her tone was serious.

I hung my head, “No, Princess... if I had thought it through I would not had taken so many risks. I’m sorry.”

She let out a slight giggle, “For what? If it weren’t for you then we might all be in pods right now.”

Now I could have sworn that my coat had shifted from blue to red. “I really don’t deserve such praise, Princess. I was just a desperate pony trying to protect his friends and home. My plan was beyond harebrained and it only worked by sheer luck.”

“You should not be so hard on yourself,” she said placing a wing on my shoulder. “What you did was heroic for a pony of Equestria, let alone somepony from another land. You have a different perspective about things than us. Discord for example.”

I rubbed my neck in embarrassment. “Oh, I don’t think my view is that different. I just thought that he could be helpful. Fight fire with fire, or rather, with chaos. From what I knew of Discord, the changelings would be as much as a bother for him as for us. It was mutually beneficial. That’s how most of the ponies in my homeland do things.”

Celestia smiled and resumed walking. “That seems very wise.”

I hesitated a moment to look out over the gardens before following. “It doesn’t always work out for everypony, but it keeps everything in general balance.”

“Speaking of your homeland, have you gotten any closer on finding a way back?”

I shook my head, “No, I haven’t. It has been far too long for me to trace the magic that sent me here and I still have no idea where in relation to Equestria it is.”

She turned a corner and began heading for a wing of the castle that I had not been in before. “You mentioned before that you were desperate to protect your home. Do you consider Equestria your home now?”

This was a hard question. While I did have more friends and free time, I still had a duty to perform back in New Pegisopolis. That is, if they even thought I was alive. After being gone for a few months I had my doubts that anypony would still even consider the possibility of my being alive.

“Are you alright?”

The question brought me back from my thoughts and I noticed that my eyes had begun to water. “I’m fine, Princess, it’s nothing. And... yes, I do think of Equestria as home now. It has been months since I was sent here, so I doubt anypony back in New Pegisopolis even thinks I’m alive.” I tried to put on a smile, but I don’t think that she was convinced.

“Then would you like an opportunity to protect your new home further?” she asked, stopping to face me fully.

I stopped and almost fell back onto my haunches. “What do you mean, Princess?”

“You showed admirable ability not only to think on your hooves but a great determination in the face of adversity,” she said. “If you wish, in time you may have a position as a guard.”

I was flummoxed. “I... A guard?” My mouth hung open even after the words stopped coming out of it.

She nodded, “You would need to undergo some physical training, but as far as I am concerned you are otherwise qualified.”

After a minute I was finally able to reactivate my jaw muscles and close my mouth. “I... I would be honored, but-”

“Then I would like you to assist Shining Armor’s replacement while he is on honeymoon with Princess Cadence,” she said, ignoring my protest.

“What about my shop?” I asked. I did still have a business to run.

“I have heard that a new alchemist is moving to Canterlot. You could sell your shop to him. I’m sure he would appreciate it.”

“Am I to begin immediately?” I asked.

“You do not. You may have two days to conclude any business you have and prepare for the position. You will be here for about a month.”

“I will get everything in order then.”

She smiled, “I am glad that you are willing to take the position.”

“Thank you for offering it to me, Princess,” I said with a bow.

She said no more and we completed our walk, arriving back in the throne room.

“Is there anything else you wished of me?” I asked.

“That is all, you may go.”

I bowed and took my leave, walking out of the throne room.

I could still barely comprehend what had gone on, but my hooves knew enough to keep moving. Princess Celestia had personally praised me. An alicorn had praised me. I don’t think that there’s any higher praise than that. On top of the praise, she had offered me a position as a guard. And I actually accepted.

Before I had realized it, I was outside the castle. I turned and began walking towards my shop, trying to think of everything that I would have to do to get ready. I was skeptical that I would be able to do so in just two days.

I went inside and rummaged around in the back until I found what I was looking for, a chest with my earnings up to that point. It wasn’t very large, but it was fairly secure. I pulled it out and set it in a corner. If I really was selling the shop then I would need to take it to Ponyville to store in my house there.

As I was gathering other things to take, my thoughts wandered to my friends in Ponyville, particularly Fluttershy. The night of the wedding was something that I wanted to continue, but I wasn’t sure if I could as a guard. Usually relationships don’t do well long distance, and I’m sure you could barely call what was between us a relationship to begin with.

After about an hour I had everything in the shop just about ready to go. Just as I was preparing to walk out the door, I heard a knock.

“Sorry, we’re closed, soon to be under new ownership,” I called.

Whoever was there knocked again, harder this time.

I sighed and went to the door, opening it a crack so I could see who was there.

To my surprise, a slate grey pegasus with a crimson red mane wearing a green beret and goggles was standing outside.

“Hello! You must be Mixer,” he said with a smile.

“Yes... do I know you?”

“Not at all.”

“Okay... what are you doing here?” This stallion didn’t seem all there.

“I was told that there was an alchemist’s shop for sale.”

I facehoofed and opened the door. “Come on in, I just finished packing things up. I left some supplies in the back. Don’t worry, all the volatile stuff is stored safely.”

He stepped inside, took a look around the shop then walked back out the door.

“Hey, where are you-”

He came back lugging a suitcase behind him. “I’m Runic Phial by the way.”

“Nice to meet you...”

“You’re an alchemist right?”

“Yes, I’m the one who’s selling the place.”

“Want to see some rocks?”

“Rocks?” Now I was sure he was not all there.

“Yes, I thought you would be interested,” he said, pulling out a box.

“Sure?” I said wearily.

He grinned and opened up the box, showing me an assortment of stones with little tags by them.

“You’re an alchemist, right?” I asked, looking at the assortment.

He nodded his head, “Yes.”

“If I didn’t know any better, I would say you were a geologist.”

“Yes! How did you know? Are you a geologist too?” he asked, now suddenly more interested in me.

“No, I specialize in chemicals, not rocks.”

His smile dimmed at my answer, but he did not seem too put off. “Oh well.”

He closed up the box and started to unpack things from the suitcase.

“If I may ask, who told you that an alchemist’s shop would be for sale? And how you knew it was here?” I asked.

“I got a letter. My cousin sent it.”

“And who is your cousin?”

He waved a hoof absently as he went about unpacking, “You probably wouldn’t know him, he works in the castle.”

I shook my head and gave up, this was getting me nowhere. “So, you want to buy the place?”

“Yes. Do you accept trade?”

“Trade?”

“Yes, you see, I’m a bit short on bits, but I have other things to trade.”

He pulled out another box and opened it. It was full of more rocks.

“You know what, I think I have enough bits, you can have the place,” I said, not wanting to sell for rocks or turn down the strange pony.

He turned around to face me, “Really?”

I shrugged. “Sure, from one alchemist to another.”

He didn’t reply, he only locked me in an increasingly tight hug. “Thank you!”

“No... problem...” I wheezed. I could have sworn that his hug had broken a rib.

He finally let go and I staggered backwards. “Stop by sometime and I’ll give you any potion you want, on the house.”

“Sure,” I said, heading for the door. I never did go back for that free potion.

After leaving my old shop and the strange stallion behind, I headed for the train station with saddlebags full of things I didn’t want to leave and carrying the small chest of bits on my back. The whole load was pretty heavy but it was bearable.

After a few minutes of walking and more than a few intrigued glances I made it to the Canterlot train station and got in line at the ticket booth. I set down the chest on the ground and took a breather, not much chance of anypony stealing it.

After an unusually long wait in line I purchased my ticket and checked when the next train would be arriving bound for Ponyville. The train schedule said that the next train would arrive at 1:15. I looked at the clock: 12:02. I heaved a heavy sigh, I had hoped that the wait for a train would be short, but I had missed the 11:50 train.

And so I found a bench and I did all that I could, wait...and wait...and wait. If there is one thing that I hate more than anything, it was mean ponies. Waiting came in at a very close second, and after waiting around in the train station for about an hour, I considered moving it up to the top spot.

I checked the station’s clock after finishing counting the tiles on the ceiling for the third time and was relieved to see that the clock read 1:06. I got up and stretched my legs, they had gotten quite stiff. After a few minutes the train finally arrived and I happily trotted to the boarding area, overjoyed to finally be on my way.

The train ride seemed incredibly quick after the hour long wait, even though it was about forty minutes to Ponyville. I used the time to take a quick nap.

I awoke to somepony shaking me, “Hey sleepyhead, the train’s in Ponyville.”

“Huh?” I recognized that voice...

“What are you doing back in town, Mixer?” asked the unicorn DJ Vinyl Scratch.

I gave my head a shake, “Vinyl? I didn’t know you were on the train.”

“Heh, I was a couple cars back. I was on my way back after a little tour. What are you up to?”

I got up and pulled the chest out of the seat beside me. “Well, a lot, really. Can we walk and talk?”

“Sure,” she said, “Need some help with that? Looks heavy.”

“I’ve got it”

We made our way off the train and started to walk through Ponyville. It seemed more colorful than I remembered it.

“It’s been a while since you’ve been in town,” Vinyl said.

“Well, I’m going through a job change and I have a couple days before I start so I figured I’d come back home, say hi to some friends.”

“Yeah, I got you.”

“I’m surprised you remember me at all, it’s not like we’re great friends or anything.”

“Nah, it’s cool. It’s a small place, so I know pretty much everypony.” She laughed, “You’re one of the few ponies who doesn’t complain about the volume.”

I chuckled, “Well, if I can hear it from my place, it’s probably too loud.”

“You could hear my music from all the way out there?” she asked, a little surprised.

“Once or twice.”

“Booya!” she cheered, hoof pumping. “I told Tavi those speakers were the bomb.”

I shook my head, “How do you still have hearing?”

“Headphones,” she deadpanned.

I looked at her skeptically.

She gave me a light punch, “Kidding. I use a spell to keep our eardrums from popping.”

“I didn’t know you knew that much magic,” I said, surprised.

“Was that a compliment?”

“Sorry, I meant I didn’t know that you could use that level of magic.”

She got really close to me, uncomfortably close. “There’s probably a lot you don’t know about me...” said said in a soft sultry voice.

I instantly felt my cheeks and ears burning.

She broke out laughing, “You should see your face!”

I didn’t say anything, my look said it all.

“Relax Mix man, I was just joking. Besides, you’re not really my type.”

At that point we were at her and Octavia’s place. “Well, I’m going to go say hi to Octavia,” she said, heading for the door. “See ya around.”

“Yeah, you too,” I said, waving to the party mare.

I continued to walk home, a tinge of red still lingering on my face from Vinyls' jest. I’m sure Fluttershy wouldn’t have been happy to see that.

My paced slowed a bit as I thought about Fluttershy. I wanted to have something between us, but I wasn’t sure that I could have what I wanted. There wasn’t really a lot we had in common; she liked animals, but I wasn’t the best with them; I was a unicorn and she was a pegasus so I couldn’t share flying with her and she couldn’t really share magic with me; she was shy and I tended to be more bold. It wasn’t an “opposites attract” or that we were really alike, I just knew that I had feelings for her and she had at least some feelings for me as well.

Before I knew it I was at my house. My idle thoughts had carried me halfway across Ponyville. I shook my head to clear my mind. I could talk to her about it later. At the time I needed to store my bits and make some arrangements to have somepony look after the place.

The place wasn’t overgrown, but the outside definitely looked unkempt. The grass was long and there were sticks and twigs laying around. When I went inside, it was almost as bad. While things were generally neat, just the way I’d left them, a fine layer of dust was covering everything and a few cobwebs were hanging in the corners.

I dragged my chest upstairs and went into my bedroom. It looked the same as when I left it. I felt like it was such a long time ago that I had moved to Canterlot. As I put the chest down at the foot of the bed I realized how much I missed my friends. I guess it’s true what they say, you don’t know what you have until it’s gone.

I went to the closet and pulled out out a broom and a duster and began to clean up my house. It was an uphill battle, but after battling dust bunnies for a good two hours I had finally gotten all the rooms in my house clean.

I sat down on the couch and took a minute to admire my work. As I sat I also thought about who I would ask to look after the place. Then I had an idea. I could just have Vinyl and Octavia look after the place. Vinyl could have parties and crash for the night and Octavia could practice her cello in a nice quiet spot.

After taking a few more minutes to rest, I got up and headed for the door; I needed to talk to Fluttershy about us. I did not think it would end well.

The Talk

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Book Eight: The Talk

I was standing on the small bridge near Fluttershy’s cottage. It was early afternoon so the sun was shining brightly in the sky, illuminating every inch of property.

For a moment I stood there on the middle of the bridge, taking in the scene. The flowers were all blooming, a few of the birdhouses looked occupied, their tenants singing songs. Here and there a critter would be frolicking in the yard. It looked utterly peaceful, except for a small white face in the window who was scowling at me.

Now, I generally didn’t dislike animals, even if I wasn’t very good with them, but Angel was a different story. That little ball of fluff and hate was by far my worst enemy. He and I had a mutual dislike for each other, and Fluttershy didn’t ever seem to notice.

I frowned back and started walking up the path to Fluttershy’s door. As I neared the door I saw the curtain close.

I knocked on the door and waited. I need not wait long as Fluttershy herself came to the door.

“Mixer! What are you doing here?” she asked, sounding glad to see me.

“Hey, Fluttershy. Can I come in? I wanted to talk about something.”

“Of course. Come in,” she said, ushering me inside with a wing. “Can I get you anything?”

I walked in and sat down on the couch. There was a bowl of oranges and I picked one up before replying, “No, I’m fine.”

She walked over and sat on the opposite end of the couch. “What did you want to talk about.”

I turned the orange over in my hoof while I worked up the nerve to say what I was thinking. “I... want to talk about us.”

Even from the corner of my eye I could see her blush. “I-Is this about the night of the wedding...?” she said meekly.

I nodded and looked at her so our eyes met. “I... I want things to be... I mean... I would like to try being in a relationship...” My tongue was tripping all over itself, each word practically forced out.

I could see that her blush had deepened a shade, but she said nothing and she was still looking at me.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “Would you be my marefriend?” I blurted. So much for concise speech.
Fluttershy looked away, abashed. It seemed like an eternity before she answered. “...yes...” It was almost whispered at first. “Y-yes,” she said, this time more loudly.

She looked back to me and I felt my cheeks burning and my heart rate increase. I had not expected her to say yes. “O-okay,” I stammered, and scooted a little close. For all my education and knowledge, this was a completely new experience for me, and as you might expect, had no idea what to do.

She scooted closer to me too and we ended up almost next to each other. I carefully reached my hoof over and took her hoof delicately in mine. When I first touched her, she felt tense and she looked like her blush had gotten even deeper, but she soon relaxed and the glowing red of her cheeks lessened.

We sat like that for a couple minutes, getting accustomed to the whole feeling. After that, it was me who broke the silence.

“That wasn’t the only thing I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Hmm?” was her reply as she looked up to me.

“Celestia offered me to join the royal guard after some training...”

Fluttershy straightened and looked shocked. “What?”

“She said that I acted heroically when the changelings invaded. She said that I could join the guard if I wanted to further protect my new home.”

“Wow! That’s... wonderful, right?” She seemed unsure if it was a good thing. I wasn’t sure myself.

“I suppose. But for the time being I am to assist Shining Armor’s temporary replacement while he is on honeymoon with Cadence. I will be gone for about a month.”

From the look on her face, it seemed like this was sad news. “So you’re leaving?”

I gave her hoof a squeeze, to comfort myself as much as her. “I’m due to report for duty in two days. After the month is done, I will probably go through some training before officially joining the guard.”

“So you are leaving...” Fluttershy said, looking crestfallen.

I felt bad, and gave her a hug. “Don’t worry, it’s only a month. I’ll write. And I’m sure that I will have some time before my training starts to come back and see you. Plus, there’s tomorrow.”
She hugged me back, leaning her head on my shoulder but not saying anything.

As we shared the hug, I could see Angel giving me the death glare. I gave him a look back that said, Not now rabbit.

Finally Fluttershy said something, “You’re right. It will only be a month... how hard could it be to wait?” Her voice was steady, but I could see moisture at the corners of her eyes.

I put a hoof around her and rubbed her shoulder with my hoof. “I’ll be back before you know it.”

That seemed to work, and she leaned into me. With Fluttershy leaning against me and my arm around her, I felt strange. It was as if I could keep anything at bay, even time. It felt like it as we sat for what seemed like hours. I would have to test at some point if love caused temporal distortions.

Soon enough, however, Fluttershy shifted and I withdrew my arm. “Do you have anything else to do today?” she asked.

I got up a stretched a little. “Well, I’m sure Pinkie will want to see me. You know how she is. I might stop by and say hello to Twilight too.”

Fluttershy got up as well and stretched her wings before folding them back in place. “I could come with you. I-if you want...”

I gave a little smile. “Sure.”

She smiled back, a slight rosy hue on her cheeks. “Okay. Let me just go get a snack for Angel Bunny,” she said going into the kitchen.

As I watched her go, I felt something hit the side of my face with considerable force. I looked down and saw a carrot. Off to the side Angel was tapping his foot and frowning at me.

I frowned and picked him up with magic, bringing him over to my waiting hoof. I held him up by my face. “Listen rabbit, I’ll call truce if you will.”

He frowned at me some more and then rolled his eyes, sticking out a paw. We shook just before Fluttershy came back with a bowl of salad.

She walked over to us, Angel sitting on the floor by me, and me patting his head.

“Here you go Angel Bunny,” she said, setting down the salad bowl in front of him.

“Ready?” I asked, stepping towards the door.

She sidled up next to me. “Mhm.”

I opened the door for us. “Mares first.”

“Why thank you,” she said, stepping outside.

I quickly joined her and closed the door behind me. We walked side by side through Ponyville to Sugarcube Corner. I think we drew a couple pairs of eyes, though most ponies didn’t notice that we walked a little closer than just friends.

In no time at all we arrived at our destination. Again, I held the door for Fluttershy as we went inside. Mrs. Cake was working the counter.

“Hello there. Welcome to Sugarcube Corner,” she said.

“Hello, Mrs. Cake,” Fluttershy said.

“Hello deary. Are you looking for Pinkie Pie?”

“Actually, yes. I think she would want to see me,” I said.

“You look familiar... have we met?” she asked me.

“Once or twice. I don’t think we have been properly introduced. My name is Mixer.” I went over to the counter and extended my hoof.

“Nice to meet you. Wait one moment and I’ll go get Pinkie.” She stepped out from behind the counter and went to a set of stairs in the back of the room that led up to where the Cakes lived.

A minute or so later she came trotting back down the stairs, Pinkie trotting patiently behind her. I say patiently because I could see that she was in more of a hurry to descend the steps than Mrs. Cake was. As soon as she reached the bottom of the stairs she was on top of me, giving me a hug.

“Mixer!” she cried happily. Fluttershy giggled as I was tackle hugged.

“Hey, Pinkie,” I said, humoring her hug.

“What are you doing back in town?” she asked, still pinning me to the ground.

“Well, I am changing jobs and wanted to say hi to all my friends before I left.”

“Changing jobs?” she asked.

“Uh, Pinkie, could you get off of me?” I asked. It was getting awkward being pinned underneath her, especially with Fluttershy right there (Even if she didn’t seem to mind).

Pinkie giggled and let me up. “So whatcha gonna do now?”

I dusted myself off. “Well, Celestia has asked me to assist the pony who is filling in for Shining Armor while he is on honeymoon.”

“He’s going to be a royal guard,” Fluttershy added.

“A royal guard? Wowee! This calls for a party!” she cheered, producing the dreaded party cannon.

“That’s okay Pinkie, I don’t think this calls for celebration yet,” I said. I was too close to the cannon for comfort. If she fired it now, I could be pulling streamers out of my mane for days.

“Awww...” She looked disappointed and put away the cannon. I breathed a silent sigh of relief.

“Maybe once it’s official, you can throw a big party,” I suggested.

“Okie dokie loki!” That seemed to cheer her up.

While we had been talking, Fluttershy had managed to creep over to my side.

“So, what are you two doing now?” Pinkie asked.

“I think we’ll go and say hi to Twilight while there’s still some daylight left,” I said.

“Okay! I’ve got to get back to the little Cakes,” Pinkie said happily and trotted off.

She had been oblivious to Fluttershy and me being a thing, but out of the corner of my eye I had seen a knowing look on Mrs. Cake’s face. IT seemed like our relationship wasn’t going to be a secret, but then again, I hadn’t expected it to. I just didn’t feel like telegraphing it more than I had to.

Fluttershy and I left Sugarcube Corner and started heading to the library. The tree looked more or less how I had remembered it.

We went to the door and knocked. It may technically be a public building, but since Twilight lived there, most ponies knocked anyways.

As we waited for somepony to answer, I felt Fluttershy brush against my side. I was a little startled by it, but the contact felt nice.

After a moment, it was Spike that came to the door. “Hey Fluttershy, her er...What was your name again?”

I stifled a chuckle, “Mixer.”

Spike rubbed his head, embarrassed. “Hey, Mixer. Long time no see.”

“Is Twilight home?” I asked.

“Yeah, she’s really into this new book.”

“Daring Doo?”

Spike nodded. “She’s reading it up in her room.”

“Can we come in?” Fluttershy asked.

“Sure,” Spike said, and let us in.

We went inside and sat on the couch together while Spike went to fetch Twilight.

“Have you read any of the Daring Doo books?” I asked Fluttershy.

She shook her head, “No. Have you?”

“I started one. It was alright.”

It didn’t take long for Spike to return with Twilight.

“Hey, Twilight,” I said, waving a hoof from the couch.

“Mixer, Fluttershy, what are you doing here?” Twilight asked, reaching the bottom of the stairs and walking over to an armchair across from the couch.

“Oh, we’re just dropping by to say hello,” I said.

“How have you been, Mixer?” Twilight asked.

“Good. So, you told Celestia that I was 'heroic'?”

Twilight looked a little embarrassed. “She told you, huh...?”

“Twilight, you didn’t need to say anything.”

“But this isn’t bad, right?” Fluttershy asked.

“What? What isn’t bad?” Twilight asked.

“While your brother is on honeymoon with Cadence, I am going to be his temporary replacement’s assistant. And after that I’m going to be a guard.”

“Oh...” Twilight said. She seemed as surprised as I was when Celestia had first told me.

“He’s going to be gone for a month,” Fluttershy said.

“And that’s just for the assistant position. I’ll probably go through some training before I’m officially made a guard.”

“I see,” Twilight said.

“How’s the new Daring Doo book?” I asked.

“It’s amazing!”

“That good huh?”

“It’s the best book so far. I didn’t know you read Daring Doo.”

I shrugged, “I never really got into it. Spike said you were reading a new book and I figured it was Daring Doo.”

“Ah... by the way, are you two...?”

Fluttershy and I both turned a little red.

“M-maybe...” Fluttershy said.

Twilight smiled, “Well good for you.”

This made me blush more at least, I couldn’t see if Fluttershy was blushing more or not.

“It’s pretty new,” I said.

“Well, good luck to you two.”

“T-thanks,” we said together.

“Is there anything else you wanted to talk about?” she asked after giving us a moment to regain our composure.

“Well, while I’m gone I plan on asking Octavia and Vinyl Scratch to watch my house for me. Could you check in once a week to make sure everything is okay?”

“Sure. I’ll inform you if there are any problems.”

“Thanks, Twilight.”

She waved a hoof, “It’s no trouble.”

“Well, I think that’s it. Have a good evening, Twilight,” I said standing up.

“You too. Good luck in Canterlot, Mixer,” Twilight said, walking with us to the door.

Fluttershy said her own goodbye and we started walking.

“Would you like me to walk you home?” I asked.

She smiled and rubbed her head under my chin. “Yes please.”

I smiled back and we turned towards Fluttershy’s cottage. We walked slower than normal, and I enjoyed it. It wasn’t quite evening, but the sun was hanging lower in the sky.

After a few minutes, we were at Fluttershy’s door and we had to say goodbye.

I gave her a hug. “Goodnight, Fluttershy.”

She gave me a hug in return, using her wings as well. “Goodnight, Mixer. Will you stop by tomorrow too?”

“Of course.”

She smiled and we disengaged our hug before she went inside. I sighed, somewhat happily and somewhat sadly, before turning and walking back to my own house. The walk wasn’t too far, but it felt lonely after being with Fluttershy.

I reached my door and went inside, heading to the kitchen and checking what there was to eat in the house. I was not fortunate enough to find enough for a meal, but there was a half stale loaf of bread and some cheese left over in the fridge that was still good.

I got two pieces of bread and stuck them in the toaster while I sliced some cheese for my snack. After I was done with my little snack, I went upstairs, lighting my way with my horn. I hadn’t bothered to turn on any of the lights and it was just easier.

I went into the bedroom and collapsed onto the sheets. I had not realized how exhausted I was until I was climbing the stairs. At that point, all I wanted to do was fall asleep. Tomorrow would be my last chance to see Fluttershy for a while.

It wasn’t long before I had gotten my wish, and was fast asleep.

Reporting for Duty Part 1

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Book Nine: Reporting for Duty
Part 1

It was my first day of being Shining Armor’s replacement’s assistant.

I arrived at the castle and was stopped at the front gates by two guards.

“What is your purpose here?” one asked.

“I’m here to report for duty,” I said, standing up straight.

“Are you a new recruit?” he asked.

“In a manner of speaking. I’m supposed to assist the pony filling in for Shining Armor.”

“Ah, you must be Mixer then.”

“Yes.”

“Go inside and take the first door on your right. Go down two hallways and knock on the second door on the left. If nopony is there, find a guard and somepony will show you where you need to go,” he instructed. “Did you get all that?”

I nodded, “Take a right, down two halls, second door on the left.”

They let me inside and I followed the instructions, turning right. It was the first time that I didn’t go directly into the throne room. I went through the archway and passed two sets of halls. Ahead was a turn that went to the left, and along the left wall were three doors.

I went to the second door and knocked.

“Come in,” said a voice inside.

I opened the door and went inside. Sitting behind a desk was a dull grey pegasus stallion doing paperwork. “You must be my assistant,” he said. From his tone, I guessed he was annoyed, though from what I could not tell.

“Yes, sir.”

He sighed, “Relax, civy. No need to go calling me sir just yet.” He got up from the desk. “You don’t even have any kind of uniform or anything.”

“I wasn’t aware that I needed a uniform. I wasn’t expecting that I would be wearing armor.”

“Not armor, but something that at least tells ponies that you’re staff.” He moved around the desk. “Walk with me.”

I complied as he walked out of the office and he lead me through the castle.

“I know you don’t have any kind of military training, so I’ll be handling most of the things that need professional attention. You’ll mostly be taking care of logistical issue and paperwork. I’ll also have you run messages around the castle, less legwork for the general staff.”

We left the castle proper and entered a courtyard that lead to the barracks. “As far as dealing with other guards is concerned, don’t worry too much. You’ll won’t be stopped going into any area that staff normally do, and if I need you to go anywhere else I’ll give you the clearance. Try to avoid starting conversation, it’s distracting and makes you look unprofessional to them.”

I nodded as we went inside. “If you need instruction and I’m busy or otherwise indisposed, I’ll show you two of the ponies you can report to.”

We walked past a guarded room that I could only assume was the armory and came to an office. My superior knocked twice before opening the door and going in.

Inside was a small office with a rust colored earth pony mare sitting back, sipping a cup of tea.

“Anvil, I need to outfit my assistant. Mixer, this is the royal guard quartermaster.”

The mare sighed, “Always business with you Smoke Streak. Can’t you ever drop by to say hello?”

“Do you have anything?” he asked, seeming to ignore her.

Now it was her turn to ignore him. “Nice to meet you. My name is Anvil Burst. I keep clothes on everypony’s back and swords in everypony’s hooves.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Mixer.”

“Now that you’re acquainted, the equipment...?” Smoke Streak asked.

“Hold your feathers,” she said, pulling a clipboard out of her desk, flipping through it. “Mhm... no... no... Aha! It just so happens that I might have something.”

“What kind of something?” Smoke Streak asked.

“Nothing too fancy. There’s a uniform or two that might fit our new stallion here.”

“I’ll leave you to it then. I have a job to get back to.” Smoke Streak turned away and left the two of us standing in the room.”

“So, handsome, ready to get outfitted for your new job?”

“Uh...”

She laughed, “A little shy around mares I see. Don’t worry, I don’t bite... hard.”

“So, the uniform...”

“You’re about as much fun as old Smokey,” she said, leading me out of the office and towards what looked like a storage room.

Inside were large crates with tags on them as well as wardrobes full of uniforms for just about every size you could imagine for a pony. Anvil went to one of them and started to move them with her hoof.

She paused from her pawing and looked back at me. “You’re a little taller than normal.” She seemed to be talking more at me than to me.

She resumed her search and pulled out a hanger with a uniform hanging on it. It looked like a simple black vest and a white undershirt.

I took it with my magic and turned it around so I could look at it better. “Is this it?”

She nodded, “Well, aside from a badge. It’s just the standard staff uniform. What did you expect, that we would throw you in full battle armor?”

I shrugged and tried on the uniform. The undershirt’s sleeves were the right length but the collar was a little tight. The vest fit surprisingly well. “Do you have anything with a slightly larger collar? It’s a little tight.”

“Sorry, but that’s what we have. This isn’t a big and tall store,” she said. I couldn’t argue with that.

“So, what is this badge?”

“That’s the easy part,” she said, going over to a box. She pulled out a small bronze pin and affixed it to the vest. “As long as you’re wearing that, you’re as good as castle staff.”

“Thank you, ma’am.”

She giggled and rolled her eyes. “You don’t have to be so formal with me. Call me Anvil.”

“Maybe so, but it never hurts in a position like this.”

“Smart and handsome. Watch out, keep that up and the mares will be falling over themselves for you,” she said jokingly.

“You have a very strange attitude for a guard, Anvil.”

“That’s because I’m not a guard anymore. No more, ‘Yes sir,’ this and, ‘no ma'am,’ that. And I get to mess with the rookies all I want.”

“Sounds like fun,” I said sarcastically.

“I’ll remember that next time you ask for a piece of equipment,” she said, giving me an evil grin. “Now run along back to Old Smokey, he’s probably already getting worried that I scared you off.”

“I’ll take more than a few japes to scare me off.”

She laughed at that. “That’s more than some recruits can say.”

We left the store room and I found my way out of the building where Smoke Streak was waiting for me.

“Looks like Anvil was able to find something,” he said plainly.

“Yes, sir. I didn’t expect her personality.”

He grimaced. “Most ponies don’t expect her... quirks. But she does get the job done.”

I nodded. “She found something that fit on the first try.”

“Well, now that you’re all set on equipment, let’s get down to business.” He pulled out a folded up slip of paper and gave it to me. “Here is a map of the castle. I want you to walk every hall that’s marked in green and learn their layout. After you’re done with that, I want you to come back to my office and get clearance for all the areas in orange and do the same thing. Get as familiar with the castle as you can, if you’re going to be running around you’ll need to go where to go and how to get there.”

I took the map and unfolded it, looking over all the areas in green. They included the throne room, the foyer, the gardens, the ballroom, the staff’s quarters, and the kitchens. The orange areas included the Princesses’ hall, the archives, a hallway called the “Glass Gallery”, and the guard barracks. There were a few places marked in red on the upper floors but I didn’t ask about them.

After I was done looking over the map I looked up at Smoke Streak. “I’ll get right on it, sir.”

“Alright, Mixer. I expect that this will take a couple of hours, so when you’re done you can take a break for lunch. After that you’ll report back to my office.”

I nodded. “Yes, sir.”

He nodded in satisfaction and walked off while I began my journey through the castle.

Now, in all fairness, the castle wasn’t just one building. There were about three buildings on the castle grounds. The map I had was for the two most commonly encountered, the main building, where the throne room and most of the administrative work was done, and the west building which was where the barracks, ballroom, and most of the living quarters were. The third building was apparently higher security. That was where I had first met Luna in the top of the tower.

The staff I had encountered apparently had been informed of my position, as nopony took much notice of me as I made my first circuit of the castle. Thanks to some of my prior visits I could skip some of the locations in green and I was done in just under an hour.

When I was done I headed back to Smoke Streak’s office and knocked on the door.

“Come in,” he said.

I opened the door and stood at attention in front of his desk, or at least as close to attention as I could muster.

“Done already? I figured it would take longer than that for you to make your way around.”

“I am already familiar with a couple of the locations, sir.”

“Is that so?”

I nodded. “Yes, I’ve been in the gardens a few times before. Most ponies who have been in the castle are also quite familiar with the foyer and throne room, so that left only the kitchens and the staff quarters.”

“Fair enough. Now let’s get you clearance for those security zones,” he said, flipping through the papers piled up in front of him. He found a letter and gave it to me. “Just give that to the guards and they should let you in.”

I took the letter with magic and turned to be on my way.

“Oh, and Mixer, when you’re done with that check with the castle steward and see if they are done cleaning up the mess from the changelings.”

“Yes, sir,” I said, and left the room.

I consulted the map to see where the closest location was. It looked like the closest location was the Gallery of Glass, which was only one hall away from the throne room. On the other side of that was the a stairwell that led up to the Princesses’ chambers and stop number two. After that it was a trip to the archives, and finally to the guard barracks.

The thing about getting to the Gallery of Glass was that I had to go through the throne room to get there.

I walked into the throne room from a side door and tried to stay on the edge of the room as best I could. A few of the guards’ eyes followed me, but none made any move to impede my progress. Celestial seemed likewise disinterested in keeping me, and I passed through the throne room without incident.

When I reached the doorway to the Gallery, there were two guards, unicorns, standing on either side of the doorway.

I stepped towards them and their horns lighted up with magic. “Halt. This area is restricted,” one said.

I gave him the letter and he unfolded it with magic. He read it and, upon completion, waved me through.

The Gallery of Glass was really just a lengthy corridor with stained glass windows on either side. I had been through it once before, when I had first visited the castle, but I did not have time to appreciate the windows until now. When viewed in order they depicted the history of Equestria, pivotal points depicted in vivid colors.

After my slow walk through the Gallery I found the stairwell that lead up to the second floor and ascended the stairs.

The stairs emptied out into a large hallway that was lined with guards. At each entryway there were two guards standing at their vigilant watch. Unlike before, none of them moved to stop me as I entered the hall.

I could feel their eyes on me as I made my way through the hall, passing by two larger doors. One had Celestia’s sun cutie mark on it and the other had Luna’s crescent moon.

I hurriedly made my way through the hall and took a set of stair that was at the other end down to the first floor. It was unnerving to be in the hall with that many guards and I was glad to be back in an area of regular security.

I went outside and went to the west building to get a look at the barracks. It wasn’t much to look at, I’d seen the barracks back in New Pegasopolis and they were bigger than the barracks here. This was just a section of the building where there were more rooms to accommodate the guards.

That only left the archives to check. I went to the entrance and was stopped by two unicorn guards. These two were different from most of the other guards, their armor was silver instead of gold and their coats were matching colors of grey.

“The archives are open to authorized personnel only.”

I gave him the letter and he read it.

“Please conclude your business in a timely manner. Thank you.”

I nodded and went inside. I looked at the map which had the general layout of the library on it. It was rather large but there were some smaller sections, like the Starswirl wing. I walked around a bit admiring the massive collection of books and scrolls before leaving and set off to find the steward.

I checked the map to see if the steward had an office, but if there was one it was not marked on the map. I went back to the main building and looked for somepony in a similar uniform.

I stopped a passing stallion and asked him for directions.

He kindly pointed the way and I ended up in front of a large door made of oak. I knocked and waited for a response

“Come in,” came a muffled voice from within.

I opened the door and stepped inside. The office seemed spacious, with everything neat and well organized. Sitting behind a desk was a unicorn with a grey-blue coat and a mane that looked like it was once black, but was now turning grey from age.

“Hmm, you look familiar, but I don’t remember seeing you on the staff roster. What’s your name?”

“Oh, I’m just temporary. My name is Mixer, I’m assisting Smoke Streak while Shining Armor is on honeymoon,” I said.

He nodded. “Oh yes, I do remember the Princess informing me about you. So what do you need?”

“Smoke Streak wanted me to ask you how the cleanup from the changeling invasion was going.”

“Ah. Well, he should be pleased to know that the superficial damage to the castle has been repared and the restoration projects across Canterlot are going smoothly. I predict that Canterlot will look as good as new in just over two weeks.”

“Thank you. Uh...”

He chuckled. “My name is Sage Scroll, but you can call me Scroll.”

“Thank you, Scroll.”

“Any time, Mixer. If you need anything while you’re on duty, feel free to ask.”

“Thank you, I will,” I said and took my leave.

I walked back to Smoke Streak’s office and knocked before entering. “I’ve been to all the locations on the map and talked with Scroll. He says that the repairs to the castle have already been repaired and that Canterlot will be back to normal in a couple weeks.”

“Good. It will be nice to have everything back to normal. Now that we’ve gotten through your introduction, let’s get down to business...”

From Beyond the End

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The Mixer Chronicles:

Book Five:
From Beyond the End

Attention: Missing Pony
Recently Mixer, a researcher for Princess Celestia, has gone missing. He is a unicorn of slightly above average height, with an average build. He has a pale blue coat with a brown mane. His cutie mark is a vial crossed with a crystal. He was last seen in the Crystal Empire in the Crystal Palace. If you have any information to his whereabouts please inform the nearest guard.

The posters went up a day after Mixer went missing. There was no trace of him left; he had simply disappeared after giving a demonstration to Cadence and Shining Armor for an invisibility cloak. Celestia sent her guards to every city in Equestria but they could not find any trace of him.

In Appleoosa there were reports of a strange noise coming from the badlands, a haunting sound that one night came and went. Not a single soul dared to go and investigate for three days, believing that there must have been some kind of ghost or spirit haunting the badlands.

Finally three of the townsfolk braved the badlands to investigate. They traveled until they hit The Wall, a great barrier of stone that rises up from the dry ground, and saw that in one portion there were strange formations; not the normal sun baked stone, but something brighter. They found that a portion of cliff face had strange crystal formations protruding from it and saw that there was a cave lined with crystals.

“Wadaya think did this?” one of them asked the others.

“I dunno, musta been quite something though.” said another.

“Should we check it out?” the third asked.

“Well, we did come all this way so we're not leaving empty hooved.” The first said; so the three of them entered the crystal cavern.

“It’s kind chilly in here.” one said.

“Yeah, that sure is strange,” another chimed in, “and look at all these strange formations, this stuff is all over the place.”

“Wait, I think I see something in one of these formations.” one said.

“What is it?” one of the others asked looking closer to see though to crystal.

“Ah! It’s some kinda monster.” He said jumping back.

“Wada mean ‘monster’?” the first asked.

“Some kind of weird bug thing, it’s all black and it’s got a horn and wings and looks kinda like a pony.” He replied.

“Eww,” the first said examining the creature, “I’ve never seen something like this before.”

“We should get out of here. What if there are more here, or what if we found whatever did this to it?” the third said shakily.

“Yeah, stayin here isn’t a good idea.” The second said.

So the three of them went back to Appleoosa and told their tale of mysterious frozen monsters in The Wall. Their tale traveled fast and soon reached some of the guards investigating Mixer’s disappearance. They questioned the three explorers and determined that the creatures they saw were changelings. The guards sent word to the princess who quickly dispatched Twilight and her friends to investigate.

“What do you think it means?” Twilight asked the others as they rode the train toward Appleoosa.

“I don’t know,” Applejack began, “I just hope that nothing happens in Appleoosa.”

“Do you think that there really are changelings, and they didn’t just see something else?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“The description they gave matches changelings pretty closely; if it is something else I don’t know what it could be.” Twilight answered.

They soon arrived in Appleoosa and were greeted by Braeburn.

“I’m glad you're finally here, though, I wish it could be under more casual circumstances.” He said as they got off the train.

“It’s good to see you too Braeburn,” Applejack said, “Now can you tell us what is going on?”

“The guard put together a team to go into the badlands to investigate the cave. They even got a couple buffalo to help.”

“Hmm, this must be serious if the guard got that much help.” Twilight said.

“Y’all should get going, they’re expecting you.” Braeburn said leading them through town.

“Good, now that everypony is here we can head out.” A guard said as Twilight and her friends approached a group of three guards, two buffalo, and four other ponies.

“This is a big expedition,” Twilight began, “Do we really need all these ponies just to investigate?”

“Yes, the princess does not want to take any risks in dealing with a possible changeling sighting.” The lead guard said.

And so they departed to check out the cave in the badlands. When they arrived the sun had sunk low in the sky and the cool evening breeze was starting to blow across the arid plains.

"We won’t be able to travel back in the dark so we’ll just have to make camp here,” the guard said, “You two, start setting up camp while we investigate.” He said gesturing to two of the other ponies.

“It’s unusually cool in here.” Twilight said.

“Yes, the three witnesses said the same thing.” The guard said, “The place where they found the supposed changelings is just up ahead.” As they moved down the tunnel it started to widen until they found the spot where the three had found the changeling.

“Yes, this most certainly is a changeling.” Twilight said, “It almost looks like it was afraid, or in pain.”

“Look, I found another one over here.” Rainbow dash called, “It looks like it’s covering its ears.”

“Look,” Rarity said, “There are more of them ahead.” They moved further down the tunnel until it widened into a cavern.

“Whoa.” They all said at the sight they were greeted with. The walls of the cavern were entirely covered with crystals.

Along some of the walls there were groups of entombed changelings, in others there were pillars that ran from floor to ceiling; and in the center of the room suspended by crystal pillars was an orb covered in crystal.

“What in the name of Celestia happened here?” Twilight wondered. Rainbow Dash flew around looking at the changelings.

“They all look like they were trying to get away from something.” She said.

“Maybe, we’ll whatever it was is in that sphere.” Rarity suggested.

“We don’t have any way of finding out though, we can’t break crystal.” Applejack said.

“We might not be able to break it but I might be able to open it.” Rarity said.

"You can?” Twilight asked.

“Yes, when Mixer was in town last he showed me how to sculpt crystal for a new clothing line. Maybe I can open a hole in it.” She answered. So Rarity began to shape it and slowly a dent formed in the sphere, a dent that turned into a small but widening hole about three feet wide.

“There is a second layer,” Twilight said, “Can you do it?”

“It is somewhat of a strain but I think I can open the second layer.” Rarity replied. When she breached the last layer of the sphere there was a release of mist and then a silhouette started to slide out of the hole. Twilight caught the falling form before it hit the ground with magic and lowered it to the ground so they could examine it.

I gasped for air. “Chrysalis.” I said breathlessly.

“What? Mixer what’s going on?” I heard a voice say.

“Sombra. Changelings.” I kept saying. “Wait.” I sat bolt upright. “Chrysalis where are you?” I yelled backing up.

“Mixer, it’s us.” Twilight said.

“No, lies. CHRYSALIS! YOU’RE CHANGELINGS CAN’T FOOL ME.” I yelled into the tunnel.

“Calm down, you must have been through something terrible, come with us and we'll talk.” Twilight said.

“No, stay back.” I said baring my magic. I turned and ran farther into the cave, the same direction I saw Chrysalis and Sombra run down. I had to find them and stop them, or at least find a way out of the cave. I ran till I heard hooves behind me. I turned around to see Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and two other ponies, one of which was a guard. I used crystals to stop the two other ponies but the six were still following me, so I keep running.

“Stop, we just want to talk.” I heard Rainbow Dash call as she got closer. I could not run for much longer so I prepared crystal orbs to trap them in. As I turned around again Rainbow Dash was almost on top of me, too close to avoid the orb, and went tumbling away in here spherical prison.

“Hey! What was that for?” she said frustrated. I made the orb opaque and turned to deal with the other five, who after seeing what happened to Rainbow Dash were more cautious in approaching me.

“We have to be careful, he’s obviously been traumatized.” Twilight said to the others. I had three more orbs prepped and floating around me to use at the first sign of hostilities.

“I’m not sure that we can just talk to him, we might just have to knock some sense into him.” Applejack said taking a step toward me.

“But won’t that make it worse?” Fluttershy asked.

“I think Applejack might be right, he’s too unstable to talk to.” Rarity said.

“Pinkie you and Applejack hold him down while I get ready to use a paralysis spell,” Twilight said.

I didn’t wait for them to make the first move, I had Pinkie and Applejack trapped before Twilight could react and she dodged the third, only to have it trap Rarity instead. I readied another orb and Twilight stared me down.

“Your move.” I said dryly.

“I didn’t want to do this the hard way, but you forced me to.” She said back.

I did not expect the fireball that she produced next. I was barely able to shield myself before it hit. As the smoke was clearing I threw an orb to trap her. It was on target but Fluttershy took the orb for her and rolled away into the wall.

“Just you and me now,” I said tauntingly, “And I won’t get caught off guard so easily the second time.”

“Why won’t you just listen to reason? We came here to help you.” Twilight said.

“If that were true then where are the Elements? Surely you would have brought them if there was a changeling threat.” I said back. Before she could reply I threw another orb, and this one didn’t miss. I lined up the orbs in front of me and said, “If you are telling the truth, prove it.” I used some of my remaining magic to make audio crystals in each orb so I could hear them and vice versa.

“How? You have us trapped in these balls.” Applejack said.

“I ask a question that only the real one would know, and if any of you answer correctly I’ll set you all free.” I replied.

“Just ask us and let’s be done with it.” Rainbow Dash said.

“Ok, first question is for you Rainbow Dash. What did I call the routine I helped you work out?”

“Um, um, shoot I can’t remember.” She answered.

“Wrong answer,” I said making that sphere opaque, “Rarity, you are next. What did I give you when I first came to Ponyville?” I asked.

“Let me think, was it new fabrics?” she answered.

“Sorry, I gave you dyes.” I made hers opaque as well. “Applejack, what was the name of the Flim Flam brothers’ machine?”

“Oh, the Flim Flam Brother’s Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 9000?” she said.

“So close, but not quite.” I said and moved on to Pinkie Pie. “What was the first thing I said to the six of you?”

“What do you mean the first thing? Do you mean the first sentence or the first word or do you mean a word from the first sentence?” she continued on in this fashion until I simply disabled the audio crystal.

“Twilight, what was in the book I gave you when I got settled into my house in Ponyville?” I asked.

“The book you gave me. I’m sorry, I didn’t get a chance to read what was in it yet.” She answered.

“If you were the real Twilight you would have already read it at least once if not twice.” I said shrouding her sphere as well. “Well, now it’s down to you Fluttershy. Tell me something that only the real Fluttershy would know.” I asked.

“Come on Fluttershy, you’re our only hope.” Twilight said before I disabled all but Fluttershy’s audio crystal.

“Well, what do you have?”

“Um, I, Um,…” she trail off.

“Well? I’m listening.” I said.

“You’re being kind of rude and scary. Could you please be a little nicer? If its ok.”

I gave a sigh, “Ok, is this better.” I said losing the edge to my voice in favor of a more soothing tone.

“Yes, thank you. What only I would know? I know that you hand made the golden butterfly for my birthday, and that you did it because you... love me.” I instantly open her orb.

“It is you. I’m so sorry.” I said in an apologetic tone while I freed the others.

“Fluttershy you did it!” Twilight said walking over.

“Now can we know what the hay happened?” Applejack asked.

“Yes, but I need a rest.” I replied. So we walked back to the others who had prepared camp and we rested and ate before I explained what had happened.

“So you’re saying that Sombra is back and he’s working with Chrysalis?” Twilight asked dumbfounded.

“Yes, although I think I pushed them farther into the badlands so whatever they were planning has been delayed.” I replied.

“What are we going to tell the princess?” the guard asked.

“Tell her that we have time. With them pushed back they won’t be as quick to act.” I said.

“So how did you even end up here?” Applejack asked.

“Somehow Sombra used crystals to find and teleport me here.” I replied.

“How did he find you, and can he do it again?” Twilight asked.

“I was using a particularly large amount of energy on crystal when he first located me, and even more when he transported me here.” I said.

“What took that much energy?” she asked.

“I was making your brother an invisibility cloak.” I answered.

“Why not just use an invisibility spell?” she asked.

“Because, invisibility spell require either a large amount of energy for only a limited duration or a taxing upkeep. The cloak works for as long as you wear it,” I answered, “But back to the original matter, as long as I don’t use any powerful crystal magic Sombra won’t be able to detect me.”

“Well, we should get some sleep, we need to leave early to get word to Celestia.” The guard said.

We slept then we left for Appleoosa just before dawn to avoid the midday heat.

“So Sombra teleported me from the Crystal Empire all the way to the badlands south of Appleoosa?” I asked as we walked.

“It appears so.” Twilight said.

“How much power does that take? You know, to teleport.” I asked.

“It increases with distance and even more to teleport something you can’t see.” She answered.

“So Sombra would have had to use a large amount of energy to bring me here, but he was recovering from what you did to him. That means that he must have used something else to supply the power.” I said.

“What are you thinking?” Twilight asked.

“I doubt that Chrysalis supplied the power, she would have been drained after being banished by the elements. I’m wondering if he could have used crystal to supply some of the magic and possibly even my own energy. I remember that I could not stop using my magic when I was teleported.” I said.

“I’ll look into that,” Twilight said, “You should get back to the Crystal Empire so you can warn Cadence and Shining Armor.”

We got back to Appleoosa and boarded the train, I would ride all the way to the Crystal Empire but the others got off at Canterlot. When I got to the Crystal Empire it was dark and there was not much activity. I headed straight to the Palace to let Cadence and Shining Armor know of my return. The guards were surprised to see me but they let me through. I was lead to the throne room where Shining Armor was waiting with princess Cadence.

“We didn’t think that it was true, but you’re back.” Cadence said relieved.

“What happened?” Shining Armor asked.

“It’s a long story so I’ll give you the short version,” I began, “Sombra teleported me to the badlands south of Appleoosa where he and Chrysalis were waiting to ambush me and stage a takeover of Equestria. I pushed them farther back into the badlands, at the cost of putting myself in stasis. That is why I’ve been gone for so long.”

“Sombra survived? And he’s working with Chrysalis?” Cadence asked.

“Yes, Sombra located me through the crystal when I was calibrating the cloak.” I replied.

“Does that mean he can find you again?” Shining Armor asked.

“No, not so long as I don’t use any powerful magic around crystals.” I answered.

“Well, it’s best to be safe so don’t use any magic for a few days.” Shining Armor said.

“Ok, I’ll be safe about this.” I replied and left to get some sleep.

The next day I started thinking about how to stop Chrysalis and Sombra, a difficult task when I can’t use magic for fear of opening up myself for teleportation by Sombra. Then it hit me, if Sombra can use the Crystal to locate me and teleport me, I can do the same, or at the very least lure him into a trap. So I ran to the palace to tell Cadence and Shining Armor my plan.

“If I can draw Sombra’s attention outside of the protection of the Crystal Empire, I can teleport him to us and we can have Discord use his ability to reverse a pony’s personality on Sombra, making him good.” I said breathlessly.

“Wait, what? You want to lure Sombra to you? Are you crazy?!” Shining Armor questioned.

“Listen, if we lure him to a remote location where he can’t harm anypony and we prepare we can restrain him and make him an asset, instead of an enemy.” I explained, “Think about it. If we have Sombra’s mastery of crystal on our side that is an advantage we have over Chrysalis, and it puts her at a disadvantage losing a powerful ally.”

“That’s still an awful big risk, how can you even be sure that Discord will help us?” Cadence asked.

“I’ll have to offer something in return, Discord doesn’t help without incentive.” I said.

“Are you sure you can even teleport Sombra instead of being teleported yourself?” she asked.

“If I can’t teleport him by my own power, I’ll simply use a redirection spell on him so that the teleportation affects him.” I answered.

“What about restraining him?” Shining Armor asked.

“If we can get a ring to inhibit his ability to use magic, or maybe use some kind of glyph of dispelling, he won’t be use his magic and we can just tie him up.” I replied.

“So how long would it take you to get all this ready?” Shining Armor asked.

“About a day or so.” I answered.

“Gather all that you need and we’ll see in a day’s time if your plan is still worth considering.” He said.

“I will be ready.” I said hurrying out.

I went to the library immediately to check on the proper spells I would need to know to make the plan work. The reversal spell was simple enough, but the teleportation was beyond my abilities to lean in a day so I forewent that in favor of the reversal. Next I had to make a ring and get it enchanted to inhibit magic, not an easy task, and learn if there were any kinds of glyphs that stopped magic use. I found a circle of dispelling but I could not decipher how to properly create it, leaving me with a circle that did little more than to slightly hinder magic use.

The ring was finished and enchanted by the next morning and I bought a length of rope and a pair of shackles to restrain Sombra as I headed toward the palace. When I presented my preparations to Cadence and Shining Armor, they decided that it might work after all.

“So now all we need to do is get Discord.” I said.

“At your service.” He said appearing as if one cue.

“You know, that is getting bothersome.” I said.

“Now is that any way to greet an old friend?” Discord asked.

“We are not friends Discord, we’re allies; you help us, you get something in return.” I said.

“You’re no fun.” He said.

“I take it you already know what I’m planning?” I asked him.

“Yes, lure Sombra, turn him good, I get something in return, happy endings and all that.” he said, “Well, let’s get on with it, I don’t have all day.”

So we went outside the Crystal Empire to a secluded location and I prepared to put my plan into action. Once I made sure Shining Armor had some rope ready and made sure Discord was not going to pull anything funny, I began to make a dais out of crystal. The dais was meant to give me a place of reference to teleport Sombra, as well as to channel energy into. After a few second I felt the familiar sensation of Sombra’s probing and used the reversal spell while I still could. The strain felt worse than before, supplying the energy by myself was more taxing than being used to supplement Sombra’s own power. Soon enough Sombra was standing in the center of the Crystal dais.

“Fool, you think you can stop me by simply reversing the teleportation? You are sorely mistaken.” He said menacingly. “Now!” I shouted to Cadence who had the inhibitor ring. She swooped down from behind him and placed the ring firmly onto Sombra’s horn.

“What is this? You think some mere trinket will save you?” he said. He tried to use his magic but the ring’s enchantment held. Shining Armor wasted no time in knocking him over and tying him up. Sombra was straining to overpower the ring now, and the ring would not last much longer.

“Now Discord.” I shouted. Nothing happened; Discord was nowhere to be seen. Sombra had almost broken the ring now, the force of his magic straining to shatter the bonds that held it.

“Ha! Your plan has failed,” Sombra said shattering the ring, “Now you are mine.”

“Not so fast.” Discord said appearing behind Sombra, “Who said anything about when I had to change him.” As Sombra spun around to face Discord, he used his magic touch on Sombra to change his personality. At first Sombra just stared blankly as his colors changed from black to a dark grey; then he shook his head and looked around at us.

“Where am I? What happened?” he said.

“Sombra, is it really you?” I asked trying to sound like I was talking to a concerned friend, “We’ve been so worried about you.”

“You have? I don’t recognize you.” He said.

I shot a concerned look to Cadence and Shining Armor, “You don’t recognize us? We’re your friends.” I said fabricating a logical story to tell him about what happened to him.

“My friends?” he asked with a questioning look.

“Yes, we were so worried about you that we came looking for you.” I said.

“You haven’t been yourself in a while.”

“What do you mean I haven’t been myself, and why can’t I remember all of this.” He asked, his tone becoming harder and slightly skeptical.

“About that, you have been in a fury since what happened with that mare.” I began.

“What mare, what did she do?” he pressed.

“Whoa, calm down. This is why we brought Discord with us, he suppressed the memories you had of her, but it seems that was not all he suppressed.” I said casting a stern look at Discord, intending to both convince Sombra and tell Discord to keep his mouth shut.

“So that’s why I can’t remember anything?” he asked.

“Yes it seems that way,” Cadence said joining the conversation, “But it is good to see you back to normal again.”

“Yes, I’m glad that you are better now.” Shining Armor said.

“And you are?” he Sombra asked.

“Sombra, these are Princess Cadence and her husband, Shining Armor, we work for them studying crystal.” I said.

“Studying crystal? I, think I remember something about crystals, but I’m not sure, it’s all foggy.” He said.

“Oh, I forgot to introduce myself, I’m Mixer, you and I have done a lot of research together.” I said.

“Mixer? I know that name. I remember your name and crystals, but that’s all I know about you.” Sombra said.

“I think we should take him to Canterlot and tell Celestia about this.” I said to Cadence and Shining Armor.

“Are you sure?” Shining asked me, “After all, he has been through quite a lot.”

“Exactly, it will be a chance for him to relax before getting back to work.” I said. “Some relaxation sounds like a great idea.” Cadence said.

“Who is Celestia?” Sombra asked.

“Oh, dear,” Cadence began, “You don’t remember?”

“No, I don’t remember much of anything.” Sombra said. We had parked a carriage some ways away and I needed to talk with Discord so I suggested that Cadence and Shining Armor take Sombra there so we could leave. After they were out of earshot it turned to Discord and said,

“You wiped his mind too?”

“Must be a side effect of the personality shift.” Discord said nonchalantly.

“Well, whatever the case, what do you want as payment?” I asked.

“Hmmm. I think I will wait to ask for my payment.” He said, “Good bye.” He teleported away and left me standing by myself. I walked to the carriage and the four of us got in and began our way to Canterlot.

As we rode we explained to Sombra about Celestia and Luna, and about Twilight and her friends, and about what happened with Chrysalis trying to take over Canterlot. We left out any mention of the Crystal Empire in case it triggered anything that could cause him to turn back, I didn’t want to take any chances. It seemed that my plan and subsequent fabricated story were working, but I couldn’t help thinking about what Discord said about waiting for his payment; I didn’t trust him before but now I was worried about what he would take, and when he would take it.

Truth and Lies

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The Mixer Chronicles:
Book Six:
Truth and Lies

We arrived in Canterlot without anypony stopping us, Sombra had lost the fire in his eyes and without his crown he was almost indistinguishable from a normal unicorn, aside from his slightly curved horn and unusually sharp teeth.

I took Sombra to the castle separate from Cadence and Shining Armor so they could explain everything to Celestia. I took him to one of the side entrances to the castle to get a chance to get him out of his armor and get him settled into a room. The guards didn’t give us much trouble on account of my authority since Celestia assigned me to study crystal.

After Sombra took off his armor he took a look in the mirror and asked me, “Why is my horn different from other unicorns?”

“It’s a rare condition, you’ve had it since birth.” I replied.

“What do you mean a rare condition? What kind of condition?” he asked, his tone worried and slightly agitated.

“Nothing serious, it just means you have a different horn and longer teeth, like I said, it’s a rare condition and few cases have been documented.” I said.

“Do you know what caused it?” he asked, calming down.

“We don’t know what could have caused it, possibly a genetic throwback.” I answered. I was glad that I had done such a good job of making up things on the fly, but I didn’t know how long I could keep this up until I was caught in the lie.

We went down to the throne room to introduce Sombra to Celestia. When we got there Cadence and Shining Armor were already waiting for us and Luna had arrived as well.

“Sombra, it’s good to see you well.” Celestia said.

“Princess Celestia I presume?” Sombra asked with a slight bow.

“Yes, Cadence and Shining Armor were telling me about what happened to you. I’m sorry about your memory loss.” She said.

“Thank you for your concern princess.” Sombra replied.

“I have taken the liberty of showing Sombra to a free room in the castle.” I said, “I figured that you would be fine with the location and could move him if the room is needed for another guest.” I said.

“That was thoughtful of you Mixer. I’m sure the room you picked will work just fine.” Celestia said.

“Well, night is approaching so I must be off.” Luna said.

“Yes, you should all get some sleep,” Celestia said to the four of us, “You must be tired after your ordeal.”

As we were leaving to go to our rooms Sombra came over to me and asked me, “Who was the other alicorn?”

“That was princess Luna, Celestia’s sister.” I answered.

“Princess Luna.” He said wistfully. It was surprising to see that he had taken an interest in somepony, let alone Princess Luna; but, not being one to quell his feelings I said nothing. I went to a room that was near Sombra’s and got some sleep, though not much.

The next morning I woke to find that breakfast was served to me in my room and that the same was true of the others. After breakfast I meet up with Sombra and we walked around the castle to get him acquainted with the layout.

“So where is Luna during the day if she raises the moon at night?” Sombra asked me.

“She doesn’t stay the entire night just to raise the moon, she goes to sleep during the night but she sleeps in so that she isn’t tired.” I answered. We walked on in silence till we got back to the throne room where Celestia waited for us.

“It is good timing that you arrived when you did, the Grand Galloping Gala is in a few days and I would like you both to attend.” She told us.

“The Grand Galloping Gala?” Sombra asked.

“Yes it’s an annual ball held here in Canterlot.” I explained.

“Yes and I have asked Twilight and her friends to come here and help you prepare.” Celestia said.

“When will they be here?” I asked her.

“They will arrive tomorrow,” she replied, “And don’t worry, I explained everything to them.”

We took our leave and went into town to find something to do for the rest of the day. We wandered around a bit but didn’t find anything interesting to do so I decided to see if Sombra could still use his magic. We went back to the castle and found an empty courtyard to practice in. At first I just showed him some crystal and manipulated it for him, and then I asked him to try it. He immediately manipulated it even farther than I had, and with ease.

“Amazing, it doesn’t look like losing your memory affected your ability to use magic.” I said.

“This feels very, natural.” He said budding off more crystals to manipulate.

“You always were better at crystal magic than me.” I said.

“This feels really right, using crystal magic.” He said with a smile.

“It must feel good to have something familiar after losing your memory.” I said.

“It is.” Sombra said finally fusing the five crystals he had made into one larger one. We spent the rest of the afternoon practicing with crystals, finding new ways to entertain ourselves. Perhaps it was the fact that Sombra was enjoying himself, or possibly the fact that I might not have to worry about him reverting to his old self, but I felt glad that evening when I went to sleep.

The next day I was up and about before Sombra so I let him sleep in. Twilight and her friends arrived on the first train off the day and I greeted them at the castle gates.

“Mixer, long time no see. How are you doing?” Twilight said.

So, let me get this straight,” Rainbow Dash began, “You say you made Sombra good?”

“I thought we weren’t going to talk about that.” Twilight said. “It’s ok for now, Sombra is asleep still,” I began, “Yes with Discord’s help we made Sombra good, unfortunately we’ve been telling him a series of half-truths to make sure he stays stable.”

“So first you work with Discord and now you want us to be Sombra’s friends? Oh boy.” Rainbow Dash said.

“Come on RD,” Applejack began, “Give him a chance, if Mixer trusts him, so do I.”

“What’s going on here, who are you?” Sombra said walking out.

“Oh hi Sombra, meet Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy.” I said indicating each one in turn, “I know you don’t remember them but they know you.”

“Nice to meet all of you.” He said.

“We didn’t really get a chance to talk last time we met.” Twilight said.

“Well, I would like to get to know you girls better, I have not met many ponies since coming to Canterlot.” Sombra said. Maybe later but right now let’s give them some time to get unpacked before we do.” I said. So we let them each pick a room and drop off their bags before we started formal introductions. We started with Twilight; she was, after all, the one who knew the most about Sombra of the six.

“So, what do you want to know first?” Twilight asked Sombra.

“Well, what do you do? I mean, what is your specialty?” Sombra asked.

“Well, I run and live at the library in Ponyville. I’m also skilled with magic.” she replied.

“What kind of magic?” Sombra asked.

“Nothing in particular, I study all kinds of spells.” Twilight answered.

“Where is Spike?” I asked.

“Oh, he’s looking up a few books for me from the Canterlot library.” she replied.

“He might need some help, I’ll just leave you two for now.” I said as I turned to leave.

I wanted to get a chance to talk to the others before Sombra did so that they would know what to be careful of. I found Applejack and Rainbow Dash first.

“Hey, you two, do you have a minute?” I asked.

“Sure Mixer, what's up?” Applejack asked.

“It’s about Sombra,” I began, “I just want to make sure you know what to be careful of when talking to Sombra.”

“Do you mean saying anything about being evil?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“What do you have against him?” I asked.

“Oh nothing, just the fact that he tried to take over the Crystal Empire! I can’t believe that you can trust that guy.” she said.

“I trust him because I believe that he can be good, even if its only because of Discord changing him.” I answered.

“Fine, I’ll try to trust him, but if he steps one hoof wrong, he’s done.” Rainbow Dash said.

“So what should we be careful about?” Applejack asked.

"As long as you don’t mention the Crystal Empire or anything like that and you should be fine. You can, however, mention Cadence and Shining Armor, he already knows them.” I said.

“Can do.” Applejack said.

I couldn’t find Pinkie Pie or Fluttershy, so I looked for Rarity. I found her in short order and asked her if she was busy.

“Not at all darling, what do you need?” she asked.

“As you know, the Grand Galloping Gala is coming up, and I don't have anything to wear for the occasion, and neither does Sombra; so, do you think you can make suits for us in two days?” I asked.

“Hmm, if you two come by later I’ll see what I can do.” she answered.

“Ok, I’ll bring him by later,” I said, “Oh, and have you seen Fluttershy or Pinkie Pie around? I can’t find either of them.”

Hmm, I think I saw Pinkie at Doughnut Joe’s earlier, and Fluttershy might be in the castle gardens.” she replied.

“Ok thanks.” I said. I left to try and find Pinkie first but I ran into Twilight before I left the castle.

“Oh, Mixer, just the pony I wanted to see.” she said.

“Oh? What’s up Twilight?” I asked.

“I wanted to talk to you about Sombra.” she said.

“What’s wrong?” I asked worried.

“Oh, nothing wrong, its just, I wanted to say that I think you might be right; Sombra seems like he’s fitting in just fine.” she said.

“That’s good to hear.” I said relieved.

“I’m worried about Spike though, he’s still afraid of Sombra, that’s why I sent him to get those books.” she said.

“I’m sure he will get over it once he sees that Sombra is ok. I mean, Cadence and Shining Armor seemed ok with it. as far as I can tell Sombra will be fine.” I said.

“Ok, if you say so.” she said.

“By the way, where is Sombra? We have to go see Rarity to get fitted for our suits.” I asked.

“I left him with Applejack and Rainbow Dash, they were on their way to see him when I left.” she said.

“Ok, thank you.” I said hurrying to find them. I found the three of them in Sombra’s room, and was relieved to see that Rainbow Dash was being civil.

“Oh, hey Mixer. What’s up?” Sombra asked.

“I just wanted to see how you were doing, and to tell you that later we have to go see Rarity about getting fitted for suits to wear to the gala.” I explained.

“Well, we won't keep you any longer.” Applejack said.

“Oh, go on, I didn’t mean to interrupt.” I said.

“We were just talking about Sweet Apple Acres,” Sombra said, “And it sounds like I don't want to miss the next cider season.”

“After last season, you better be early; I’m sure everypony in Equestria has heard about you cider.” Rainbow Dash said.

“Don’t worry RD, I’m sure you’ll get some cider next season.” Applejack said. They talked some more and after a few minutes they left Sombra and I to go see Rarity.

“So, getting along with everypony I see.” I said as we walked.

“Yeah, Twilight was a little distracted, but Applejack was very friendly.” he said.

“And you haven’t even meet Rarity, Pinkie Pie, or Fluttershy yet,” I said, “Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find Pinkie or Fluttershy.”

“Well’ I still get to meet Rarity today.” he said. It didn’t take much longer to reach Rarity’s room, where she had set up the necessary things to make our suits.

“Oh, good. Now that you two are here we can get started.” Rarity said as we entered. She told us to stand still while she took our measurements. “So, is there anything in particular that you would like done for your suits?” she asked.

“No, nothing that I can think of.” I replied.

“And what about you Sombra, anything special?” she asked.

“I’ll let you decide, I’m not too informed on formal attire.” he answered. She finished making measurements and looked us over.

“I think something simple would look good on you Mixer, a traditional undershirt with a jacket. Sombra, you would look good in something more, elegant. How does that sound?” she asked.

“It sounds fine Rarity.” I said.

“I’m sure whatever you pick will be fine.” Sombra answered.

“Ok then, I should have them done in a couple of days.” She said already looking for materials. Sombra and I left her to her work and took a stroll around the castle to pass the time. We were walking through the gardens when all of a sudden, “Surprise!” Pinkie said jumping out of a bush, party cannon in toe. She fired it and confetti rained down on the two of us. “I just wanted to give you a super duper extra special welcome back, Sombra.” she said bouncing around.

“Um, thanks. And you are?” he asked.

“I’m Pinkie Pie.” she said shaking his hoof.

“Nice to meet you Pinkie Pie.” Sombra said.

“Pinkie, where have you been? I was looking all over for you.” I said.

“I was trying to plan a great surprise for Sombra.” she answered.

“Well, Sombra already meet everypony else except for Fluttershy.” I said.

“Oh, I guess I was so worried about giving him a good welcome I forgot to actually welcome him.” she said losing some of her energy.

“It’s ok, I’m glad that you wanted to go through all this trouble just to welcome me.” Sombra said.

“Really?” Pinkie said perking up.

“Yes.” Sombra answered.

“Thats good, so now we can be friends.” she said.

“So Pinkie, have you seen Fluttershy?” I asked.

“Oh yeah, she’s right over there.” she pointed to a bush a little ways off.

“Ok, you two get acquainted while I get Fluttershy.” said walking toward the bush.

“It’s alright Fluttershy, you can come out.” I said.

“Oh, Mixer, what do you mean?” she said popping her head up out of the bush.

“I know you are afraid of him, but it’s ok, he’s good now, and plus, I’m here and I would never let anyone hurt you.” I said.

“Oh, ok, if you say so.” she said coming out of the bush. We walked back over to Sombra and Pinkie.

“Sombra, I would like you to meet Fluttershy.” I said introducing her.

“Nice to meet you.” Sombra said.

“N-nice to meet you too.” Fluttershy said nervously.

“Well, now you've met everypony.” I said to Sombra.

“I enjoyed it. The more ponies I meet the more friends I seem to make.” he said. It was getting late by then so we got some dinner and went to bed.

The next couple of days leading up to the Gala went by without much activity. Cadence and Shining Armor went back to the Crystal Empire and Rarity finished our suits. Finally the night of the Gala had arrived.

“Are you almost ready in there?” I called to Sombra. I was already dressed up and ready to attend the Gala, but Sombra was taking slightly longer.

“Give me a second.” he said.

“If you don’t hurry we’ll be late.” I said.

“Ok, I’m ready.” he said. I opened to door and was surprised by what I saw.

“So, how do I look?” Sombra asked.

“You look like you're ready for a date with a princess.” I said. Rarity did not disappoint when she said that he would look good in something elegant. He was wearing some of the finest clothes I had seen in Canterlot. He had also slicked down his mane to look neat.

“Well, let’s get going.” he said. We walked down to the main hall where they were holding the Gala. There were already plenty of guests arriving, and more arriving each minute.

“Well, good luck,” I said to Sombra, “Have fun mingling. If you need me I’ll either be in the gardens or the main hall.” I said leaving him to mix in with the crowd.

I saw Rarity talking with Fancy Pants of in one group, and Rainbow Dash talking with Spitfire and a couple other Wonderbolts. Twilight was likely with the princess, and Pinkie was nowhere to be seen. I walked out to the garden to enjoy the cool night air and try and find Fluttershy. The garden was beautiful during the day; but at night, with the moon shining and casting its soft silver light over the flowers, made it seem even more beautiful. The experience was made all the more pleasant by the sound of music drifting from the castle.

“Enjoying your walk through the gardens?” the voice came from behind me.

“Oh, Fluttershy, yes,” I replied.

“The gardens are just beautiful at night, aren’t they?” she asked.

“Yes, I love the way the moon shines on every leaf, giving each and every plant a soft glow.” I answered.

“Oh yes.” she said giving a slight sigh.

“So, what are you doing out here all by yourself?” I asked, “Everypony else is inside enjoying themselves.”

“I didn’t want to be a bother to any of them, and besides, I like the gardens, they are nice and quiet.” she replied.

“I know what you mean, it’s just so peaceful here.” I said.

“And what are you doing out here?” she asked, “I thought you would be talking to everypony, being so important.”

“Yeah, well, I didn’t want to interrupt anypony so I came out here to get some fresh air.” I replied.

"Oh, where’s Sombra? I thought he would be with you.” she said.

“I let him mingle with the crowd, he probably want to get a chance to talk to Luna.” I said.

“Talk with Luna?” she asked.

“Yes, he is quite attracted to her, I could tell from when he first saw her.” I replied.

“Sombra and Princess Luna, do you thinks thats wise?” she asked.

“I don’t see a problem with it, and besides, I couldn’t prevent him from trying; everypony deserves a chance to be happy.” I said.

“You really are a great person.” Fluttershy said.

“Huh?” I asked.

“You are the only pony who could have thought of making Sombra good, and the only one to trust him from the start. You also trust Discord, something nopony would ever do.” she said. “I could not just be rigid in my thinking. With Discord, it was all about ‘how would I feel if I was trapped in stone for a thousand years'. With Sombra, it’s just a matter of giving him a fresh start; a little good will can go a long way.” I said.

“Wow, I never thought about it that way.” she said.

“I’m just worried what will happen when Sombra goes back to the Crystal Empire.” I said with a sigh.

“Do you really have to take him back there?” she asked.

“Yes, its the only way to know for sure if he can stay good. Unfortunately, I don’t think that the crystal ponies will react well to him.” I answered.

“Then why take him back?” she asked.

“Because, we can only hide the truth for so long; eventually he will learn about it, and I want to be there for him, either to help him through it, or should the worst come to pass, make sure he doesn't hurt anyone.” I said.

“I hope it doesn’t come to that.” she said.

“I do too. But enough of these gloomy thoughts, its the Grand Galloping Gala, we should be having fun, not sitting around talking the night away.” I said.

“You’re right, we should be having a good time.” she said. My stomach growled just then, I had eaten a light lunch.

“Hey, would you like to get something to eat with me?” I asked her.

“Sure.” she said. We walked back into the castle and found an open table and ate some before Rainbow Dash came over to us.

“Hey Rainbow Dash, what's up?” I asked her.

“Yeah, I thought you were hanging out with the Wonderbolts.” Fluttershy said. Rainbow Dash took a seat and sighed.

“The Wonderbolts got too distracted and forgot all about me, again.” she said.

“Well, we’re still here.” I said.

“Thanks, where is everypony else?” she asked.

“Twilight is probably still with the princess, Rarity was with Fancy Pants last I saw her, and I have no idea where Pinkie is.” I answered.

“What about Applejack and Sombra?” she asked.

“I thought I saw Applejack outside.” Fluttershy said.

“As for Sombra, he’s around here somewhere.” I said. We sat and listened to the music that was playing until I decided to go look for Rarity. I wandered around the gala but could not find her. I looked outside and found Applejack taking a stroll.

“Oh, hey Mixer, you come out here for some fresh air too?” she asked.

“No, actually, I’m looking for Rarity. Have you seen her?” I asked.

“Actually, I have, she was just over there last I saw her.” Applejack said pointing to another part of the gardens.

“Thanks.” I said moving off. I looked around for a bit but did not find her there either. When I went back inside I decided to ask Twilight how she was doing. I found her with the princess greeting a thinning line of guests. I did not want to interrupt so I waited a few minutes for the line to end and then approached them.

“Mixer, what are you doing here? I thought you were enjoying the gala.” Twilight asked.

“I came to see how you were doing.” I said.

“I’m fine, but what about you? Weren’t you with Fluttershy earlier? she asked.

“Yes I was but I went looking for Rarity and ended up heading over here.” I answered.

“Well, now that all the guests are here, we can begin to have some fun.” Celestia said, “This year I asked Vinyl to DJ after the Octavia’s ensemble.”

“To the dance floor?” I said questioningly.

“Yes, lets.” Celestia said. So we headed to the main hall where there was space for the dance floor, and Vinyl was already setting up her DJ stand. “I thought this might liven the place up a bit.” Celestia said.

“I agree.” I said. The others had found their way there as well.

“Alright, everypony ready to get down?” Vinyl said over the microphone. For all the seemingly tight ponies there, most of them didn’t take long to hit the dance floor. After a few songs I found my way out of the crowd and took a break. I saw that Sombra had done the same so I walked over to him to ask him how his night was.

“Not too much to talk about, I wandered around a bit then ate, then I found Luna and we talked for a bit.” he said, “What about you?”

“Roughly the same, wandered, ate, talked to ponies.” I replied. “So, how did your talk with Luna go?” I asked.

“It went fine.” he said hurriedly.

“Only fine?” I pried.

“Ok, she’s the most amazing mare in all of Equestria. But I don’t think she knows how I feel.” he said.

“Have you tried telling her?” I asked.

“You make it sound as if it’s easy.” he said.

“Trust me, I know how hard it is to share your true feelings with the one you care about.” I said.

“So what should I do?” he asked.

“Just tell her how you feel, the worst she can do is say she doesn’t feel the same. Trust me, knowing is better than worrying about the unknown.” I said.

“Ok, I think I will tell her.” he said.

“Good, but I would wait till later when you can talk to her alone, it takes some of the pressure off what you have to say.” I said. We went back to dancing until the guests started to filter out. When the Gala finally ended it was very late so I went back to my room and fell asleep almost instantly. I hoped that everything with Sombra went well.

When I woke up the next morning it was well past sunrise. I checked Sombra’s room but it was empty. I went downstairs to look for him. I did not find Sombra or Twilight and her friends. I went to the throne room to ask Celestia where they were.

“Twilight and her friends left for Ponyville earlier, they didn’t want to wake you so they asked me to give you their regards.” Celestia said.

“What about Sombra?” I asked.

“I think that he went out to get something.” she said. I went to the train station to check the schedule for trains to the Crystal Empire. I saw there was a train in the afternoon so I bought two tickets and headed back to the castle. I found Sombra when I got back and told him that we were leaving later that day.

“Do we have to leave so soon?” Sombra asked.

“Yes, we need to get back to work.” I said.

“Fine.” he said. We packed up our things and had some extra time before we left. I told Sombra that if he had anything more to say to Luna to do it now because we would not be back for some time. I waited by the front door until he came back blushing. I couldn’t help showing a broad smile.

“What?” he asked annoyed.

“Nothing.” I said suppressing a laugh.

“Shut up.” he said.

“What, I’m happy for you. You obviously got a kiss.” I said playfully.

“Shut up.” he said. I lost it and started laughing. “Hey, stop laughing at me.” he said frustratedly.

“Sorry, its just so funny, last night you were worried about her not liking you, and now you got a kiss, good job.” I said.

His face reddened and he said, “Lets go.” We walked to the train station and boarded the train to the Crystal Empire. “So what is the Crystal Empire like?” Sombra asked as we rode.

“It’s made of crystal, all the buildings and roads are made of solid crystal.” I said.

“Wow, that sounds amazing.” Sombra said.

“It is, especially since it is in the frozen north, but it is always pleasant in the Crystal Empire.” I said.

“Fascinating, how is that possible?” he asked.

“The magic of the Crystal Empire keeps the climate favorable.” I said.

We carried on some light conversation the rest of the way until we finally arrived. The station did not have many crystal ponies around so no worries.

“Wow,” Sombra said taking the sight of the Crystal Empire.

“Pretty impressive isn’t it?” I asked.

“I, remember this place.” Sombra said shaking his head.

“What do you remember?” I asked.

“I remember cold, and anger.” he said.

“I thought bringing you here might trigger something. “ I said.

“Why did we come here then?” he asked.

“To help you get over the past.” I answered.

As we walked to my house sombra asked, “Why are all the ponies avoiding us or giving me funny looks?”

“They probably still remember when you were in a rage.” I said.

“Was I that bad?” he asked.

“Unfortunately, yes, you were.” I said.

When we got to my place I told him to lay down and rest while I made something to eat. Sombra seemed to calm down a little after eating so we went to the palace. Thankfully I live close to the palace and we did not have too much trouble on the way to the palace.

As we were walking through the palace to the throne room Sobra said, “This place seems so familiar, like I know it.” I didn’t say anything, instead hurrying my pace to get to Cadence and Shining Armor.

“Mixer, Sombra, you’re back.” Cadence said.

“Good to see you back so soon.” Shining Armor said.

“It’s good to be back, right Sombra?” I said.

“Yeah...” he said distractedly.

“Is there something wrong Sombra?” Cadence asked.

“Why do all the ponies here look at me with fear? What did I do that you aren’t telling me?” he asked.

“I thought you told them that Sombra was better?” I asked Shining Armor.

“I did, both of us did.” he replied

“What did I do?” Sombra asked again.

“Sombra, there are things you just don’t want to know,” I said, “At the very least there are things that you aren’t ready for.”

“Why are you three avoiding the question?” he asked.

“It’s for your protection Sombra, we don’t want to make you relive your past so soon after being rid of it.” Cadence said.

“Sombra, it’s late and you're tired, lets go home, get some sleep and deal with this in the morning.” I said.

“Will you at least tell me something then?” he asked.

“Yes, I promise.” I said.

“Ok then.” he said as he walked out.

“Mixer, please be careful about this.” Cadence said.

“I know, I just hope nothing goes wrong.” I said taking my leave as well.

We went home and fell asleep soon after, saying nothing to each other. The next morning I was woken up my shouts from outside.

“We don't want that monster in our city!”

“Show yourself Sombra!”

“Leave us alone!”

The shouts came from an angry group of ponies gathered outside my house.

“What is going on here?!” I demanded.

“We know you have Sombra in there. We want you to get rid of him, we won’t be enslaved again.” one of them shouted.

“He’s not like that anymore.” I shouted back.

“And how do you know? He could turn back at any time.” another said.

“Mixer, what are they talking about? Monster, enslaved, what did I do?” Sombra asked from behind me.

“I didn’t want you to find out about it this way.” I said looking down.

“Find out what?” he snarled.

I just stood there in silence looking down.

“What did I do?” he yelled grabbing me and putting me against the wall.

“That you were once evil. That you enslaved the crystal ponies over a thousand years ago only to be banished by Celestia and Luna using the Elements of Harmony on you; about how you cursed the Crystal Empire to disappear for a thousand years; about how we lied to you to keep you from reverting to being evil.” I said.

“So everything you’ve told me has been a lie? All my happiness has been just some game?” he questioned, the fire returning to his eyes.

“In the beginning, yes, it was a lie.” I said.

“I’m starting to remember everything. You tricked me to use me against Chrysalis.” he said, anger in his voice, and black returning to his coat.

“In the beginning that was my intention, to use you against Chrysalis, but then things changed. When you lost your memory it was a chance to make you good, a second chance. I wanted to give you a chance to escape your past and enjoy life.” I said.

“So you told me a string of lies? Some friend you are.” he sneered.

“I made that up so that you would not revert to being evil before you could experience what it was like to be good. If we hadn’t, would you have meet Twilight and her friends, would you have meet Luna?” I asked.

“They all knew who I was, they were probably just putting on an act to fool me.” he said.

“Maybe, but not all of them. Listen Sombra, you can’t change your past, but you can change your future. This can go two ways: you give in to the loneliness and hate, and turn evil; or you can let your friends help you overcome your past. It’s all a matter of which way you want this to go.”

“You were like a brother to me, you know that?” he said, tears running down his face.

“And you were like a brother to me, now, what will it be?”

Resolute

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The Mixer Chronicles:

Book Seven:
Resolute

Shining Armor was standing outside Mixer’s house in the Crystal Empire. That morning an angry group of ponies had gathered outside to do something about Sombra.

When Shining Armor arrived the crowd seemed to be scared instead of angry. When he tried to get in the door crystals grew from it, blocking all entry.

Shining Armor was getting worried, he had been waiting for some time now, and the longer he waited the more likely that Sombra had gone evil. When the crystals around the door retracted he readied his magic, he had to be ready for the worst. Shining Armor’s heart sank when he saw Sombra standing in the doorway. Just before Shining Armor released his magic on Sombra he stood aside and let Mixer walk out.

“Mixer, that was too close, don’t scare me like that.” he said.

I agree that was close, but its all right now.” I said.

“I’m sorry Shining Armor, I won't pretend like I don’t have my memories back, but I will work to overcome my past.” Sombra said.

"Boy am I glad to hear that. I’m sure Cadence and the whole Crystal Empire will be glad to hear that too.” Shining Armor said.

We went back to the palace and Cadence called for the the crystal ponies to gather for an announcement. When all had gathered around she began.

“Crystal ponies, I thank you for all gathering here today. Now there is somepony that wants to talk to you.” she said letting Sombra step up. There were gasps and murmurs as he came into view.

“Citizens of the Crystal Empire, I know that I have done horrible things in the past, but I want to apologize and say that I will try my best to make up for what I’ve done.” Sombra said. There was silence for a few moments, then Sombra began to speak again, “I know that it is hard to believe but I want to prove to you that I have changed, and I would be willing to do anything you want to prove it.”

The crowd was starting to speak amongst themselves now. The commotion was promising, they were thinking of accepting that Sombra had changed. Eventually the crowd came to its conclusion that Sombra was changed but would have to prove it by doing a service for the whole Crystal Empire. They started a list of things that Sombra would have to do for the good of the Crystal Empire.

“This list Is getting pretty big, are you sure you can handle it by yourself?” I asked.

“I can handle it, I have to.” he said.

“And you’re sure you’ll be fine here by yourself?” I asked.

“Yes, I want you to go to Canterlot and tell Celestia and Luna what happened, then I want you to go and spend time with your friends in Ponyville.” Sombra said.

“Ok, well don’t get into any trouble while I’m gone.” I said.

“Knowing you, I could say the same thing,” Sombra said, “Now go, spend some time with your friends, you haven’t had a chance to for a while from what I understand.”

“Ok, I’ll see you in a week right?” I asked.

“Yes, as soon as I’m done here I’ll go to Canterlot, and then I’m going to visit you in Ponyville,” He said, “Now move along; if you don’t hurry you will miss the train.”

I said goodbye to Sombra and went to the train station and boarded the train for Ponyville. I didn’t just want to leave Sombra like that, but what he said was true, I did want to spend some proper time with my friends. I also wanted to try my luck with Fluttershy.

The train ride seemed to speed by, and before I knew it I was getting off in Ponyville. I was surprised I did not see anypony when I was walking home, but I didn’t think too hard on it, they were probably just inside.

After relaxing for a bit I decided to go and see if anypony was out and about. I found Twilight and her friends walking out of the town hall.

“Oh, Mixer. When did you get here?” Twilight asked.

“Not too long ago. Why?” I asked.

“You didn't see the stampede of Pinkies?” she asked.

“The stampede of Pinkies, what?” I asked.

“It’s a long story,” she began, “But what are you doing here? I thought you were in the Crystal Empire.”

“I was, but I had to deal with Sombra regaining his memories.” I said.

“Oh no, what happened?” she asked.

“Nothing to worry about now, he is stable and working to gain the crystal ponies’ trust.” I replied.

“Phew, that’s good to here,” she said, “But that makes you being here make less sense. Shouldn’t you be with Sombra?”

“He told me to go here and spend some time with my friends while he did his work.” I said.

“Wow, he said that?” twilight asked.

“Yeah, those exact words.” I answered.

“Wow, maybe he has changed.” she said.

“You still didn’t think he had, even after the gala?” I asked.

“I wasn’t one hundred percent sure, but now I am.” she replied.

“So what was going on earlier?” I asked.

“I kinda used the Mirror Pool one too many times.” Pinkie said.

“The Mirror Pool?” I asked.

“Yes, it made copies of her, that made copies in turn until we were inundated with Pinkie Pies.” Twilight said.

Ok..., what?” I asked.

“There were Pinkie Pies running rampant in Ponyville until we made them take a test to determine the real one.” she said.

“What kind of test?” I asked.

“Something that was impossible for any Pinkie but the real one.”Twilight said.

“Watching paint dry.” Pinkie said.

“So that’s what you were doing when I arrived, watching paint dry?” I asked.

“Yeah, and it was about as exciting as it sounds.” Rainbow Dash said.

“But it worked.” Twilight said.

“It sounds like you six had an exciting day, what are you going to do now?” I asked.

“Well, we have to go and make sure that we seal up that Mirror Pool so that this doesn’t happen again.” she said.

“Need any help?” I asked.

“No, we should be fine, you can go home and rest, I’m sure you could use it.” she replied.

“Well, I have had an exhausting past few days.” I said.

So I went back to my house to pass the rest of the afternoon. After an hour or so I heard a knock on my door. I wondered who that could be so I went to the door. When I opened the door I was greeted by Vinyl and Octavia standing at my door.

“Hey Mixer, what’s up?” Vinyl said.

“Oh hi, what are you two doing here?” I asked.

“Vinyl and I heard that you were back in town and we wanted to see how you were doing.” Octavia said.

“Well, I’m doing fine. It’s good to see you two.” I said.

“It has been a while since we last had the chance to hang.” Vinyl said.

“Well, come on in. I am, after all, here to see some old friends.” I said.

“So, Mixer, what have you been up to?” Octavia asked.

“You two have heard about the Crystal Empire by now right?” I asked.

“Yes, it sounds like a beautiful place to visit.” Octavia said.

“I guess it sounds ok.” Vinyl said.

“Well, I’ve been there, studying crystals for Celestia. More recently I helped make Sombra good.” I said.

“Really?” Octavia asked.

“Who?” Vinyl asked.

“You two didn’t see me at the Gala?” I asked.

“Vinyl said that you were there, but I did not see you myself.” Octavia said.

“Then you probably saw Sombra there too. He was there with me and Twilight and her friends.” I said.

“So how’d you like the music?” Vinyl asked.

“It was great, both of you. I think that it was a nice change to have some more high energy songs playing.” I answered.

“Yeah, thats what I’m talking about, something to get all those ponies on their feet and on the dance floor.” Vinyl said.

“Yeah, dance tunes are good, but sometimes it is nice to have more relaxing classical songs.” I said.

“I guess.” Vinyl said.

“Oh, don't be like that Vinyl.” Octavia said.

“It’s ok, you don’t have to get in an argument over something I said,” I began, “Everypony has their own taste in music.”

“Yes, I suppose that’s true. Sorry if I got a little carried away.” Vinyl apologized. “You know what though, we haven’t had a chance to jam yet.” she said.

“A jam session sounds like fun.” I said.

“Tavi, you in?” Vinyl asked.

“I suppose that sounds like fun.” Octavia replied.

“Alright, lets get jammin’” Vinyl said.

“But I don’t have my cello, and you don’t have anything to play either.” Octavia said.

“Whoops, guess I got too ahead of myself. Some other time then.” Vinyl said.

“Any time you want to is fine.” I said.

“Well, it was good to see you again Mixer, but its getting late so we’ll leave you to relax now.” Octavia said.

“Ok see you soon.” I said as they left.

“See ya.” Vinyl said back.

I was looking forward to having a jam session but it would have to wait for a few days.

I wanted to at least try and establish a relationship with Fluttershy, and soon. I wondered how Sombra was doing with his list of tasks while I tried to fall asleep, but I didn’t end up getting much sleep that night.

The next morning I woke up early and went to go see Twilight. I wanted to ask her if she knew about a certain spell.

“Oh, good morning Mixer,” Twilight said with a yawn, “What do you want this early.”

“I wanted to ask you if you knew any transformation spells.” I said.

“What kind of transformation spell?” Twilight asked.

“Something that could make one kind of pony another.” I said.

“I think I have something in here like that.” she said turning to search her library for the appropriate book. “Why did you want to know?” Twilight asked.

“I kind of wanted to, um...” I trailed off, finding the words rather hard to say.

“What was that?” she asked.

“I wanted to try and...” I trailed off again.

“To try and?” Twilight pressed.

I sighed and try to unknot my tongue. “I wanted to try and get into a relationship with Fluttershy.” I rushed the words out.

“Then why are you here?” she asked.

“I wanted to see if you had a spell that could, you know, make me a pegasus temporarily.” I replied.

“Well, you’re in luck, I happen to have the spell right here, but its effects last three days.” she said.

“Thank you Twilight.” I said relieved.

“But, why did you have such a hard time saying anything?” she asked

"I don’t know, I just thought you might say something, or not like what I said.” I answered.

“Aw, you should never be afraid to share your emotions, especially with friends.” she said.

“Thanks Twilight, I needed to hear that.” I said.

“You’re welcome, now hold still.” she said starting to cast the transformation spell. She strained at first but then the spell came easy enough. I could feel the magic running through my body. At first it felt like I was getting really hot, then I felt my horn start to shrink to nothing, and wings grow out my back. It felt strange at first then I felt sore all over.

“Ugh, I felt like I just slept wrong for a day.” I said stretching.

“It worked,” Twilight said, “Are you ok?”

I think I’ll be sore for a bit, but I should be fine otherwise.” I said.

“Ok, find me if you experience anything strange.” Twilight told me.

“Ok, I think I’m going to stretch then try to fly.” I said.

“Hey Twilight, you in here?” Rainbow Dash asked walking in. “What the feather is going on here?” she asked seeing me.

“Oh, hi Rainbow Dash.” I said sheepishly.

“Is somepony going to tell me why you’re a pegasus now and not a unicorn?” she asked.

“He asked me to turn him into a pegasus for a few days.” Twilight said.

“And you just did it?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“No, I asked him why and he told me, so I used the spell on him.” Twilight said.

“So why did you want to be a pegasus anyways?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“He’s got a crush on Fluttershy.” Twilight said.

“Hey!” I said, my face getting red at her bluntness.

Rainbow Dash started laughing, “Aww, isn’t he cute, he blushing.”

“Be nice Rainbow Dash.” Twilight said.

“Sorry, its just kind of funny to see him acting like a confused colt. I mean, you faced down Chrysalis and Sombra by yourself, and now you all clumsy. You gotta admit that’s kind of funny to see.” Rainbow Dash said.

“And you were acting like a scarred filly at last years young flyers competition, but you didn’t see any of your friends laughing then, did you.” I said getting aggravated with her.

“Hey, I had to pull off the sonic rainboom in front of hundreds of ponies, you just have to talk to a mare.” she bit back.

“Stop it, the both of you. What’s gotten into you? Since when did you get so insensitive Rainbow Dash; and Mixer, I’ve never seen you get upset like this.” Twilight said.

“I was just having a little fun, then he had to get all defensive.” Rainbow Dash replied.

“This is why I didn’t want to start telling everypony about this.” I said slamming the door as I left. I didn’t want to deal with that right now, I just wanted to have some time to practice flying.

As I was walking out to find a nice spot to start, Pinkie Pie just showed up out of nowhere.

“Hi Mixer whatcha doin?” she asked.

“Nothing.” I answered flatly.

“What's wrong?” she asked.

“Nothing.” I said.

She paused before following me again, “So what’s with the wings?” she asked.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” I said.

"Why are you so grumpy today,” she asked.

“Rainbow Dash.” I replied.

“Did it have something to do with your new wings?” she asked.

“Yes.” I answered.

“So where are you going now?” she asked trying to change the subject.

“To practice flying.” I replied.

“Why, did Dashie make fun of your flying?” she asked.

“No.” I replied.

“Come on, you can tell me what's wrong.” she said.

“No.” I said.

“You can’t stay mad, turn that frown upside down.” she said.

“NO!” I yelled. She stopped and looked like she was going to cry. “I’m sorry,” I sighed, “I asked Twilight to turn me into a pegasus and Rainbow Dash made some comments that I didn’t take kindly to.”

“Do you feel any better?” she asked.

“Yes, I do feel a little better.” I said.

“Do you want me to watch you practice flying?” she asked.

“Sure, you can come along.” I replied. And we walked a little further until there was a large enough space. I stretched my wings out. “Ok, here goes nothing.” I said preparing to take off. I jumped and flapped my wings but didn’t stay in the air; instead I just fell right back down to earth. I tried twice more with the same result.

“Maybe you’re doing something wrong.” pinkie said.

I flapped my wings without jumping and felt a little lighter, but didn’t leave the ground. I heard Twilight and Rainbow Dash calling for me in the distance. I flapped harder to get free of the ground, but to no avail.

Uh oh,” Pinkie said as she saw Twilight and Rainbow Dash approach.

“There you are.” Twilight said.

I tried to fly one last time.

“You’re doing it wrong,” Rainbow Dash said walking up to me. “Look, I’m sorry about what I said earlier, I didn't know I would hurt your feelings,” she said. “Now let me show you how to get some air beneath you wings," she got into a jumping position, “Now for first timers it’s a good idea to get a good launch.”

“Thanks Rainbow Dash.” I said.

“I couldn’t just let you go without learning how to fly. And I needed to apologize for what I said,” she said.

“What’s going on now?” Pinkie asked Twilight.

“Mixer came to me asking to be turned into a pegasus,” Twilight said.

“I know that, but what happened?” Pinkie asked.

“I can answer that,” Rainbow Dash said, “I was trying to make a light hearted joke, but I hurt Mixer’s feelings.”

“What did you say?” she asked, “He was pretty grumpy when I found him.”

I sighed and said, “She was laughing at me liking Fluttershy.”

“Awww.” she said. “That's so cute.” she said giving me a hug.

“Pinkie, you can let go now,” I said squished.

“So, now that that’s out of the way, let’s get you flying,” Rainbow Dash said. “Now I saw you before, you can’t just flap your wings up and down, you've got to put some more motion into it.” she said demonstrating a more circular wing pattern.

“Like this?” I said imitating the slow circular motion.

“Yeah, that's it. Now just put it together; get a good jump with the downward stroke,” she said.

did as instructed and the first few tries I got some lift but did not stay in the air. Then I jumped and I stayed in the air.

“Wohoo,” Pinkie cheered.

“Not bad, with some more practice you’ll be flying around in no time,” Rainbow Dash said.

It was new to feel weightless, to not feel the ground under my hooves. I landed and took off a few more times until I was satisfied with my ability to get into the air. I found it a little hard at first to move around in the air but after falling out of the air only a few times I could fly around without worrying about falling.

“I think, you’re ready,” Rainbow Dash said.

“I have to be, it’s already afternoon,” I said.

“Good luck,” they said as I took off towards Fluttershy’s cottage. I was determined now, I could fly, I had the support of my friends, I wasn’t going to lose my nerve now.

When I got there I walked up to the door and knocked. Angel opened the door and crossed his arms.

We stood there staring at eachother until Fluttershy asked, “Angel, honey, who is it?” Then she opened the door and said, “Oh, Mixer, what are you doing here?” she asked. Then she asked, “My goodness what happened to your horn?”

“I came here to tell you that I want to be more than friends; I care about you and I want to be in a relationship with you,” I said. “That's why I had Twilight transform me into a pegasus, so that I could do things that I would be able to do as a unicorn, like fly.”

“You gave up your magic just to be with me?” she asked.

“It’s not permanent, the spell will wear out in a few days, but yes.” I replied.

“You didn’t have to do this, I liked you before.” she said.

“I know, but I wanted to, for you.” I said.

“How could I say no,” she said, “Of course I’ll be you special somepony.”

“You don't know how glad I am to hear that.” I said.

“Would you like to come inside?” she asked.

“Sure.” I said.

“So, what did you want to do while you have your wings?” she asked sitting down.

“I don’t know, maybe have a nice leisurely flight, or maybe a picnic on a cloud.” I said.

“That sounds like a great idea, so when do you want to have the picnic?” she asked.

“How about tomorrow at noon?” I suggested.

“I’m not doing anything tomorrow.” she said.

“So its a date then.” I said.

Angel came over and tugged on Fluttershy’s leg.

“What is it Angel? Are you hungry?” she asked. “Oh, would you excuse me while I get something for Angel.” she said.

As soon as she left the room Angel looked at me with his arms crossed, tapping his foot.

“What?” I said.

He kept looking at me.

“Don’t look at me like that.” I said.

“Here Angel,” Fluttershy said walking in with a carrot.

“It’s getting kind of late, I think I’ll head home now.” I said.

“Oh, but you just got here.” she said.

“But I don’t want to be a bother.” I said.

“Oh, it’s no bother, you can stay.” she said.

“Then at least let me go get something from my house.” I said.

“Oh, ok.” she said.

So I went to my house to get a bag of specialty feed for her critters. It was kind of heavy but I managed to fly it the whole way.

“What’s that?” she asked.

“Some specialty feed for your critter friends.” I said.

“Oh, they’ll be delighted to see that you brought some, they just loved the last batch you made.” she said.

Some critters started to appear from various holes and burrows.

“Looks like they already want some.” I said.

“It is almost time for dinner.” she said, “Would you mind helping feed them?”

“I would be glad to.” I said.

We feed the critters, much to their delight, and I said goodnight to Fluttershy.

I flew home and slept like a rock. The next morning I ate a light breakfast and went out for some flying. I was flying past the library when Twilight signaled me down.

“Morning Twilight.” I said.

“Well, someone sure sounds excited.” she said, “I take it it went well yesterday.”

“Oh yes, quite well.” I said.

“That’s good to hear. So where are you going in such a hurry?” she asked.

“I’m getting some flying in before meeting Fluttershy for a picnic at noon.” I said.

“Well then, I won't keep you any longer, it’s almost noon.” Twilight said.

“Ok, gotta go.” I said taking off.

I was really getting used to flying by now. It seemed like so long ago that I was using magic and walking everywhere, even though it had only been a day.

I arrived at Fluttershy’s and found her gathering the things for our picnic.

“Need any help there?” I asked.

“Oh you’re early. sure can you grab the blanket from inside?” she asked.

“Sure.” I said going inside to look for it. I found Angel sitting on a folded blanket inside waiting for me.

“What now?” I said.

He grabbed the blanket and started to run around the house.

“I don’t have time for this Angel.” I said chasing him around.

I kept stopping to settle disrupted furniture every time I got close to catching him.

“What’s taking so long?” Fluttershy said walking in.

“Angel doesn’t want to give up the blanket.” I said, steadying a vase.

“Angel, what has gotten into you?” Fluttershy said.

stopped running and gave her the blanket.

“I don’t know what got into him, he never acts like this.” she said.

“Well, whatever the case he seems over it now. Is everything ready?” I asked.

“Yes, I have everything we need for the picnic.” she said.

“Then, let’s get going, after you.” I said, holding the door.

So we left in search of a good cloud to have our picnic on.

We settled on a medium sized cloud over Saddle Lake.

“The view is wonderful from up here.” Fluttershy said.

“And we can just move another cloud in if we need shade.” I said.

We enjoyed a pleasant picnic, then we went back to Fluttershy’s cottage. I said farewell to her and left thinking of what I could do to spend the rest of the afternoon.

I hadn’t shown Rarity or Applejack my new wings yet, so I decided that I would do that to pass the time. I decided to visit Rarity first. I knocked at her door and waited for an answer.

“Come in.” I heard her say from inside.

I opened the door and found Rarity rushing around her shop with bolts of cloth and other tailoring equipment.

“Is this a bad time?” I asked.

“Oh, I’m just trying to prepare a new fashion line to drum up business. Things have kind of slowed down lately.” she said.

“What did you have in mind?” I asked.

“That’s just the thing, I haven’t been inspired by anything as of late so I’m trying to think of something.” she said.

“Maybe I could help?” I asked.

“Oh, I don’t want to concern you Mixer, I’m just having a hard time,” she said turning around to look at me, “Oh, my, when did you get those wings?”

“Yesterday, I asked Twilight to make me a pegasus for a few days.” I replied.

“You look rather dashing with them.” she said.

“Thank you, but what about your new line?” I asked.

“Oh, yes, well I don’t know. It’s hard not to do something that has not been done already.” she said.

“What about the beauty of the elements: Fire, Wind, Water, and Earth?” I asked.

“Hmm,” she said looking at some different colors, “You might be onto something. Yes, I think that will work.” she said grabbing collections of different colored cloth. “Fire, fierce, beautiful, yes.” she said already beginning to put together a design.

“I’ll just leave you to that then.” I said.

“Oh, thank you Mixer, you’re the best.” she said going to work.

“Any time.” I said leaving.

I left Rarity to her work and went to go see Applejack. She was working in the orchard bucking apples when I got there.

“Mixer, is that you?” Apple Bloom asked when I landed.

“Yep.” I replied.

“Well shoot, when did you become a pegasus?” Applejack asked.

“Just yesterday, I had Twilight make me a pegasus for a few days.” I answered.

“Looks like you already got the hang of flying.” she said.

“Eeyup.” Big Mac said.

“Yeah, Rainbow dash gave me a few lessons yesterday. I really like flying, but I can’t wait to be a unicorn again.” I said. “Do you need any help?” I asked.

“No, we’re just about done for the day.” Applejack said.

“Oh, ok, I’ll see you later then.” I said.

“See ya later.” Applejack and Apple Bloom said.

It was getting later in the afternoon so I decided that I would go home and play some music for a bit. I was a little rusty but I could still play after not picking up an instrument for a while.

I messed around for a bit then got bored and decided to make some potions. I did not realize that not having magic would make potion brewing so difficult for me, or as time consuming. By sunset I had only made one potion, a weak energy potion, just something to put a little pep into somepony. After that I was tired and went to sleep.

The next morning I woke up ate some breakfast and went to decided to go see Fluttershy.

The sky was clear except for a few lonely clouds lazing in the distance. I knocked on the door and waited for an answer.

Fluttershy came to the door and said, “Oh, good morning Mixer. What is it?”

“Oh, just wanted to say hi, you know, maybe we could make some plans for something.” I replied.

“Wait, do you hear that?” she said.

I listened and heard a faint buzzing noise coming from the Everfree Forest.

“What the..” I began but was cut off by the wave of changelings that broke over the treetops, headed straight towards Ponyville. There was a similar sized swarm headed to Canterlot. “Stay here, I’m going to help the others.” I said. “I’ll send the others this way, you tell anypony that passes by to go to Zecora’s hut.” I told her turning to take off.

“Be careful.” she said as I took off towards town.

The changelings had brought some dark clouds with them to dim the skies. While I was flying I saw a barrier start to form around Canterlot, a crystal barrier. Sombra must have gotten to Canterlot before the invasion, although, he could not have kept all of them out.

I had to fight through a few changelings to get to Twilights but I was still fresh and ready to keep going. I found the door to her library broken down and five changelings inside attacking Twilight and Spike. I jumped in the fray and we quickly dispatched the assailants.

“Mixer! What's going on?” Twilight asked.

“The changelings are invading, we need to evacuate Ponyville.” I said.

“But what about Canterlot, and the Elements?” she asked.

“Sombra is protecting Canterlot right now.” I replied, “For now, we need to gather the others so we can use the Elements.”

“Ok, where to first?” she asked.

“Rainbow Dash and a few pegasi are fighting outside, Rarity is probably in her shop, Pinkie is most likely with the Cakes, in Sugarcube Corner, and the Apples are at Sweet Apple Acres.” I said.

“What about Fluttershy?” Twilight asked.

“She’s safe at her cottage.” I said, “Now we have to go, I think we should get Rainbow Dash first.” I said.

“Ok then.” Twilight said following me outside.

There were ponies running all over, being chased by changelings. In the sky above Rainbow dash and a squadron of other brave pegasi were fighting changelings.

“Twilight, I’ll help Rainbow Dash, you help some of these other ponies.” I said flying up to help Rainbow Dash.

“You’re a little late to the party.” Rainbow Dash said knocking a changeling tumbling to the ground.

“Sorry, but we have to help the other ponies, if they capture any of our friends then they’ll have won.” I said joining her.

“I can’t just abandon these pagasi.” she said.

“You don’t have to, bring them with you. You wanted to be in the Wonderbolts? Well, show some leadership and lead your squad.” I said.

“You’re right,” she said. “Everypony form up on me.” she shouted to the others. “Thunderlane, Cloudchaser, Blossomforth, Airheart, and Bluebell, you’re with me. The rest of you help the other ponies get to the Everfree Forest. she commanded.

“Very nice.” I said.

“Thanks, now lets do this.” she said.

Rainbow Dash and her squad followed me to where Twilight was fighting some changelings with some other ponies.

“Rainbow Dash, you help Twilight, I’m going to help Rarity.” I said splitting off.

I got to Carousel boutique and found Rarity protecting Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo from three changelings.

“Back you brutes.” she said brandishing mannequins as weapons. I jumped on the nearest one and watched as she took care of the other two.

“Rarity, go find Twilight and Rainbow Dash and tell them to meet me at the town hall.” I said.

“What about Sweetie and Scootaloo?” she asked.

“I’ll take them to Fluttershy’s where they’ll be safe.” I said.

“Ok, be safe.” she said as she left.

“Ok, you two, hop on.” I said spreading my wings to make room for them.

“What about Apple Bloom?” Sweetie Belle.

“Her big sister and brother can protect her for now. Don’t worry, we’ll save them too.” I said preparing to take off.

I flew fast and low to Fluttershy's and left them with her. I flew back and met the others at the town hall where there was some fighting going on. They were inside protecting the mayor from changelings. When I joined them and we quickly finished them off.

“They’re not too strong, but there’s so many of them.” Rainbow Dash said.

“Dash, follow me, we need to help Applejack. Twilight and Rarity, you go and help Pinkie.” I said.

“Are you guys alright to keep going?” Rainbow Dash asked her squad.

“I’m still good.” Thunderlane answered.

“A little tired, but I’ll make it.” Cloudchaser said.

“I, don't think I can keep this up.” Blossomforth replied.

“Me neither.” Airheart said.

“I’ll make it.” Bluebell said.

“You two can help the others get out, the rest of you get ready to fly.” Rainbow Dash said.

“Let's go then.” I said.

We went outside and separated into two teams, Twilight’s team to save Pinkie, and our team to help Applejack. We flew hard out to Sweet Apple Acres and found the barn surrounded by changelings.

“You four clean up out here, I’ll help Applejack.” I said.

“Roger that.” Rainbow Dash said leading her squad into battle.

I flew into the barn and found the Apples besieged by changelings.

“You ain't gonna lay a hoof on them.” Applejack snarled as a changeling tried to get past her and Big Mac to Apple Bloom and Granny Smith.

“Nope.” Big Mac said swatting two more away.

They were keeping them off but I saw one sneak around them and grab Applebloom and take off.

“AppleBloom!” Applejack said.

“Not on my watch!” I said giving chase.

I was hot on its heels from the barn and knocked Apple Bloom free from its clutches. I swooped down and caught Apple Bloom far from the ground.

“Thanks for saving me.” she said.

“I wouldn't let them hurt you.” I said.

“Watch out!” she said pointing behind me.

I barely had time to get a hold on her before a changeling collided with me. I went tumbling down toward the orchard trying to get air under my wings. I was able to pull up out of a dive but crashed through a tree before hitting the ground.
I slid for a few feet and came to rest on my side. I loosened my grip on Apple Bloom and asked her if she was alright.

“What about you? You just crashed through a tree.” she said.

I staggered to my feet, my left wing hanging limp to my side.

“Just a scratch.” I said.

“Just a scratch? Your wing is broken.” she said.

I saw a changeling searching for us.

“Quick get up in this tree.” I said boosting her up.

“What about you?” she asked.

“Just stay hidden.” I told her.

The changeling spotted me and descended to finish me off. I was hurt, but I could still hold off a single changeling.

We traded blows until I tripped and fell. He stood over me and then staggered sideways, hit it the head by an apple thrown by Apple Bloom. I took the chance to get back up and floor the changeling with a hit to the head.

“Thanks Apple Bloom.” I said.

“Are you ok?” she asked.

“I need a second to rest.” I said sinking down next to a tree.

“What’re we gonna do?” she asked worried.

“Your sister will find us once Rainbow Dash helps her fend off the changelings.” I said.

“What if changelings find us first?” she asked.

“You don’t have to worry about that.” Applejack said as she and Big Mac walked around a tree.

“Where is Rainbow Dash?” Apple Bloom asked.

“We left her to fight the changelings while we came after you.” Applejack said.

“Eeyup.” Big Mac added.

“You know that I can’t trust you, especially after last time.” I said standing up.

“Mixer, you’re hurt. Let us help you back to the barn.” She said

“I may be hurt but I don’t need help to walk.” I said.

“We’re not leaving you here.” she said.

“And I can’t stop you. But I can still hold off a couple of changelings while Apple Bloom escapes.” I said.

“That’s why we’re here.” she said.

“Well, I’m not going to just let my guard down.” I said.

“I wouldn’t expect you to, there are changelings everywhere.” she said.

I drew Apple Bloom close to me with my good wing and said, “Let’s go.”

We walked through the orchard, one on either side of me.

“So what happened to your wing?” Applejack asked.

“I saved Apple Bloom from a changeling, and crashed.” I said.

“And you still were able to defeat a changeling?” she asked.

“Yeah, and I could fight more to protect Apple Bloom, or any of my friends.” I said.

“I’m surprised, you’re pretty beaten up already. How much more could you take?” she asked.

“As much as need be,” I said, “Including fighting till I drop.”

“Look out!” Apple Bloom said.

I instantly crouched protectively around her. A second later I saw a multi colored blur crash into Applejack and Big Mac.

“Get away from him you slimy bugs.” Rainbow Dash said.

“Gah! Stupid pony.” one of the changelings said.

“You can’t beat both of us by yourself.” the other said.

“I don’t have to.” she said as the real Applejack and Big Mac came running up followed by the other pegasi that followed us there. The changelings didn’t stand a chance against the six of them.

“Oh, Apple Bloom, I’m so glad you’re ok.” Applejack said drawing her into a hug. “Thank you Mixer.” she said.

“No problem.” I said.

“Yes problem,” Rainbow Dash said, “You’re hurt bad and we need your help.”

“I need to get to Twilight so she can transform me back into a unicorn.” I said.

“How bad are you hurt?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“I have a broken wing, possibly some broken ribs, other cuts and bruises, and I’m tired from fighting.” I said.

"We have to get you to the hospital.” Applejack said.

“I don’t think I could walk that far.” I said.

“We can fly you there.” Cloudchaser said.

“Yeah, we’ll give you a lift.” Thunderlane said.

“Ok, you two take him to the hospital, you too Bluebell. Applejack, Big Mac, let’s go find Twilight and the others.” Rainbow Dash said.

So Thunderlane and Cloudchaser picked my up and flew me to the hospital to get some medical attention. The hospital itself was not surrounded by too many changelings, but there were some inside terrorizing the nurses and patients. Bluebell and Thunderlane helped out the patients while Cloudchaser and I looked for a doctor. We found a doctor and he did some minor fixes; he put my wing in a sling and bandaged some of the worse cuts.

“You’re not going back out there are you?” the doctor asked.

“I have to, my friends need me.” I said.

“But your injuries.” he said.

“Won’t stop me,” I said, “Let’s go Cloudchaser.”

We went back out to find that the hospital had been cleared and some of the staff were evacuating to help other ponies that needed it. Twilight and the others had succeeded and brought Pinkie Pie with them.

“Oh my goodness. Mixer what happened to you?” Twilight asked.

“It’s not important now, I need you to transform me back into a unicorn.” I said.

“Ok, let me cast the counterspell.” she said.

The process felt better being reversed. It relieved some of my pain getting rid of my wings and I felt more powerful with my horn back.

“That’s better, now lets hurry and get to Fluttershy’s cottage right away.” I said.

“You sure you’re ok to move?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“I’ll be fine, but lets go, we need to help out the other ponies of Ponyville as we go.” I said.

“We can handle that.” Thunderlane said.

“Eeyup.” Big Mac added.

“You six go and help Fluttershy.” Cloudchaser said.

“Thank you.” I said, “Now let’s move.”

We went straight to Fluttershy’s cottage and found her door was ajar. I charged in to find her, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo cowering in a corner while two changelings were bearing down on them. I picked one up with my magic and threw him out the door and fell upon the other with furious blows. When I was finished I got off him and asked the three if they were alright.

“Yes, thanks to you.” Fluttershy said.

“Let’s get you to Zecora’s.” I said.

“Ok.” Fluttershy said.

“Woah,” Rainbow Dash said walking in, “remind me to never get you mad.”

We walked to Zecora’s hut and found a large percent of the ponies from Ponyville had made it.

“Ok, I’m going to put a barrier of crystal over Zecora’s hut. Rarity, I need you and Twilight to let any stragglers in.” I said.

“What about you?” Twilight asked.

“I’m going to get the Elements and bring them back.” I said.

“Not by yourself you’re not.” Rainbow Dash said.

She had gathered her squadron back together.

“We’ll run interference for you.” Thunderlane said.

“You don’t have to put yourselves in anymore danger.” I said.

“After what you’ve done, we couldn’t let you go alone.” Blossomforth said.

“And we couldn’t just sit here and let you have all the glory.” Cloudchaser said.

“So let’s go out there and kick some changeling but.” Bluebell said.

“Well, I can see there’s not talking you out of it. My plan is to get to the train station and take a train to Canterlot, then get inside and get the Elements of Harmony. Then get back here so you can use the Elements to get rid of all the changelings.” I said.

“Ok, so we’ll fly defence for you while you get to the train.” Rainbow Dash said.

“Ok, give me a second to put up the barrier.” I said.

I had plenty of magic left in me so creating the barrier was not too hard.

“Let’s go.” I said once I finished.

We hurried to Ponyville and fought through the changelings to get to the train station, but when we got there the changelings had derailed the train.

“Now what are we gonna do?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Stand on the track.” I told her.

“What?” she asked.

“Just do it, I have a plan.

“Ok.” she said standing on the track.

I formed a crystal ball around her and one around myself.

“What are you doing?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“We’re gonna roll up to Canterlot.” I replied.

“In these?” she asked.

“Yes, now hold on.” I told her as I started to push us.

“Need a shove?” Thunderlane asked.

“Sure.” I said.

He and the others gave us a good starting push so we could keep moving by ourselves. We keep up a good pace until we hit the climb to Canterlot, then we slowed down.

When we finally got to the edge of the barrier that Sombra put up I had to crack open our balls so we could go in single file. The only problem was the fact that the outside was crawling with changelings trying to get in.

“What are we gonna do about them?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“We have to get in, so we’ll just have to fight some of them.” I replied.

We fought off a few while I made a hole big enough to get through. On the other side guards were waiting to push back the changelings as soon as I opened the hole. We rushed in and I closed the hole before any more than a few could get in.

“What are you doing here?” one of the guards asked.

“We came to get the Elements of Harmony.” I said.

“Follow us to the castle.” another said.

“How many got inside?” I asked as we walked.

"More than a hundred unfortunately.” he replied.

“Are the princesses secure?” I asked.

“Yes, Sombra has personally seen to princess Luna’s protection.” the guard said.

We were stopped at the front gate by two more guards.

“Halt.” one said.

“It’s ok, it is Mixer, he’s here to get the Elements of Harmony.” the guard leading us said.

“How can we be sure that it’s him?” the other guard asked.

“He opened a hole in the crystal barrier, do you know any changeling that can do that?” our guard answered.

“No, I suppose not.” the other guard said.

We went inside and saw a guard giving out orders to the others.

“Mixer what are you doing here?” he asked as we approached.

“We’re here for the Elements of Harmony. I said.

“You probably don’t remember me, but I was there in the desert when they found you.” he said.

“I didn’t catch your name.” I said.

“It’s Trottson.” he answered, “I’ve been coordinating the guard since the attack.”

“Well Trottson, can we get to the Elements?” I asked.

“Unfortunately we can't get to that part of the castle. We have been busy securing the princesses.” Trottson said.

“Where can I find Sombra?” I asked.

“In Luna’s chambers, he’s been there since the attack. You should be careful though, we haven’t been able to get in.” he replied.

“Ok, Rainbow Dash, you stay here while I go find Sombra and the princess.” I said.

“Ok.” Rainbow Dash said.

I ran through the castle until I found the princess’s chambers. The door was covered in crystal preventing entry. I removed the crystal and opened the door. I was greeted by a changeling being thrown my way.

“Sombra, Luna, are you ok?” I asked.

“Mixer, it’s good to see you’re ok.” Sombra said.

“Same here, I’m glad you two are safe.” I said.

“Is Ponyville safe then?” Luna asked.

“Most of the ponies got to safety yes, but we need the Elements to push the changelings out.” I said.

“Let’s get them then.” Sombra said.

“It’s not that simple, the changelings have taken that part of the castle.” I said.

“Then let us show them what happens when you mess with Equestria.” Luna said.

We returned to Trottson and assembled a party to get the Elements. Luna led Sombra, five guards, and myself to get the Elements. We pushed through to the vault where they were being kept and grabbed them. We had to fight our way out, but the changelings did not stand a chance against the combined might of Luna, Sombra, and I. We returned to Rainbow Dash and Trottson and then prepared to go back to Ponyville.

“We need to get out without letting anymore changelings in.” I said.

“How will you do that?” Trottson asked.

“Sombra and I create a separate chamber that lets us get to the train tracks. Then we close it off so we can open it without letting any changelings into Canterlot.” I said.

“Why the train tracks?” Sombra asked.

“So we can ride them in crystal balls.” I said.

“Clever.” he said.

“Ready Rainbow Dash?” I asked.

“Always.” she said.

We went to the wall and we created the chamber that we needed to get out. Then we closed it off and got into our crystal mode of transportation, and opened the end of the tunnel. As soon as it was open there were several changelings already pouring in. They were greeted by three crystal orbs rolling towards them.

“Ha, this was a great idea.” Rainbow Dash said as we rolled over them.

I was rolling up front to clear the way and Sombra was in back making sure Rainbow Dash stayed on the tracks.

“Sombra, give us some more steam.” I said.

He pushed us on till gravity took hold and we started accelerating down the hill. I had to correct us a few times on the turns to keep us from flying off the tracks but we made great time and got to Ponyville in no time. Thunderlane and the others were still fighting when we arrived but they looked tired and were losing ground.

“The cavalry is here!” I said as we jumped out.

“You got the Elements?” Thunderlane asked.

“Right here.” Rainbow Dash said.

They gathered around us and we got into a defensive formation.

“Sombra you ready to carve a path through these changelings?” I asked.

“Thought you would never ask.” he said.

“Get Rainbow Dash to the dome.” I told Thunderlane.

“Got it.” he said.

“What about you two?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“We’ll be fine.” Sombra said.

We jumped into the changelings and started bashing away with crystals. The changelings ignored the others and focused on Sombra and I. He was using a large crystal to supplement his hooves, while I used several smaller crystals to do most of the damage. We fought like that for a minute till the tell-tale gleam of the Elements heralded the defeat of the changelings once more.

Following the changelings being defeated again I lowered the barrier around Zecora’s and Sombra did likewise with the barrier around Canterlot. After that the staff from the hospital began treating the injured ponies in an open air clinic. I got patched up and fell asleep.

When I woke up Fluttershy was sitting by me and it was well into the afternoon.

“Oh, good you’re awake.” she said.

“Ugh, I could use some down time after that.” I said.

“Unfortunately you won’t get the chance.” Chrysalis said as she strode towards us, flanked by six changelings.

“Chrysalis?” I said dumbfounded, “But we defeated you.”

“You only defeated my changelings.” she said. “They made for an excellent distraction. Now that you are defenceless and the Elements are on their way back to Canterlot, I stand unopposed in my conquest of Equestria.” she said
She picked me up with her magic and brought me face to face with her. “I think I will start with her.” she said gesturing towards Fluttershy.

“No,” I said in a whisper.

“Oh, is that so? And how will you stop me without your magic?” she asked.

“You should know, Chrysalis, that you never threaten somepony that I care for. And you never threaten the pony that I love.” I said raising my voice to a shout.

Chrysalis laughed in my face, “It’s so funny that one of the bravest ponies in equestria is in love with the most cowardly.”

“Don’t you ever insult Fluttershy!” I yelled channeling my magic. The clouds that were left overhead started to swirl around above us.

“What is this?” Chrysalis asked.

“I will not let you hurt Fluttershy.” I said, dark fire burning at the corners of my eyes.

“Impossible!” she said.

Tendrils of magic started to reach up out of the ground and claw at the changelings the Chrysalis had brought.

“I will not let you hurt her or any other pony in Equestria ever again.” I said.

“No, this can’t be happening. I was supposed to win this time.” she said as crystals began forming under her feet.

“I’m sorry Fluttershy.” I said as the crystal encased Chrysalis and I. I made sure that it would be impossible for anypony to free Chrysalis and unleash her evil upon Equestria ever again, but at the cost of entombing myself as well.

Rmembrance

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The Mixer Chronicles:

Book Eight:
Remembrance

When Twilight and the others had arrived it was already over. The changelings had been pulled into the ground by mysterious magic and Mixer was entombed in a large crystal with Chrysalis.

“Fluttershy, what happened?” she asked.

“Chrysalis just appeared out of nowhere then she was gloating over him and threatening me and then,” she stopped and started to cry. “I’ve never seen him like that.” she said.

Mixer did all this?” Applejack asked.

Fluttershy nodded.

“How, is that possible? I’ve never even heard of magic like this.” Twilight said.

Celestia and Luna landed by them followed by Sombra.

“Twilight what happened here?” Celestia asked.

“I’m not sure I even know myself.” Twilight said.

“Let me take a look at it.” Sombra said.

He studied the Crystal that Mixer and Chrysalis were trapped in. “Hmm, interesting.” he said.

“What is it.” Luna asked.

“It seems like this is a hybrid between regular crystal and shadow crystal, as well as some kind of magical barrier around the whole thing.” he said.

“What do you mean hybrid.” Twilight said.

“I mean that it was not created normally; when crystal is formed it is either regular crystal, the purest state of crystal, or shadow crystal, crystal tainted by the anger and hate of the creator.” Sombra explained, “This kind of crystal doesn’t have the qualities of either kind, it is cloudy but clear.”

“In english?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“It means that I’m not sure I can even change it, one type of crystal is resistant to the other’s manipulating force, canceling any magic attempted on it. The barrier is also fascinating, it appears to be holding power in, rather than keeping magic out.” he said.

“So what, we can’t get Mixer out?” Twilight asked.

“I’m not sure anything could affect this thing, magical or otherwise.” he said.

“So, he’s gone?” Fluttershy asked.

“I’m sorry, there’s nothing that we can do.” he replied.

“He gave his own life to protect you,” Celestia said to Fluttershy, “You, and the rest of Equestria. We will honor his sacrifice to save us all from Chrysalis.”

“What would you have us do sister?” Luna asked.

“Can we move him?” Celestia asked Sombra.

“We should be able to, yes.” he replied.

“Then we will move him to the Canterlot gardens, and make a monument to his sacrifice.” she said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Celestia had the guards move the crystal to the gardens and called a ceremony.
“Citizens of Equestria, today we gather here to honor the sacrifice of the brave stallion Mixer. He sacrificed himself to protect the rest of us from the changeling queen Chrysalis. It is sad I know, but let us celebrate his memory and his actions happily and know that it is because of him that we are all safe now.” she said on her speech.
The princesses and the mane six went to the gardens after that to have a moment of silence for Mixer.

“Oh, how sad.” Discord said appearing next to them.

Discord, what are you doing here?” Celestia asked Discord.

“Why celebrating Mixer of course.” he said.

“Why would you celebrate Mixer?” Rainbow Dash demanded.

“If it weren't for him I would still be a statue.” he said.

“Calm down Rainbow Dash, he’s right. Without Mixer everything would have been different. All the way back to when he first showed up he’s been affecting all our lives.” Twilight said.

“Yes, without him I would not be here today.” Sombra said.

“And would not have had so much success in business.” Rarity said.

“And I would not have such a well supplied guard.” Celestia said.

“It, just goes to show how much one pony can do.” Twilight said.

“All this happiness is starting to rub off on me.” Disaord said, wiping a tear from his eye.

“Let us never forget his greatness.” Celestia said.

“For Mixer!” Sombra said.

“For Mixer!” the others cheered.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was not like before, not the same nothingness. This time it felt as if I was in a ethereal realm while my body was inside the crystal, and I could tell I was not the only inhabitant of this realm. I could feel Chrysalis’s presence and I was sure she could feel mine.

We stayed apart for what seemed like days, although in this place time was not a factor. One second here could be an eternity in Equestria, or the opposite could be true, I could be here for centuries and only bo gone from Equestria for a few moments.

I wandered around this strange realm observing my surroundings. The whole realm seemed like it was hanging in a sea of stars, celestial formations were on every side and the invisible plane on which I walked seemed to go on forever. In time I began to grow weary of isolation so I looked for Chrysalis in the ether of this strange realm. I found her wandering, just as I was, in a seemingly endless void.

“What do you want?” she asked.

“Company.” I said walking next to her.

“And why would you seek company with your worst enemy?” she asked.

“Because, I would rather be in your company then wander this void endlessly by myself.” I said.

“I know just what you mean.” she said.

“It is odd to be talking with you like this.” I said.

“How so?” she asked.

“We never had any time to talk, no time to learn about each other.” I replied.

“Why would we, you hate me and I don't care for you much either.” she said.

“Sometimes when faced with the end, enemies find that they are not so different.” I said.

“How could we be more different?” she asked.

“Think about it. You are the queen of the changelings, you want to ensure the safety and survival of your people. I am just some unicorn, but I want to protect my friends.” I said.

“So you’re saying that concern is what connects us?” she asked.

“Yes. Imagine if the roles were switched around, you are just a citizen of equestria, but through your action you could stop all those you care about from getting hurt, but at cost to yourself. Your alternative is to do nothing and watch as a force of invaders takes away everything you care about.” I said.

“I would protect those that I cared about.” she said.

“But what if you were told that the invaders needed to invade to survive, that if you defeated them they would perish?” I asked.

“I would still protect those that I cared about.” she said.

“And now you know how I feel.” I said.

“So we are just two sides of the same coin.” so said.

“It appears so.” I said.

“How do you do that?” she asked.

“What?” I asked.

“Make your enemies allies. You made Discord help you, and you made Sombra good. I would think that you were just a myth if I did not see it for myself.” she said.

“I try to find the things that make them my enemies and get rid of those.” I said.

“So how do would you make me your ally?” she asked.

“Simple, I would remove your need to feed on ponies love.” I said.

“And how would you do that?” she asked.

“Again, you ask me easy questions, make a spell that allows you to absorb ambient love, that way you don't have to have a parasitic connection with a host.” I said.

“So would have us be bound to Equestria?” she asked.

“No. I would have you be grateful to Equestria for having given you the ability to live independent of a host.” I said.

“And who ever said that changelings would be grateful for that?” she said.

“I take it that means you won’t try to be good and live in peace with ponies.” I said.

“Who knows, maybe we will both be driven to madness before we are released from this place.” she said.

“Would you do it if it were the only way out?” I asked.

“Would you throw away your old life if it were the only way to get out of here?” she asked.

“It would not be the first time i had to leave my old life behind.” I said.

“It sounds like there is a story behind that.” she said.

“One you will never hear, one I hope that no pony ever has to hear.” I said.

“So the shining hero has a dark past.” Chrysalis said.

“Not dark, empty.” I said.

“Oh?” she said.

“It won’t work, I won't tell you.” I said.

“Aww, you’re no fun.” she said.

“How long do you think we have been walking?” I asked.

“Who can even say if we are even moving.” she said.

“I think it is time for us to part ways again.” I said.

“Aww, and we were just getting along.” she said sarcastically.

I stopped walking and she moved on into the void. Our minds separate but still connected. T

his carried on in cycles until I thought I would go mad.

Then one cycle I asked Chrysalis a question.

“If I released you would you promise to act like a pony?” i asked.

“The stars look so beautiful tonight don’t they?” she asked whimsically.

“Chrysalis, snap out of it.” I said.

“I think this dimension is getting to me.” Chrysalis said.

“Will you promise to act like a pony if I let you go?” I asked again.

“What is freedom?” she asked.

“A chance to be in Equestria again.” I said.

“Yes, I need to get out of this place. It is driving me mad.” she said.

I concentrated on my body, willing my magic to unravel itself. I could feel the fabric of the realm begin to waver and shift around us until I could feel the flesh and bone around me once again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Celestia and Luna hurried toward the thunderous peal that had come from the gardens and found that the crystal that Mixer had trapped Chrysalis and himself in was breaking. Each new crack brought with it another deafening sound as the crystal slowly broke. The guards and Sombra were the next to arrive at the scene and were ready for anything. After a few minutes the crystal had cracks running all over its face. Then light shines through every crack and crevice and the crystal simply collapsed in on itself, revealing the sprawling forms of Mixer and Chrysalis.

“Guards seize her and throw her in the dungeon.” I head Celestia say. I opened my eyes and say the blurry image of Celestia standing over me.

“Mixer, you can't let them do this to me.” I heard Chrysalis cry.

“Ugh.” was all that I could manage.

“Mixer are you ok?” Luna asked walking over.

I rolled onto my back and mumbled, “Chrysalis.”

“She is being taken to the Dungeon.” Sombra said.

“No,” I started saying, “Promises.”

I woke in a bed chamber.

“Oh good,you’re awake, the princesses will want to see you.” a maid said.

“Ok.” I said as I got up.

I was still a little groggy but I walked to the throne room where Celestia was doing the daily tasks of a princess. “You wanted to see me?” I said.

“Yes, we want to know what happened to you.” Celestia said giving me her full attention.

“How long was I gone?” I asked.

“It has been about a month since you and Chrysalis were imprisoned in that crystal.” she said.

“Only a month, it felt like centuries.” I said.

“Centuries?” she asked.

“While I was inside the crystal my mind was in another realm, a place without time. Chrysalis and I were there together in the void, talking then separating, the talking again. We almost went insane in there by ourselves.” I said.

“It sounds like you were in the Astral Plane.” Luna said entering the room.

“Yes, the Astral Plane is a place where there is no concept of space or time, a place separate from the material realm.” she said.

“If you don’t mind me asking, where is Chrysalis?” I asked.

“She is in a cell in the dungeon.” Celestia said.

“I want to see her.” I said.

“Why?” both of them asked in unison.

“I have some unfinished business with her.” I said.

“What kind of business?” Luna asked.

“The kind that I need to talk to her one on one.” I replied.

“No, I will not risk you being alone with her.” Celestia said.

“With all do respect princess, you don’t have a choice.” I said.

“What?” Celestia said.

“You have no idea what went between us.” I said.

Luna gave her sister a concerned look, “He’s right, we don’t have any idea what happened in there.”

“That’s exactly why I won’t allow it, we don’t know if she got to him.” Celestia responded.

“I can assure you, I have no intentions of releasing her, I simply need to talk with her.” I said.

“Follow me.” she said after a minute of consideration.

We went down into a part of the castle I was not familiar with. It was dimmer her and the air was stale.

“What is this place?” I asked.

“The dungeon, we haven’t used it in centuries. Before peace settled over Equestria there were criminals that were thrown in here to serve out a sentence.” Celestia said.

“Then the crime simply dried up, and we stopped coming down here.” Luna said.

“But we are using it for Chrysalis now.” Celestia said.

“This place, it sucks all the hope out of you.” I said.

“Here we are.” Celestia said walking up to a heavy wooden door with two guards. “You have two minutes with her.” Celestia said.

“Ok.” I said.

One of the guards unlocked the door and let me in. The door shut behind me with a thud, followed by the turning of the locks. Chrysalis was asleep on the opposite wall.

“Chrysalis wake up.” I said.

“Mixer, is that you?” she asked groggily.

“Yes it’s me.” I said.

“You’ve got to help me,” she said falling on me, “I’m going to starve to death in this place.”

had a wild look in her eye and her voice was heavy with desperation.

“Celestia will never just let you leave, I might not even be able to convince her to.” I said.

“You’ve got to do something, I don’t want to die.” she said.

I have an idea to help you, but I can’t promise that you will be set free.” I said.

She flopped down on the ground, “Thank you.” she said as she went back to sleep.

“I’m done.” I said through the door.

“Stand back.” the guard said.

The door swung inward and I walked out into the hall.

Celestia, could you gather some things for me?” I asked.

What are you planning?” she asked.

“I want to get some equipment set up so that I can run experiments.” I said.

“What kind of experiments?” Luna asked.

“I want to study changelings.” I said.

“You what?!” they asked.

“I want to use Chrysalis as a test subject.” I replied.

They looked at each other, and finally came to a conclusion, “Very well, we will get you the equipment you want.” Celestia said.

“Fantastic.” I said.

I set up my lab in an empty room down the hall and immediately began taking samples from Chrysalis. I found the very thing I feared had happened, Chrysalis’s atrophy was affecting me as well. I started experimenting with distilling love’s essence into a potion to halt her deterioration. After many failures I finally perfected the process, but it was draining to me to be the source for the emotion. I went down the hall and asked the guards to let me in. They let me pass and I found that Chrysalis was in bad shape.

“Here drink this.” I said crouching next to her.

She took the potion and sipped from the bottle.

“Ah,” she gave a sigh of relief, “I can already feel my strength returning.”

I told you that I had a plan, and besides, even you don’t deserve to starve to death.” I said.

“Thank you.” she said downing more of the potion.

I left when she finished it and went back to my lab. I continued giving daily doses to Chrysalis for the next week. The last day of the week Celestia dropped in while I was making the potion.

“What are you brewing?” she asked.

“Nothing.” I said.

“The guards tell me that you have been in to see Chrysalis more frequently, why?” she asked.

“I needed data for my research.” I said.

“And what are you brewing a potion for?” she asked.

“Research.” I said.

“I know you have been giving her potions Mixer, don’t try to hide it.” she said, “Now tell me, what are the potions?”

“They are a supplement, to ensure that Chrysalis does not starve.” I said.

“So you are making a love potion?” she asked.

“It’s not quite that simple.” I said.

“Why are you helping her?” Celestia demanded.

“Because, even she doesn’t deserve to starve to death in a dark dank dungeon, I thought that you might understand that, but I guess I was wrong.” I said.

Celestia stared dumbfounded at me.

“And what’s more, I can't believe that you, of all ponies, would give such a harsh punishment to someone who had lost their people.” I said.

“What would you have me do?” she said in a despondent tone, “I can’t just let her roam free in Equestria, she is a changeling. But you are also right, it is not right to let her starve in the dungeon.”

“Leave her to me.” I said.

“No, you can’t handle this. Look at yourself, you look ragged from making the potions.” she said.

“What else is there for me? I made you all think I was gone for good, then I return trying to help Chrysalis. Why would anypony trust me after that?” I asked.

“Your friends. Sombra was so worried about you when you first got out of the crystal, Luna had to make him sleep so he did not exhaust himself. Twilight had been researching a way to break the crystal for weeks. Even Discord was sad when you were trapped.” she said.

“I didn't just try to help Chrysalis, I made a deal with her. When we were trapped I found knew that I could break the crystal at any time, but I wanted to keep Chrysalis imprisoned as well. When we were on the verge of madness I made a deal with her that if I released us she would renounce being a changeling and act like a pony.” I said.

“I know that you keep the promises you make, but this seems too hard, even for you.” she said.

“Thus my self isolation, so that no one will know if I fail.” I said.

“I cannot promise that I will release Chrysalis, but I will consider it. In the meantime, Twilight and her friends are on their way to see you.” she said.

“What?” I said.

“That is the reason I came down here in the first place, to tell you that your friends are coming to see you.” she said.

“How soon will they be here?” I asked frantically.

“This afternoon.” she said.

“I need to see Chrysalis.” I said, and pushed my way past the princess.

The guard opened the door for me and I rushed inside Chrysalis’s cell.

“Mixer, what is it?” she asked.

“Here, take this,” I said handing her a potion.

“But you already gave me one today” she said.

“I won’t be able to give you any more of these. I have to stop my work.” I said.

“What?” she asked.

“I told Celestia about our deal and she said she would consider it, I can do no more from here, you have to convince her yourself.” I said. I heard the locks turning behind me, “You are the only one with the power to save yourself now.” I said in a rush before turning to intercept the door.

“And what did you have to do in there?” Celestia asked.

“Give Chrysalis a potion for tomorrow.” I replied.

Alright, now go and clean yourself up, you don’t want to look like a mess when Twilight and her friends get here, do you.” she said.

I straightened out my mane and got some of the dirt out of my coat and prepared to face my friends.

“Mixer!” Twilight said excitedly.

“We were so worried that wwe would never see you again.” Applejack said.

“You are too good to me.” I said, tears forming in my eyes.

“Why are you crying?” Rarity asked.

“You saved the day, you’re a hero.” Rainbow Dash said.

“But I left you all behind,” I began through the tears, “I left all of you without so much as a word.”

“Yes, but it doesn’t matter now you’re back.” Twilight said.

“But I let I come to that..” I said in almost a whisper.

“It’s not your fault, no one could have known that Chrysalis was going to have a two part attack.” Applejack said.

“How’s Fluttershy?” I asked in a weak voice.

There was a pause, “How bad was it?” I asked.

“She was pretty broken up about it for a few days.” Rainbow Dash said.

I hung my head, “So I let her down.” I said almost inaudible.

“No, you didn't let anypony down.” Fluttershy said.

I looked up to see her walk in. “I understand that you did what you did to protect me and all of Equestria, and I don’t blame you for it at all.” she said to me.

broke down crying, “I couldn’t ask for better friends.” I said.

“Neither could we.” Sombra said, walking in with Luna.

“You’ve saved Equestria twice now, we could not thank you enough for your help.” Celestia said.

“I was just protecting my friends.” I said, regaining my composure.

“And for that we all thank you.” Celestia said, “and to thank you or your service I hereby release you from any previous duties you have in service to me, to spend time in Ponyville with your friends.”

“Thank you.” I said.

“Thank you Mixer.” Luna said.

“For everything you’ve done.” Sombra added.

“And I hope that you continue to do so in the future.” Celestia finished.

"Now lets go home.” Twilight said.

“That sound nice.” I said.

“So what ever happened to Chrysalis?” Rainbow Dash asked as we walked towards the train.

“Celestia took care of her.” I said.

“What was it like in there?” Pinkie asked.

“It was wonderful and terrible all at the same time. I was separated from my body and roamed the Astral Plane. It is beautiful, there are stars all around and it goes on forever, ever changing patterns of light. But it was also terrible, it is a desolate place, devoid of anything that you could call life.” I said.They were all listening intently to my story. “There is no sense of time in the Astral Plane so even though I was only gone for a month, it felt like I was trapped in there for centuries.” I said.

“How could you just wander around for hundreds of years?” Rarity asked.

“I talked with Chrysalis.” I replied.

“About what?” Twilight asked.

“Sometimes we argued, sometimes we asked each other a series of hypothetical questions, sometimes we would just walk in silence, but we would always part ways again.” I said.

“That seems like it would drive me crazy.” Applejack said.

“It almost did.” I said, “That’s why I released us.”

I continued to tell them about the Astral Plane until we arrived at Ponyville. I said my goodbyes and goodnights to everypony then went home to get some sleep before returning to the life of a normal pony.

The Devil's Due

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The Mixer Chronicles:

Book Nine:
The Devil’s Due

Life went back to normal after the incident, at least for a little while. I got back together with Fluttershy and spent most of my free time with her. Then one day Twilight told me that there was somepony there to see me. When I got to Twilight’s I knew exactly who would be waiting behind the door. I was greeted by the sight of Twilight and a grey alicorn with a flowing green mane talking.

“Chrysalis?” I asked happily.

“How did you know?” Twilight asked.

“I’m so glad that Celestia decided to give you a chance to be a normal pony.” I said.

“How?” Twilight asked.

“You didn’t think that this was all her idea did you.” I said.

“So you gave her the idea?” Twilight asked.

“Of course, now what conditions did Celestia give you?” I asked Chrysalis.

“I have to use an assumed name, I have to stay in pony form all the time, and I have to be with either you or Twilight at all times.” she said.

“And what is your new name?” I asked.

“Princess Tera.” she responded.

“A princess in training eh?” I asked.

“I should stop being surprised by now.” Twilight said, shaking her head.

“So what list did Celestia give you for things that ‘Princess Tera’ has to do?” I asked Twilight.

“She has to learn how to be kind caring and generous, as well as honest and understanding.” Twilight replied.

“That seems like your department, more than mine.” I said.

“Yes, well, we have to introduce her to our friends first.” she said.

“I’ll go get them.” I replied.

Since returning I had taken to flying around on a flattened crystal to simulate flying. It was not true flying but the rush of wind was the same, and it was a lot faster than walking. I made the rounds quickly enough. Before long all six of us had made our way to Twilight’s to proceed with the introductions.

“Let me introduce Princess Tera.” Twilight said.

“Uh, nice to meet you.” Chrysalis said a little awkwardly.

“So, where are you from princess?” Applejack asked.

“Uhh...” she said trying to find an answer.

“She has amnesia, and can’t remember much of anything.” I said stepping in, “That is why she’s here.”

“And why are you here princess?” Rainbow Dash answered.

“To relearn how to be a princess.” Chrysalis replied.

Then why not study under Celestia or Luna?” Rarity asked.

“That’s where we come in,” Twilight began, “As the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, we each have the qualities that she needs to learn.”

“I wish you could have told me sooner Twilight, then I could have gotten a party ready.” Pinkie said.

“It was a surprise to me too.” Twilight said.

“So how are we going to teach her?” Fluttershy asked.

“She’s going to follow us and learn from us how to have each aspect that she needs to be a princess.” I said.

“It’s going to be a pleasure learning from all of you.” Chrysalis said a little forced.

“Well, we should give the princess some time to get settled in.” I said.

“Ok, sounds good.” Rainbow Dash said.

“We’ll see you later princess.” Rarity said.

I was worried for a bit there that Chrysalis would slip up but things went well. She did well keeping it up, the next few days she was on and off between Twilight and myself, but she behaved well enough.

Then one day it happened. I was talking with Fluttershy at my house about making dinner plans for the weekend when Discord appeared before us.

“You know, I’m getting sick of your constant happy endings.” he said.

“Discord! What are you doing here?” I asked.

“I’m here to collect on that debt you owe me, remember?” he said.

“What do you want?” I demanded.

“Oh, nothing much just your emotions.” he said nonchalantly.

“What, no.” I said, but it wa too late, he was already reaching for me with his magical touch.

“Mixer!” Fluttershy said.

“Yes Fluttershy?” I said flatly.

“Oh no.” she said.

“What is the matter?” I asked.

“Your voice, your color.” she said.

“It there something wrong with the sound of my voice, or the color of my coat?” I inquired.

“Hahahaha, now this is funny.” Discord said.

“What do you find so humorous Discord? There is nothing here with which you can find mirth.” I said analytically.

“Change him back.” Fluttershy said.

“My dear Fluttershy, when Mixer had me make Sombra good, he promised me payment. I’m simply collecting the payment.” Discord said.

“He is right Fluttershy, we had a verbal agreement that at some point in the future he would collect his payment from me. The payment was never specified and so he used this vagueness to his advantage, making me unable to enjoy any victory that I could achieve.” I said.

“But that’s horrible, can’t he just take something else?” she asked.

“The transaction is complete, Discord would have to owe me payment for me to get my emotions back.” I said.

“And now that he is out of the way, I don't have anything that could make me owe him.” Discord said.

“Never take an event as being 100% possible or impossible, the mechanics of probability ensure this.” I said.

“And now he’s boring.” Discord said.

“Boring is simply a perception based on one’s perception of what information is important.” I said.

“You might be boring, but at least you can’t stop me.” Discord said.

“That is where you are wrong. I am already running scenarios to determine the most effective way to regain my emotions from you.” I said.
“What?” he asked.

“As of yet, I have 36 successful solutions to 132 failed scenarios.” I said.

“You ran 168 scenarios of how to get your emotions back?” he asked.

“187 to be precise, I am narrowing down favorable outcomes.” I said.

“What are you, some kind of machine?” he asked.

“No, I am still an organic being, I simply have all of my mental capacity dedicated to logical reasoning now.” I said.

“I don’t believe you.” he said.

“The truth will prove itself when I get my emotions back in two and a half days.” I said.

“You expect me to actually come back in two and a half days?” he asked.

“I don’t have to expect, I know.” I said.

“If you can know so much, what am I going to do next?” he asked.

“A loaded question, as you will invariably do something unrelated to what I say you are about to do.” I said.

“A likely response.” Discord scoffed.

“I could spend days trying to prove mathematical probabilities to the physical embodiment of chaos, or you can observe me from outside my field of detection until you can’t keep yourself from investigating.” I said.

“Well maybe I will.” he said.

“There is no ‘maybe’, you will.” I said.

Discord disappeared in a huff.

“What just happened?” Fluttershy asked.

“In terms you can more easily understand, Discord just lost an argument with a logic box.” I said.

“Let’s get you to Twilight.” she said.

“No, you can go and inform her of what has transpired but I will need Octavia and Vinyl Scratch to initiate my projected course of action.” I said.

“Ok...” she said.

“Tell Twilight and the others to get the Elements of Harmony, they will need them.” I said.

Fluttershy left and I went in search of Vinyl and Octavia.

“Oh, hi Mixer.” Octavia said.

“I need your’s and Vinyl’s assistance to regain my emotions from Discord.” I said.

“What?” she asked.

“Get your Cello and Vinyl and meet me at my residence in a half an hour.” I said.

“Ok...” she said.

“All will be revealed in time.” I said.

I returned to my house and prepared the appropriate equipment for my plan. Vinyl and Octavia arrived soon after and I explained them the plan.

“I will challenge Discord to a ‘game’, in this instance a musical competition.” I said.

“Yeah, lets rock his socks off!” Vinyl said.

“I have taken the time to prepare a spell that will give you the ability to be my backup for the song, after the duel goes unresolved I will propose a show of my musical ability where I will regain my emotions.” I said.

“That’s what you think.” Discord said.

“Perfect timing.” I said.

“What?” Discord asked dumbfounded.

“I predicted that while I was explaining the plan to Vinyl and Octavia that you would intercede.” I said casting the spell. “Which is why I have already prepared everything to come out of this victorious.” I said.

“You honestly think that I’ll accept your challenge after hearing your plans?” he asked.

“You wouldn’t dare decline, you have to much pride.” I said.

“I hate it when he’s right.” Discord mumbled.

“Let us begin then.” I said.

With Vinyl on the drums, Octavia on the Cello for the bass, and Discord and I playing guitars, we had the projected draw.

“You weren't any better than I was.” Discord said.

“Meaning, we have to have another show of talent to prove one the superior of the other.” I said.

“And of course you already have that all planned out as well.” Discord said.

“Tomorrow at dusk I will put on a concert that will prove myself superior to you Discord, and you get a front row seat to your defeat.” I said.

“Where at?” he asked.

“The town hall will play host to our show.” I said.

“Fine, I’ll be there.” Discord said and disappeared.

“Mixer!” Twilight said bursting through the door.

“You just missed him, and all went as predicted.” I said.

“Wait, what?” she asked.

We must proceed to the town hall to prepare the show.” I said.

“What show?” Applejack asked.

“The show we will put on to get my emotions back.” I said.

“I don’t know what’s going on either, but I'm going with it.” Vinyl said.

We proceeded to the town hall and informed the mayor of our intentions and began preparing the stage for the show. I planned each position carefully and cast each pony with a part that would conceal my true plans. I had even prepared a spell for this song as well that would lead to a perfect performance, that coupled with the special effects provided by Twilight would ensure success.

The following day at dusk a crowd had gathered to listen though as predicted there were no bystanders sitting close to Discord, only Chrysalis. The song played and the length ensured that Discord would drop his guard enough to not notice that as the lights flickered with the last few hits of the song, Twilight was sneaking the Elements to their respective users. Then as the last note was held they used the elements and turned the off guard Discord into stone, as well as having the same effect on Chrysalis.

I could feel my emotions surge back into me in a bittersweet tide. I had defeated Discord and gotten my emotions back, but I had also betrayed Chrysalis’s trust.

“Mixer, are you back to normal?” Twilight asked.

“Yes, I am normal again, though I’m not quite alright.” I said.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

I sighed, “I feel bad about what happened to Chrysalis.”

“Chrysalis was impersonating a princess!” Rainbow Dash said.

“No Rainbow Dash, she wasn’t.” Twilight said.

“Then what was with that story you told us about her learning how to be a princess?” Applejack asked.

“I wanted to give her a second chance, but, I see that it would be impossible.” I said.

“You just solved two problems at once.” Rainbow Dash said.

“Yeah, you got rid of Discord and mean old Chrysalis.” Pinkie Pie said.

“I know, it was for the best, but, I have never broken a promise befor.” I said.

“What promise way that?” Rarity asked.

"I promised Chrysalis a chance to be a normal pony.” I said.

“Nopony could fault you for what you did.” Applejack said.

“Yeah, Chrysalis was dangerous, even more so than Sombra was.” Fluttershy said.

“Plus, you put on a rockin performance that these ponies won’t soon forget.” Vinyl said.

As if in response the crowd that had been sitting in silence now decided to burst into cheers.

“See, you did something amazing, you made a performance out of stopping Discord, and you turned Chrysalis to stone too.” Twilight said.

“I need some time to absorb all this, getting my emotions back was exhausting.” I said.

“I understand, and besides, it is getting late.” she said.

I returned home and tried to come to grips with the sudden feelings that came with my emotions, feelings that I had buried long ago. I had been able to suppress all my doubt, my fear, all my other feelings that I had mastered returned fresh to my mind. I could not let my friends see me this way, there was no telling what I might say or do if I lost it. I gathered a pack of supplies, wrote a note, and walked out into the night to find inner peace.

Discovery

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The Mixer Chronicles

Book Ten:
Discovery

To my dearest friends:

I have left Ponyville to wander the plains south of Appleoosa to regain my inner peace. I don't want you to worry about me, nor do I want you to look for me. I will return when I have regained control of my emotions.
Sincerely:
Mixer.

I left that note two days ago. I wonder what everypony is doing now? I thought as I made camp in a rocky outcropping. I needed the solitude, my formerly repressed emotions had unsettled me when they first returned. I had suddenly became aware of gnawing fear, as well as thoughts of self doubt and pessimism. I was barely able to keep them in check when they first returned, but the intensity had dulled with two days of walking and riding the crystal board through the San Palomino desert.

The dry arid landscape was a discouragement to thoughts of home or friends, instead it brought thoughts of the earth. The ever shifting sands of the desert, the endless blue sky, the hot sun, all these things felt cleansing to my disorganized mind. The harsh surroundings left me only enough thought to consider my next action of survival. I had decided that I would move into the mountains to the south and map them while I was there. I had gotten to the foothills and stopped at a large rock to sleep for the night.

I made a fire to ward off the night’s cold and watched as the sun set and the full moon rose slowly into the sky.
Luna, can you see me from there? I thought as I watched the moon leave the cover of the horizon and show its face in full beauty.

After the moon was well into the sky I finally fell asleep and woke the next morning to the breaking dawn. I welcomed the sun’s warmth after the cold night.
Celestia, you’re always looking after your subjects. I thought.

I moved into the mountains and climbed high into the rocky peaks. Halfway up the mountain I looked out and took in the view. The desert stretched on as far as the eye could see to the north and east.

I could see a silvery strip of ocean to the west. I had heard that somewhere along the coast was the city of Las Pegasus, I had never been there myself, but from the pictures I had seen it reminded my of home.
More of my past. I thought back to my homeland, now just a distant memory.

Unlike Equestria, New Pegisapolis was an advanced city, full of skyscrapers and bustling with sea trade. The Equestrians had ships, wooden vessels that could travel up and down the coast, not the metal behemoths that frequented the Pegisopolis trade routes.

There was also the radio transmitters, a mix of magic and ingenuity that allowed instant communication from one place to another, however they were reserved for government and military use. Such things were behind me now, I didn’t even miss my old life by now, despite the hardships I had faced.

I made note of the geographic features and encoded the image on a crystal. I kept my seed crystal pendant with me in the case that I might need it, and I was able to use crystal to encode the geography of the area for later.
As I neared the peak of the mountain the air got thinner, but more moist. I looked beyond the mountain to the south and saw more mountains, and a few valleys nestled in between them. The caps of these other mountains were covered with snow, leading me to believe that the valleys might contain lakes and rivers.

I moved around the mountain just below the snow line and had begun to descend the other side when night fell again. I recorded a message to the princess onto a crystal and sent it magically to the palace. I watched as the crystal rose into the sky and shot off in the direction of Canterlot. I had sent it to tell them where I was and that I was well, as well as to inform her that I would be exploring the mountains while I was here.

The conflicting emotions inside me were subsiding in the face of this landscape, devoid of complicated ideas, and only the raw beauty of nature. I fell asleep under the soft light of the moon that night thinking of what I would do upon my return to Ponyville.

When I awoke it was still dark, the sun was hidden behind the mountains. I rode on my crystal down the mountain to save time and stopped in a valley to get some water. The valley was green, the water supplied by snowmelt far up the peaks. I rode up the next mountain to take another geo-crystal scan and looked to the south.
I had not noticed this before, but the mountains seemed to drop away after just two more snow capped peaks. I sent another message to the princess and moved on, this time forgoing walking in favor of the speed of riding my crystal board.
A simple piece of flattened crystal that I stood upon, propelled by my magic, the board took me through the next valley and halfway up the next mountain before dusk.

I had been away for a full week, and only on this night did something feel different, there was an air of discovery, a feeling that tomorrow would bring significant change. I rested briefly then continued my ascent to the top of the mountain, showing a flatland on the other side of the range. I was already to the peak of the last mountain by sunrise.

The sight I saw was a total shock, a dry plain stretched out before me, with the form of a city hunched on the horizon. I sent a message crystal to Celestia informing her that I had found possible signs of civilization and that I would investigate.

I shaped a crystal into a cylinder and warped the structure inside to serve as a spyglass. I saw some ponies crossing roads that passed by the foot hills of the mountain, but could not make them out clearly.

I slept for the afternoon to make up for my night time travel and awoke to the sun hanging low in the sky. I looked again to see if the ponies were still using the roads, but they were barren now. I decided that it would be best to greet these new ponies in the daylight so I ate and sent Celestia another crystal, this time saying that I would be making contact in the morning.

With nothing better to do I slept for a short period till the sun was starting to climb into the sky. I descended on my board but started walking once I reached the plains.

I walked toward the nearest road, but I could tell that the ponies of this place saw me long before I got close to them.
Some of them turned around and ran toward the city that I had seen from the mountain. The others hurried on their ways until the road was empty.

I walked along the road toward the city until I saw a group of three ponies approach from farther up the road. I could tell from a distance that they were not simple travelers, they had an air of command about them and moved with purpose.
I stopped and waited for them to get closer. To my surprise they drew curved blades as they approached.

“Halt stranger!” on of them said in a thick voice.

“You are trespassing on sovereign land, what is your purpose here?” another asked.

I could see that these were guards, or soldiers of some sort. They had headpieces that had a cap and a flowing shroud in the back, they also had beige colored cloaks and each one held a curved sword.

“Well?” their leader asked.

“I come in peace.” I said.

“From where, beyond the mountains?” he asked.

“Yes.” I replied.

“Liler, there is nothing beyond those mountains, only death for the foolhardy.” he snapped.

The other two stepped a little closer to me.

“I tell the truth, I come from the land of Equestria.” I said.

“Should we believe him?” one of the guards asked him.

“He could be some kind of rouge.” the other said.

They were larger than me and probably stronger so I wanted to avoid a fight if at all possible. “Peace, I am no rouge, just a pony who stumbled upon a passage through the mountains.” I said.

They were talking amongst themselves, obviously ignoring me.

“What is this place called?” I asked, trying to get their attention.

“You are in the proud kingdom of Saddle Arabia.” the lead guard said.

“Well then, I humbly come in envoy of Princess Celestia to the kingdom of Saddle Arabia.” I said graciously.

They lowered their swords some.

“Come with us outlander.” the head guard said.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“We will take you to sheikh Haakim, so you may present your case with him.” the lead guard said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I followed them to the city to meet their ruler, this Sheikh Haakim.
The plains gave way to the beginnings of a desert as we neared the city. The city was protected by large sunbaked walls. There were four large wooden gates, one for each cardinal direction, that allowed entrance. The city was just as strange on the inside, short two story houses made of the same whitewashed stone that the walls were made of. The center of the city boasted a palace with three stories and topped with a golden dome.
We passed an open air market and my senses were assaulted by a barrage of smells. Some were strange, others stung my nose with their potency.

The citizens were all garbed in loosely hanging garments. Some of them gave our party strange looks while other simply went on with their business.

“Why were you so hostile to me?” I asked.

“We can’t be too careful, desert raiders plague the roads.” the lead guard said.

“Desert raiders?” I asked.

“Yes, some ponies choose to live in the desert in nomadic tribes. They attack trade routes and steal supplies.” he said.

“Have you tried to reason with them?” I asked.

“I don’t know about where you come from, but here it is unwise to interfere with problems you have no understanding of.” he said.

“I apologize, I did not mean to intrude.” I said.

“I do not condemn your intentions outlander, but it is best if you stayed out of our affairs.” he said.

“Where are all the pegasi, and the unicorns?” I asked.

“You speak as if they are a common occurrence.” he said.

“Aren’t they?” I asked.

“Here, unicorns are a rare sight. When they are born they are trained to be viziers for the sheikhs. he said.

“What about pegasi?” I asked.

“There has not been a pegasus in Saddle arabia in three generations.” he said.

“Oh.” was all I could say.

“When a pegasus is born it is considered an omen of good fortune and a sign that great change is coming.” he said.

“What happened the last time a pegasus was born?” I asked.

“The three main cities of Saddle Arabia united and banished the Minotaur tribes to the southern highlands.” he said.

“Minotaurs?” I asked.

“Yes, for many years the barbarian tribes of minotaurs savaged the countryside, terrorizing the trade caravans and raiding the less fortified settlements.” he said.

“Then what happened?” I asked.

“We are here.” he said.

“Who is this?” a guard questioned.

This guard was standing guard on his back legs, using a halberd to steady himself. An imposing sight to be sure, not to mention he was wearing armor made of plates riveted onto a leather chest guard, with colorful accents on the edges of the tunic and sleeves.

“He is an outlander, he says he is an envoy from another land.” the lead guard said.

“Very well, take him to see the Sheikh.” the palace guard said.

We passed through the large double doors into the palace interior. Contrary to the outside, the inside was quite lavish. The floor was covered with a large carpet with fringes. The walls boasted fancy fabrics and pictures.

“Who is this?” a seated figure said.

“Sire, this is the stranger that we were told about. He says that he is an outlander, come here in envoy of a land called Equestria.” the guard said bowing to the Sheikh.

The Sheikh stood up, he was the same size as an Celestia, but was an earth pony.

“Well outlander, is what you claim true?” the sheik asked.

“Yes,” I began bowing, “I come from a land in the north called Equestria. I was mapping the mountains when I stumbled upon a passage through to this land.”

“Why would a vizier be mapping mountains?” he asked.

“I am not a vizier, I am only a regular unicorn.” I replied.

“You’re not a vizier?” the Sheikh asked.

“No, we do not have viziers in Equestria, although the Princess does have an assistant. I have done work for the princess before but I am not in her permanent employ.” I said.

“So you were mapping the mountains for fun?” Haakim asked puzzled.

“I was, exploring. The mountain range south of Equestria has never been mapped before, so I took the liberty of mapping a section of the range.” I said.

“So tell me, who is this princess?” he asked.

“Allow me to show you.” I said, forming a crystal to project an Image of Celestia and Luna.

The guards brandished their swords when I started.

“Hold, let us see what he has to show us.” Haakim said.

The guards relaxed and I continued. I projected an Image of Celestia, “This is princess Celestia, she is the chief ruler of Equestria.” I said. I then projected an image of Luna, “This is her sister, Princess Luna, she is co ruler with Celestia.” I said.

The Sheikh was staring wide eyed at me, “Alicorns.” he breathed.

“What?” I asked puzzled.

“They, they’re alicorns.” he said.

The guards talked in hushed tones to each other.

“What? What?” I said worried.

“I would be honored to meet with your princesses.” the sheikh said.

“Ok, let me send them a message.” I said bewildered.

I created a message crystal and sent it with the request for Celestia and Luna to Canterlot.

“Now, our honored guest, what is your name?” Haakim asked.

“My name is Mixer.” I replied, a little uneasy at his sudden hospitality.

“Well, then Mixer, let me show you around our fine city.” Haakim said.

“Haakim what’s going on here?” a female that looked the same as Haakim

“Ah, my beautiful wife, Amira, meet Mixer.” Haakim said.

“Mixer, it is a pleasure to meet you.” Amira said.

“The pleasure is all mine.” I said.

“Amira, this unicorn has brought new of a new land to the north.” Haakim said to Amira.

“Beyond the mountains?” she asked.

“Yes, and there are two alicorns on their way here.” he said.

“Oh my, alicorns?” she asked excitedly.

“Yes, he showed them to us.” Haakim said.

“That is wonderful!” she said.

“Um, what important thing am I missing?” I asked.

“Over a thousand years ago, we were led out of the desert to fertile land by a wise alicorn. they showed us how to bring water to our people and our city prospered, then one day, they mysteriously disappeared.” he said.

“The alicorn that led our people was wise and kind, a truly great leader, but they could not stay.” Amira said.

“What happened after that?” I asked.

“After the alicorn left, the leader of our city shared his knowledge with two other tribes and the three main cities of Saddle Arabia were founded.” Haakim said.

“Since then, there have been periods of peace and conflict between the cities. Each wanting to safeguard it’s people.” Amira said.

“Your arrival herald a new age of peace in Saddle Arabia.” Haakim said.

“I’m glad that I could be so, helpful.” I said.

These ponies were obviously very deep in tradition.

“So when will your princesses arrive?” Haakim asked.

“If they left today, maybe a day of flying.” I said.

“Then we shall prepare a warm welcome for them.” he said.

I was lead through the city while servants made arrangements at the palace for Celestia and Luna’s arrival. I was given a luxurious robe and hat by the city's tailor. The robe was a deep blue with golden trim around the cuffs. The hat was a white and had a shroud flowing down the back. Both of these garments were actually cooler than being out in the sun, despite how much it covered.

I was also treated to some of the local cuisine. The spices that I smelled earlier were now giving flavor to otherwise bland baked goods.

“So Mixer, what was that crystal magic you were using?” Haakim asked.

“It is a trick I picked up in the Crystal Empire, a place just to the north of Equestria.” I said, “ It is not a common skill.”

“What else can you tell me about Equestria?” he inquired.

“Most of Equestria is rather temperate, only the southernmost regions are arid. There are also vast oceans on either side of Equestria, and the frozen north.” I said.

“Interesting. Equestria sound much larger than Saddle Arabia.” Haakim said.

“It may well be, though I would have to see a map for comparison.” I said.

“How have you been enjoying our fine city?” he asked.

“The food is a little hot for my taste.” I said, “But what’s with the barrage of questions?”

“I apologize if I seemed impolite, it is just very exciting to hear that not one, but two alicorns are on their way here.” he said.

“And I’m sure Celestia and Luna will be happy to meet you as well.” I said.

“You must be tired, why don’t you take some time to rest, I know that today might be exhausting to experience so many things.” Haakim said directing me back to the palace.

We arrived back at the palace and I was shown to a large room on the second floor. It had a large bed and a basin for washing. After taking a look around I heard a knock on the door.

“Who is it?” I asked.

“The sheikh wishes you to attend dinner with him and his wife.” a servant said from the other side of the door.

I walked downstairs, escorted by the servant, to a large banquet hall. At the opposite end where we entered there were four spots set, one for the Sheikh, one for his wife, one occupied by a unicorn in fancy robes, and one for me.

“Ah, Mixer, come come, eat. You must be hungry after your trek through the mountains.” Haakim said.

“Thank you.” I said taking my seat.

“I was just telling my Vizier, Alim, about you.” Haakim said.

“It is nice to meet another unicorn.” I said.

“From what the sheikh has said about you, I am honored.” Alim said.

“So what does a vizier do?” I asked.

“I take care of the most mundane of task, organizing the guards, taking care that we have food and drink stocked, and other such things. I also advise the sheikh in times of uncertainty.” he said.

“That sounds like a pretty important position.” I said.

“Yes, I don't know what I would do without Alim.” Haakim said.

“So, what do you think of Saddle Arabia?” Alim asked.

“It seems like a harsh environment, the sun and sand are kind of hard to get used to, but your people seem to do well here.” I replied.

“And how do you think we do so well in this ‘harsh environment’?” he asked.

“Trade, or maybe just deep knowledge of the hardships of this place.” I said.

The Sheikh and his wife looked at each other with concern as Alim went on, “Indeed, knowledge is a powerful ally here; an untrained pony would not survive long in the deserts, but we know this land, know it better than we know ourselves.” he said, his tone shifting from casual conversation to something more, intense.

“It is important to know one’s home.” I said.

“You say that, and yet you have come blundering into a place you do not understand.” he said.

“Alim.” Haakim said in a warning tone.

“You are right, I did blunder into a world I do not understand; however, it would not be the first time, and I have learned from experience that if you share knowledge, others are more likely to do likewise.” I said, hardening my tone to match his.

“So you share knowledge willingly, without considering what it can do to harm you or your home?” Alim pressed.

“The depth of information I give is equal to that I receive, I would not just go telling anypony on the street every last detail of Equestria.” I said.

Alim sat back in his chair, “So, you know that knowledge is a valuable commodity, and also how much to share,” a smile crossed his face, “You are a sensible pony and well deserving of Haakim’s praise.” Alim said.

The others seemed to relax, “I apologize for Alim, he likes to be sure of what ponies are like before trusting them.” Amira said.

“I don’t blame him, a stranger arrives and is treated so well, I would question something like that as well.” I said.

“There is one thing I was still wondering about,” Alim said, “You seem to have such a relaxed tone for dealing with royalty, why?”

“I guess because I have been in service to the royalty before, on both a professional and a personal basis.” I said.

“You get more interesting by the second my friend.” Alim said.

“It is getting late, Mixer why don’t you get some rest.” Haakim said.

I stifled a yawn, “I think that would be a good idea, it has been days since I last slept in a proper bed.” I said.

A servant showed me back to my room. Everything had been re-neatened since I left for dinner. I also found some soft bed clothes folded on the bed. I was starting to wonder if it was my coat color, or if it was some kind of tradition, but these new clothes were blue as well, though this blue was like the midnight sky, deep and covered with embroidered stars.
I settled down and jumped on the bed. I immediately sank into the soft folds of the sheets and fell asleep before I knew it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning I woke up to see the first rays of dawn breaking through the large windows. I took off the night clothes, folded them, and set them on the bed, then I put on the garb that had been given to me the previous day and left the room.

There were servants bustling about taking care of last minute things before they went to get some rest themselves. I passed a few guards on my way downstairs, but it appeared they too were only just awake.

My wandering brought me to the main hall/ throne room, and I admired the tapestries on the walls for the first time. They depicted scenes, either from history or legend, and seemed to tell a story, much like the stained glass in Canterlot.

“Impressive aren’t they?” Alim said from next to me.

After a small start, I asked, “What do they show?”

“They show a history of our city, from its founding, to the current reunification.” he said.

“Why are you the only one who seems to be awake?” I asked with a yawn.

“I can’t afford to sleep at the same time as everypony else.” he said.

“Ah.” I said.

“Alim, two flyers have been spotted heading this way.” a guard said.

“Is there any identification?” Alim asked.

“No.” the guard said.

“It has to be Celestia and Luna.” I said.

“Then you may go to the north gate to greet them, I will wake Haakim.” Alim said rushing off.

“Follow me.” the guard said.

I followed him through a side entrance to the palace and we hurried to the northern gate. I could tell long before they drew close that it was indeed Celestia and her sister.

Unfortunately, the ponies on the road scattered below as they flew over. I just watched as they drew closer. I waved them down as they got closer to the gate.

“Down here!” I called.

They flew lower and hovered a few feet away from the top of the wall. Some of the guards had their hooves on their swords.

“Mixer?” Celestia said in disbelief.

“I take it you got my message.” I said, motioning the guards to stand down.

“We weren’t sure what to make of it, but we decided it was best to see for ourselves.” Luna said.
once the guards had made enough room they landed.

“It is good that you came so early, the days get quite hot here.” I said.

“Is that why you are wearing those clothes?” Celestia asked.

“Yes, also I did not want to offend my hosts be denying a gift.” I said.

Luna was looking around at the guards uneasily, “Are they always this friendly around strangers?” she asked.

“No, you got a warmer welcome than I did, they didn’t even draw their swords.” I said with a chuckle. “But, we should get going, the Sheikh is expecting you two.” I said.

“Lead the way.” Celestia said.

As we walked through the streets we were given looks of awe from every pony we passed. As we walked it seemed that word of the princesses had spread faster than we moved. When we go to the palace there were guards keeping citizens out of our way. The palace guards admitted us and Haakim, Amira, and Alim were all waiting for us.

“By the goddess.” Alims said under his breath.

“Celestia, Luna, I would like you to meet Sheikh Hakim.” I said introducing them.
Haakim approached and bowed to Celestia, “It is an honor to have you princesses.” he said.

“We are honored that you would have us.” Celestia replied.

“Mixer has told us much of you, and we would be happy to extend a warm welcome to the rulers of Equestria.” Haakim went on.

“And we gladly accept your hospitality.” Celestia said.

“This is the first time in a thousand years that Equestria has had contact with another civilization of ponies.” Luna said.

“Then we would like to extend friendship to you.” Haakim said.

“We accept, may prosperity come to both our nations.” Celestia said.

“Come, let us celebrate this wondrous day with a feast!” Haakim said.

Servants started to appear and began to prepare. A small group of them led Celestia and Luna to their own room.

“What’s going on Mixer?” Celestia asked.

“I believe they are preparing you for the banquet.” I said.

“Prepare us?” Luna asked.

“Yes, they have a thing with fancy clothing.” I replied.

“I noticed that all of them wear clothes, even the servants.” Luna said.

“I know, I find it strange, but I did not want to be rude so I didn’t ask about it.” I said.

Another group of servants entered the room with different boxes and containers. Some of them offered jewelry for the princesses, others brought selections of dresses.

Celestia ended up with a pair of star shaped earrings and a long white dress with golden hemmings, while luna chose crescent moon earrings with a dark dress that was shorter than her sister’s.

“I’m not used to this kind of thing.” Luna said.

“I’m not used to wearing so much clothing either, but I thought that it might offend them not to.” I said.

“Let us get going then.” Celestia said.

Servants led us back to the dining hall where there was even more food than last night, and all of it looked better too.
We were showed to our seats, the three of us across from Haakim, Amira and Alim.

“Don’t feel so tense, eat.” Haakim said.

Luna picked up a bit of spiced bread before I could warn her about the heat. Celestia started to chuckle as her sister’s eyes began to water. I passed her some water and she immediately drained the cup.

“I should have warned you about some of the spices here.” I said as Luna panted.

Celestia picked up the same spiced bread and took a bite.

“What a flavor!” she said, obviously better at handling spicy foods.

Here, try this.” I said passing a more mild dish to Luna.

She cautiously took a bite before deciding that she rather like this particular dish.

“Hahaha, it’s good to see you’re enjoying the food.” Haakim said.

As Luna and I ate, Celestia discussed future possibilities with Haakim. After a while the food had been mostly finished and Celestia had finished talking.

“Mixer, we must return to Equestria to continue our royal duties, but I want you to stay and be the Equestrian ambassador to Saddle Arabia.” Celestia said.

“Of course, but, what about Twilight and her friends?” I asked.

“I will tell them about your situation.” she said.

“Oh, before I forget, take this.” I said forming a crystal and handing it to Celestia.

“What is this for?” she asked.

“It’s long range audio crystal, so we can communicate over long distances.” I replied.

“Ok, I will contact you should I need anything.” she said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Celestia and Luna took of their dresses, packed them and some other gifts they had been given into saddlebags and took off for Equestria.

“I would not have believed it had I not seen it with my own eyes.” Alim said sneaking up on me again.

“How do you do that?” I asked.

“I know this palace like the back oh my hoof, I can move like the wind through this place.” he said.

“So what do you want?” I asked.

“The Sheikh has asked me to show you my study.” he replied.

He took me up to the third floor and stopped at a blank patch of wall.

“It’s a wall.” I said.

“Exactly.” he said before using his magic to reveal a small room with a ladder.

“Very nice.” I said.

“I like to keep to myself when I read.” he said.

We climbed the ladder and I was greeted by a large domed room brimming with bookshelves.

“Amazing,” I said looking up to see the ceiling was an exact copy of the night sky, complete with constellations.

“Yes, it took quite some time to get the constellations right. And some of the books in here are older than the city itself.” he said.

“Wow, this is almost as big as part of the Canterlot Library.” I said.

He pulled a book off a high shelf and passed it over to me.

“Take a look.” he said.

The book was entitled: ‘Zahad the great’. It told of a powerful unicorn that had created many powerful artifacts for various purposes. One page was bookmarked detailing an artifact called Zahad’s mirror. It looked like an odd name for a statuette of two alicorns facing opposite directions.

“What about it?” I asked.

“We believe that we have found the location of Zahad’s tower where he lived and kept his most powerful artifacts.” Alim said.

“It sounds like that might not be such a good thing.” I said.

“You are right, Zahad is the reason the three cities split the last time. Each wanted his power for different reasons, so the three cities did battle around his tower, warring to determine the one who would get his power. The book calls him ‘Zahad the great’, but after the fighting he was renamed Zahad the mad.” Alim told me.

“Why ‘the mad’? I asked.

“He moved his tower into the desert with powerful magic. Travelers during the night would tell stories of hearing Zahad’s mad ramblings, sometimes coming from all directions at once.” he said.

“So why is the mirror marked?” I asked.

“Because, it can create a duplicate of the user, or an opposite clone of somepony else.” he said.

“What do you mean opposite?” I asked.

“They look the same but with a different personality, Zahad was said to use it to have conversation with himself.” he said.
My eyes grew wide, “If that got into the wrong hands,”

“Yes, it could cause a great cataclysm.” Alim finished.

“So what, you want me to oversee the excavation?” I asked.

“Yes, I will be busy running the Palace while the Sheik visits Equestria, so I want you to oversee the site, and contact me if you find anything.” he said.

“Where is the site?” I asked.

“Let me tell you that I would not trust this to just anypony, you have the power to repel any interlopers.” he said.

“Interlopers?” I asked.

“The desert is a dangerous place, especially at night. Outside of the city, you will have to defend yourself and the workers.” he said.

“When can I leave?” I asked.

“I have arranged for an escort of guards to take you to the site, you should arrive there a little after midday.” Alim said.

“I’ll get ready to go then.” I said turning to leave.

“Wait, take this,” he said reaching into a chest, “It brings good fortune.” he said showing me a shield shaped amulet.
I put it on and felt a sudden change, everything seemed to be clearer.

“Whoa.” I said.

“Yes, it was different for me at first too, it heightens the senses and will allow you to detect imminent danger.” Alim said.

“Thanks.” I said turning to leave.

I went down the ladder and the wall closed behind me. I then hurried to the south gate where the escort was waiting.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We left and walked through sandy dunes until we came upon a small group of tents.
“Are you the one that master Alim sent?” a brown stallion in white desert robes asked as we approached.
“Yes, he asked me to oversee the excavation.” I said.
“Come inside, you should see this.” he said.
We went into the tent and he showed me a map spread out on a table, “This is a floorplan for the tower.” he said.
“Where is this tower?” I asked.
“Buried amongst the sands, only the top was recently discovered not far from here.” he said. “Some of the workers have been reluctant to go in, for fear of the ghost of Zahad.” he said.
“Ghost of Zahad?” I asked.
“There are legends that say Zahad haunts his tower, even long after it was lost.” he said.
“May I see this place?” I asked.
“This way.” he said leading me out of the tent and away from the tents.
The top of a tower was peaking out of the sands some ways off, a lonely spire in the otherwise unremarkable desert. We walked over to it and I saw that they had cleared the sand away from a window and had gone inside. Inside it was dark except for the torches burning on the walls.
“It’s ancient.” I said.
“We have cleared three other rooms so far, but the desert is resisting us, filling in rooms during the night.” he said.
“Let me have a look.” I said.
There appeared to be four rooms on the top floor, each of which was stripped to bare stone. There was a spiral staircase that led away into the gloom of the lower levels. I went down a level, illuminating the room with magic.
Only one of the rooms was accessible, the other three were filled with sand. This room showed some shreds of evidence that it was once inhabited. There were scraps of rug left, and some baubles left from so many years ago.
I started clearing one of the rooms, pushing the sand down the hall and into the stairwell. This room had survived better than the others. A sandy red rug covered most of the floor and faded paintings hung on the wall. A small bed was set against the wall and some containers were littered around the floor. I checked the containers and found some stale food items and some old clothes. It appeared that this was somepony’s room. I left the room and went back up the stair to the waiting forepony.
“What did you find?” he asked.
“I cleared out two more rooms on the floor below, one of them seems to be an old bedroom.” I said.
“We will send a team to investigate later, for now we should get back to the tents so we can set yours up before darkness falls.” he said.
We walked back to the camp and I helped drive the stakes into the sand. Soon we had a small tent set up for myself. I took a walk around the camp checking to see if there were any things that I might want to check before getting some rest.
I finished my rounds and I checked in with the guards that escorted me there. They reported everything was fine and I told them to wake me in the middle of the night so I could take a shift of watch. I turned in before the sun went down and thought about the mysteries of the tower before finally succoming to sleep.

Seeing Double

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The Mixer Chronicles

Book Eleven:
Seeing Double

The excavation continued for days, each new floor giving up more than the last. I received word from Celestia that Haakim’s visit to Equestria had gone well, and that I should continue my work. Five days after I first got to the sight we stumbled upon Zahad’s personal bedchamber. We found a locked stone chest hidden in his room and we brought it back to the camp so I could examine it. When I concluded that it might contain a powerful artifact I sent a messenger to Alim telling him of the discovery. I worked the lock for most of the fifth day, trying to open it but to no avail. The next day I continued to work on the chest and finally managed to open the lock. The others gathered around as I opened the lid. Our eyes widened as we saw that inside the chest was Zahad’s Mirror, the very object I was sent to find. I took the mirror and put it in a special crystal case and sent a messenger to Alim.

The next day I was surprised, both pleasantly and unpleasantly, Celestia and Luna brought Twilight and her friends to visit me. at the same time Alim arrived to see the mirror.

“Mixer, its been too long,” Twilight said.

“We were worried about you, just up and leavin without so much as a goodbye,” Applejack said.

“I’m sorry about that, but I got lucky again and turned a bad situation into a good one,” I said.

“I’ll say, you did a great job finding Saddle Arabia,” Celestia said.

“You happen to be here at the same time I helped unearth an ancient relic of great power,” I said.

“Yes, an artifact that was lost to us many years ago,” Alim said.

“Ohh, what is it?” Twilight asked.

“It can create a double of the user,” I said.

“Can we see it?” she asked.

I looked at Alim.

“Yes, I suppose that it should not hurt as long as Mixer and I supervise you,” Alim said.

I showed them the case and took off the top so they could see it better.

“Wow,” Twilight said.

“I can feel its power even now,” Alim said.

“It looks beautifully crafted,” Rarity said.

“Stay here for a minute, I must get something,” Alim said leaving the room.

“This thing is powerful, I’m nervous just standing so near it,” Luna said.

“I’m sure Mixer knows what he is doing,” Sombra said.

“From what I can tell, you need a spell to activate it, look,” I said picking it up with my magic.

“Careful,” Celestia said.

“I’ve made sure to research it,” I said.

Just then the mirror activated and there was a bright flash.

“What happened?” I asked... myself?

Each pony had a doppelganger facing them. All except Sombra and Luna. Sombra was two completely different ponies, one with a white coat and gold mane, while the other was the same color scheme as the normal sombra, but with an evil look in his eye. Luna was facing Nightmare Moon, the magic apparently separating them into two different entities.

The Sombra’s looked like they were about to fight when Luna and Nightmare Moon yelled in synch, “Sombra behave!”

They immediately stopped and glared at each other. Rainbow Dash was face to face with her doppelganger, who was acting shy and withdrawn.

“Why is my copy such a wimp?” she asked.

“Don't you talk to Rainbow Dash that way!” the other Fluttershy said, getting in her face.

“Um, could you two please stop?” Fluttershy asked.

“Yeah, there’s no need to fight,” the other Rainbow Dash said.

“Interesting,” Twilight said facing her opposite, who had a messy mane and was fidgeting about.

“Indeed,” the opposite Pinkie Pie said observing her double do the same as Twilight’s.

“Oh, I like your mane, did you do it yourself?” the opposite Applejack asked Rarity.

“What this old thing? Why yes I did do it myself,” Rarity replied.

“What in tarnation is going on here?” Applejack asked. looking as each ponies’ doubles looked at each other.

“It appears that I accidentally activated the mirror,” I, I mean we, answered.

“Except that I,”

“Seem to have an exact,”

“Double instead of an opposite.” I went back and forth with myself.

“Not everypony has an opposite double,” Celestia said.

She was right her copy seemed to be the exact copy of her, no physical differences at all.

“I’m surprised, I didn't expect to ever see my sister again,” the copy Celestia said.

“Ok everypony, lets all stop for a second so we can think,” we said.

“I’m confused, we look the same but we look like totally different ponies,” Pinkie said.

“I know, it makes it so hard to try and plan a party,” the opposite Twilight said.

“You like parties too?” Pinkie asked.

“Like parties, I love parties!” the opposite Twilight said.

“Now is not the time for a party,” the opposite Pinkie said.

I heard a thud behind me followed by shouting.

“I won't let you hurt my friends!” the white Sombra said.

“How could you have pathetically weak friends like that?” the dark sombra asked.

“And I can’t believe that I’ll have another chance at her,” Nightmare Moon said.

“You won’t hurt my sister,” Luna said getting in her way.

“We need to diffuse the situation,” I told myself.

“Indeed, I’ll take the Sombras,” I said.

“Alright,” I replied and went to stop Nightmare Moon and Luna.

“I know you are upset, but now is not the time,” I said to Nightmare Moon.

“Is there ever a bad time to take revenge?” she asked.

“Even if you did, it would be you against all of us. You have to accept that you have to cooperate for now,” I said.

“Fine, I’ll restrain myself from attacking her, for now,” she said.

Meanwhile the other me had split the Sombras apart.

“Now that that’s all settled can somepony tell me why we all have doubles, and why they’re so different than us?” Applejack asked.

“I activated the mirror by mistake and created doubles of all of us,” I said.

“And I have to find the right spell in order to fix this,” the other me finished.

“How long will that take?” Celestia asked.

“I don’t know, we found the mirror by chance, there’s no telling where the counterspell may be hidden,” I replied.

“The effect is similar to the Mirror Pond,” the other Pinkie said.

“Did you just say Mirror Pond?” Twilight asked.

“Yes, we sealed it up after an incident cause the town to me inundated with mindless clones of Twilight,” the opposite Pinkie said.

“We had the same problem, except it was Pinkie that caused it for us,” Twilight said.

“So each of you have memories that parallel our’s except they are changed by the nature of your being,” I said.

“It would appear so,” the other Celestia said.

“Except, we don’t know who you are,” the other Pinkie said.

“You don’t?” I asked.

“Nope, never seen you before,” the other Twilight said.

“I haven’t and I never forget a face,” the other Rarity said.

“Wo where are we?” the other Fluttershy asked.

“Saddle Arabia by the looks of it,” the other Celestia said.

“Oh...” the other copy ponies said, looking around nervously.

“What’s wrong with Saddle Arabia?” I asked.

“It is a rather hot place, not too suitable for us regular ponies,” the other Celestia said.

“Yeah, the empress is right, its way too hot here,” the other Twilight said.

Wait, did she just say EMPRESS?

“Empress?” Celestia said, voicing my thoughts.

“What, aren’t you the empress of Equestria?” the other Celestia asked.

“I’m the princess of Equestria,” Celestia said.

“Dear, I have much to teach you about ruling a country,” Empress Celestia said.

“Um, not to interrupt but, you know, shouldn’t we do something about this?” the other Rainbow Dash asked.

“Ok, Princess Celestia and Luna, you should return to Canterlot, let us handle this,” I said, I had gotten better at not talking in stereo.

“Are you sure you will be fine?” Luna asked.

“Yes.” my copy said.

“We will be fine.” I finished.

I was suspicious of this “Empress” Celestia, but the other doubles seemed ok, well except for Sombra and Nightmare Moon.

“You stay here and sort things out while I look for anything on the counterspell,” I told myself.

“Alright, I got this,” my double said.

“I’m sure I do,” I said with a chuckle. Who says that you can’t have a little fun with a perfect replica of yourself.

While I went back to the tower to search for the counterspell, I also talked to the others about what we should do.

“So, the way I see it each pony has a pair,” I began. “Twilight and Pinkie, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, and Rarity and Applejack.”

“What about the rest of us?” the “Good” Sombra asked.

“WHAT IN THE NAME OF THE CREATOR IS GOING ON HERE?” Alim yelled.

“I accidentally activated the mirror and it made copies of all of us, well copy isn’t the right term, but you get the jist,” I said.

“I figured that since I just saw you going back to the ruins, and Celestia and Luna leaving for Equestria,” Alim said annoyed.

“We’re sorry that we created such a problem, we’ll help however we can,” the other Pinkie said.

“Perhaps you can help with sifting through the books and scrolls,” Alim said with a sigh.

“I’m great at sorting through books,” Twilight and the other Pinkie said at the same time.

“Sombra, can I count on you to keep an eye on yourself?” I asked.

“You sure can,” he said.

“And I’ll look after the princ...”

“Empress,” the other Celestia corrected me.
“Empress Celestia and Nightmare Moon,” I said.

“You’re putting me with her?” Nightmare Moon asked.

“No, there is one of me for each of you,” I said.

“Fine,” she said with a huff.

So we exited the tent and I brought the Mirror with me so it wouldn’t be tampered with.

“So what did I come up with?” I asked when the party arrived at the tower.

“Each of them has a partner, I split up Nightmare Moon and Celestia between us,” I replied.

“Sounds like a fine idea,” I said.

“That's because it was your idea, or I guess our idea,” my double said.

“Would this be considered talking to myself?” I asked.

“Well, I suppose so, but under the circumstances, it’s perfectly alright,” my copy replied.

“Ok, good,” I said.

Nightmare Moon refused to even be in the tower with Celestia so I had to wait with her in the tent, getting some rest for the night shift. Meanwhile the rest of us helped excavate and sort through any books or scrolls we found. I found out that I could actually communicate with my double through magical telepathy, so we kept tabs on each other, making sure the situation stayed normal.

We searched through the day while Nightmare Moon slept and I dozed off as well. What an odd feeling to be both asleep and awake, I was glad for the amulet, it allowed me to stay sharp. When we had found nothing by sunset, the crew went back to the camp and ate dinner while Nightmare moon and I got up and ate our meal before beginning our shift. Sombra tried to sneak out once, but a ping from my copy took care of that issue.

After that Nightmare Moon and I went to work in the tower. She was much more talkative and friendly with her Celestia asleep and night fallen.

“You know, I used to look up to her,” Nightmare Moon said.

“What?” I asked.

“Before she banished me. I looked up to my sister, thought she was the best thing in the world. Then when ponies started to shun the night she did nothing about it, she didn't even console me,” she said, both with anger and sadness.

“Hey,” I said in a soothing tone, “No pony shuns the night. Why would they? It’s full of magic the day cannot possibly provide.”

“You’re just saying that,” she said.

“You should know from Luna that I’m not,” I said.

“Yes, my alter ego, me before I became this,” she said, a tinge of anger in her voice.

I decided to steer the conversation back to the magic of the night, “You know, the night is so full of mystery, the sky for instance. During the day all you can see is the sun, but during the night a sea of beautiful stars reveal themselves. And the stars are one of the most wondrous things in the world. And the cool nights, with the soft light of the moon, are some of the best times to take a walk and see the amazing creatures that sleep during the day,” I said.

“You mean that?” she asked.

“Ask anypony, I’m sure they will tell you the same. Some of them just don’t realize it,” I said.

“You’re the first pony to tell me that there was something good about the night,” she said.

“And think about these people, they savor the night more than the day. The day only brings the hot sun, while the night brings cool and gentle breezes,” I said.

She began to tear, “You are doing this on purpose,” she said.

“Doing what?” I asked.

“Trying to get on my good side,” she said.

“No, I’m simply telling you the truth,” I said. “Now, the moon should not hide her beautiful face at night, lets get to work.”

“Yes, lets,” she said getting up.

We worked through the night, looking over many books and scrolls until, “Mixer, I think I have found something,” Nightmare Moon said.

“It says ‘Breaking the Mirror”,” she said.

“That sounds like just the thing we need,” I said.

I read the scroll and found that there were three spells to control the Mirror, an activation spell, a cancellation spell, and a spell to destroy the Mirror.

“Well, what does it say?” Nightmare Moon asked.

“It has the reversal spell, unfortunately it could get rid of the original or the copy,” I said.

“Oh...” she said.

“I’m sorr”

“Don’t, I understand, you have to get the original Luna back, and get rid of all of the copies,” she said.

I didn’t say anything, what could I say, “yeah, nice to know you but now you gotta go”.

“It’s alright, you have made me feel better than anypony ever has. I know how my other half feels, I feel all her worst emotions, so I don’t want her to feel like this. Make her happy Mixer,” Nightmare Moon said.

I was dumbstruck, not only was she saying that it was ok for us to zap her away, she wanted me to make Luna happy too. “O-okay,” I finally stammered.

“And make sure that witch Empress Celestia never gets her hooves on this scroll,” she said, her voice dripping with venom.

“I wasn’t planning on it,” I said.

“Good,” was all Nightmare Moon said before turning and walking out of the tower.

I followed and we slept for the rest of the night, the scroll and mirror both magically protected.

When I woke up, or at least one of me, I got up to see what time it was, I looked over at the other cot, which held me and a scroll and the mirror, ok know I know which one I am, I thought.

I was the first one up, so I didn’t wake anypony else up by making any undue noise. Applejack and the other Rarity were the first ones to wake up.

“Morning you two,” I said.

“Mornin Mixer,” Applejack said.

“Good morning,” the other Rarity said.

“Huh?” the other Pinkie Pie said waking up.

“Just sayin good morning,” Applejack said.

“And what a morning it is,” the other me said with a yawn.

“And what a night,” Nightmare Moon said.

“I’m sure it was,” the empress said provokingly.

“Better than you day,” Nightmare said, not in any particular tone, just as a matter of fact.

This got under her skin and she went outside. I followed her, keeping an eye on her. As the other me followed I waited for the others to wake up as well. It did not take long for the others to start stirring. Once everypony was up I told them all to get something to eat, as we would be headed back to the city.

After everypony ate we gathered up what things we needed and headed back to the city with Alim at the head.

“I take it that you found the counterspell?” Alim asked me when we were out of earshot of the others.

“Yes, I have had my double show Twilight the spell just in case we need a backup caster,” I replied.

“I hope you have the mirror and the scroll secure,” he said.

“Yes, I have the scroll and my double has the mirror,” I replied.

“What do you plan to do?” Alim asked.

“I plan to get back to the city then tomorrow I will get rid of the copies,” I replied.

“Why wait?” Alim asked.

“Because, I don’t want to just surprise them with it, I’m a bit more tactile than that,” I said.

“Very well, I will trust your judgment,” Alim said.

When we arrived at the city it was just past midday and we were greeted at the gates by Haakim himself.

“Mixer, you’re back, and with an interesting entourage,” he said.

“Yes, well, I can explain that later, for now we could use a rest. The others are not used to this kind of heat,” I said.

“Of course,” he said.

We followed him into the palace and the others got food and drink while I went with Alim to store the Mirror. While I was off doing that my double was explaining the situation to Haakim.

“So you found the mirror and activated it?” he asked.

“Yes, and I have the counterspell to correct it, but I’m waiting till tomorrow to use it,” I replied.

“Sir!” a guard called running in.

“What, what’s wrong?” Haakim asked.

“It’s the minotaurs, they are moving down from the highlands. They have a warband headed this way,” the guard said in between breaths.

“Why would they attack us now?” Haakim asked.

“How long until they get here?” I asked.

“They will be here in just over an hour,” the guard said.

“That gives us little time to prepare,” I said.

“It gives us plenty,” Haakim said.

“What kind of defences do you have?” I asked.

“We have our walls, but also a catapult,” Haakim said.

“You have a catapult?” I asked.

“Yes, though we mostly use it for celebrations,” Haakim said.

“I have an idea of how we can use that catapult. Can you get me some supplies?” I asked.

“What kind of supplies?” he asked.

“Some spices and a few other materials, some paper or jars perhaps,” I said.

“What are you planning?” Haakim asked.

“Spice bombs. We can use them to disorient the minotaurs, and we can make them fairly easily,” I said.

“I’ll get on that right away,” Haakim said running off to take care of his preparations.

I called the others together to tell them what was going on.

“Minotaurs? What are we gonna do?” Pinkie asked with fright.

“We are going to help the Saddle Arabians defeat them,” I said.

“How?” Twilight asked.

“Because,” I said, a smile crossing my face, “We have all of you.”

“The plan is to have each of you help in the way you are best suited,” my double said.

“Nightmare Moon, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, can you three fly over them and drop spice bombs onto them?” I asked.

“Can I do a sonic rainboom?” Rainbow dash countered.

“Which ones?” Fluttershy asked.

“Our Rainbow Dash and the copy Fluttershy,” I answered.

“What about us?” the other Rainbow Dash asked.

“You and Fluttershy can stay here in the palace. Twilight, I want you and the other Pinkie to give us some battle strategy. If things change I won’t be able to pay attention to the whole city,” I said.

“You can count on us,” the other Pinkie said.

“And us?” Pinkie asked.

“You and other Twilight help the civilians with whatever preparations they need,” I replied.

“And what about us?” Applejack asked.

“You help the guards get everything ready, weapons armor, whatever,” I said.

“Who else is gonna go with me?” she asked.

“You can take the other Rarity. You don't mind do you?” I asked the other Rarity.

“Let’s go Applejack!” she said.

“And what about us?” Rarity asked, indicating her and the other Applejack.

“Can you man the catapult?” I asked.

“I suppose we could,” the other Applejack said.

“Thanks, that leaves me and the Sombras,” I said.

“What about me?” empress Celestia asked.

“You can sit this one out, don’t want you getting hurt,” I said.

“So what are we going to do?” good Sombra asked.

“You can take the east gate, I will take the south with Haakim, and the other me will stay with the other Sombra on the west gate,” I said.

“Ok, anything else?” he asked.

“Yes, if you have to seal the gates with crystal, it is imperative that they don’t get through the gates,” I said.

“I see you have already began to sort your people out,” Alim said running in. “We are preparing the supplies you need for the spice bombs,” he said.

“Good. Can you stay here and protect Amira and Celestia while the battle goes on?” I asked.

“I am stationed in the palace anyway, I am to work on a sandstorm spell to repel them,” he said.

“Ok, I will go to work on the bombs, you get the spell ready,” I said.

“Good luck,” Alim said to me as I left.

The spices were prepared and I made two types of bombs, one for pony use and one for the catapult. I was able to make around twenty of the smaller spice bombs, but only around five larger ones in the time we had left. As I sent the bombs to be distributed to out flyers and the catapult, I heard war horns sound in the distance.
I flew on a crystal up to the ramparts to see what was going on.

“What’s happening?” I asked Haakim, who now had some armor on and two scimitars sheathed at his sides.

“They are here,” he said.

I looked out and saw a large army of minotaurs, all of them with red war paint and and axes in hand. scattered about the horde were banners of a hoof print on a red background.

“There are so many of them,” I said, eyes wide.

“They have gathered under a warchief,” Haakim said.

I looked to see if everypony was in position. OUr flyers were being loaded up with spice bombs, the catapult was being loaded, and I could see the two Sombras and my copy on the other gates.

The horde approached the city from the south and stopped a few hundred feet away from the gate. A large minotaur with a large battleax and ornaments adorning his long horns stepped out from the front of the warband.

“Puny ponies! We will flatten your city and reclaim the land of our ancestors,” the minotaur bellowed.

There were cheers and bellows from the horde as his voice carried across the open space.

“Leave this place now savages!” Haakim shouted back, his voice almost painfully loud.

The minotaurs stamped their hooves and pounded the ground with their weapons, before the chief signaled with his ax for the horde to attack.

I made an audio crystal and sent it to the catapult.

“Fire when they get in range,” I said.

“Ok,” Rarity replied.

I watched as the minotaurs charged at the city, their hooves thundering across the dry earth. I heard the sound of the catapult throwing the first spicebomb. The shell hit and burst, sending a cloud of stinging spice dust into the air, filling the eyes and noses of the some of the minotaurs. Few of the ones hit were able to keep going, but most had doubled over or stopped to rub burning eyes and noses.

I sent up a magical flare signaling Nightmare Moon and the others to start their bombing run. They circled over the approaching horde before three small jars dropped onto the charging minotaurs. These smaller bombs only took out one or two each, unlike the catapult shells.

“We have to do something else, they are not stopping,” Haakim said pacing nervously.

“I can brace the gate with crystal to prevent them from breaking it,” I said.

“Do it,” he said, eye locked on the coming wave of minotaurs.

I created a few crystal from my seed crystal pendant and dropped them into the space in front of the large wooden doors; then crystals started to grow up from the ground and form a barrier in front of the gate, barring entry.

“That should stop them from breaching the gate,” I said.

“Indeed, and not a moment too soon,” Haakim said as the first of the minotaur warriors reached the walls.

They tried beating on the crystal wall but found that it only repelled their axes and clubs. They then took to scaling the walls.

“Ready yourselves!” Haakim said.

“Mixer!” I heard Spike call from farther along the wall.

“Spike, what’s wrong?” I asked.

“Twilight says that Alim will be longer casting the spell than he thought,” the purple dragon said huffing.

“Tell her that we will buy the time that Alim needs,” I said shooing him back to the palace.

By now the first of the scalers had successfully clambered up the walls and were being engaged by the city defenders.

“You shall not take this city!” Haakim shouted as he kicked a minotaur off the ramparts.

By now our flyers had run out of bombs and had flown back to take up another payload, while the catapult was firing the large spice bombs into the crowds of minotaurs. The minotaurs were disorganized before the clouds of spice had done their work, now they were spreading out even more.

“They are gaining ground,” a guard said, as he cut into a minotaur.

“We must repel them,” Haakim shouted as he engaged a minotaur that had cleared itself room on the rampart.

I created six sharp crystals that I was using to help repel the attackers but every time we would knock one off the wall, another would climb up to fill his place.

Nightmare Moon and the others flew in low and knocked a few more off the walls before landing by Haakim and I.

“We are out of bombs,” Rainbow Dash said.

“And so is the catapult,” Nightmare Moon said.

“How many of them are there?!” I asked taking a space that opened next to Haakim.

“Hundreds,” Rainbow Dash said dropping hard on a climbing minotaur.

“And they don’t look like they intend to give up,” the other Fluttershy said knocking another loose.

“How long does it normally take Alim to conjure a sandstorm?” I asked Haakim as we fought off a pair of minotaurs.

“A few minutes, but you are right, he should have finished by now,” he said.

A cry came from behind us as a minotaur prepared to bring his ax down on us. He was surprised when a rope caught his ax and pulled it out of his grasp.

“Thought y’all might need a some help,” Applejack said tackling the minotaur, knocking him off balance and tumbling over the edge

“Thanks AJ,” I said.

“Don’t mention it,” she said as the other Rarity ran up next to her.

“We brought some weapons,” the other Rarity said, showing two spears and a sword.

I heard minotaurs yelling in pain as they were struck by blasts of magic. Twilight was running along the walls from the east gate, firing blast of magical energy at any minotaurs that stood in her way.

“Twilight! what are you doing here?” I questioned.

“I came to help,” she said running up.

“What about Alim?” Haakim asked.

“He wasn't able to use the spell by himself so I left the other Twilight with him to help. She might not be as focused as I am, but she is still powerful,” Twilight responded.

“What about Celestia?” I asked, trying to hide the concern in my voice.

“She has been observing the battle the whole time, just like you told her,” Twilight said.

“We need to do something, they keep coming and the guards are starting to give up ground,” I said.

“That’s why I’m here,” Twilight said, blasting another minotaur.

I could see that as the minotaurs had started climbing, they had spread out to cover more of the wall, trying to find a chink in the defence. The warchief was nowhere to be seen, but the rest were all massed around the walls waiting to get a chance to climb the defence and try to gain a hoofhold.

“Look!” Twilight called.

The air felt thick as winds started to sweep across the landscape. The minotaurs took no notice but the guardsmen knew that salvation was near and redoubled their efforts. Soon the winds ripped and tore at the dry earth, picking up sand and dust, forming the beginnings of a sandstorm.

“Everypony get down!” Haakim shouted.

The minotaurs seemed confused that all the defenders had stopped fighting and crouched next to the low walls and crenulations of the ramparts. Their confusion didn’t last long as strong winds began to tear across the exposed walls, carrying minotaurs of the ramparts and plummeting down to the rest of them.

As the gale subsided, winds began to swirl around the walls, bringing biting winds and abrasive sand upon the minotaurs gathered at the city’s walls.

The howls of the minotaurs could be heard as they were buffeted by the sand and forced to retreat from the battle. From the walls we could see the sandstorm spreading out from the city, like ripples from a pond, pushing the minotaurs farther away and ensuring they would think twice before returning.
There were cheers as the defenders celebrated victory.

The rest of the our group met up in front of the palace.

“How did everypony do?” I asked.

“I had little trouble protecting the east gate,” good Sombra said triumphantly.

“It was surprising,” my copy said. “Sombra was fighting the minotaurs before I even told him to.”

“Obviously Nightmare Moon and the others did great,” Applejack said.

“And Rarity is one heck of a shot too,” Rainbow Dash said.

“And we can’t forget about Mixer,” she said. “Without your help I’m not sure how well we would have done.”

“Indeed,” Haakim said patting me on the shoulder, “Without you we might have lost the gates in the first charge.”

“Alim is the one who saved the day, the sandstorm was what pushed them back,” I said.

We went in the palace and we went to go congratulate Alim on his work. He walked down a flight of stairs flanked by Fluttershy, the other Rainbow Dash, and the other Pinkie Pie.

“Great job Alim!” I said.

“I would not have had the time without you to hold them off,” he said.

“Hey, where’s the other Twilight?” the other me asked.

“Here I am,” she said walking down the stairs, slightly winded.

“And there she is, the one who helped me cast the spell,” Alim said.

“It was tough, but I did it!” she said cheerfully.

I looked around, my copy doing the same, and asked in stereo, “Where is Celestia?”

“Last I saw here she was watching the battle,” the other Pinkie said.

Both of me speed upstairs looking for Celestia and the Mirror.

“What’s up with you?” Twilight asked following us.

“Oh nononono,” I said.

“This is very bad,” the other me said.

“What?” Twilight asked worried as the others followed.

“Celestia is gone,” I said.

“And so is the Mirror,” my copy added.

“I KNEW SHE WOULD BETRAY US!” Nightmare Moon yelled, with a snort of fury.

“Haakim, I sent word to celestia earlier today that we would be ready to go by tomorrow. If she gets here and the empress learns how to use the cancellation, she will have no pony to stop her from getting rid of Celestia and Luna,” I said.

“We have to find her!” good Sombra said.

“Haakim, Alim, you get everypony out of the palace, once you have form a perimeter and don’t let anypony in or out until morning,” I said.

“What are we going to do?” Twilight asked.

“We are going to search this place top to bottom until we find her. But we should wait until the palace is empty,” I said.

After the palace was evacuated we met in the throne room to discuss our strategy.

“We should split into teams to cover more ground,” I said spreading a floor plan of the palace out on a table.

“There are three floors and a basement to cover,” my double said.

“That’s why we are going to split into seven teams of two and one of three,” I said.

“How are we gonna be split up?” Applejack asked.

“Ok, from top to bottom, Applejack, I want you and the other Rarity to check the top floor, it is smaller so you will be the only two up there. Rarity, you and the other Applejack will be on the second floor with Pinkie and the other Twilight. There will be three teams on the first floor, one of me and Sombra, one of Twilight and the other Pinkie Pie, and one of Rainbow Dash and Nightmare Moon. Finally The other me will take the basement with the other Fluttershy, leaving good Sombra to look after Fluttershy and the other Rainbow Dash,” I explained, pointing to each floor in turn.

“What if we find her?” Rarity asked.

“Yell for the others. Should you clear your floor, you will go down one floor and help the others do another sweep.,” I said.

“Um, am I interrupting?” the voice came from a doorway off to the left.

“It’s her!” Rainbow Dash yelled.

“Wait,” Celestia tried to say but was silenced by simultaneous tackles from Rainbow Dash and the other Fluttershy.

“What are you doing Rainbow Dash?” Celestia asked as she squirmed under the two pegasi.

“Quiet Empress!” the other Fluttershy said.

“Empress?” Celestia asked before Nightmare Moon fell on her as well.

“This is gonna feel good,” she said as she prepared to start beating Celestia.

I held her back while my copy put a magic inhibitor ring on Celestia.

“We don’t have to beat her, plus this might not even be the real one,” I said.

“What do you mean?” Nightmare Moon asked, still straining to bring her hoof down on Celestia.

“She could have used the mirror to create a copy of herself,” I said, binding Celestia with some crystal shackles.

“What is going on here?” Celestia asked with annoyance.

“Wait, you questioned the title ‘empress’ when Fluttershy said it,” I said, no longer holding Nightmare Moon back.

“Yes, why would you call me empress?” she asked.

I looked at my copy, “This is not good.”

“How could she have possibly done this?” my copy asked.

“I don’t know, she couldn’t have more knowledge of the Mirror that us, she only just learned of its existence,” I said.

“Unless...” I trailed off looking at the other copies.

“What?” the other Pinkie asked.

“Are you saying that we knew about this?” the other Fluttershy asked.

“I’m saying that you seemed to know something that we didn’t,” I said.

“You don’t think that that matters, do you?” the other Twilight asked the other Pinkie.

“Oh dear...” the other Pinkie said.

“What?” I asked.

“You know how we have those memories that are like yours?” she asked.

“Oh no,” I said, already knowing where this was going.

“Yeah, Celestia conquered Saddle Arabia. She probably wants to do the same with you world,” the other Pinkie said.

“We need to find her now, Nightmare Moon, Rainbow Dash, you watch this Celestia, everypony else split up,” I said.

I went with Sombra to check one side of the first floor while my double went with the other Fluttershy to check out the basement.
--

“So we’re checking the dungeon, looking for an ultra powerful alicorn, who could have created an army of copies that are just as powerful as her, great,” the other Fluttershy said.

“Shh, I think I heard something,” I said looking around the gloomy dungeon.

A circle on the ground around a cage drew my attention.

As we got closer the light from my horn started to waver and flicker.

“I thought you were more powerful than that?” Fluttershy asked mockingly.

“It’s that circle, its affecting my magic,” I said.

“Who goes there, is it the shadows, or is it more silly ponies?” an old voice said from inside the cage.

“You are not going to mess with whatever that is are you?” Fluttershy asked.

I stepped inside the circle giving my answer, “Who are you?”

“Ah, this one is new, smells different,” the voice said.

An old unicorn moved to the front of the cage to give me a look. “Ahhh, a unicorn, maybe the old grump Alim kicked the bucket,” the old unicorn in the cage said.

“Alim is still very much alive,” I said.

“What a pity, he would never play any games, always so serious,” the unicorn said.

“Let’s go, he’s just a crazy old unicorn,” Fluttershy said.

“Oh, and he has a little butterfly with him. Tell me butterfly does the sky still taste as sweet as it did?” he asked.

“I’m not a butterfly, I’m a pegasus,” Fluttershy said indignantly.

“What are you doing in here?” I asked.

“I sit, and I wait, and I eat when they feed me. On occasion I enjoy a game or two with somepony who likes to ask questions, much like yourself. Care to play?” he asked.

“What kind of game?” I asked wearily.

“The fun kind.” he said.

“Ok, what's the game?” I asked as Fluttershy rolled her eyes.

“Oh goodie, I ask you a question, and then you give me a question. One question then one answer for each,” he said.

“Would you like to ask me a question?” I asked.

“Good, you catch on fast, what is your name?” he asked.
--

Meanwhile on the first floor I was patrolling with Sombra.

“You don’t expect me to go easily?” he asked.

“You don’t have to go quietly, but you will go,” I said.

He continued walking just in front of me when I thought I saw some movement through a doorway. Sombra must have seen my lapse in concentration, because he shot for the door way. I chased him through the door, only to stop dead when the door slammed behind me and I saw Celestia sitting by a window with Sombra standing in front of her, ready to fight me.

“Clever girl,” I said.

“You made it so easy though, putting yourself and Sombra into the same team,” Celestia said.

“Now, you’re mine,” Sombra said sealing the doors with crystal, creating a battleground of crystal formations. I had a magic inhibitor ring with me and tried to get it on his horn as he lunged at me. I was able to get it onto him, but not before he used his magic to cover my horn with the same crystal affliction that he had used on Shining Armor.

“No magic for either of us, just a straight up fight,” I said.

I prepared to jump at Sombra and he did the same as Celestia looked on, watching her new champion fight her newest enemy.
--

“Nothin on the third floor,” Applejack said,

“And nothing on the second floor either,” Rarity said.

After searching the three teams on the third and second floors had met up with Twilight and Nightmare Moon in the first floor atrium.

“Has Mixer come back yet?” Pinkie asked.

“No, he did not come back here,” Rainbow Dash said.

“And we didn't meet up with him or Sombra on our patrol either,” Twilight said.

“We should go look for him,” Nightmare Moon said.
--

“Why did we have to go in the dark scary basement?” fluttershy asked Sombra.

“We aren’t even in the dungeon,” Sombra said.

“Don’t remind me,” the other Rainbow Dash said.

“You two don’t have to worry, I’ll keep this place nice and lit up,” Sombra said increasing the power of the illumination spell he was using.

“Thanks,” Fluttershy said.

The three of them had been sent to check out the basement storage area while Mixer and the other Fluttershy investigated the dungeon.

“I think I see something over there!” the other Rainbow Dash said.

“I don’t see anything,” Sombra said trying to soothe the two jumpy pegasi.

“I think I saw it too,” Fluttershy said.

Evil laughter filled the room as the shadows themselves closed in on the three of them.
Both Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash screamed and clung to Sombra, seeking safety from the consuming shadows.
--

“It seems we are evenly matched,” I said, huffing after fighting Sombra for countless minutes.

“You will never be my equal,” Sombra said jumping at me again. I was ready and sidestepped him, letting him overshoot me and land past me.

“I might not be as strong as you, but you can’t beat me,” I said as I charged him.
--

The others had looked along my search path until they came to the door that was covered in crystal.

“Mixer are you in there?” Twilight called.

They listened and heard fighting from the other side of the door.

“Rarity can you help me with this crystal?” Twilight asked.

Rarity and Twilight tried to remove the crystal from the door, but it regrew as soon as they shrank.

They heard a thud followed by a loud grunt.

“Mixer!” Twilight called.

“Twilight?” I said as I recovered from being thrown by Sombra.

“We can’t get through the door.” she called.

Sombra charged at me and I moved to the side and tripped him as he passed. “I’m a little busy right now,” I shouted.

“I have grown weary of this display,” Celestia said as she used the Mirror to make a copy of Sombra. This Copy was not an opposite, but the same as the one I was fighting, except it didn't have its magic inhibited.

“Finish him will you,” she said to the new Sombra.

“Gladly,” he said, using his magic to throw sharp crystals at me.
--

“Rarity, Applejack go find the other Mixer and Sombra, maybe they can take care of this barrier.” Twilight said.

The two of them ran to the basement to retrieve the Mixer that was currently engaged in a back and forth with the strange old pony.
--

“How old exactly are you?” I asked shocked.

“Several hundred years, and don't let anypony tell you I’m not still spry,” the unicorn, whom I now knew was called Salazar, said.

“How can you be that old?” I asked,

“You didn’t give me an answer!” he said angrily.

“Mixer, I hear hoofsteps coming,” the other Fluttershy said.

“Mixer!” Rarity called.

“Mixer!” the same call came from Applejack.

“Leaving so soon?” Salazar asked.

“Yes,” I said curtly as we headed towards the voices.

“We’re here,” I said.

“Thank heavens,” Rarity said as we reached the stairs leading up to the first floor. “You need help, Sombra is fighting you in a room and we can’t get in,” she said.

“Where?” I asked.

“Follow us,” Applejack said.

We followed her as they ran through the halls toward where I was fighting the two Sombras.
--

I let out a grunt as Sombra and I rolled across the floor. The other Sombra was trying to toss spikes at me without impaling his counterpart. I ended up on top and gave Sombra a good punch to the face before jumping out of the way of a large crystal.

“Too slow,” I said, just as a smaller chunk hit me.

“Mixer!” Twilight cried as I made a loud “oof”, when I hit the wall.

“We need to get in there!” Nightmare Moon said.

“Are key just got here!” Applejack said as the four of us ran up to the door.

“Let me at it,” I said, lowering the crystal. It was receding slowly, but it would take a minute or so to be able to open the door.

“This is taking too long!” Nightmare Moon said, spreading her wings and jumping through a nearby window.
--

Empress Celestia laughed as Sombra held me down and beat on me.

“Not so tough now are you?” Sombra asked, punctuation his question with another punch.

I tried to throw him off, “You know, you really should use you head,” I said, headbutting him.

He staggered of allowing me to stand up.

“Enough of this!” Celestia said, “Finish him!”

The two Sombras closed in on me, read to do exactly that. Then I saw a shadow through the window, and Nightmare Moon broke through the window and tackled Celestia.

“Get off of me you pathetic excuse of a sister!” Celestia bellowed, Nightmare Moon holding her down.

“Empress!” the Sombras said as they turned around.

I jumped on them and held them down while the other me finished opening the door.

“Quick get rid of her!” Nightmare Moon yelled.

“But we would hit you too,” Twilight said.

The Sombras shook me off, but the other me was already on them and trying to subdue them.

“Do it now!” Nightmare Moon said.

“But...” Twilight said conflicted.

“I can't hold her for much longer, do it now. Don’t worry about me, you still have Princess Luna,” she said.

“Okay,” Twilight said preparing the spell.

“Mixer, thank you,” she said before Twilight cancelled both her and Celestia.

“Now to deal with these two,” I said as both me and my copy each held down a Sombra.

“I’m not going to use the spell on you too,” Twilight said.

“Just use it on me,” the me that had the afflicted horn.

“It’s, alright Twilight, we’re both the same so it doesn’t matter which one goes,” I said.

“Alright,” Twilight said uncertain.

She used the cancellation and both my copy and one of the Sombras disappeared.

“Now, we can deal with the rest of this mess,” I said knocking Sombra out.
--

Down in the basement storage, the shadows melted away and the scared mares calmed down a bit.

“Something happened,” Sombra said.

“Yes, lets get out of the creepy basement,” Fluttershy said.

They hurried upstairs and found the ponies had gathered in the throne room, Sombra bound on one side and no Nightmare Moon.

“What happened?” Sombra asked.

“We were just about to come get you three. It’s time to wrap this up,” I said, for the first time in a while, without another one of me around.

“You took care of Celestia?” Fluttershy asked.

“Yes, and Nightmare Moon and my copy,” I said.

“Is everypony ready?” Twilight asked.

“Yes, I think we all are,” the other Pinkie said.

All the copy ponies lined up and prepared to be returned.

“It was an interesting day,” the other Pinkie said.

“I’ll miss you guys,” the other Twilight said, starting to cry.

“You definitely got guts Mixer,” the other Fluttershy said.

“You were great, all of you,” the other Rarity said.

“I’ll never forget this,” the other Applejack said.

“It was nice meeting all of you,” the other Rainbow Dash said, shyly.

“Aw, don’t make this sad,” Pinkie said giving each one of them a hug.

“We’re ready,” they said in unison.

“Ok,” Twilight said, preparing the spell.

The six of them disappeared as the spell made contact with them.

“Now we only have to get rid of the extra Celestia and do something about Sombra,” I said.

“Sorry about this princess, but we need to restore things to normal,” Twilight said.

“I understand,” the Celestia copy said and silently accepted the spell.

“What about me?” Sombra asked.

“I have a special spell for that,” I said.

“You do?” Twilight asked.

“Yes, if you could be so kind as to bring me the Mirror,” I said.

She handed me the Mirror and I prepared to use the spell, “Sombra stand next to the other you.”

He walked over to stand beside his bound counterpart.

“Ready,” Sombra said, as his counterpart simply growled and thrashed.

I discharged the spell and both Sombras cried in pain as they were fused back together.

“Ugh, what happened?” Sombra asked.

“It’s a long story,” I said.

He shook his head and laughed, “I’m sure it is.”
--

In the morning we walked out of the palace and told Haakim that everything was settled.
“It is good to hear that,” he said.
“What about the Mirror?” alim asked.
“I locked the Mirror in your study, along with the scroll,” I said.

“Good,” he said.

“It was good to be here and establish the friendship between our nations, but I will be returning to Equestria with the others,” I told Haakim and Alim.

“You will be missed Mixer, one does not often find such good warriors, or such good friends,” Haakim said shaking my hoof.

“I will be sad to see you go, but I will await the next time we get to work together,” Alim said.

I gave Alim a hooveshake and he pulled me into an embrace.

“Good luck my friend,” he said.

“And to you as well but,” I yawned, “I need some sleep after last night.”

“We couldn’t deny you that,” Haakim said with a chuckle.

Sentinel

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The Mixer Chronicles:

Book Twelve:
Sentinel

“Good morning Mixer,” Celestia's soft voice drifted over to me.

“Celestia?” I asked groggily.

“Yes, Twilight told me what happened,” she said, her voice sweet as honey.

“I’m sorry about that, I should have been more careful.” I said, still half asleep.

“Nonsense, you didn’t know that it would happen and you fixed the problem,” Luna said.

“Luna, you're here too?” I asked with a yawn.

“Yes, and I’m proud of you,” she said.

“Am, I dreaming?” I asked.

“No,” Luna said with a laugh, “you’re awake.”

“Then why are you giving me so much praise?” I asked.

“Because, you defused a situation that could have ended in disaster for both Equestria and Saddle Arabia,” Celestia said.

“Well, it is much appreciated, but it makes me feel a little uncomfortable,” I said. finally getting out of the bed.

“Alright, but you still did us a great service,” Luna siad.

There was a knock at the door, “May I come in?” Alim asked.

“Sure,” I said, stretching.

“Good morning Princesses,” Alim said after opening the door.

“Good morning Alim. We’ll leave Mixer to you now,” Celestia said.

She and Luna walked out and Alim walked in carrying a bundle on his back.

“What’s that?” I asked.

“This is a gift from Haakim, for a brother in battle,” Alim said, unwrapping the bundle to reveal an ornate scimitar.

“This is too kind,” I said taking the fine blade.

“It is a tradition to give somepony who saves your life in battle a sword,” Alim explained.

“I’m honored to receive such a gift,” I said with a bow of my head.

“I’m honored to count you amongst my friends,” Alim said.

“I have one favor to ask of you though,” I said.

“What is it?” Alim asked.

“Can you get me some plate armor?” I asked him.

“Plate armor, what do you want that for?” he asked.

“I have something I need to prepare,” I said.

“I will have the smith start on it right away, though it could be some time.” Alim said.

“Will it be ready before sunset?” I asked.

“It can be,” he said.

“Then could you?” I asked.

“For you, yes.” Alim said, then left.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I went downstairs and looked around for Rarity. I found her admiring some of the local fashions.

“Oh, this is simply divine,” she said feeling a Saddle Arabian dress.

“Rarity could I ask you a favor?” I asked approaching her.

“What is it?” she asked.

I pulled out a piece of paper and drew a set of armor. The design was similar to the royal guard armor but it was more ornate and the plume on the helmet was longer.

“Do you have the material to paint the armor, the heraldry, and make the plume?” I asked showing her the drawing.

“Hmm, what color do you want the plume?” she asked looking the drawing over.

“Silver like moonlight,” I said.

“I think I can do that, but ah, where are you getting the armor?” she asked.

“I’ll have it delivered to you as soon as it is ready.” I said.

“Ok,” she said.

I left her to continue looking at different fashions while I went to the blacksmith to make sure he got the design I wanted.

“”What do you want?” the blacksmith asked, annoyed.

“I wanted to make sure you had the right design for my armor,” I said.

“Oh, my apologies, I thought you were just some lout asking me to fix some mundane little trinket,” the smith said turning from his forge.

“I have an illustration of the design that I want,” I said, showing him the drawing I had made while talking to Rarity.

“Looking for something fancy eh?” he asked.

“I just want something that isn’t plain, thus the more angled design,” I said.

“No problem, they don’t call me a master smith for nothing,” he said, getting back to the forge.

“Thank you,” I said.

He did not reply, instead he began forming the metal for my armor.

I did not have anything else to do so I looked for Celestia. I found her talking with Alim in the palace.

“You will find that we have developed many, unique, magics here,” he was saying.

“Like the sandstorm spell?” Celestia asked.

“Yes. Oh, hello Mixer,” he said.

“I'm not interrupting am I?” I asked.

“Not at all, Alim was just telling me about Saddle Arabian magics,” Celestia said.

“Could I have a word with you Celestia?” I asked.

“Sure, what is it?” she asked as Alim silently took his leave.

“I wanted to ask for your consent before I actually did this, but, I would like to form a Lunar Guard, for the purpose of protecting and serving your sister Luna,” I said.

“There are already guards stationed to protect her, why do you think she needs a dedicated guard?” she asked.

“Because, I could feel what it was like for Nightmare Moon to be separated from you,” I began.

“What do you mean?” Celestia questioned.

“She was angry at you, that is true, but she was devastated that it came to that, and that she was separated from you for a thousand years,” I said.

“And, what are you getting at?” Celestia asked.

“I don’t want to ever see Luna have to go through that ever again, and I don’t want to have to put you through that either,” I said, my voice shaking.

“I would have denied you before, saying that Luna had enough protection from the royal guards, but I know what you want to prevent, and I will not stop you from forming the Lunar Guard,” celestia said, a tear forming in the corner of her eye.

“I have a suit of armor being prepared right now, it will be ready before we leave,” I told her.

The rest of the day went by slowly, waiting for the armor to be ready. Later in the day Rarity found me and asked me to see the armor.

“It’s perfect,” I said.

The metal was black and shiny, with Luna’s cutie mark painted on the breastplate. The helmet had the face shields tapered and bent slightly inwards. The plume was a silvery color and went down almost to the back of the armor. there was a set of gauntlets as well, each having a swirling design on them.

“It does look beautiful, doesn’t it,” she said.

“Thank you for helping me,” I said.

“No trouble at all,” she said.

I put the armor on and felt the extra weight of full armor for the first time. After moving around a bit I got used to the extra weight.

“How do I look?” I asked Rarity.

“You look rather dashing in that,” Rarity said.

I said thank you once more and went to find Luna. She was talking with Celestia and Haakim before we left. As I approached I saw some of the others arrive as well.

“Mixer, what is that?” Luna asked as I approached.

“Luna, I am forming a personal guard for you,” I said with a bow.

“That’s unnecessary, there are already guards stationed to protect me,” Luna said.

“I already got approval from your sister for the formation of the Lunar guard, and as its founding memeber I want to swear an oath to you,” I said bowing on one knee. “Princess Luna, so long as I draw breath I swear to protect and serve you to prevent you from being separated from your sister ever again.”

Twilight and Rainbow Dash had bewildered looks on their faces, and Pinkie’s mouth was hanging open.

“I-I don’t know what to say,” Luna said looking around.

“I do, thank you Mixer,” Sombra said walking up next to Luna.

Luna’s face reddened slightly and she looked down at her hooves. “Thank you,” she said quietly.

“Is everypony almost ready?” Celestia asked, taking the attention off her sister.

There was a chorus of yeses as each one of them had arrived by now.

“Then let us be off,” she said.

We walked outside and Haakim bid us farewell as we prepared to take off. The pegasi readied their wings as I prepared a large crystal to carry the other five who could not fly on their own.

“All aboard!” I said as I levitated the large, wedge shaped crystal.

“Are you sure you can handle all of us by yourself?” Applejack asked.

“If I have to I can split it up between me Sombra and Twilight.” I said.

“Alright, if you say so,” Applejack said, stepping onto the crystal.

As soon as every pony got into a spot on the crystal I made some hoofholds so they would not slide off.

We flew north towards the mountains and I began to grow tired of levitation all six of us.

“Do you need to split us up?” Twilight called from my right.

“Yeah, hold on,” I said, as I separated the crystal into three triangular pieces, on for me and Applejack, one for Twilight and Rarity, and one for Sombra and Pinkie. The strain lifted as I only had to support the weight of two ponies instead of six.
We flew through the mountains and reached the San Palomino desert before dark.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was almost midnight by the time we finally trundled into Ponyville, I was barely awake and I could tell that I wasn't the only one.

“We're here? Finally,” Rarity said rubbing her eyes.

“Mixer, I don’t expect you to fly all the way to Canterlot in your state. You can report for duty first thing in the morning,” Luna said.

“Thank you,” I said with a large yawn.

I stumbled home and didn't even bother to take off my armor, I just fell into the bed and fell asleep.

The next morning I woke up and found that sleeping in armor was not the best idea. I got up, took off the armor and stretched before checking to see what time it was.

“Oh, shoot!” I said, as I realized that it was already sunup.

I got my armor back on and flew to the castle, taking the slow train was not an option.

I reached the castle and the guards let me in and told me that Celestia was waiting for me. Not wanting to make her mad I rushed to the throne room and skidded to a halt in front of her.

“Mixer, good morning,” she said.

“I’m sorry, I slept in,” I said, out of breath.

She simply smiled, “You’re not late yet, Luna is still asleep herself.”

I sighed in relief, “You wanted to see me?” I asked.

“Yes, since you need a headquarters, the barracks in the caverns will be the Lunar Guard’s base of operations,” she said.

“There’s a barracks down there?” I asked.

“Yes, much has changed since you last were down there,” Celestia said.

I rode the lift down into the Canterlot Caverns and was amazed to see that what was a small camp when I had left it, had grown into a complex of buildings built into the walls of the cavern. There was a large storehouse, a barrack, an armory, a mess hall, even a few houses.

A guard saluted me as I neared the barracks, “The Princess has asked us to clear this baracks out for your order,” he said.

“Thank you,” I said.

“So, uh, how would a pony go about gaining the Lunar Guard?” he asked.

“All applicants have to go through me,” I said.

“Ok, just curious, the other guards have been talking about it,” he said.

“Oh?” I asked, “What have they been saying?”

“Some say that it’s silly that you think that you can replace the royal guard, others think that you’re doing a great thing, and others simply see it as less work for them,” the guard said.

“And what do you think?” I asked him.

“I think that it’s about time they gave her a dedicated guard, we have been sufficient to cover for Celestia’s well being, but with Luna, it stretches us a little thin,” he said.

I went inside and looked it over, not much just around ten beds, each a double bunk.

“Sir?” I heard a guard ask from behind me.

I turned around and saw three guards, one I recognized.

“Trottson? What are you doing here?” I asked.

“We came to apply for the Lunar guard,” he said.

“Normally, applicants have to pass a physical test, but I think being royal guards qualifies,” I said with a chuckle. “But you all have to answer the entry question.”

“What is it?” another guard asked.

“First of all, I don’t want an organization of nameless soldiers, what is your name?” I asked.

“Phalanx sir,” the guard said.

“Good to meet you Phalanx, and you?” I asked turning to the gray pegasus the accompanied them.

“Stonewall, sir,” he said.

“Nice to meet you, now why do each of you want to be in the Lunar guard,” I said, dropping the more relaxed tone to ask the question as if it was the most important question they would ever answer.

“I want to protect Luna, she has been gone for so long, she needs all the protection she can get.” Trottson said.

“And you?” I asked turning to Phalanx.

“I’ve been with the royal guard for twenty years, and all throughout that time I have never seen Celestia look weak or vulnerable, until Luna returned. Celestia was so worried about her sister, she had been hiding the pain of banishing her sister for so long, when she returned, Celestia could not hold it any longer. I never want to see her like that ever again, so I will do whatever I can to prevent anything from happening to Luna,” he said.

“Stonewall?” I asked.

“I have been a guard for so long, with nothing to show for it, if being a Lunar Guard means more action, I’m all in,” he said.

I turned to Trottson, “I’m sure Luna will appreciate your protection,” I said. I then turned to Phalanx, “You will never have to worry about that ever again, I’m sure you will serve Luna well,” I said. Phalanx seemed to perk up as I turned to Stonewall, “You, are not worthy to protect princess, Luna, you should not even be a guard if all you sought was glory,” I snapped at him.

“What?” he asked, as if he had just heard a blasphemy.

“You are rejected,” I said flatly, turning away from him.

I heard him storm off, his hoofsteps fading into the distance.

“So what now?” Trottson asked.

“I will have your armor sent to be altered for your new positions, but for now, we will go to see the Princess,” I said.

We rode the lift and walked through the palace to Luna’s private chambers.

“Is Luna awake yet?” I asked one of the guards.

“Yes, she is awake,” the guard said.

I knocked at the door, “Luna may we come in?” I asked.

“You may enter,” the voice came from the other side of the door.

I opened the door and the three of us entered.

“I have a couple of recruits for the Lunar guard,” I said.

“Already?” Luna asked surprised.

“Yes, these two seem like the perfect candidates,” I said, motioning towards Trottson and Phalanx.

“And who might you be?” she asked them.

“I am Trottson, I was organizing the guards during the last changeling attack,” Trottson replied.

“And I am Phalanx, a loyal guard to your sister for twenty years,” Phalanx said.

“You two don’t have to take an oath like I did,” I said.

“What oath?” Phalanx asked.

Luna rolled her eyes, “He took a life oath to protect me.”

“And I’m still glad he did,” Sombra said walking in.

“You could have knocked first,” Luna said.

“It’s more fun just to drop by,” Sombra said playfully. “She still thinks that that wasn’t necessary Mixer,” he said.

“I’ll take an oath of protection,” Phalanx said.

“I will too,” Trottson said sitting next to Phalanx.

Luna covered her face and said, “Very well.”

Both of them swore similar oaths on one knee and rose when they had finished.

“I guess, that makes it official, you are both hereby members of the Lunar guard,” I said.

“So, your little order just tripled in size, and on the first day no less!” Sombra said.

“Not too hard when it was just me this morning,” I said.

“It is still an accomplishment,” Luna said, recovering from her slight embarrassment.

“I would like to get you two settled in in our barracks,” I said. “And your armor needs to be sent away as well.”

We went back to the barracks and I gathered their armor and sent it to Rarity to be recolored and given the right heraldry.

The armor came back the next day and we were officially ready to do our job, guarding Princess Luna.
We took the night shifts as much as the day shifts, often one after the other. I would take my shift alone while Phalanx and Trottson took theirs in pairs.

One day we we called to the throne room by Celestia.

“As you know, there is a new class of Wonderbolt recruits going through training camp this week,” Celestia said once the three of us were gathered. “I will be going to inspect the new batch of flyers with Luna, you will accompany her,” she said.

“Of course,” I said.

“I assume you know the cloudwalking spell?” Celestia asked.

“I am familiar with it, yes,” I said.

“Good, then we will leave shortly,” she said.

“How are you going to get to the training camp, you can’t fly, and don’t expect us to carry you,” Phalanx said.

“Don’t worry, I have ways,” I said.

We prepared to take off, Celestia had a guard of four pegasi and Luna had the three of us.

“So, how are you going to get to the training camp?” Trottson asked.

“My new shoes,” I said.

“Do you plan on walking?” Phalanx asked with a chuckle.

I activated the levitation enchantment on the shoes and watched as both their jaws dropped as I rose into the air a few feet.

“Are you ready to go now?” Luna asked.

“Yes princess,” the three of us said.

“Then let us be off,” Celestia said, taking off with her four guards.

Flying with the levitation shoes was not easy at first, I almost flipped over a few times, but I was able to make it to the Wonderbolts academy without incident.

When we arrived the trainees did a few exercises for the princesses, then they landed in their pairs and trotted off the air strip.

Celestia went to talk with the instructors about the trainees’ performance, while Luna went to personally meet with the prospective Wonderbolts.

I didn’t recognize most of them, they must have been from other parts of equestria, but I did recognize a few, particularly a certain mare with a rainbow colored mane.

“Mixer, What are you doing here?” Rainbow Dash asked excitedly.

“I’m one of Luna’s personal guard now,” I replied.

“So how’d you get here?” she asked.

I activated my shoes and floated upwards.

“Cool,” she said.

“You’re not the only familiar face around here either,” I said, landing softly back on the cloud. “Somehow, I figured I would see you two here,” I said to Cloud Chaser and Thunderlane as they walked over.

“Wow, so you’re a personal guard to Luna?” Thunderlane asked.

“Yep, So how’s Wonderbolt academy?” I asked them.

“It’s the most amazing thing ever!” Rainbow Dash said, floating a little over the cloud.

“It’s tough work though,” Cloud Chaser said.

“But it’s worth it,” Thunderlane said.

“So when did you get accepted?” I asked Rainbow Dash.

“Just last week. Our friends were here just yesterday,” she said.

“And why wasn’t I told about this?” I asked.

“I thought you would have known already,” Dash said.

“Well, I know it’s a little late but, congratulations for making it, all of you,” I said.

“It was good to see you but it looks like the drill instructor is coming back, gotta go,” Rainbow Dash said as her and the others hurried back into formation.

“So, Princess Luna, what do you think of the new recruits?” Spitfire asked.

“They all seem like very capable fliers,” Luna said, the three of us gathering behind her.

“Yes, especially that Rainbow Dash,” Spitfire said. “Wait, what’s a unicorn doing all the way up here?” she asked, pointing at me.

“He is one of my personal guards, you might know his name, Mixer,” Luna replied.

“The Mixer? I heard about what you did, trapping chrysalis in crystal, it’s nice to meet a real life hero,” Spitfire said, extending her hoof.

I shook it and said, “Please, ‘hero’ is such a strong word. Now you, you’re a real hero.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself, the world can never have too many heros,” Spitfire said.

“Indeed, the world will always need ponies to look up to,” Luna said.

“Are you ready to go?” Celestia asked walking over to us.

“Yes,” Luna said, stretching her wings.

We took off and headed back to Canterlot. On the way Trottson flew over to me and asked, “So did you see any flyers that caught your eye?”

“I know a few of the, I even fought beside some of them,” I said.

“Really?” he asked, cocking his head.

“Yes, you remember when the changelings attacked, I was in Ponyville at the time and Thunderland and Cloud Chaser helped us fight the changelings,” I said.

“No wonder they’re in Wonderbolt academy,” Phalanx said.

“Yes, they do have the heart for it,” I said.

When we arrived back at Canterlot it was well into the afternoon, so Luna dismissed us to go get something to eat. We went to the caverns and I was surprised that the food they had there was pretty good. I was expecting simple rations, but apparently the guards and miners that were down there liked to eat well.

Once we finished, Trottson and Phalanx went off to take their shift of guarding Luna, while I familiarized myself more with the cavern.

The homes were mostly just for the cooks and other kitchen staff, but one or two were rentals for miners.

I walked further in the caverns, remembering when I first came here, looking for gemstones, with the first expedition. We had so little equipment back then, just our own ponypower and some carts, now there were two rails running along the cavern with several side shafts where miners could be heard.

I neared the large cavern where the tunnels branched outwards and found a mining encampment with several workers bustling about.

“Well, I never thought I’d see you here again,” a yellow earth pony wearing a hard hat said as he walked up to me.

“Do I know you?” I asked quizzically, I recognized him but could not put a name to the face.

“You might not remember me, but I remember you. My name’s Gold Rush, I was with you when you we were trapped in that cave, you know, when Shining Armor and those others saved us,” he said.

“Ah, now I remember,” I said as the lightbulb went off, “Do you run this operation now?”

“Yessir, not a gem goes through here without me knowing about it,” he said.

“How far does the mine extend now?” I asked.

“These tunnels extend for Celestia knows how long, we haven’t even mapped most of em,” he said.

“Do you have a map of the caves so far?” I asked.

“Yeah, hold on a second,” he said turning to a pair of earth ponies hefting a large container, “YOU TWO BETTER NOT DROP THAT, OR I’LL TAKE THE COST OF IT OUT OF YOUR PAY!” he turned back to me, “Now where was I, oh yes, a map. I have one right over here,” he said pointing over at a tent near the center of the cavern.

We walked over to the tent and he showed me a map of the caves that they had discovered, along with a map of Canterlot. The caves snaked their way under the whole town, even far into the mountain itself.

“Is there anything near here?” I asked pointing to a passage that ran close to the outside of the mountain.

“Nope, we mined that area about a week ago, nothing there but empty tunnels,” Gold Rush said.

“Good, I had an idea for another building down here, but I needed it to be in the right spot,” I said.

“Near the outside of the mountain? What’re you planning on doing there?” he asked.

“Oh, a little side project, nothing concrete yet,” I said. “Thank you for your help, but I must be going,” I said, turning to leave.

“No problem, after all, without you I wouldn’t be the head of this here operation now, would I,” he said.

I left Gold Rush and the mines behind, returning to the surface just as the sun began to set.

I meet up with the other two Lunar guards and I relieved them so they could get some rest.

“Oh, by the way Mixer, Luna wants to talk to you,” Trottson said as he left.

I entered the room and saw Luna and Sombra sitting on the balcony, enjoying the sunset together.

“You wanted to see me?” I asked from the doorway.

“Yes, come in,” Luna said without turning around.

I walked in and shut the door behind me.

“Don’t be so formal, you may be her guard, but you’re also a friend,” Sombra said.
I walked over to the balcony doorway and stood there.

“So, what did you want to see me about?” I asked.

“I wanted to talk to you about the Lunar Guard,” Luna said.

“What about it?” I asked.

“I wanted to tell you that I really do appreciate what you three are trying to do for me,” she said.

“What, being your personal guard?” I asked.

“She means for being not only her guards, but her friends,” Sombra said.

“Are you ever going to stop doing that?” Luna asked him.

“What, I’m only telling him what you’re thinking,” Sombra said smiling.

Luna gave him a little cuf on the head but I could tell she was playing.

“I will always be there for you, both of you,” I said.

“Now, don’t make this all sappy, it was just a thank you,” Sombra said with a grin.

“Since when did you become the new element of laughter?” I asked, finding it impossible to hold a straight face.

Luna was smiling, “He’s been like this since we got back, I can’t shut him up.”

“Aw, you love me and you know it,” Sombra said putting an arm around Luna.

She slipped out of his grasp and Sombra fell to the floor, “You do know how to make me laugh,” she said cracking up.

“I’d say the fun has been more than doubled,” I said, rolling with laughter.

“Oh?” Luna said as she flipped me over with her magic.

Sombra burst out laughing as I looked at the two of them upside down. “It’s good to be in such good spirits,” he said.

Luna spun me the right way and set me down, “This had been fun, but I have to go raise the moon.”

“Ok, don’t take too long, you know I hate waiting,” Sombra said.

Luna took off and flew towards the horizon to do her nightly duty.

“You two are perfect together,” I said as Sombra watched her go.

He turned to me, “Yeah, and I have you to thank for all this.”

“Not all of it, you did good yourself,” I said.

“But if it weren't for you, I’d probably be in some changeling cocoon by now,” he said with a chuckle.

“If it weren’t for you, everypony would be in a cocoon right now,” I said.

“But, all joking aside, thank you,” he said.

“No problem at all,” I said.

Gathering the Guard

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The Mixer Chronicles:

Book 13:
Gathering the Guard

Two days after our visit to the Wonderbolts academy, I was taking a walk through the castle while Trottson and Phalanx were on their shift.

I was walking past the gardens when I head hoovesteps behind me. I turned around to see Thunderlane escorted by a guard.

“This pegasus wanted to see you sir,” the guard said.

“Ok, you may go,” I said dismissing him. “Now, why would you be here,, and not with the Wonderbolts?” I asked Thunderlane.

“I, uh, wanted to ask if I could join the Lunar guard.” he said, kicking at the ground.

“You sure? You could still be a Wonderbolt,” I said.

“Yes, I’m sure,” he said, a little more confident.

“You obviously pass the physical examination, you fought the changelings and were in the Wonderbolt academy. Now why do you want to join the Lunar Guard?” I asked.

“Don’t tell anypony this, but I personally think that Luna is better than princess Celestia. Don’t get me wrong, Celestia is a great leader, but I think Luna is more down to earth, more like the average pony. I want to be able to say, ‘I know Princess Luna, and she knows me, not as a guard, but as a friend,’”

“Indeed, you have good cause to be in the guard. Go to the caverns and get fitted for your armor, I will have to order a set for you,” I said.

“Thank you,” he said and dashed off towards the lift.

I headed off to tell Luna about her newest guard.

“Thunderlane?” Luna asked cocking her head sideways, “The Wonderbolt recruit?”

“Yes, he said he would rather be your guard,” I said.

“It seems you have a fan club,” Sombra said.

“He has been the first non guardspony to enlist with us,” I said.

“I wonder how many more will come?” Luna asked to no pony in particular.

“I don’t know, but I make sure that the Lunar guard isn’t just a band of misfits and fan ponies,” I said.

“True enough,” Luna said. “Though, no more oaths of protection, I don’t need an army of ponies indebted to me for life.”

“I will agree to that, three is plenty,” I said.

We heard a knock at the door.

“Come in,” Luna said.

Trottson and Phalanx walking in with Thunderland behind them.

“Ah, met our newest recruit have you,” I said to them.

“I thought so, he said he was down there to get fitted for his armor,” Trottson said.

“Yes, I sent him to get fitted for a set of armor, I’ll have to order every new member a set,” I said.

“So, Thunderlane, how does it feel to be a Lunar Guard?” Luna asked him.

“I am honored to have this opportunity Luna,” he said with a bow.

“Rise, you don’t have to be so formal, we’re all friends here,” Sombra said.

“That’s good to hear,” Thunderlane said, perking up.

“I think I like this guy,” Sombra said.

“Well, now that there are four of us, we can go two to a shift,” Trottson said.

“Yeah, but we still have to wait for his armor, which will take a day or two,” I said.

“Well, at least we can mix up the shifts a bit now,” Phalanx said.

The next day Thunderlane’s armor came in and he spent his free time flying around the castle to get used to the weight.

I took my shift with Trottson that night.

“So what do you think of being in the Lunar guard?” I asked.

“It’s definitely different from being one of Celestia’s guards,” he said.

“How so?” I asked.

“For one I’m not just another guard, I’m Trottson,” he said.

“I understand how you kind of lose that sense of individuality as one of her guards. Most of them all look the same, white coat, blue eyes, mostly pegasi, at least your brown, that gives some variety,” I said.

“Yeah, nothing like being in the Lunar guard though, everyone knows each other, even Luna calls all of us by name,” he said.

“That’s kind of the whole purpose of having us be small, we have the ability to know one another, it makes us work better together,” I said.

“I suppose it does,” he said with a chuckle.

We stood there for a while longer in silence.

“So what’s your story?” I asked.

“Excuse me?” Trottson asked looking at me funny.

“We don't have much to do right now, Luna is out raising the moon and won't be back for an hour or so,” I said.

“I guess you’re right,” he said with a sigh.

“So how did you become a guard?” I asked.

“It was a few years ago, I was working at an inn in Dodge city. A bit of a misnomer calling it a city, it’s little bigger than Ponyville,” he began.

“What did you do at the inn?” I asked.

“I helped the owner load and unload supply crates, I was little more than a chore colt to him,” he said. “Then I saw a poster that said there were positions open for the Royal guard. I took all the bits I had and took a train to Canterlot. I was a lonely pegasus form a backwater town looking to join the most well known order in Equestria, and I could tell that they all knew it. The citizens of Canterlot were ok, but the guards were sceptical. They were wondering why I had come to Canterlot and wanted to join the guard. I told them that I wanted to enlist so that I could protect Equestria, a fact that is not at all false, and they slapped some armor on me, gave me a stick and told me to fight another pegasus that came to enlist,” he said.

“So you fought another the other pegasus?” I asked.

“Not at first, I didn't know how to fight, neither did he. We both kind of just swung the sticks at each other hoping that the other would back down, the guards were watching us and it looked like they were making bets on which of us would get in the first hit. After beating on each other’s sticks for a few minutes I finally asked why we were fighting. The guards laughed as the other recruit took the chance to hit me over the head with his stick. ‘Looks like this one’s a little slow,’ one of the guards said. I glared back at the other pegasus and he came rushing at me again. This time I was ready for him and I caught his stick with mine and disarmed him with my wings,” he said.

“So then what happened?” I asked.

“I threw the sticks away and asked the guards why we were fighting to get into the guard. One of them laughed and said, ‘You need to be able to protect yourself.’

‘Yes, but you also have to know when to show compassion,’ a voice said as a large white unicorn walked up to the guards.

‘Shining Armor sir, we were just, hu, testing the new recruits,’ one of the guards said.

‘It looks to me like you were just making these two fight for your amusement,’ Shining armor said giving them a dirty look. ‘Now you two want to be in the royal guard?’ he asked.

‘Yes,’ both of us replied.

‘Then I suppose it’s good that you already have armor, welcome to the guard,’ Shining Armor said.

From that day onward I looked up to him, I even served under him directly on a few occasions,” Trottson said finishing his story.

“Wow, that was one heck of a story,” I said.

“So what about you?” Trottson asked me.

“You might not know this, very few ponies do, but I’m not from Equestria,” I began.

“Trottson’s jaw dropped, “What?”

“Yes, I was born and grew up in a faraway place called New Pegisopolis, the capital of my homeland,” I said.

“What was it like?” he asked.

“There were tall sky scrapers everywhere. The city itself was far larger than city here in Equestria, most of the our homeland is frontierland, only small pockets of civilization exist outside of New Pegisopolis,” I said.

“Wow, that sounds, different,” he said.

“It is, especially with the advancements that they had, large metal ships, instant communication between far away places, it was a wonder world of technology compared to Equestria. That’s the problem though, in my homeland we were plagued by wendigos for years, much like the ancient tribes from before Equestria’s founding. We were unable to find friendship like Equestria, but we found strength in each other. With the unicorns’ inventions, the earth ponys’ courage, and the pegasi’s military skill, we drove the wendigos away, restoring some form of order to our land. After the wendigos were driven from our lands for good, three leaders, one of each race, met where a town had been buried in snow by the wendigos and founded New Pegisopolis together, beginning the formation of a unified nation. From the innovations that were used to stop the wendigos came new technologies that made life easier for all three pony races. We have been at peace for hundreds of years now, expanding our city and living in harmony,” I said.

“Wow, I never knew, never imagined that another civilization was out there,” Trottson said.

“Neither did I, until I was transported here after an experiment went wrong, or maybe it went right. I like it better here in Equestria, even with all that New Pegisopolis has to offer,” I said.

“It looks like we spent most of our shift telling stories,” he said.

I yawned, “Yep, looks like we did,”

The next day I woke up a little past sunrise and donned my armor to see what was happening that day.

I was walking past the garden when I was greeted by a beige colored earth pony mare with a flowing mane that was two shades of green, one a lime green, the other a grassy green.

“Oh, um, is this where I can sign up to be in the Lunar guard?” she asked me.

“Yes,” I said looking her over.

“So, uh, how do I sign up?” she asked.

“Well, first you have to tell me your name,” I said.

“My name’s Ivy. What’s yours?” she asked, her light green eyes brimming with excitement.

“My name is Mixer, and I am the head of the Lunar guard,” I said.

“Oh wow, I didn't expect to run into you first,” she said.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“You know, I thought you would be off doing something with the princess, not taking a stroll past the gardens,” she said.

“We’re not always on guard duty, we have free time in between shifts,” I said.

“So how do I go about joining?” she asked.

“You first have to pass a physical examination,” I said.

“What kind of physical examination?” she asked.

“Follow me,” I said, heading off towards an open courtyard. When we arrived at a suitable location I turned to her and said, “Your test is to spar with me, you have to prove that you can fight to protect Luna.”

“But you’re in armor,” she said.

I took of my armor and set it aside, “Better?”

“Yes,” she said getting into a ready stance.

“Begin!” I said and watched as she sized me up.

I was larger than she was and I also had the advantage of not having my armor slow me down. She would have to use her size and quick thinking to beat me.

I made the first move and moved in closer, just out of arm's reach, and she stood her ground, waiting for me to attack. When I did not oblige her, she went for a swing at me, a blow I easily dodged and returned.

She was more cautious after getting cuffed on the side of the head. She kept more distance between us, forcing me to have to charge at her to get an attack in, which I did.

She held her ground until the last second, when she sidestepped me and kicked me, sending me crashing into a wall.

“Not bad,” I said getting up.

I kept the pressure on her from then on, making sure to keep her close enough to lunge at.

She kept trying to get more space between us but every time she would dash away, I would close the gap before she turned around.

Eventually she did a dash like she would try to put distance between us, but she rolled instead, lifting me up and throwing my over her when I lunged.

I landed upside down and recovered just before she got to me. I met her mid charge and me started grappling, each one trying to floor the other. Her size made it easy for me to overpower her, but she kept rotating us around whenever I got close to toppling her.

Eventually I got a good hold on her and fell to the floor, dragging her with me. When we finished rolling I was standing over her.

She looked a little crestfallen, “I suppose that means I’m not good enough to join,” she said, her eyes starting to water.

“Nonsense, you fought very well against an opponent who was bigger than you,” I said, helping her up.

Her eyes brightened again, “Really?”

“Yes, even though I was going easy on you at first, you still managed to send me flying twice, using my momentum against me, that’s quick thinking,” I said.

“So what now?” she asked.

“Now I have to ask you a question, why do you want to join the Lunar guard?” I asked the now familiar question.

“Why do I want to join? Hmm, I guess because some part of me wanted to prove that I could, but mostly because I always wanted to be one of the royal guard, but I never got the chance. Now that it’s so close, it almost seem unreal, almost like a dream. I hope that’s what you’re looking for,” she said.

“Why did you always want to be a royal guard?” I asked.

“Because, they always seemed so noble and they have such an important role as protecting the princess, but they don’t accept earth ponies, and I had to stay home to help my parents,” she said, drooping a bit at the last part.

“Well, we accept all kind of ponies, and you should be proud to be the first earth pony to join the Lunar Guard,” I said.

A smile ran across her face, “Thank you so much.”

“So what do you do anyways? I noticed that your cutie mark was a flower of some kind,” I said.

“I had a garden at home, I would always find new plants to grow, I learned a lot about herbs and their medicinal properties, I guess that is what got me my cutie mark,” she said.

“A medic, good. Should you want to further your knowledge of herbal remedies there are a few books in the Canterlot library that you have full access to as a Lunar guard,” I said.

“Ok, I think I’ll check those out,” she said turning to leave.

“I’m going to tell Luna about you, when I come back you should go get fitted for your armor,” I said.

“Ok,” she replied as she walked off towards the library.

I was on my way to Luna’s room when a guard came up to me and said, “Sir there is an applicant for the Lunar guard here to see you.”

“I know, I already dealt with her,” I said.

“No this applicant is a different applicant,” the guard said.

“Two in one day, show them to the courtyard be the gardens,” I said.

“Right away,” the guard said as he hurried off.

I returned to the courtyard and saw that I had forgotten to put my armor back on. I decided to leave it off since I was going to be examining another recruit.

The guard brought with him two unicorns, one was a rose colored mare that looked barely old enough to be a guard, and a larger dark blue stallion with a twelve pointed star cutie mark.

“I thought you said there was only one applicant?” I asked the guard.

“We go together,” the stallion said.

“But you barely look old enough to fight,” I said to the mare.

“I can do enough fighting for both of us,” he said protectively.

“So how are you related?” I asked, knowing a protective relative when I hear one.

“She’s my sister,” he said.

“So why drag your sister along?” I asked.

“Because, we don’t have any parents to stay with, so I had to stay with my big brother,” the mare said.
I knew that if I passed one I would have pass them both, but I knew that I could not split these two up.

“Ok, you two have to pass a physical examination before you can enter, but first what are your names?” I asked.

“My name’s Star Shine,” he said.

“And I’m Rose,” she added.

“A fitting name,” I said.

“So what about this physical examination?” Star Shine asked.

“Normally I would have you fight me one on one, but you can both fight at the same time,” I said.

“Are you sure?” Rose asked.

“I think I’ll be alright,” I said.

“Ok, ready whenever you are,” Star Shine said, dropping into a fighting stance.

“Since we can both use magic, I’ll allow it,” I said, getting into a defensive posture.

“Careful how many handicaps you give us,” Star Shine said.

“Oh, so confident are we? Ok then, lets go,” I said.

As soon as the words left my mouth he was on me, trying to get in a punch wherever he could.

I blocked each successive hit but failed to see Rose in time before she tripped me. Star Shine was on me in a flash, trying to pin me down.

“Star, don’t hurt him,” Rose said.

He was distracted for a second so I pushed him off and got to me feet.

“Now see, I let him up, now he’s gonna be wise to us,” Star Shine said.

I rushed him while he was talking and we started grappling, trying to overpower each other.

Star Shine eventually decided he couldn’t win so he pushed me back. I thought he was giving that up, but it was just a chance for Rose to use him like a springboard and try to land a hard kick on me.

I dodged out of the way of her outstretched hoof and caught her before she could hit the ground.

I tossed her over to Star Shine and said, “Good tactic,” before Star Shine and Rose started to circle me.

I focused on Star Shine and watched as they gained speed, until both were running in opposite directions. I thought they were trying to confuse me, until their horns started glowing, then I was suddenly surrounded by two rings of ponies, one of Roses and the other of Star Shines.

My eyes grew wide, that was no novice level spell!

As I tried to locate the real ones I saw their horns glowing brighter.

I was not able to dodge the jolt of magical energy that they used on me, so I took the hit and got some singed hair for my trouble.

After they discharged the spell the copies faded away and the real ones got next to each other.

I stood up and dusted myself off, “Ready for more?” I asked.

“We can give you punishment all day,” Star Shine said.

They both started attacking in tandem now, Rose apparently losing her unwillingness to fight.

I held them off until a russet colored stallion with an even larger build than Big Mac charged in and tossed Rose at a nearby wall.

“Rose!” Star Shine exclaimed as he turned to fight the newcomer.

I teleported over to Rose and checked to make sure she was ok.

“I’m ok, just a little sore, but what about Star Shine?” she asked, looking on with terror as Star Shine tried to fight the much larger stallion.

“Enough!” I shouted, bringing the fight to an end. “Who are you?” I demanded

“I came here to join the Lunar guard and I find two ponies beating on you, that’s not a fair fight,” he said in a gruff voice.

“That was an examination for their entry into the Lunar guard!” I said.

“Oh, sorry,” he said.

I sighed, “Do you usually make such good first impressions?” I asked.

“Yeah, I do,” he said in a sarcastic tone.

“Well, I have no doubt about your physical abilities, so as far as I’m concerned all three of you pass, but what’s you name stranger?” I asked.

“Brick,” he replied.

“Your joking,” Star Shine said.

“You want to argue with me fancy boy?” Brick asked provokingly.

“Enough you two,” I could see this was going to be fun, “Well, Brick, you and the others have have to pass the entrance question,” I said.

“There’s an entrance question?” he asked.

“I have to screen members, this is how I do it. Why do you want to join the Lunar Guard?” I asked.

“I want to join the Lunar Guard so that I can give my sister a proper home,” Star Shine said.

“What about you Brick?” I asked.

“I’m not the best at making friends so I was always treated like brute, like I could do anything but do hard labor, I want a chance to prove I can do more good than just help put up buildings,” he said.

“But your cutie mark is literally a brick wall,” I said.

“That doesn’t mean that I have to lay bricks for the rest of my life,” he said.

“I suppose that it true, welcome to the Lunar guard, all three of you. You should go to the caverns and get fitted for your armor sets,” I said.

I went to go look for Ivy, so that they could all get fitted at once.

When I drew close to the library I saw Celestia through a window, talking with Ivy.

I rushed inside to see what they were talking about.

“Just who I was looking for,” Celestia said as I skidded to a halt.

“Yes princess?” I asked.

“I hear you have a new recruit,” she said.

“Actually we have four now,” I said.

“Oh, well then, I would like you to prepare them and meet me in the throne room in one hour,” Celestia said.

“Of course,” I said.

“I'll be looking forward to it,” she said and left.

“Oh boy,” I said, turning to Ivy. “You go and get the other three, tell them to meet me in the garden once you have all been fitted,” I said as I went to go get Trottson and Phalanx.

I told them about it and we gathered the four recruits and Thunderland and walked into the throne room when it was time, Trottson and I in front with the four recruits following behind and Phalanx and Thunderlane bringing up the rear of our little party. When we had all entered the four recruits spread out in a line facing Celestia with Phalanx and Thunderlane on one side and Trottson on the other, with me standing front and center.

“I present to you the Lunar guard,” I said to Celestia.

She got up and examined the four newest members, so you think you have what it takes to compare with the most well trained guard in Equestria?” she asked in a challenging tone.

I lost most of my cool right then, it didn’t help that Brick felt the need to respond.

“With all due respect, why can’t we?” Brick said in an equally challenging tone. “Just because we don’t look like much doesn’t meant that we are weak. If we work together why can’t we be just as good as the Royal Guard?” he challenged.

“Yeah, if we work together to cover each other’s weaknesses and play to each other's strengths there’s no way we couldn’t be just as good if not better than the Royal guard,” Ivy added.

“That’s the whole point of us isn’t it? To work together to protect princess Luna, as a whole?” Rose asked.

Phalanx and Thunderlane were dumbstruck, the four of them were standing proudly and Celestia had a look of annoyance on her face.

“They are right, if we do work together, we will be able to protect Luna from anything, that’s the advantage to having such a small group, we work more like a family than a military unit, and I will be willing to defend them too,” I said, joining the growing ranks of crazy ponies.

Celestia’s frown turned into a smile, “That’s exactly what I wanted to hear. Your strength is in each other always remember that,” she said.

Trottson let out a held breath and Phalanx and Thunderlane looked even more dumbfounded.

“Thank you princess,” I said.

“Thank you, for gathering such a capable group of ponies,” she said.

New Problems, Old Solutions

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The Mixer Chronicles

Book Fourteen:
New Problems, Old Solutions

It took a full week to get the others armor in, but they were excited to be getting the shiny new sets.

I started to work on that project I had thought about when in the caverns before, a secret airship hangar.

I started by hollowing out a large cavern with crystal saws, then I cut the doors out of the wall and built a mechanism to move them. It was a basic gear system that slid the giant doors with magic power.

The next step was building the airship, not just some hull hanging from a balloon, this airship design was totally new. It had a hull that looked like a ship, made from lightweight wood. next were the “wings” which swooped down from either side of the aft end. under the wings were two large flight bladders, each with an envelope of material that was like chainmail, preventing them from being scratched. It also had two propellers in the back to push it along.
When it was finished it could accommodate all eight of us, plus Luna, on the deck alone. It even had two crew quarters and an engine room below decks; however, that would take weeks, maybe months to complete, so in the meantime I decided to put my recruits through a training exercise.

I began setting up a section of the Everfree forest at the base of the mountain for a little game of capture the flag, unfortunately, the preparations were taking longer than expected so we were waiting for a few days.

While we were waiting one night Trottson and I were on guard together again.

“So you want the two teams to cooperate and capture the other team's flag, without the team leaders?” Trottson asked.

“Yes, I want to see how well they can cooperate without an established leader like you or me,” I said.

“So you want me to leave them alone, with just a map and a mission?” he asked.

“Yes, I want to know if any of them can take leadership in that kind of situation,” I said.

Suddenly a buzzing noise came from the gardens.

“What?! Changelings here?” Trottson asked as we rushed in that direction to check it out.

Sure enough, a small group of changelings were trying to carry off Chrysalis, how they got in undetected was a mystery.

“You go get the others, I’ll keep them from escaping,” I said as Trottson flew off to raise the alarm.

Three changelings broke off from the group and flew in my direction. I was flying on a crystal to close the distance faster, and simply spun the board sideways, plowing the three of them over.

I could hear hooves from back at the castle so I dodged the next two that tried to stop me, letting the reinforcements take care of them.

There were barely enough changelings to lift the statue by now, only about ten or so.

Three more detached and the statue almost came to a halt, the few remaining changelings struggling with the weight.

These three I decided to take the time and deal with on the ground.

They were obviously not prepared to fight, they were thin looking, even for changelings, it was a wonder they could even lift the statue of Chrysalis.

I almost felt sorry for them, but I quickly dispatched the three of them with a few swats of the crystal I was previously using to fly on.

I walked forward towards the few that remained, struggling to lift the great weight.

“Get them!” a small voice cried from the center of the group.

With that order, the eight that remained left the statue and confronted me.

At that point Phalanx and Trottson had finished their fight, and had come streaking in like missiles, taking out a changeling each.

The six left started to back towards the statue defensively, while Phalanx Trottson and I moved in.

The few that remained didn’t even put up a proper fight, falling each with a single blow.

A tiny changeling that had been clinging to the statue rushed out and tried to rouse one of the fallen drones, “Come on get up!” she cried.

This changeling looked to be no older than a filly, and she was now all by herself, facing three full grown stallions.

We just kind of stood there awkwardly while she stood up to us, a defiant look on her face but tears flowing from her eyes, “I’m not afraid of you big mean ponies!”
The others walked up and and so did Celestia and Luna, awoken by the fighting.

“What is this?” Luna asked.

“I’m here to get my momma back from you mean ponies!” the changeling child said, her angry words coupled with hot tears.

None of us were so cruel as to harm her, not after this.

“We can’t just leave her,” Ivy said.

“And we are not going to hurt her,” Rose added.

“I don’t need your pity,” the filly said, barely standing now.

“Little one, we can’t let you simply take her,” Celestia said.

“But we won’t simply turn you away,” Luna added.

Celestia turned to one of the guards taking care of the changelings that had been defeated, “Set up a small campsite will you,” she asked, then turned to the filly, “Will you come with us?”

She wiped away some fresh tears and said back, “Ok, but only because I have to, form mama.”

Celestia walked next to the changeling filly and put her wing around her, guided her over to the now almost ready campsite, the rest of us following behind.

“Now why don’t you sit here and enjoy the fire while we discuss this,” Celestia said, sitting the young changeling down next to Ivy.

She beckoned me and Luna to talk inside in private.

“So, little one, what’s your name?” Ivy asked in a soothing, friendly tone.

"Crystal,” the little changeling answered with a sniff, drying the last of her tears.

Trottson and Thunderlane were watching vigilantly while Brick and Star Shine sat on the other side of the makeshift campsite.

“What a pretty name,” Rose said, sitting on the other side of Crystal.

“So, Crystal, tell us what happened,” I vy said.

“Weeks ago, moma said she was going to get enough food to last us a lifetime, she said she would be back, and took most of the others with her. They returned, but mama never came back,” the little changeling said, holding back a fresh rush of tears. “The others wouldn’t tell me what happened. They always told me what happened before, but I refused to believe moma was gone. Then, they said that mama had come back, just like I knew she would, but then word reached us that she was turned to stone. They told me that I was queen now, and so I decided to get my moma back,” she finished, waving a leg around proudly.
--

“What is so troubling you Mixer?” Luna asked.

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe it is the fact that we were facing a CHILD, or maybe the fact that she was only here to get her mother, who I turned to stone in the first place, or better still, the fact that I have to face a bottomless pit of guilt for orphaning a child whose mother I made a promise to help!” I said pacing frantically.

“Mixer...” Celestia began to say.

“NO! I won’t just let it go. There’s a filly out there who lost her mother to ME! All because I was more worried about Discord than protecting her!” I practically yelled.

“Mixer...” Luna started.

“And don’t expect me to simply but out of the situation. I won’t just be pushed aside in this matter. I ruined a fillies life!” I said, my words mixing with tears of anger and sadness.

Luna out her hoof on my shoulder to calm me down, “We don’t want you to. We just want you to calm down, we can’t reach a reasonable solution with you in hysterics.”

I took a deep breath, “So, what do you propose?”

“I would never let harm come to a filly, even a changeling,” Celestia said. “But this is utterly unprecedented.”

“Should we keep her here? We can’t just let her go, not that she would leave her mother,” Luna said.

“What do you think Mixer,” Celestia asked me.

I barely heard the question, lost in thought about the situation. A shake from Luna jolted me from my stupor.

“Mixer are you alright?” Luna asked.

I shook my head a little to clear my thoughts, “I think that keeping her here is the best course of action.”

“But what do we do with her?” Luna asked.

“We have to keep some kind of watch over her,” Celestia said.

“I’ll do it,” I said.

“Are you sure?” Luna asked me.

“Yes, she’s my responsibility, it should be my job to watch over her,” I said, steeling myself for the confrontation.

The three of us walked outside to check on the “campers”.

Ivy got up and walked over to us, “So what did you decide?”

“We will keep here here under Mixer’s watchful protection,” Celestia said.

“Mixer, are you alright?” Ivy asked, her voice sounding distant to my unfocused attention.

“Y-yeah,” I managed to reply.

“What’s wrong? you keep staring at Crystal,” Ivy asked.

“So her name is Crystal,” I said, registering as the only bit of information I needed to know.

“What’s up with you? I haven’t seen you like this, even in the short time I have known you,” Ivy said.

I let out a long sigh, “I was the one who turned her mother to stone,” I said flatly.

“Oh...” she trailed off, her sympathy showed in her eyes.

I put my head down, “Yes,” I said, not particularly willing to move from that particular spot.

“I’m sorry,” she said, placing a hoof on my shoulder to comfort me.

I stood up tall and walked over to Crystal and Rose, who were apparently making smores.

“Mmmm, these taste so good,” Crystal said through a mouthful of the gooey treat.

“Where did you get that?” Ivy asked.

“Oh, I asked a guard to get the ingredients,” she said.

“And by “guard” I assume you mean your brother,” I said.

“Yes, I sent him to go get it, he was just sitting over there anyways,” Rose said.

“So who are you?” Crystal asked me, now done with the s'more.

“I’m going to be your guardian for a bit,” I said, using a soft tone.

“My guardian?” she asked her head leaning to one side.

“Yes, I’ll be watching over you for the remainder of your stay here at Castle Canterlot,” I said.

“So, what? Does that mean I’m going to see my mama again?” she asked excitement building up in her.

“If you follow me, you can talk to her right now,” I said.
“Really!” she asked.

“Yes, I happen to know a way you can talk to your mother through the stone,” I said, heading toward the unmoved statue of Chrysalis. “Now, can you use magic yet?” I asked.

“I can use a little,” she said, making her horn glow green.

“Ok, then concentrate and let me do all the work,” I said, connecting the three points of her horn, mine, and Chrysalis’s with an aura of magic.

I held that, in theory, because we were in the astral plane together Chrysalis and I would still have some mental link left over from our incarceration.

I let the magic flow through me, trying to find a way to reach the astral plane, or at least Chrysalis’s mind.

It felt like a long time, walking with Crystal following me through a tunnel of blackness. Then we seemed to find just what we were looking for, as Chrystal’s sitting form came into view.

“What is this?” she asked turning around.

“Mama!” Crystal exclaimed dashing over to her.

"Wha... you...” she let both her questions trail off as her daughter hugged her leg affectionately.

“Mama, I came to rescue you from the mean ponies, but they beat you drone. Then this nice pony brought me here to see you! Isn’t that great!” she exclaimed, clinging to her mother.
“Is this true?” she asked me, her eyes fixing me in a stare between hate and gratefulness.

“Yes,” I said.

She took one more stabbing look at me then looked back to her daughter with loving eyes, “My little gem, I have to go now, I’m sure our friend is putting considerable strain on himself to do this.”

“Mama?” the little changeling looked up at her.

“You go with the nice pony and be a good little filly, do whatever he asks you to; and try to be like the other ponies, it will be easier to make friends,” Chrysalis said moving her daughter towards me. “Should anything happen to her,”

“Don’t worry, I won't let any harm come to her,” I said.

“Good,” she gave a nod and walked off into the void.

I awoke with a start, I was sore and the sun was shining.

“Mixer! Thank goodness you are ok, you’ve been out for over a day,” Ivy said, her voice laced with concern.

Two guards rushed in and moved toward Crystal. I shot between them and growled, “Don't. You. Lay. A. Hoof. On her.”

The two guards backed away.

“What was that about?” Ivy asked, shocked at my sudden hostility.

“I made a promise to her mother to protect her, and I intend to keep this one,” I said, relaxing a bit.

“This one?” she asked.

“That’s a long story, one that I don’t have the time to tell,” I said, and walked over to examine Crystal.

She looked just like she was sleeping. Then she too awoke and looked around sleepily.

“Where are we?” she asked with a yawn.

“We are in the gardens,” Ivy said.

“The gardens, in Canterlot?” she asked.

“Yes,” I said.

“What about mama?” she asked.

“Don’t you worry bout a thing, she’ll be alright, and so will you,” I said, picking her up with my magic and placing her on my back.

“So you’re gonna have her ride on your shoulders?” Ivy asked, hiding a slight giggle.

“I don’t think she minds, do you?” I turned my head slightly to ask Crystal.

“It’s a little uncomfortable,” she said trying to balance on my armor.

“Try this,” I said, as I lifted her up and formed a platform out of crystal on my back and anchored it into the shoulders of my armor.

She shifted around a bit on the flat surface before saying, “This is much better.”

It must have appeared like I was some kind of royal transportation for the little changeling as I walked around with her riding on the crystal platform.

Ivy was rolling with laughter at this point, watching as I strode around the garden carrying the filly about like royalty, which technically, she was. “You better watch out, before you know it you’ll have the whole castle in stitches,” said in between bubbles of laughter.

“I dare them to say something,” I said jokingly.

“Well then, I think you should go to see Luna, she was worried about you after you passed out,” Ivy said, still recovering from the bouts of laughter.

“Ok, thanks,” I said, leaving her to get herself under control.

As I walked through the halls of the castle, the guards looked on in shock, the maids looked on in awe, and the little changeling on my back was grinning ear to ear as she was carried around like royalty.

When we arrived at Luna’s door Trottson and Thunderlane were on duty.

“Um...” Trottson trailed off as Thunderlane tried to keep from breaking a smile.

“Is Luna here?” I asked.

“Yes,” Trottson replied, trying to keep his own cool.

I knocked at the door, “Luna can I come in?”

“Yes,” the answer came.

I opened the door with my magic and walked in, Crystal waving to the two guard ponies, Thunderlane’s snickers could be faintly heard through the door.

“Well now, who is this?” Sombra asked, taking a look at Crystal.

“My name’s Crystal, and this is my guardian,” she said, turning to follow Sombra as he circled me.

“Who? This big old softie?” Sombra asked, showing a grin that matched hers.

Luna face hoofed as she watched Sombra making a new friend, all the while I simply stood there so Crystal would not lose her balance.

“I see you’re both well,” Luna said finally.

“Yes, we had a little talk with Chrysalis while we were out,” I said, my eyes following Sombra every time he passed by my field of vision.

“So, you figured out that you could contact her after the business with the astral plane?” Luna asked.

“It was more of a theory at first, but it proved correct,” I said. “Though this time the temporal distortion was opposite, we had a short minute or so conversation and we were out for over a day.”

Sombra had kept circling my until I could feel Crystal wobbling from dizziness.

“Woah there!” Sombra said steadying her as she was about to tip over.

“Thanks,” she said as she readjusted. “Who are you?”

“Why, you can call me uncle Sombra,” he said proudly, followed by a corresponding facehoof from Luna.

“You should stop doing that, otherwise you’ll have a permanent hoofprint on your forehead,” I told Luna.

“I know, he never ceases to amaze me though,” she said with a sigh.

“And this is you auntie Luna!” Sombra said.

“Hey now!” Luna said. “Don’t drag me into this.”

Crystal seemed delighted and tested out these new names, “Uncle Sombra and auntie Luna!”

Sombra smiled while Luna let out a sigh in resignation.

“So did anything important happen while I was out?” I asked.

“Just the usual,” Sombra said.

“Ok, just wanted to check. You don’t think Celestia would mind me dropping in on her do you?” I asked.

“She’s not busy at the moment,” Luna said.

“Ok, thanks!” I said as I left the room with Crystal on my back.

“You know, technically you’re a princess,” I said to Crystal.

“Really?” she asked.

“Yep, you are the daughter of a queen after all,” I said.

“So does that make me Princess Crystal?” she asked.

“It sure does,” I said,

“By the way, why were you so friendly with Sombra and Luna?” I asked.

“That’s easy silly, I can see it on him,” she replied.

“You can see it?” I asked.

“Yeah, it’s a trick moma taught me, I can see ponies emotional auras. When I arrived all of you had red auras, now you are pink, and he was a nice yellow,” she said.

“What about Luna, and Ivy?” I asked.

“Auntie Luna was kind of blue, but with a calming dash of green. And Ivy had a pinkish yellow aura,” she answered.

“Wow, that seems like it could come in handy,” I said.

“It does, it lets me know who is nice or not,” she said.

“So what does each color mean?” I asked.

“Well, red is mean, blue is sometimes sad or afraid, yellow is happy, green is calm, and pink is kind,” she answered.

I wondered if kind was the only thing pink ment, “So are you ready to go see Celestia?” I asked.

“Who’s that?” Crystal asked.

“She’s Luna’s sister and ruler of Equestria,” I said.

“So is she my auntie too?” she asked.

“I’m not sure if she would appreciate it as much as her sister, but you could ask,” I said.

“Ask who what?” Celestia said, as I almost ran into her.

“Oh, princess, I was just coming to see you,” I said.

“And you have a passenger,” she said looking down at the changeling riding on my back.

“Hi auntie Celestia!” Crystal piped up.

“Auntie?” Celestia asked with a chuckle.

“Yes, Sombra is her ‘uncle’ and Luna is her ‘auntie’,I said,

“You can call me auntie Tia,” Celestia said to the little filly.

“Ok, auntie Tia!” Crystal said.

“So what did you want to ask me Mixer?” ‘Tia’ asked.

“I wanted to know if it was alright to give Crystal some tutelage on how to be a pony,” I said.

“What teacher do you propose?” she asked.

“The same as with her mother,” I said.

“I’ll send for Twilight and her friends immediately,” she said.

“Thank you,” I said, and changed direction to head towards the Luna Guard barracks.

“Who’s Twilight?” Crystal asked.

“She’s a friend, and her and her friends are going to be your new teachers,” I said.

“Awww,” Crystal moaned.

“Now don’t be like that, it will be fun,” I said.

“Ok,” she said.

Crystal looked around everywhere with wonder as we descended into the caverns to go to the barracks.

“Wow, it’s so big,” she said with wonder.

“Yes it is, we have almost a small town down here,” I said.

“Wow,” she said as the lift reached its destination.

I walked to one of the houses that was for rent and I asked if it was vacant. The pony managing the rentals told me that it was vacant and that I could rent it if I wanted.

I told her that I would and she gave me the key.

“So what are we doing here?” Crystal finally asked.

“This is going to be your new home,” I said.

“Huh?” she asked.

“I have to guard Luna, and I also have to keep you safe. I didn’t think it would be appropriate for you to sleep in a barracks with a bunch of other snoring ponies, so I’m renting this house for you,” I explained, lifting her off my back and onto the floor.

“So I get to live here with you?” she asked.

“Yes,” I said.

“Yay!” she exclaimed and gave me a hug.

I returned it saying, “Now, you stay here for a minute while I go check on something.”

“Ok,” she said and scampered into the other rooms.

I went across the way to the barracks and asked Rose to keep an eye on her for me. She did and I went to check on the progress of the preparations for the training exercise.

The preparations were almost complete now, only the soft magical boundary was left.

I returned to the house to find that Rose was playing with Crystal in the rather large living room.

“Ha ha, I got you!” Crystal said as she caught up to Rose, who was running around the open space.

They both looked up as I let out a laugh, “Good to see you two are getting along.”

“You told me to keep an eye on her, and she wanted to play,” Rose said.

“Thank you Rose,” I said.

“No problem,” she said as she walked out.

“Miss Rose is really nice,” Crystal said.

“She is, though, her brother is a different story,” I said.

“So what now?” she asked, still wiggling around with energy.

“Well, I have a little exercise for the Lunar Guard planned for tomorrow, so I’m going to check up on a few things then get some rest for tomorrow,” I said, preparing the crystal platform for her to ride on.

“Ok,” she said as I lifted her up onto my back and we went to the lift to finish my errands.

The next morning I had everypony ready to go on the training exercise.

The goal was to capture the other team’s flag before they captured yours. Both teams had four members and a map with the location of the other team’s flag.

Unbeknownst to the six team members, Trottson and I, the team captains, had planned to leave the teams to fend for themselves, to test their abilities.

On my team was Ivy, Phalanx and Thunderlane, on Trottson’s team was Brick and the siblings. Crystal was accompanying me on a canopied platform, but was unaware that she would be making my disappearing act more convincing.

When my team entered the training area the barrier sealed behind us and we marched onwards towards a large rock, almost a small mountain, to get a better view of things.

“Ivy what does the map say?” I asked looking towards a cave in the rock face.

“If this map is right we should be somewhere to the south east of the flag,” Ivy said studying the map.

“I,m going to see if there is a faster way around this rock through that cave,” I said, walking in that direction.

“Ok, but don’t wander off too far,” Phalanx said.

“I’ll be fine,” I said, knowing full well that as soon as I got inside the cave, the entrance would collapse.

When the rocks came clattering down behind us, Crystal’s shriek of surprise helped add to the realism of the staged accident.

“Mixer are you ok.” I heard Ivy call from outside.

“We’re ok, the cave goes on farther, I think I’ll follow it and look for a way out,” I said, rather shouted through the rocks.

“What are we gonna do now Mixer?” Crystal asked.

“Why, my dear, we are going to get out of this cave,” I said and started running for the entrance on the other side of the cave.
--

“So we know where the other team’s flag is but not ours?” Brick asked.

“Yes, it’s an interesting twist, makes it so you can’t puppy guard your flag,” Trottson said, flying just above his teams heads.

“So why aren’t we headed right to the other team’s flag, we won’t get lost,” Star Shine said.

“If we just started running around the forest in the direction we think the flag is in, we’ll end up going in circles,” Trottson replied.

“So what are we gonna do?” Rose asked.

“I’m going to scout up ahead to look for any distinctive landmarks, you three stay here,” he said flying off to our secret rendezvous point.

I saw Trottson approach from the top of a cliff where we were set to meet.

“It seems like all is going according to the plan so far,” I said, scanning the trees for his team.

“Yes, you did make it convenient with me being the only pegasus on the team,” he said as he landed.

“What’s going on?” Crystal asked confusion written across her face.

“I wanted to test their abilities to work together without a determined leader,” I explained, location the three earthbound members of Trottson’s team.

“Oh, so this is like a test,” she said.

“Yes,” I replied.

“I don’t like tests,” she said.

“It does not appear that Brick does either,” I said, watching as the three of them argued.
--

“So what do you propose we do, walk around in circles all day?” Star Shine questioned Brick.

“It would be better than sitting here doing nothing,” he snorted.

“What about Trottson, he told us to wait here,” Rose said.

“I don’t know about you two, but I’m going to go find that flag,” Brick said, turning and walking away.
--

“You should go help Brick, he just fell in a pit trap,” I told Trottson, as I watched the glimmer from the magical trap that I had set.

“He’s going to develop into a problem,” Trottson said.

“Not if he learns from this exercise,” I said.

“Well, I better go help him,” Trottson said as he flew off.

“Now, let’s see what Ivy and my team are up to...”
--

“Ok, you two search around the rock in opposite directions, if you see anything wait for the other to get around to you,” Ivy said.

“Who made you leader?” Phalanx asked.

“I did when you two didn’t have a better idea than waiting for him to find a way out,” Ivy shot back.

Phalanx could not deny that fact, “Ok, what if we don’t find anything?”

“Then you two should meet on the other side of the rock. If that happens come back here and we will plan our next move,” she said.
--

“Ah, just the kind of leadership I was looking for,” I muses as I watched Phalanx and Thunderlane begin their circuit of the rock.

“What about the others?” Crystal asked.

“Let’s see...”
--

“I told you to stay put!” Trottson shouted down the hole.

“I thought that it was better to be proactive,” Bricks voice came up from the deep hole.

“Well, at least the others stayed in position, I’ll come back with help,” Trottson said, flying off towards the two siblings.

“Serves him right for abandoning us,” Star Shine snorted.

“Star,” Rose said, trying her best to chasten her brother.

“He’s fine for now. While I was scouting I saw a clear path heading in the direction of the flag. I also saw another path that could lead to the flag, but it’s longer,” he said.

“So what are we going to do?” Star Shine asked.

“I’ll take the longer path, while you two will go down the clearer path,” he said preparing to take off.

“Do you think it’s a good idea to split up?” Rose asked.

“We can cover more ground like that, plus the sooner we get done, the sooner we can get Brick out of that hole,” Trottson said, flying away.

“Well sis, let’s go,” Star Shine said, heading in the direction Trottson indicated.
--

“We found another entrance on the other side of the rock but no tracks,” Phalanx reported to Ivy.

“Take me there,” Ivy said.

“But it would take too long to walk,” Thunderlane protested.

“Then carry me,” she suggested.

“Um...” Thunderlane said, blushing slightly.

“What? Don’t think you can carry little old me?” she asked.

“Enough of this,” Phalanx said, putting his arms around Ivy and lifting her into the air.

They flew around the large rock and Phalanx set Ivy down in front of the cave.

“You’re right, there aren't any tracks,” Ivy said perplexed.

“What does that mean?” Thunderlane asked.

“It means that he didn’t just walk out of this cave,” Ivy said.

“He can kind of fly with his crystals,” Phalanx said.

“That explains the lack of tracks, but what about him missing?” Ivy asked.

“What’s that?” Thunderlane asked pointing to a high cliff.

Ivy covered her eyes from the sun and looked at the top of the cliff. She could see the form of a pony scanning the forest.

“Looks like he flew up that cliff to scan the area,” Ivy said.

“Why would he just fly up there without telling us?” Phalanx questioned.

“I don’t know, but he could have spotted the flag by now,” Ivy said. “Thunder, you go and ask him.”

“Ok,” he said taking off in my direction.
--

“Oh dear, it appears that they spotted us,” I said to Crystal, watching Thunderlane close the distance between us.

“Isn’t that good?” she asked.

“I guess from their perspective,” I said.

“Mixer, what happened back there?” Thunderland asked flying up to us.

“I found a way out of the cave and flew up here to get a better look at the surroundings,” I said.

“Well we were worried about you,” Thunderlane said.

“Well, as you can see, no need to worry. But from what I have determined, I think the other flag is somewhere around there,” I said, pointing to a small patch of trees in the distance.

“What should we do?” he asked.

“You and Phalanx search that area while Ivy heads in that direction,” I pointed in the opposite direction, “To intercept the other team.”

“Alright,” Thunderlane said flying off.
--

“So where do you think the flag is?” Rose asked Star Shine, looking at the map.

“Well, I doubt it will just be out in the open,” he said.

“And what about Brick?” she asked.

“He deserved to fall in a hole,” Star Shine said.

“But he’s still on our team,” Rose complained.

“And he disobeyed an order, and he fell in a hole for his trouble,” Star Shine said.

“I hope that we find it soon,” Rose said.

“Yeah, I’m getting hungry,” he said, his stomach growling.
--

“So now, you have both teams on the fast track to the other teams flag,” Trottson said, observing the two pegasi flying in a search pattern around the patch of forest.

“Yes, I have seen about all I need to make an evaluation,” I said.

“You do?” he asked.

“Yes, the flags are just a pretense,” I said.

“So you just wanted to see how they would handle themselves without a leader?” he asked.

“I thought I already explained that,” I said.

“I didn’t think you would finish the evaluation befor ethe exercise is all,” he said.

“There is still time,” I said, watching where Ivy and the siblings would inevitably meet.
--

Ivy had actually found her own teams flag. She took the opportunity to try and set up a trap, only a simple tripwire, but a trap nonetheless.

When she had finished the simple leghold, she hid in a nearby tree, ready to spring and run with the flag.
--

“Hey, there’s the flag!” Star Shine exclaimed as her rushed through the trees to reach the objective. His run was cut short by a thin line that ripped him up.

“Star!” Rose cried surprised, as Ivy jumped out of a nearby tree and grabbed the flag.

“Hey, come back here!” Star Shine shouted after her.

Ivy was running as fast as she could with the flag in her mouth. She could here as the two unicorns chasing her were trying to catch up with her.

Ivy was surprise when the flag started to glow with a pinkish aura and she found herself being pulled backwards.

She looked behind her and saw that Rose was trying to pull her back.

She grabbed onto a tree as she was sliding backwards and held on.

“Let go,” Rose said as she tugged harder on the flag.

Ivy held onto both the flag and the tree, trying no the let go of either.

“I said, LET GO!” Rose yelled as she yanked the flag from Ivy.

“Looks like we win,” Star Shine said grabbing the flag himself.

At that moment the magical barriers that surrounded the area cleared and went down.

“Wha...” Rose asked while she looked around.

“It looks like the test is over,” I said, walking up with Trottson and the others.

“Sorry guys,” Ivy apologized to Phalanx and Thunderlane.

“It’s alright,” I said. “This was an evaluation of your teamwork and leadership.”

“So you planned all this?” Star Shine asked around the flag handle.

“Yes, and I think that Ivy by far did the best, and Brick did the worst,” I said. “You need to learn to cooperate with the group, instead of running of by yourself because you think you can do it,” I said, turning to Brick.

He just hung his head a little.

“Ivy, you demonstrated leadership, even when it seemed like you were the least experienced. That is a good trait,” I praised her.

“Thank you,” she said, looking a lot happier than a few seconds ago.

“Now, everypony get some rest, it’s back to the regular schedule tomorrow,” I said.

This group of ponies might need some work, but they were proving to be a better guard than I could have hoped for.

Peaceful

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The Mixer Chronicles:

Book Fifteen:
Peaceful

After the examination, the weeks past rather slowly.

Before we knew it the season had rolled over into winter and the Hearths Warming season.

Crystal was amazed by the first snowfall.

“Wow, what is this stuff?” she asked as she ran around in the falling flakes.

“It’s snow, haven’t you had snow before?” I asked.

“No. Brrr, its cold,” she said, with a slight shiver.

“Let’s get you back inside before you get sick,” I said, ushering her back inside the castle.

Crystal had been taught how to be a pony by Twilight and her friends a few weeks prior, and now she was learning how to change her form.

Interestingly enough, changelings are not born with the ability to transform their bodies until they mature. Crystal was just beginning to get her transformation abilities, but could not do so for more than a few moments. She was also limited to her current size.

“But it’s so pretty,” Crystal complained.

“I don’t care how pretty it is, I don’t want you getting sick,” I said, closing the door behind me.

“Aww,” she complained.

“Maybe I’ll take you outside tomorrow, with some warm clothes, but right now stay inside,” I said, shaking off some snow.

“Ok, but I’ll hold you to it,” she said, hopping around.

She had an almost inexhaustible supply of energy, even giving Sombra a run for his money on occasion.

“Why don’t we go visit Luna?” I asked Crystal.

“Ok, that sounds like fun,” she said, hopping onto my back without waiting for me to form a platform. “Forward!” she said leaning against my neck and pointing a hoof like she was leading a charge.

“Ok, hold on,” I said and galloped through the castle to Luna’s room.

I slid to a halt in front of Star Shine and Rose.

“We hello,” Rose said.

“Hi Rose!” Crystal said back.

“Is Luna busy?” I asked.

“No, she is free right now,” Star Shine said.

“Come in, I could hear you down the hall,” Luna said from inside.

I opened the door and walked in, Crystal still holding on to me.

“Since when did you start running down hallways like a herd of buffalo?” Luna asked.

“Since I had an overly energetic princess to watch over,” I replied, lifting Crystal off of me.

“I suppose I can understand that,” Luna said, as Crystal rushed over to give her a hug.

“Hi auntie Luna, look outside, it’s snowing!” she said.

“Yes, I saw,” Luna said.

“So where is Sombra?” I asked.

“Actually, he was looking for you,” Luna said.

“Was he now?” I asked.

“Yes, he said something about asking you an important question,” she replied.

“I suppose I should find him. Can you watch Crystal while I do?” I asked.

“Sure, it shouldn’t be too much trouble,” Luna said, as Crystal pranced happily around her.

I walked out of the room and sighed after closing the door.

“Rough work isn’t it?” Star Shine asked.

“Yes,” I said.

“I know, it wasn’t too long ago my sister was the same way,” he said.

“Hey!” Rose objected.

“I know, I know, but it’s true,” Star Shine said.

“This almost seems surreal really,” I said.

“What?” Rose asked.

“Everything is calm for once, there’s no crisis to avert, no villain to be stopped, not even a minor issue. But it’s kind of nice,” I said.

“Yeah, you are right, everything had been peaceful since Crystal got here,” Rose said.

“Almost too peaceful if you ask me,” Star Shine said.

“I sometimes get that feeling too, but for right now I have to go find Sombra,” I said, and trotted off in search of him.

I found him looking for me in the Caverns.

“There you are, I’ve been looking all over for you,” Sombra said.

“Yeah, Luna told me,” I said.

“So that’s where you were,” Sombra said.

“Yeah, funny how things work out like that, I go to see you only for you to be looking for me,” I said. “So what did you want to ask me?”

“I wanted to ask you about helping me get something as a gift for Luna,” he said.

“What kind of gift?” I asked.

“I don’t know, thats the thing, I can’t think of a good gift,” he said, his head drooping slightly.

“Why don’t you make her something, you know from crystal. Maybe a statuette,” I suggested.

“Do you think she will like it?” he asked.

“I’m sure if you make it she will love it,” I said.

“Ok, thanks,” he said.

“Any time, but that reminds me, I have to go check on something,” I said, and headed towards the airship dock.

I checked on the airship’s progress.

“It’s simply remarkable,” a unicorn said as he trotted up to me.

His name was Clockworks and he was overseeing the construction of the airship.

“Yeah, that was kind of the point,” I said.

“But, comparatively speaking, this ship is ages ahead of it’s time. How did you come up with the design?” he asked.

“I don’t know, it just kind of came to me,” I said.

“Ah, the spark of ingenuity,” he said, seemingly knowing what I was talking about.

“It was not the only spark that came to me, but it was the only one that seemed likely,” I said.

“Oh, really?” he asked.

“Yeah, but I forgot most of the other sparks,” I said.

“Such a shame. Oh well, I suppose you can’t hope for more than one stroke of genius,” he said with a shrug.

“Well, it’s good to see that the ship is coming along so well,” I said.

“Yes, at this rate she’ll be airworthy before Winter Wrap UP,” Clockworks said.

“Sounds good, keep up the good work,” I said, and left for the surface.

When I reached Luna’s room I could hear Crystal's laughter coming from inside.

“Ha! I got you!” I heard her cry, followed by Sombra making dramatic sound effects.

I opened the door and saw that Crystal was standing on top of Sombra, who was acting like a slain beast.

“I did it! I killed the manticore!” she said triumphantly when I walked in.

“Did you now?” I asked.

“Yeah, she sure did,” Sombra said.

“Hey, you're supposed to play dead,” Crystal said.

“Oops, sorry,” he said and went back to laying on the floor, smiling.

“So, my little manicore slayer, what else did you do while I was gone?” I asked.

“Yeah, auntie Luna told me a story,” she said.

“And what story was that?” I asked.

“She told me about how Equestria was founded,” she said.

“A few days early aren’t you Luna?” I asked.

“Yes, well, It’s a timeless story,” she said.

“That it is indeed,” I said.

Crystal seemed to droop, “I miss mama,” she said, tears forming in her eyes.

“Oh, don’t cry,” Luna said, pulling her close with her wing.

“She’s still here,” I said.

“I know, but I still miss her,” she said.

“There there, don’t cry, auntie Luna’s here,” Luna said, comforting her.

“As long as I’m here it’ll be ok,” I said, trying to help.

Crystal cried a little, burying her head in Luna’s wing.

“Do you feel any better?” Luna asked when her tears stopped.

“Yeah,” Crystal said weakly.

“That’s good,” Sombra said.

“So, whaddaya say we get some Hearths Warming treats?” I asked.

“Ok,” Crystal said, drying her eyes.

We went to the castle cook and Crystal perked up when she got some Hearths Warming treats.

“Wow, these taste amazing!” she said.

“All better?” I asked.

“Mhm,” she said, biting into a cookie.

After she had gotten her fill of treats we went back to the caverns and I left her with Ivy so that I could go and get something from the Canterlot Market.

I was looking for something to get Crystal for Hearths Warming Eve.

As I was walking towards the market I saw two unicorns sitting on the side of the street.

“Spare a few bits sir?” one of them asked.

Both of them had cloaks on to protect from the cold, but the voice sounded familiar.

“Do I know you?” I asked.

One of the looked up at me and I recognized him immediately, “Flim?” I asked incredulously.

“I’m sure you’re mistaken sir,” he said, hiding his face.

“I’d recognize that voice from anywhere, you two are the Flim Flam brothers,” I said.

“Please don’t hurt us,” Flam said.

“We didn’t mean to try and ruin the Apples lives, it was just business,” his brother pleaded.

I sighed, “It’s Hearths Warming Eve in two days, what are you two doing on the street like a pair of bums?” I asked.

“After we got ran out of Ponyville we couldn’t sell our cider anywhere,” Flim said.

“We tried to find other work, but nopony wanted to be associated with us,” Flam continued.

“Eventually we sold the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy to a junkyard, and lived off of that for a while,” Flim added.

“Now, we're stuck here, living as beggars,” Flam finished.

“That’s quite the story,” I said.

“It’s all true, every last bit of it,” Flim said.

“Ok, come with me you two,” I said.

“W-what are you going to do with us?” Flam asked.

“Get you off the streets, now do you want to go inside where it’s warm or not?” I asked.

They looked at each other and followed me back to the castle.

I must be crazy, I thought to myself, as we walked through the snow to the castle.

I took them to the caverns and introduced them to Gold Rush.

“So who are these two?” he asked.

“They’re a couple of ponies that are down on their luck, but maybe they can work here,” I said.

“Are you fellas ready to work?” Gold Rush said.

“They most certainly are, right?” I said.

“Yes sir,” both of them said.

“Well then, go grab a helmet and a pick and get to it,” Gold Rush said.

“Right away boss,” Flam said.

I showed them to the equipment shed, “Better than living on the street?” I asked.

“At least it’s warm,” Flim said.

“You two better work hard though, normally we don’t take new miners,” I said.

“Thanks,” Flam said and donned a yellow hardhat.

“Good luck with work,” I said and headed back to the house.

“Ready to go on our shift?” Ivy asked, when I returned.

“Yeah, let me grab an energy potion first, I’ve been going all day without anything but breakfast,” I said.

“You know, you shouldn’t push yourself so hard all the time,” Ivy said.

“I know,” I said with a sigh, “But I just feel compelled to do whatever I can.”

“You know you don’t have to do everything by yourself,” she said.

“I know,” I sighed.

“Now, go get something to eat with that potion, otherwise you’ll be complaining for hours,” she said, smiling.

“You know, normally I give the orders around here,” I said jokingly.

“I’ll remember that sir,” she said, suppressing a giggle.

So I went and got something to eat and met her on the lift.

“That feels better,” I said.

“Good, wouldn't want you dying of starvation while on duty,” she said, as the lift started up.

We took our shift and nothing eventful happened, just like any other night.

“So, what promise did you make to Crystal before?” Ivy asked.

“For me to explain that, you would have to know about why I would make a promise to the queen of the changelings,” I said.

“So why would you?” she asked.

“You heard about when I imprisoned her in crystal?” I asked.

“Yeah, everypony around here heard of it, I mean there’s a statue of you in the gardens still,” she said.

“Well, when we were in there we were stuck on the Astral Plane together, for what seemed like centuries,” I said.

“How did you not go crazy?” she asked.

“I almost did, but we struck a deal and I made a promise to give her a chance to be good and forget about ever invading Equestria. Not surprisingly, she accepted,” I said.

“You what?” she asked, shock written across her face.

“Any way, to make a long story short, I ended up turning her and Discord into stone, even though I didn't mean to affect Chrysalis,” I said.

“So you broke your promise by turning her into stone, is that it?” she asked.

“Yes, it’s the only promise I’ve ever had to break,” I said.

“I can tell that you’re the kind of pony that would take that pretty hard,” she said.

“Yeah, I did, but I ended up finding Saddle Arabia out of it,” I said.

“So it wasn’t all bad,” she said.

“No, I suppose not,” I said.

“Well, if you ever need help, you know we’re here for you,” she said.

“Yes, thank you,” I said.

We just served the rest of our shift in silence.

Hearths Warming day came and went in the blink of an eye, the excitement sweeping the hours away.
The rest of winter went the same way, each day giving way to the next, until Winter Wrap Up was upon us.
Everypony enjoyed the changing of the season, excited to have the warm sunshine back.

I was checking on the airship construction, which had fallen slightly behind, when Luna approached me.

“Mixer, do you have a minute?” she asked.

“What is it Luna?” I asked, looking over an accident report. Apparently, one of the workers was mounting one of the engines and it shifted on him, pinning another worker to the side of the hull.

“I think you need a break,” she said.

“What?” I asked, putting down the report.

“Look at yourself, you’re obsessing over your work. Ivy told me you haven't eaten properly in days,” she said, a worried look on her face.

“I might be skipping my lunches, but that doesn’t mean I don’t eat properly,” I said.

“See, that’s what I mean, you’re making excuses to work on this airship,” Luna said, her tone firm.

“But, it’s so close to being complete, despite the setbacks,” I protested.

“No, I’m making this mandatory. Go and take some time off in Ponyville. Relax, get your mind off the airship. You can come back in a week,” she said.

“What about Crystal?” I asked.

“You can take her with you. She has gotten better at changing her form has she not?” Luna asked.

“Yes, she can sustain a transformation for almost two hours,” I said.

“Then she can have a chance to meet new friends,” Luna said.

I sighed in resignation, “Very well, I’ll take a vacation,” I said.

“Good, I’ll see you in a week,” Luna said and walked away.

“She’s right you know,” Clockworks said, making me jump. “You have been a little obsessed with this.”

“I just want to make sure it gets finished,” I said.

“Don’t worry, I can handle this. Go, it was a direct order from the princess after all,” he said.

I sighed and walked back to the house where Crystal was waiting for me.

“Guess what,” I said.

“Oh, what?” she asked.

“We’re going to Ponyville, Luna says I need a vacation,” I said.

“Yay!” Crystal said and started hopping around.

I took off my armor and put it on a stand on the second floor and walked over to the barracks, Crystal bouncing after me.

“Trottson, Luna says I need a vacation, so you’re in charge while I’m gone,” I said.

“Ok, have fun,” he said, and waved to us as we departed for the lift.

I seemed to be the only one that thought this wasn’t good new.

“Now, Twilight and her friends know about you, but the other ponies won’t know it’s you and will get concerned if you aren’t transformed,” I explained.

“So I have to transform?” she asked.

“Yes, at least while we’re out in public,” I said.

“Ok,” Chrystal said, and transformed into her pony form, a white unicorn filly with a silver mane with a streak of neon green through it. Her eyes were still green, but they were now like a ponies, instead of a changeling’s narrow pupils. “How’s this?” she asked.

“You look just fine,” I said.

We went to the train station and boarded the train for Ponyville.

Thankfully the ride was short and there were not that many ponies on the train. To the average passerby we appeared to be a father and his daughter, heading off to vacation.

When we arrived in Ponyville we went to Twilights, her house being closest to the train station.

I knocked on the door and waited for an answer.

Spike answered the door, “Oh, hi Mixer. What are you doing in Ponyville?” he asked.

“Luna thinks I need a vacation so she ordered me to,” I said.

“Oh wow, a baby dragon,” Crystal said, wonder in her eyes.

“Yep, I am pretty cool,” he said, trying to show off.

“Spike who is it?” Twilight called down from the second floor.

“It’s Mixer and, uh,” he stopped.

“Crystal!” she said, introducing herself for the first time.

“And Crystal,” Spike called back.

We heard a series of thuds that could only be assumed to be a stack of books falling over.

“Mixer, Crystal!” she said as she ran down the stairs.

“He says that he’s here on vacation, Luna’s orders,” Spike said.

“Luna’s order?” Twilight asked with a giggle.

“Yes, she links I’m too obsessed with work and need a break,” I said.

“I know what that’s like,” she said sympathetically.

“So yeah, I have to not think about work,” I said.

“Well, I know one way to not think about work,” Twilight said.

“A Pinkie Party?” I asked.

“Yep!” Twilight answered.

“Maybe tomorrow, for now just relaxing is enough excitement for me,” I said.

“But what about meeting new friends?” Crystal asked.

“I think another time would be more appropriate, you don’t want to wear yourself out too quickly,” I said.

“So Crystal are you related to Mixer?” Spike asked.

“No, he’s just my guardian while my mama’s away,” she said.

“Oh, where’s your mama?” he asked.

“I’d rather not talk about it,” she said.

“Oh, sorry,” Spike said.

“Thats ok,” she said rubbing his head, “You didn’t know.”

“Spike to you think you can go fetch something for our guests to eat?” Twilight asked him.

“Ok Twilight,” he said and scurried off into the kitchen.

“Sorry about that, sometimes Spike doesn’t know when to stop asking questions,” Twilight said.

“You know, we can’t just keep this a secret forever. But we should wait a little longer,” I said.

“You’re right, we can’t expect to keep a secret forever,” Twilight said.

“Why do we have to keep it a secret?” Crystal asked.

“Because, we don’t want the other ponies to react badly, and possibly hurt you,” I said.

“Why doesn’t auntie Tia just tell them about it?” she asked.

“Because, I know from experience that ponies don’t always take big news like that well,” I said, remembering back to the Sombra incident in the Crystal Empire.

“It’s best to introduce you in increments,” Twilight said. “A few ponies at a time won’t cause an uproar.”

“Ok,” she said. “But can I show Spike?”

“Show me what?” he asked.

Twilight and I looked at each other and nodded.

Crystal’s disguise disappeared in a puff of green magic.

“AH!” Spike exclaimed and hid behind Twilight.

“It’s ok Spike, I’m not gonna hurt you,” Crystal said as her wings unfolded.

He still cowered behind Twilight.

“See, that’s the kind of reaction I’m worried about,” I said with a sigh.

“Come on out Spike,” Twilight said and lifted him up from behind her with magic.

“I thought dragons were supposed to be brave?” Crystal asked and tilted her head to one side.

“Yeah Spike, you’re not afraid of a little changeling are you?” Twilight asked.

“I-I’m not afraid, just surprised,” he said.

“Ok, so we can be friends right?” Crystal asked.

Twilight put Spike down, “um o-ok,” he stuttered.

“Yay!” Crystal said and hugged him.

“See, you got all scared over nothing,” I said.

“I suppose I did,” he said as he struggled free of the hug.

“So, Twilight what have you been up to?” I asked.

“Oh, I was just studying some new spells when you knocked,” she said.

“Wait, I think I heard Pinkie,” I said.

“What?” Twilights asked as Pinkie came rolling in through the door.

“I thought I saw you in here,” Pinkie said, now lying upside down on the floor.

“Hi Pinkie!” Crystal said.

“Hi Crystal” Pinkie replied jumping up. “What are you two doing in Ponyville?” she asked.

“We’re on vacation,” I said.

“That sounds super fun!” she said.

“Except Mixer’s all grumpy about it,” Crystal said.

“How can you be grumpy about vacation?” Pinkie asked me.

“Because, Luna ordered me to go on vacation,” I said.

“You know what you need?” she asked.

“I already know the answer,” I said.

“A Pinkie party,” we said, me with notably less enthusiasm.

“Um Pinkie, are you sure that’s a good idea?” Twilight asked.

“Why not? My parties are always funerific,” she said.

“At least keep it to ponies that know Crystal,” Twilight said.

“Okie-dokie-lokie,” Pinkie said and bounced her way back out.

“I swear, she’s the only one who has more energy than Crystal,” I said.

“I don’t think anypony could have more energy than Pinkie Pie,” Twilight said.

I laughed at that, “I don’t either.”

“So what are you going to do for a week?” Twilight asked.

“Well, I suppose there are a few things that I could do,” I said.

“Like what?” Twilight asked.

“I do still owe Vinyl a jam session, and I could mix up a few potions,” I said.

“And there’s the Pinkie Party,” Crystal said.

“And there’s that,” I said.

“Well, if you need something to do I’m sure you could ask around,” Twilight said.

“Ok, ready to go yet Crystal?” I asked.

She transformed back to her pony disguise, “Yep!”

“Ok then, let’s go to my house,” I said.

“Bye you two,” Twilight called after us.

“Bye Twilight,” Crystal called.

“See you later,” I called.

We walked to my house and crystal dropped her guise once we got in the door.

“Staying like that makes me tired,” she said with a yawn.

“Well, if you like you can take a nap, I can even play a lullaby for you,” I said.

“That sounds nice,” she said, yawning again.

“Then let’s go upstairs,” I said, creating a small set of crystals as we ascended the stairs.

Crystal climbed into the guest room bed and closed her eyes as I played and hummed a nameless lullaby.

I made sure she was asleep and then I went downstairs and made myself something to eat. Luna had been right, I was skipping lunch too much.

Crystal slept for around two hours, then came bundling down the stairs, as energetic as ever.

“So what are we gonna do now?” she asked.

“Well, I think it’s safe to say that the Pinkie party won’t be until tomorrow, so I’m not sure,” I said.

“What about meeting some new friends?” she asked.

“Well, we could go to Rarity’s or Applejack’s, each of them have a younger sister,” I said.

“Let’s go to Applejack’s!” Crystal said.

“Ok, but we can’t stay as long, it’s on the other side of town,” I said.

“Ok,” she said and donned her unicorn guise.

“Let’s go,” I said as I got up from where I was sitting.

“Yay!” she cried as she bounded out the door.

“Wait up for me,” I called, closing the door behind me.

We walked to Sweet Apple Acres and were greeted by Applejack.

“Hey sugarcube, what’s up?” she asked.

“Luna says I need a vacation, so here I am in Ponyville,” I said.

“An’ who’s this?” she asked.

“Don’t you remember me, I’m Crystal!” Crystal piped up.

“Why, last time I saw you, you sure didn’t look like that,” Applejack said.

“That’s because I’m getting some of my powers,” Crystal said.

“So what brings y’all here today?” Applejack asked.

“Crystal wanted to meet some new friends, and so she picked your sister to meet first,” I said.

“Why, I’m sure Apple Bloom would be glad to meet ya, so long as ya keep that up that look,” Applejack said.

“So where is Apple Bloom?” I asked.

“In her treehouse with her friends, come on I’ll show ya where it’s at,” she said.

“Yay!” Crysalis chirped as we followed Applejack to the treehouse.

“So how many of Apple Bloom’s friends are here?” Crystal asked.

“Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, they come over and play in the treehouse,” Applejack said.

“So I get to make three new friends,” Crystal said.

“Just stay in that form an’ you’ll be alright,” Applejack said.

“I know, other ponies might react badly if they saw me,” Crystal said.

“Well, here we are,” Applejack said.

“Cool,” Crystal said as she admired the treehouse.

“Apple Bloom, there’s somepony here to meet you an’ yer friends,” Applejack called.

Three heads popped out of one of the windows.

“HI!” Crystal called as she waved to them.

“Hi!” all three of them called back.

They pulled their heads back into the window and came out the door.

“What’s your name?” asked Apple Bloom.

“My name’s Crystal, what’s yours?” she asked.

“I’m Apple Bloom, this here is Sweetie Belle, and this is Scootaloo,” she replied.

“And we’re, the cutie mark crusaders!” they shouted in unison.

“Who?” Crystal asked.

“The cutie mark crusaders,” Apple Bloom said.

“We’re a group dedicated to helping ponies find their cutie marks,” Sweetie Belle added.

“And we’re always accepting new members,” Scootaloo said.

“Really?” Crystal asked.

“Yeah, we’d love to have you as a member,” Apple Bloom said.

“You get a cool cape and everything,” Sweetie Belle said.

“Cool!” Crystal said.

“Come check out our treehouse headquarters,” Scootaloo said.

“Ok,” Crystal said, following them up and into the small treehouse.

“Just don’t stay too long,” I called after her.
--

“So what do you think?” Sweetie Belle asked Crystal.

“It’s bigger that it looks,” she said.

“Yeah, we do all our planning in here,” Apple Bloom said.

“Planning for what?” Crystal asked.

“Our next way to get our cutie marks,” Scootaloo said.

“So what kinds of things do you do?” Crystal asked.

“We’re tryin everything,” Apple Bloom said.

“That’s a lot of things to try,” Crystal said.

“Yeah, but we won’t quit,” Scoot said.

“So is it just the three of you?” Crystal asked.

“It used to be, until my cousin Babs joined and started a Manehatten branch,” Apple Bloom said.

Crystal smiled, “It sounds like a great thing you’re doing.”

“You could join us,” Sweetie said.

“I’m not sure...” Crystal trailed off.

“Come on, it’ll be fun,” Scoot said.

“I’m not sure if that’s such a good idea. I mean it sounds fun and all, and I want to have you as friends, but I don’t think I could help you get your cutie marks,” Crystal said.

“What do you mean, of course you’ll be able to help us,” Sweetie said.

“Well, I’m not sure if I’ll get a cutie mark,” Crystal said.

“Don’t worry, we all felt like that at one point,” Apple Bloom said.

“You don’t underst,” Crystal tried to protest but was cut off.

“We can help you find your cutie mark,” Scoot said.

“But, I,” she tried to say.

“No buts, we’re gonna help you and that’s final,” Apple Bloom said.

“Ok, I have a secret, one that Mixer doesn’t want me to just go around telling everypony,” Crystal said.

“What secret?” Sweetie asked.

“And why doesn’t Mixer want anypony to know?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Because, he says that ponies would freak out if we just up and told them,” she said.

“We won’t tell anypony,” Scootaloo said.

“Do you promise not to freak out?” Crystal asked.

“We promise,” Apple Bloom said.

“Alright, here it goes,” Crystal said and her horn started glowing.
--

“Oh dear,” I said as we heard terrified yelps from the tree house.

“What’s goin on?” Big Mac said as he galloped over.

“It’s nothing, just the girls playing,’ I said, knowing that Applejack hated to lie.

“Yeah, Mixer brought over a new friend,” Applejack added.

“You sure?” he asked.

“Would I lie to you big brother?” Applejack asked.

“Nope,” he said, and ambled off.

“I swear, at this rate, all of Ponyville is going to know about her,” I said, shaking my head.

“She just wants to be honest with folks,” Applejack said.

“I know, I just wish it could be done with less panicing,” I said.
--

“Y-y-you’re... You’re...” Sweetie tried to spit the words out while she and the others cowered in the corner.

“A changeling, yes,” Crystal said, now in her true form.

“But all you are evil, your kind attacked our farm, and all of Equestria,” Apple Bloom said.

“I’m not like the others, I’m good,” Crystal said, trying to sound cheerful.

“So you’re not going to put us in pods and feed on us?” Scootaloo asked.

“Of course not!” Crystal said, a little shocked, I would never do that to my friends.”

“What about the other ponies?” Sweetie asked.

“No, not to them either,” Crystal said.

“But don’t changelings need to feed on, like love and stuff?” Scootaloo asked, the three of them cowering less.

“Nope, not since Mixer taught me this spell,” she said, letting her horn glow.

“So Mixer knows all about this?” Sweetie asked.

“Yes, he’s the one who is watching over me,” Crystal said.

“Well, if Mixer thinks you’re good, then I trust him,” Apple Bloom said.

“Yeah, he wouldn’t let a dangerous changeling hurt us, so why would he bring you here,” Sweetie said.

“Yeah, he saved all of us from,” Scootaloo cut herself short.

“It’s ok, I know what my mama did, and I don’t want her to be a statute forever, so I’m learning to be a regular pony,” Crystal explained.

“Do you still want to join us?” Apple Bloom asked.

“You still want me?” Crystal asked happily.

“Yeah, so what if you’re a changeling, you can still help us find our cutie marks, and we can be friends,” Sweetie said.

“Thank you!” Crystal cried and gave the three of them a hug.
--

“Looks like you made three more friends that know you’re a changeling,” I said, as we walked back home, a cape flowing behind Crystal in her pony form.

“Yeah, they were kind of scared at first, but they warmed up to me when I explained everything,” she said.

“That’s good. I know you don’t like hiding your true identity, neither do I, but I don’t want anything to happen to you is all,” I said.

“She gave my leg a hug, “I know that, it’s because you’re like my daddy.”

Something about that struck a cord inside me and made me stop dead.

“Your daddy?” I asked, almost as a question to the universe.

“Yeah, my daddy,” she repeated.

I was speechless, I had never thought that I would be a father, now I have a changeling calling me daddy. It was a perplexing flow of emotion.

“Is there something wrong?” she asked.

“No nothing, just... thinking about something,” I replied.

“Ok, but lets get home, I’m tired,” she yawned.

“Alright,” I said, smiling.

Something changed in me that day. The change was almost unperceivable to those who don’t know me, but to those who do, they would say that I smiled everytime Crystal was in the room.

Whirlwind

View Online

The Mixer Chronicles:

Book Sixteen:
Whirlwind

It was the fourth day of my “vacation”, and I was enjoying myself finally.

Vinyl had invited me over to have lunch with her and Octavia.

“Hey Mixer! Glad to see you could make it,” Vinyl said.

“Hey Vinyl. I don’t have anything to do while I’m here so of course I’d make it,” I said.

“Well don’t just stand there like a stranger, come on in!” she said, bringing me inside.

“Hi Octavia,” I said, as Vinyl pushed me towards the kitchen table.

“Hello Mixer, good to see you having some down time,” she said, sipping on a glass of some kind of juice.

“So how have you been enjoying your vacation?” Vinyl asked.

“I’m beginning to enjoy it now,” I said.

“That’s good, too much work is never a good thing,” Octavia said.

“Oh, that reminds me, I got a new toy since you were last here,” Vinyl said, a wide grin spreading across her face.

“Oh no...” Octavia said.

“Come on Tavi, I know how to use it now,” Vinyl said.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Meet me near the Everfree forest in half an hour,” Vinyl said, running upstairs.

“Ok...” I said.

Octavia handed me a pair of earplugs, “You might want these.”

“Um...” was all I said as I took the earplugs and left to go the the edge of the everfree forest.

“There you are, you’re late,” I said as Vinyl waked up to me.

“Sorry, had to get an extension cord,” she said.

“What?” I asked.

“Oh, nevermind, just follow me,” she said, and led me to a clearing just inside the Everfree.

There was a covered box with a wire coming out of it sitting in the center of the clearing.

“What is that?” I asked.

“Oh, nothing special, just my BASS CANNON!” she shouted as she ripped the cover off and pressed a red button on the top of the large speaker.

“Um...” I began but was cut off by a concussive blast of sound.

After a few seconds, the bass cannon powered down and I was able to hear my thoughts again.

“You like it?” she asked, smiling at the path of knocked down trees in front of it.

“YOU WEAPONIZED SOUND?” I shouted so I could hear my words.

“Heck yeah I did!” Vinyl said.

“May I see it,” I said, trying not to yell more.

“Go ahead,” she said.

I instantly looked over the bass cannon, marveling at the amplification power on the inside.

“Do you make this?” I asked.

“Yep,” Vinyl said proudly.

I rubbed my chin in thought for a moment, “Meet me back here in three days.”

“Why?” she asked.

“You’ll see,” I said and trotted back to my house.

I went into my old lab, dusting off many of the things I had gathered in there.

I started building a little surprise for Vinyl, based on the bass cannon she showed me.

When Crystal got home from playing with the Cutie Mark Crusaders she opened the door to my lab and asked me what I was doing.

“I’m making a surprise for Vinyl,” I said.

“Cool, what kind of surprise?” she asked.

“Something that will make her jaw drop,” I said and connected some wires.

“Can I help?” she asked.

“You can help with some of it, but you have to leave some of it to me,” I said.

“Ok,” she said and went about helping me connect wires and assemble parts.

“So what was this surprise you wanted to show me?” Vinyl said as I led her to the clearing.

“I had this idea, and well, lets just say, you’ll never have to worry about carrying your stuff to gigs,” I said.

“What?” she asked as the clearing came into view.

“I spent four days on this, and most of my spare bits,” I said.

“What is that?” she asked pointing at the odd shape that was covered by a canvas.

I pulled the canvas away revealing a platform with a ring of speakers, a dj booth, and two sets of lights on poles.

Vinyl’s jaw fell open, and she took her glasses off to make sure she wasn’t seeing things.

“It gets better,” I said, indicating that she should step up onto the platform.

“This is the most amazing Dj booth I have ever seen!” she said, admiring the wide array of controls before her.

“And look what happens when you press these buttons,” I said, indicating two red buttons on either end of the booth.

She flipped the cover off one and pushed it. ONe of the large speakers in front of the booth opened up, revealing a bass cannon.

I flipped the cover back on before it fired, “How do you like that? DOUBLE BASS CANNON!” I exclaimed, sounding like Vinyl at a party.

“So why did you build this thing way out here?” she asked.

“I didn’t,” I said.

“Then how did you move it here?” she asked.

“Turn it on, I have a couple sample records on the tables,” I said.

She turned it on and the ring of speakers started pumping out the wubs.

“Nice,” she said.

I flipped a couple of switches and the lights behind us came on.

“Now, see that button,” I said, pointing at a big blue button that said “Party time”. “Press it.”

She pressed it and the music shifted as the whole platform started to rumble.

“What’s going on?” she asked as the speakers on either side of the platform gave of steam.

I simply smiled a satisfied grin as we started to rise into the air.

“We just started this party,” I said, as she looked to see that there was a pair of legs underneath the platform.

“What the?!” she exclaimed.

“I call it the Mobile Party. It can take the wubs anywhere,” I said.

“I, I don’t know what to say,” she said, a tear running down her cheek. “It’s beautiful.”

“Don’t say anything, turn up the bass!” I said.

She turned up the music and we rocked out as it finished playing.

When it was done I powered the Mobile Party down and hopped off.

“Thanks Mixer!” Vinyl said as she powered it back up and proceeded to walk her new toy through town.

Needless to say, I got many noise complaints that day, but it was worth it.

Twilight knocked on my door the next morning.

“Morning Twilight,” I said coming to the door.

“That new machine that Vinyl has, did you make that?” she asked.

“Yep, took me four days,” I said.

“And I helped,” Crystal added.

Twilight looked at me shocked for a moment before carrying on, “How did you make something like that? I’ve never seen anything like it!”

“The idea just came to me after I saw the bass cannon, and I also got the idea to make Octavia something to,” I said.

“Not another one of those things,” she said.

“No nothing that large for Octavia, I was thinking more along the lines of an indestructible cello, with magical voice accompaniments,” I said.

Twilight looked dumbfounded, “How do you come up with these ideas?”

“I don’t know, but I’ve been getting more of them lately, like a musical number for Celestia,” I said.

“Are you feeling ok?” Twilight asked.

“I don’t feel any different, just more energetic,” I replied.

“Maybe you should go see a doctor,” Twilight suggested.

“I’m sure I’ll be fine. I’m going back to canterlot today, so I guess I’ll see you later,” I said.

“Ok if you say so,” Twilight said.

“Will you be there to see us off?” Crystal asked.

“Sure we will,” Twilight said.

“Yay,” Crystal said.

“Well, I have to get ready to go,” I said.

“Ok, see you later,” Twilight said as I closed the door.

I gathered together what plans I had started on and thought about what Twilight had said.

Was I acting a little strange? I thought. Nah, it’s just her worrying too much, I’m fine, never better in fact!

“Ready to go Crystal?” I called up the stairs.

“Almost,” she called back.

A few seconds later she came running down the stairs with a bulging saddlebag.

“Did you get everything?” I asked.

“Yep,” she chirped and we left for the train station.

As we walked my mind wandered to the state of the airship, I hope that Clockworks got it finished.

My thoughts were interrupted as I walked right into a pole.

“Mixer are you alright?” Crystal asked.

I rubbed my forehead, “Yeah, just bumped my head.”

“But I told you that you were about to run ito it,” she said.

“Did you?” I asked.

“Yeah,” she replied.

“Sorry, I was daydreaming,” I said, sidestepping the aforementioned pole and continuing on my way to the train station.

That’s strange, I should have noticed that. I thought as I walked onwards.

“Equestria to Mixer, come in,” Twilight said waving a hoof in front of my face.

“What?” I said, shaken from my thoughts.

“Were you paying attention?” she asked.

“When did I get to the train station, I thought it was farther than that,” I said looking around.

“Are you sure you’re ok?” Twilight asked.

“I’m fine, just having trouble concentration,” I replied.

“Well snap out of it for a second ok, we’re trying to say goodbye,” Twilight said.

“Sorry,” I apologized.

The others waved to us as the train pulled away leaving us watching them as the station slowly got smaller.

“So what’s so important that you keep spacing out?” Crystal asked.

“I keep thinking about things I could make for other ponies,” I said.

“Like what?” she asked.

“Well, I could make a new party cannon for Pinkie, or maybe a awesome new stunt routine for Rainbow Dash...” I said, my speech accelerating as I went, until possible things came flying from my mouth.

“Wow, thats a lot of things, one for every single pony in Canterlot and Ponyville,” Crystal said.

“Yeah, and I keep coming up with more ideas,” I said.

“Um, you can sit down now,” Crystal said.

“Oh, when did I get up?” I asked.

“When you were giving examples,” she replied.

“Maybe Twilight was right, maybe there is something wrong with me,” I said. “But I just don’t have time to stop and let these things pile up.”

Crystal raised an eyebrow at me.

“Ok, let me get started on a few things then I’ll go see a doctor,” I relented.

“Ok,” she said.

I went on thinking of ideas until we arrived in Canterlot.

I hurried to the castle, giving cursory “hello”s and “hi”s as I went to our house in the caverns.

I left Crystal standing on the lift as I raced to the airship dock.

“Tell me you finished it,” I said to Clockworks, making him jump.

“Yes, we just finished it yesterday,” he replied.

“Good,” was all that I said as I went back to the house.

“Hi Mixer enjoy your vacation?” Ivy asked me, blocking my way as I neared my house.

“Yeah, it was great,” I said, trying to pass her.

“What’s got you so worked up?” she asked.

“I saw that the airship was complete,” I said.

“Yeah, going to celebrate?” she asked, moving to either side as I tried to get past.

“Yeah,” I said.

“Ok, I'll let you go now,” she said and stepped aside.

I was past her before she finished.

I shut the door behind me and hurried upstairs with me plans and started to complete the drawings for them.

I kept the door to my work room locked so I would not be interrupted in the middle of the design process.

I briefly registered a knock on the door a few times but I took no notice of it, keeping to the designing of so many potential projects.
--

“One. Two. Three!” Trottson said as he and Brick knocked down the magically sealed door.

“Mixer, what is the meaning of this?” Luna called into the room, now a storm of swirling papers.

There was no response.

“MIXER!” Luna yelled in the royal canterlot voice, shaking the floor and sending more papers billowing around.

Still no response, just the sound of rustling papers.

Luna stormed into the cluttered room followed by Sombra and Crystal.

She moved through the storm of papers until she came to a desk with a sleeping form slumped over it, pencil in hoof and head resting on a half finished drawing.

“Mixer wake up!” Luna yelled.

Getting no response she physically shook the sleeping pony.

She finally used her magic to forcefully wake me up.

“Huh, what?” I asked sleepily before falling over into another stack of papers, instantly falling asleep.

“Luna what’s wrong with him?” Crystal asked.

“I don’t know, I’ve never seen anypony stay fall back asleep after that,” Luna replied.

“How long did you say he was locked in here?” Sombra asked looking around at the stacks of paper and piles of crumpled balls.

“Three days,” Crystal said.

“And he didn’t even eat?” Ivy asked looking at some of the pieces of paper.

“He never came out,” Crystal said.

“We should take him to see a doctor,” Sombra said.

“Yes, and send in somepony to take care of all these papers,” Luna said.

Brick and Trotson dragged my sleeping body to the nearest doctor while a team of secretaries was sent into the disaster zone of a room.

“So what seems to be the problem?” the doctor asked as Brick lifted me onto an examining table.

“He worked himself into the ground for three days, then we found him sleeping,” Luna said.

“Hmm,” the doctor said examining me. “He looks to be physically normal, aside from normal signs of sleep deprivation, but I can’t explain his deep state of rest.”

“What do you mean you can’t explain it?” Ivy said, concern coloring her voice.

“I mean, that it’s not anything I’ve seen before, maybe a form of magic,” the doctor said.

“Maybe you haven't, but I have,” a voice with a Saddle Arabia accent said, accompanied by a well dressed stallion.

“What do you mean?” the doctor asked. “And besides, you are only here as a guest.”

“What use am I if I don’t help when I can?” the stallion asked. “And what kind of physician does that make you not wanting to help a patient?”

The doctor grumbled and allowed the stallion to examine me.

“Let me introduce myself,” the stallion said, “I am Razes, I am a physician from Saddle Arabia, come here to study Equestrian medicine. “Oh yes, just as I thought,” he said, finishing his examination.

“What? What is it?” Ivy asked.

“He has a rare condition from my homeland. It is called Whirlwind Syndrome, or more commonly, the kiss of the wind. It makes the infected pony astoundingly energetic, able to run for miles without tiring, or perform acts of intellect rarely thought possible. The only problem is, eventually the pony will pass out from the continued stress, each time sleeping for longer, until they simple never wake up,” he said.

“Is there a cure?” Luna asked.

“And is it contagious?” Trottson asked, concerned of the possibility of an epidemic.

“No it is not contagious, and there is a cure, but I have to know what he has been doing in his high energy state,” Razes said.

“He has been inventing and creating,” Luna said.

“Then he must master the effects of the disease scattering his thoughts, inhibiting his ability to concentrate and thus finish any of his works,” he said.

“But how does that help?” Ivy asked.

“The wind is uncontrollable, having great power, but it also changes direction, never holding to a single purpose for long. The key to his recovery is to finish something, to quell the whirlwind of his thoughts with the satisfaction of completion,” Razes said.

“So he just has to finish a project, sound easy enough,” Brick commented.

“No my friend, he will try to move to another project, making any excuse to do something else, you must not allow him to waver from the task you decide,” Razes said.

“Ok, so when he wakes up we have to have him finish something,” Luna said.

“Yes, but be warned, do not let him trick you, and don’t wake him early,” Razes said and bid them farewell.

“So we have to pick something out of that room and have him finish it,” Ivy said as the four of them walked back to the castle.

“Yeah, but what do we pick?” Trottson said.

“We have to pick something that he can do easily enough,” Luna said.

“Where would we even begin?” Ivy asked.

“I’ll have Clockwork look for all the complicated designs and throw them out. If there are any projects left that we can do then we’ll pick one,” Luna said.

“Ok, so we have three days to pick something before he wakes up right?” Ivy asked.

“How do you figure three days?” Luna asked.

“Well, if it works in a cycle, then he should be asleep for at least two days,” Ivy said.

“Ok then, that should give us plenty of time,” Trottson said.

“Then let’s get to it,” Brick said, readjusting me on his back.

They got back to the castle and put me on a bed and left a pair of guards to watch over me while they went to the task of sorting through the designs.

“I didn’t think such inventions were possible!” Clockwork said, going through some of the more technical designs.

“Some of these look like unfinished music,” Ivy said.

“And this one here is a note on a spell,” Star Shine said.

“I don’t know what some of these symbols mean,” Trottson said.

“How many ideas could he have had?” Phalanx asked, sorting through a pile of flight routines.

“It appears that he had hundreds in a hundred different subjects,” Luna said, tackling two stacks at once.

“And some of these don’t even make sense, like this meme thing,” Rose said.

“I can't believe he could make such architectural drawings,” Brick said, slowly slogging his way through another stack.

“Is this a dress pattern?” Thunderlane asked, sifting his own stack.

“He also has a few weapon designs,” Sombra said.

Nine ponies worked on, sorting through the designs I had made.

Eventually each finished with the stacks and produced a few ideas.

“So, what do each of you have?” Luna asked.

“I have a design for a small cannon,” Clockwork said.

“I’ve got this, it says something about making an indestructible cello,” Ivy said.

“I’ve got this, um, it appears to be a blade of some sort,” Sombra said.

“Anything else?” Luna asked.

“Just these note on a spell, but they are kind of vague,” Stat Shine said.

“Ok, let me see them,” Luna said.

The four papers were passed to her and she levitated them in front of her.

“No,” she said, letting the cannon drop. She let the spell notes drop with a look of confusion on her face. “The blade will take too long, so this ‘indestructible cello’,” she said at last.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I woke up in a room with two guard watching over me and a splitting headache.

“Happened what?” the jumbled words came spilling out of my mouth.

“He’s awake, go tell the princess,” one of the guards said, the other rushing away.

"Quousque erat sum de?" the words in an ancient tongue spilled out of my mouth, seemingly of their own accord.

“What?” the guard asked.

I shook my head, trying to get my tongue under control again.

“I said, how long was I out,” I said, finally my words coming in a coherent, and understandable manner.

“Three days,” the guard said.

“Three days huh...” I trailed off, my mind’s gears starting to turn quicker.

I tried to get up to leave but the guard stopped me.

“I have been ordered to keep you here until the princess says otherwise,” he said.

“Why would Celestia want me to stay here?” I asked.

“Celestia did not order this, Luna did, he said, spreading his wings to make it impossible for me to push past him.

“Then why would Luna want to keep me in here?” I asked.

“She did not say, only told us to keep you here and tell her when you awoke,” he said.

I started thinking about what I was doing before I fell asleep. I remembered going through ream after ream of paper writing down the beginnings of project ideas.

“Mixer,” Luna’s stern voice shook me from my thoughts.

“Why did you have me put in this room?” I asked.

“Because we were worried about your health,” she said in a soft tone.

“But now that you’re awake we’re going to help you with a project of yours,” Ivy said.

“Which one?” I asked.

“The indestructible cello,” Sombra said.

“Ah, the cello for octavia, you know that’s not all that it is. It also uses a set of crystals to give a vocal accompaniment to the cello’s strings,” I said.

“Yeah, and we’re going to help you finish it,” Trottson said.

“But what about the other projects?” I asked.

“We can do those afterwards, for now lets get working on the cello!” Crystal said.

“Ok, so where are my plans?” I asked.

“Right here,” Clockwork said.

“Ok, so first we’re going to need the wood for the body, some chemicals, eight crystals, a set of strings, and some other components,” I said.

“Ok, I’ll go get the wood,” Brick said, running off.

“I’ll get the strings,” Ivy said.

“I’m already working on the crystals,” Sombra said.

“What kind of components do you need?” Clockworks asked.

“Mostly the miscellaneous parts of a cello, like the tuning pegs and the frets, things like that,” I said.

He nodded and hurried off, leaving Trottson and Luna left.

“I’ll arrange for the contents of your lab to be moved here,” Luna said.

“Ok, but what about while I wait?” I asked.

“I have to give you a report on what happened while you were gone and asleep,” Trottson said.

“And I haven’t had anypony to play with in days,” Crystal said.

I sighed, “Ok, give me the report.”

After an overly lengthy report by Trottson, Brick returned with the wood for the cello.

“Great, this should be enough for the cello, now I need to cut it to size,” I said.

“And that is why I’m here to help,” an earth pony mare with a bass clef cutie mark said.

“And you are?” I asked.

“My name is Crescendo Waltz, and I repair the instruments of the Royal Orchestra,” she said.

“Oh, so I take it you can cut the body for a cello,” I said.

“Among a plethora of other instruments, yes,” she said.

“Well, let’s get to it, that cello won’t build itself,” Trottson said.

“I’m sure Crescendo can handle cutting the wood for the body and neck,” I said.

“On the contrary, I would like some help with it, it would make it go faster,” she insisted.

“Fine,” I sighed.

“I hope you are handy with a saw,” she said, and led me to a room with room for us to work in.

“So why do you need my help?” I asked, while she measured a piece of wood for the front of the body.

“You don’t think that I do this all by myself do you. And besides, I don’t have the magic that you do, making you another invaluable tool in construction,” she said.

“So what, I’m a glorified set of clamps?” I asked.

“I never said that,” she said tracing the body outline.

I tried to sneak out of the room while she was finishing the outline.

“Going somewhere assistant?” she asked as I neared the door.

“How did you?” I asked.

“I have a finely trained ear darling, I can tell an out of tune string from two rooms away,” she said, calmly finishing the outline.

“So what do you need me to do?” I asked, rolling my eyes.

“Can you cut along these lines?” she asked.

“That’s it?” I asked.

“For now yes, not many ponies can cut along a fine line,” she said.

I snorted and began cutting the outline.

“Hey Mixer are these stings ok?” Ivy asked holding six bundles in her mouth.

“Yes, those will do just fine,” Crescendo said.

“Ok, so how’s it coming?” she asked.

“Not too fast,” I said, showing Crescendo the cut body.

“Very nicely done,” she said.

“How are the chemicals from my lab coming?” I asked.

“Most of them have been moved,” she said.

“Then let’s go, I have to prepare the special lacquer and dip for the strings,” I said.

“Ok, I’ll go with you,” Ivy said.

“But who will help Crescendo?” I asked, attempting to have a chance to check on any of my other projects that could possibly be worked on.

“We’ll handle it,” Star Shine said as he and Rose walked in.

I facehoofed, “Ok, let’s go.”

We walked to another room where they set up my equipment.

“So what’s first?” Ivy asked.

“Let’s make the dip for the strings, it’ll make them stronger without inhibiting their ability to produce sound,” I said.

“So how do you do that?” she asked.

“I mix the chemicals while you sit and watch,” I said.

“Why can’t I help?” she asked.

“Because, you don’t have magic, and therefore can’t handle some of the chemicals,” I said, selecting the base components.

After hours of mixing, stirring, and reacting, the dip and lacquer were done.

“Oh is it done?” Ivy asked sleepily.

“Yes, finally,” I said, wiping my face off.

“Good, because all the parts of the cello have been cut,” Luna said walking in with Sombra.

“I think you can handle just coating the parts in lacquer and dipping the strings,” I said.

“But what about the crystals, you still need to use the magic on them,” Sombra said.

I sighed, “Fine, hand them over.”

“What?” Luna asked.

“It almost seems like you are forcing me to finish this, when I have so many other things I could start on while I wait for each step to get done,” I said.

“That’s just silly, why would we stop you from doing so many wondrous things?” Sombra asked.

“Guess, I’m just getting impatient with how long it is taking to finish this,” I said, tapping my hoof.

“Then let’s go assemble the cello, tune it, and mount those crystals,” Luna said.

“Ok, let’s go,” I said, carrying the crystals with my magic.

We hurried to the workroom, more of the others gathering behind us.

“So you have all the components to finish now?” Luna asked once everything was assembled in the workroom.

“Give me some space, I’m going to speed this up with magic,” I said.

I levitated the pieces of the cello, the strings, all the little nails and screws, a few brushes, and the crystals and started the process. I coated the pieces, dried them magically, dipped the strings, assembled the cello, strung it, enchanted the crystals, and socketed them into the body of the cello with magic. By the time I was done, sweat was dripping of my brow and my horn was smoking lightly.

“Finished,” and with those words I passed out.

I woke up later in a bed with Ivy, Sombra, and Luna sitting over me.

“What happened?” I asked.

“Do you have an urge to make anything?” Luna asked.

“No, why?” I asked.

Ivy gave me a hug, “You’re cured!”

“Was I sick?” I asked.

“In a manner of speaking,” Luna said.

“And thank you for the cello,” I heard Octavia say.

I sat up and saw that not only her and Vinyl, but the whole Lunar guard and Twilight and her friends were there.

“Ok, what’s going on?” I asked.

“You caught a bug from Saddle Arabia,” Sombra said.

“It made you have an irresistible urge to make things,” Twilight added.

“You had to finish something to get better,” Crystal said.

“So we helped you,” Luna said.

“I guess I owe all of you thanks,” I said.

“You being better is thanks enough,” Crystal said and gave me a hug.

“Ok, ok, if I keep getting hugs I might burst,” I said.

“So what now?” Luna asked.

“I think I’ll go back to my normal schedule, after all, everything that was different is done with,” I said.

“That sounds good,” she said, and left with Sombra.

As the other gave their goodbyes it seemed like things would finally be normal, possible once and for all. I was left alone in the room with Crystal after all the others were gone.

“I’m glad you’re back to normal,” she said.

“I’m glad to be back to normal,” I said.

“So everythings going to be ok from now on?” she asked.

“Hm?” I asked.

“No more problems, just normal happily ever after?” she asked.

“I’m not sure about that, but I’ll be normal, and I’m sure everything else will be too, for a time,” I said.

“Ok, so long as you’re ok,” she said.

Shadows of the Past

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The Mixer Chronicles:

Book Seventeen:
Shadows of the Past

Part 1

Life went back to normal for quite some time. Twilight and her friends went to the Crystal Empire to help them get the honor of hosting the Equestria games and we congratulated them for helping and Cadence and Shining for having the honor.

Then one day Celestia got a letter from Twilight.
Dear Princess Celestia

It has come to my attention that an event of great significance will occur sometime in the near future. I don’t know what the nature of the event will be but I do know that it will be important to all of Equestria. I will inform you should any new information arise.
You faithful Student,
Twilight Sparkle.

“What do you make of this?” Celestia asked Luna.

“I don’t know sister, this is unusual news,” Luna replied.

“Would you like us to put the guards on watch?” the captain of the guard asked.

“Not yet,” Celestia said.

“What about Twilight and her friends? Would you like some of the Lunar guard to protect them?” I asked.

“No, we shall bring them here,” Luna said.

“So what about this ‘event’?” I asked.

“We shall find out more from Twilight when she arrives,” Celestia said.

“For now, continue about your business,” Luna said.

“Would you like me to ready the airship just in case?” I asked.

“Yes, prepare it for operation, but do not leave the hangar,” Luna said.

“As you wish,” I said and turned to leave.

I wondered what could be so important to all of Equestria that Twilight could know about as I went to the hangar and told told Brick and Phalanx to prepare it for take off.

The next morning Twilight and the rest of her friends arrived, but Pinkie was in low spirits.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“It’s my Pinkie sense, it going wild,” Pinkie said.

“Pinkie sense?” I asked.

“Don’t ask,” Twilight said.

“So what is it?” I asked.

“Something big is gonna happen, and soon!” Pinkie said, giving a slight convulsion.

“Looks like a real doozy,” Applejack said.

“Oh, oh, it’s happening now,” Pinkie said as she collapsed holding her stomach.

“Pinkie!” I said, worried for her health.

She lay there for a few second, convulsing a few times then jumped back up.

“Pinkie are you ok?” I asked.

“Yeah, there are some ponies here to see you,” she said.

“What?” I asked.

“You’ll see,” she said and hopped into the castle.

“What was that all about?” I asked, looking around at the other ponies concerned faces.

“Whatever it is that gonna happen just did,” Applejack said.

“And we better get ready for something big,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Quickly, let’s get you to the princesses,” I said.

We proceeded inside where Pinkie was waiting with Luna and Celestia.

“Princess, we have to prepare, whatever it is, the event is going to happen soon,” Twilight said.

“Yes, Pinkie already told me about the doozy,” Celestia said.

“Mixer, go and prepare the airship,” Luna said.

“I’ll take care of it,” Trottson said, walking in. “A messenger just got here from Las Pegasus, she said she flew here as fast as she could with news for the princesses.”

“Send her in,” Celestia said.

Trottson left and a pinkish pegasus mare walked in, still breathing heavily.

“Your Highnesses,” she said in between breaths.

“What is is?” Celestia asked.

“It-it’s, some kind of gigantic metal ship. It just showed up this morning and parked in the bay. It has three sets of huge cannons,” she said, her eyes growing wide as she relayed the last bit of information.

“We need to do something!” Luna said.

“Mixer, take Twilight and her friends to the airship, Luna, you go with them, I will gather the Wonderbolts to fly with us,” Celestia said giving out orders.

I replied with a “Yes Princess,” and took Twilight and her friends to the airship, rallying the rest of the Lunar guard and Sombra.

“Wow, this thing is amazing,” Twilight said as we boarded the airship.

“Clockworks, cut the tethers!” I called down once all of us were on board.

“Aye aye,” he said, releasing the lines letting the airship float freely.

“Sombra, help me open the doors,” I said.

“Right,” he said and moved to the bow to help me push the massive doors aside, an act made easier by the mechanisms inside each slab of metal and rock.

There was a sound of metal scraping on metal as they slid open.

I moved to the wheelhouse where Ivy was checking on various gauges and Phalanx was checking weather conditions.

I manned the wheel and used the audio crystal embedded in the console to call Brick who was in the engine room with Thunderlane.

“How are the engines?” I asked.

“All fired up and ready to go,” Thunderlane said.

“Ivy, are we goo on helium?” I asked.

“Yep, and the heating and cooling systems are all green,” she said.

“Then lets get this show on the road!” I said, gently giving the virgin airship’s throttle a nudge to kick in the engines.

There was a low growling sound as the engines kicked in and the airship started to move forward.

“Ready for the maiden voyage?” I asked to no pony in particular as we cleared the hangar doors.
“Wow,” a chorus of voices sounded from outside as the airship became free of the mountain.
“How’s the view?” I asked them.

“How did you even come up with this?” Twilight said as she walked into the wheelhouse.

“Well, it all hit me when I was thinking about how I could use convection to make an airship change altitude quicker. It occurred to me that if there were heating systems in the bottom of the envelope, then it would rise faster, and if it could be cooled from the top, then it would eliminate the need for ballast,” I said.

“What about the under slung design for the envelopes?” she asked.

“When you can make the gondola lighter, then you can put it on top of the envelope, the only problem being balance. The solution is to use two smaller envelopes under a pair of wings to add stability,” I explained as we rose to the level of Canterlot.

“Mixer, I see Celestia and the Wonderbolts,” Sombra said, as we stabilized our altitude.

Celestia landed on the open deck along with a few of the Wonderbolts.

“It looks like the airship was a success,” she said.

“Yes. It might not be as fast as a pegasus, but it will get us there quick,” I said.

“Very good, let us make haste to Las Pegasus,” she said.

“Right away,” I said, giving it full throttle.

There was a slight lurch as the engines spun up to full rpm, but then the airship started moving at a fast clip.

Soon we were flying over the terrain towards Las Pegasus.

“Mixer, do you think?” Ivy asked as we were flying.

“I don’t know what to make of this,” I said.

“What if it is?” she asked.

“I hope that they would be better than attacking a city unprovoked,” I said, concentration on flying.

Out on the deck I could see Luna, Celestia, and Sombra talking with Twilight.

I could pick up what they were saying with the help of an audio crystal.

“We don’t know what this ship holds, so we need to be very delicate with this,” Twilight said.

“We need to consider how to best approach this situation,” Celestia said.

“But what if they are hostile?” Luna asked.

“We can only hope that that is not true,” Celestia said.

“If they are I’m sure we’ll beat em,” Rainbow Dash said.

“If they are hostile, we will have to get all of you to safety as soon as possible,” Trottson said.

“So what do you think is in the ship?” Fluttershy asked.

“I don’t know, but I hope it’s only ponies,” Applejack said.

“I hope they like to party,” Pinkie said.

“Pinkie,” Twilight said, her voice a scolding tone.

“Look, we're getting close to Las Pegasus,” Rarity said, pointing to the approaching city.

“All wings to escort position,” I heard Spitfire call to the rest of the Wonderbolts.

“All hooves, on deck, we’re almost there,” I called into a set of audio crystals linked to the various compartments of the ship.

By the time we were over the outskirts of the city we were surrounded by a small cloud of pegasi, both Wonderbolts and local guardsponies.

“We should hang back out of cannon range,” I called out to Celestia and Luna.

“Make it so,” Luna called.

I settled us with a view of the bay over one of the taller buildings in Las Pegasus.

I left Ivy to handle the wheel while I met with the princesses on deck.

“We need to send a recon party,” I said.

“Agreed, six pegasi should be able to do it,” Luna said.

“Three Wonderbolts and the three pegasi of the Lunar Guard,” celestia said.

Trottson and Phalanx gave salutes out of habit and took of with Thunderlane to tell Spitfire the plan.
--

Meanwhile aboard the flagship HMS Royal the Admiral was giving orders to his flight crews.

“I want all flyers ready to take off at a moment’s notice,” he said into a microphone.

“Aye aye sir,” a voice crackled over the radio.

He turned to two pegasi standing on the bridge, one was in a sliver flight suit and had a blonde mane, the other was in a navy blue flight suit with a black mohawk with a blue streak running through it. “Silverwing, I want you to lead the intercept team, Thunder Blitz, you get your squadron ready for reactive measures. I don’t want any surprises that we don’t need. Find out about Mixer if you can but don’t engage in any diplomatic relations.”

“Yes Sir!” both of them replied with a salute.

Silverwing and Thunder Blitz left the bridge to go to their respective posts.

“If those foreign ponies set one hoof wrong we’ll flatten them,” Thunder Blitz said as they made their way to to flight deck.

“Cool your wings hot shot, I’m sure they’re peaceful, otherwise we would have already pulled out,” Silverwing retorted calmly.

“I bet their shaking in their boots seeing this ship,” he said.

“Is fighting all you ever think about?” Silverwing asked.

“I don't always think about fighting, just about winning,” he bit back.

“Well have fun chilling out on the flight deck while I get to fly with my squad,” Silverwing said and left to form up with her squadron.

The five squad members all had the distinctive silver flight suits, each with the squadron’s emblem on them, two silver wings, the cutie mark of their leader.

Thunder Blitz gathered his squadron, a group of brutish looking pegasi, all with the same navy flight suits and a dark thunderhead emblem.

Silver squadron was a group of mares and stallion all looking sleek in the silver flight suits, some with their grey flight helmets on.

“Ok, lets get ready to roll, we have a mission,” Silverwing said to her squad.

They all got their flight helmets on and got into takeoff position on the short airstrip on the stern of the ship.

“Silverwing, do you copy?” a voice crackled over her helmet radio.

“I hear ya Echo, five by five,” Silverwing replied, confirming the headset was working.

“Alright, you are cleared for takeoff, whenever you are ready,” the communications officer said.

Silverwing flipped down the reflective visor on her helmet and gave a nod to her squad.

The six of them took off and Silver switched her radio to the squad channel.

“Ok everypony, listen up. We’re just on an intercept course with the six ponies that we spotted headed our way. Let me handle the talking, I don't want to start an international incident because of a miscommunication,” she said.

“Roger,” her squad replied, then she switched the radio back to the open channel.

I hope they’re friendly. She thought as they closed the distance to the six ponies.

As they approached the six ponies, Silverwing could see that they were from two different groups. Three of the ponies were wearing flight goggles and cyan flight suits with yellow lightning bolts on them, the other three were wearing what appeared to be knights armor with a crescent moon emblazoned on the front.

The six other ponies stopped in mid air and waited for Silverwing and her squadron to approach.

Two ponies separated from the foreign squad and moved towards a middle ground in between the two groups, one from each squadron.

Silverwing did the same, taking two wingponies with her, leaving the other three behind.

“Greetings,” the brownish stallion in knight armor said.

“Um, hi,” the mare in the flight suit said.

“Greetings,” Silverwing said.

“We would like to extend a welcome on behalf of Equestria to you,” the stallion said, the mare rolling her eyes.

Silverwing was impassive and didn't say anything immediately.

The stallion cleared his throat and continued, “We would like to ask you why you brought such a large ship, with such, armaments,” he said, the last word with an unsavory tone.

“I’ am not authorized to disclose that information at this time,” Silverwing said, trying to be non confrontational.

“Looks like we got a real talker,” the mare said to the stallion.

“Spitfire, we’re trying not to make them mad,” the stallion said, casting an admonishing glance at Spitfire.

She just rolled her eyes at him and said, “We’re also not here to make small talk.”

“You make a wonderful first impression,” Silverwing said sarcastically.

“Why you,” Spitfire started, before the stallion put his hoof over her mouth.

“I apologize for my companion’s, OW!” he shouted as Spitfire bit him.

“That what you get for cutting me off Trottson,” she said.

“You didn’t have to bite me!” he said, nursing his hoof.

“Ahem,” Silverwing said.

“Hold on miss shades,” Spitfire said. “You might be Luna’s personal guard and Mixer’s right hoof pony, but that does not give you the right to stick your hoof in my face,” she yelled at Trottson, giving credence to her name.

“Did you say Mixer?” Silverwing asked.

“Wait you know him?” Spitfire asked.

“Does that mean you are from New Pegisopolis?” Trottson asked.

“Are you getting this?” one of her squad mates asked the Echo.

“Yeah, and so is the Admiral,” he replied.

“Silverwing, I want you to escort them to the ship so we can talk,” the Admiral’s voice came over the radio.

“Um, hello?” Spitfire waved a hoof at Silverwing.

Silverwing took off her helmet, cutting off the orders from the Admiral.

“My name is Silverwing, I’m the leader of Silver Squadron, and I’d like to invite you and your leaders to our ship so we can talk,” Silverwing said.

“Well, Silverwing, if you want to meet the princesses you will have to follow us,” Trottson said.

“Um sir, the Admiral wants to talk to you,” one of her squadmates said.

“Tell him that I’m going to bring some guests home with us,” Silverwing said.

“He doesn’t sound happy,” the other said.

“Well, he can yell all he wants, I have just as much authority over the situation as him,” Silverwing said, her tone harsh.

Silverwing smiled as she thought she could hear the Admiral shouting through her helmet in her hooves.

“Please, take us to your princesses,” Silverwing said to Trottson and Spitfire. “You two get the others and keep a formation behind me,” she said turning to the two squadmates.
--

I watched as Trottson and Spitfire escorted a single pony back to the airship, five others following some distance behind.

When they got closer the guards stopped the five tagalongs and Spitfire and Trottson landed with the pegasus.

“Silverwing?” I asked when she landed.

“Mixer?” she asked back, making sure she wasn’t seeing things.

“Do you two know each other?” Celestia asked.

“Well, no. I do know of her,” I said to Celestia. “Where is Goldstar?” I asked.

“Never mind about that,” she said dodging the question, “What have you been doing here? You've been gone for over a year.”

“That is a story for another time, I believe you have more important things to attend to, like establishing a diplomatic relationship with Equestria,” I said.

“Oh yes,” she said, noticing the two alicorns that were standing off to her right.

“Greetings Silverwing, I am Princess Celestia, and this is my sister Luna. We are the rulers of Equestria,” she said.

“Your highnesses,” Silverwing said with a bow.

“We are pleased to meet with ponies from your nation,” Celestia said, both to me and Silverwing.

“If I may ask, would you allow us to escort you to our ship so you can speak with the captain of the ship and fleet admiral?” Silverwing asked.

“Yes,” Celestia said.

“Right away,” I said, going back to the wheelhouse to put the airship in gear.

I got an idea and used an audio crystal to tap into the radio signal from the helmets.

“Silverwing! What in blazes were you thinking? Disobeying a direct order like that? I should have your rank stripped from you and send you back to kitchen duty for the rest of your life!” I heard a rather angry voice over the radio waves.

“You know just as well as I do that we need Mixer back. He’s our only hope of curing the king,” Silverwing replied.

“And that is why you are still in the air and Thunder Blitz isn't taking your place,” the Admiral said.
What could be wrong with the king? I thought as I cut the crystal’s signal.

“Make sure to keep her at low speed, we don’t want to come off as threatening,” Ivy said.

“Right” I said, throttling it down a little.

“I know this must be kind of hard for you,” she said.

“It’s just strange, seeing other ponies form New Pegisopolis,” I said.

“Well, I’m here if you need to talk,” she said comfortingly.

“Thanks,” I said.

We drew closer to the ship and when we landed a crew of earth ponies tethered the airship and guided us in.

As we got off the airship we were greeted by a pony in a white uniform flanked by Thunder Blitz.

“Greetings Princesses,” he said in an authoritative voice.

“Greetings Admiral,” Celestia said.

“We have heard good things about you from Mixer,” Luna said.

“That is good to hear. Come, let us discuss matters on the bridge,” he said.

“But I don’t see any bridges on this ship,” Luna said.

“He means the command center for the ship,” I said.

“Oh, well then, to this bridge,” she said.

“I really need to acquaint you with some of the technological terms,” I said.

Silverwing fell into step on the other side of the Admiral and we followed him to the bridge.
The guards would only let the princesses and I through, and finally after some convincing, Trottson and Sombra.
The Admiral moved to the other side of a table with a map of the New Pegisopolis seaboard.

“You might not be aware of our government structure so I’ll fill you in quickly,” The Admiral said. “We are ruled by a hereditary monarch. With a majority vote by a council of advisors, the air to the throne can be changed, or chosen. Our current king, has come down with a mysterious illness, one that our best doctors have not been able to cure. We came here looking for Mixer because some of our best unicorns sensed a large magic signature from across the ocean, and it matched Mixer’s. Luckily this ship was already under construction at the time and so it was reinforced to cross through the storm belt, a magical storm the spans the entire ocean from pole to pole, as far as we can tell. We need to return with him as soon as possible, the king’s condition was getting worse when we left,” he explained.

“That’s a lot to take in for first contact,” Luna said.

“I had no idea,” I said.

“As you can see it is important that we make haste in this matter,” the Admiral said.

“I understand and heed your plight, we can make official relations once your king has recovered,” Celestia said.

“So you’re just going to send him away, alone?” Luna asked.

“No, you and the Elements will go with him. You can do just as well as I can in establishing diplomatic relations,” Celestia said.

“What about me?” Sombra said.

“I would like to keep you here,” Celestia said.

“And the Lunar guard?” Trottson asked.

“They will be accompanying you,” Celestia said.

“So we will leave immediately,” the Admiral said.

“Sir, the Dawn Treader and the Exodus won’t be able to make the trip with the current supplies, and the Majestic might not survive the return trip,” a bridge officer said.

“Tell them to stay here, their crews are all officially our first diplomatic envoys in Equestria,” the Admiral said.

“They will be welcomed in Las Pegasus until you return,” Celestia said.

“Alright, I thank you for your hospitality on their behalf, now we must depart,” the Admiral said.

We went to tell everypony the news and then Celestia departed to the shore while the other ships moved to dock.

The Royal weighed anchor and made its way out to the open ocean.

We were shown to our quarters, which were next to each other, four to a room. I was with Trottson, Phalanx, and Brick. Luna had a room to herself, Ivy and Brick bunked with Star Shine and Rose, and the Mane Six took two rooms, three each.

The others went on a tour of the ship, but I went up to the deck and watched as the mainland disappeared on the horizon.

“Isn’t it nice?” Silverwing asked, walking up to me, now in her standard fatigues.

I sighed, “I didn’t know how watching your home just sail away felt, but I guess it has less of an effect on me.”

“But you’re coming home now. I know I didn’t really know you before, but we need you now,” she said.

“It feels like something is wrong, Like there is something going on that we don’t know about,” I said.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“It seems strange that there would be a power surge in my lab while I was doing an experiment, which is what I hypothesize caused me to be teleported to Equestria in the first place. On top of that, now that things have settled down, you suddenly arrive saying that the king has fallen ill and that I am the only one who could cure him, something that would not be an issue if I never left. Finally, all the personnel on board this vessel seem, distant, or irritable,” I said.
“You sound like a conspiracy theorist,” she said.
I sighed again, “Maybe you’re right. You would not believe how hard it is to stop considering what could go wrong after all I’ve been through,” I said.
“Well things haven’t been all sunshine in New Pegisopolis either. Even before the king fell ill there was fighting amongst the nobles. There was even a small revolt,” she said.
“What happened?” I asked.
“Some noble thought he could get freedom by rising up against the king. He hired some mercenaries and locked himself away in his mansion,” she hesitated. “The king sent Goldstar and her squadron to capture him so his troops would cease hostility.”
“I’m sorry I asked,” I said.
“No, you need to know,” she said, holding back a shaky voice. “As you know, Thunder Blitz and I were on her squadron. We ended up being ambushed when we were reconing the mansion. Thunder Blitz escaped, but the rest of us were taken into the mansion to be tortured. They saved Goldstar and me for last,” she paused, tears starting to roll down her cheeks. “Thunder Blitz broke in and told us that he would clear a path for us. When we got the the exit point we found a group of mercenaries waiting, and him retreating.” She broke down and started crying on my shoulder, “Goldstar told me to go, that she would cover my escape. She didn’t make it. After the military stormed the mansion, we found her dead, tortured by the noble.”
I comforted her while she cried.

“I’m so sorry,” I said.

“I was never able to prove it, but I still think Blitz left us there to die, hoping he would take the position of squad leader,” she said, her tone changing to one of pure hatred.

“He always was ambitious, but to kill the rest of the squad, thats far even for him,” I said.

“After the raid, they gave both of us our own squadrons. I recruited some of the best ponies in the air force for my squad, Blitz just brought in a bunch of thugs that got in through brute force,” she said.

“Hey! what are they doing to my airship?!” I asked, seeing that the air bladders were being deflated.

“Oh,” she said, the word dripping with disgust, “The Admiral ordered your airship be locked down, so that it wouldn't get ‘damaged’ in the storm,” she said.

“What’s with the sudden disdain for authority?” I asked.

“The Admiral is a bully, and Blitz is his lapdog,” she said.

“Suddenly I don’t seem like such a conspiracy theorist,” I said.

“That’s not just it, ponies all over have been reporting strange mood swings. They say that the affected ponies are easily agitated, and prone to anger,” she said.

“So now we have a series of inexplicable misfortunes and nothing to connect it to,” I said.

“Hey, you two, were approaching the storm belt, get below decks,” Blitz said walking up to us.

“On whose orders?” Silverwing challenged.

“The Admirals. Wouldn’t want you to get hurt on deck,” he said in a mocking tone.

“Get stuffed,” Silverwing said, batting him in the face with her wing as we passed.

“Watch it, or I’ll have you confined to quarters,” he snapped.

“Pick your battles,” I whispered in her ear, trying to keep an all out brawl from happening.

She flared her wings and we went below decks.

“You know he’s trying to get you in trouble,” I said.

“I know, he just gets under my skin,” she said.

“Well, I’m going to get some rest, I’m not used to being on a swaying ship,” I said.

“Alright,” she said.

“Just try and keep your distance from Blitz, and keep an eye on my friends,” I said.

“Ok,” she said, and left with a wave of her wing.

I went back to my quarters and I lie there trying to get some sleep when I heard the bolt on the bulkhead shut.

“Hey, what’s going on?” I asked.

“You’re under confinement,” I head Blitz say from the other side of the door.

“Under what justification?” I asked.

“Under the justification that you and your ‘friends’ are potentially dangerous to the crew and their ability to perform their duty,” he said, in a smug tone.

“If you hurt them!” I shouted, slamming a hoof against the bulkhead.

“Oh, don’t worry, they’ll be in good hooves,” he said, his hoofsteps and laughter fading down the hallway.

“Oh, I’m gonna get that slimeball,” I said to myself and prepared a crystal to drill out the lock.
--

Twilight and her friends went to the mess hall to get something to eat after touring the ship.

They came in near the end of meal time and so the mess was mostly empty, allowing them to get a table to themselves.

“This ship is huge!” Rainbow Dash said.

“Yes, it almost as big as Ponyville,” Twilight said.

“I just wish that they wore something other than gray and blue,” Rarity said.

“They’re all so serious too,” Pinkie said.

“I think that most of em are just concentration on the job,” Applejack said.

“Well, whatever it is, at least they are being hospitable,” Twilight said.

“At least the food’s good,” Pinkie said, digging into the semi-homecooked meal.

The other’s started to eat as well and almost didn't notice the unicorn that walked up and took a seat by them.

“Are you all enjoying the ship?” he asked.

“Oh, yes, and you are?” Twilight asked.

“Most ponies on the ship just call me Echo, I’m a communications officer,” he said.

“Nice to meet you Echo,” Twilight said.

“Nice to meet you, uh,” he started.

“Twilight,” she said.

“Nice to meet you Twilight, and these are?” he asked.

“My friends, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy,” she said.

“Nice to met you all,” he said.

“Nice to meet you too,” Applejack said.

“Echo!” an angry voice yelled from across the hall.

“Yes sir,” Echo said, standing up and giving a salute to Thunder Blitz.

“You are dismissed, get back to work,” Blitz said.

“Yes sir,” Echo said, casting a glance back as he left.

Blitz turned to Twilight, his gaze passing over each of the others, “You all have to return to your quarters now,” he said.

“Why?” Applejack asked.

“We are approaching the storm belt,” he said.

“I think we’ll be fine,” Rainbow Dash said, a tinge of challenge to her voice.

“That wasn’t a suggestion,” he said darkly.

“And I wasn't asking,” she bit back, coming eye to eye with him.

“You’d do well to remember where you stand,” he said, holding Rainbow’s unwavering stare.

“You know, going back for some rest doesn’t sound so bad,” Rarity said, trying to break up the standoff.

“Yeah, it is gettin late,” Applejack said.

“You should listen to your friends,” Blitz said, daring Rainbow Dash to argue.

She held his gaze for a few seconds longer before turning back to her friends.

“Let’s go,” she said, leading the way away from Blitz.

“I don’t like that guy,” Pinkie said, “He’s scary.”

“Yeah,” Fluttershy squeaked.
--

Silverwing went to check on me and my friends after taking a walk around the side of the ship farthest from Thunder Blitz.

She was walking by a bulkhead when she heard a tiny whirring noise. She stopped and listened, and heard that it was coming from the other side of the bulkhead. She leaned in and put her ear to the door to hear better.

She jumped back as a crystal burst through just a few inches from her face. She was glad that she did jump back, because the door was promptly bucked open, slamming and straining on the hinges.

“When I find that dirty rat!” I said.

“Mixer! What’s going on?” she asked.

“Thunder Blitz locked me in,” I snorted.

“Are you ok?” she asked.

“Make sure the others are ok, I’m going to have a word with the good Admiral,” I said, as I stormed away.

“Wait!” she called, but I was already gone.

I ran through the ship until I came to the hatch to the deck.

I covered my eyes from the driving rain and made my way to the bridge.

“Mixer what are you doing here, you should be below decks,” the Admiral said.

“I came to talk about your lapdog Thunder Blitz,” I growled.

“He may be under my command but that does not make him my lapdog,” the Admiral shot back.

“Then why is he roaming around the ship, giving orders like he runs this tub?” I asked.

“Listen here, this is MY ship, and Thunder Blitz is out of line, but so are you,” the Admiral shouted.

“Out of line?” I shouted back. “He locked me in my quarters and made a veiled threat to my friends, I have every right to want him kicked overboard!”

“Must I remind you that they are just guests on our ship, and that you are the only one who we need,” he said coldly.

“You know, for wanting me to help, you sure don’t make me want to. You ground my airship, let a two bit bully run your ship, and lock me in a room. I’m starting to get the feeling that you want to keep me from helping anypony!” I shouted. “And if this continues, I might not even help the king,” I said in a cool tone.

The Admiral seemed to deflate after that, turning around and giving a big sigh.

“I’m sorry, I’m just trying to make sure that you get back to help the king,” he said in a much softer tone, very different from his tone just prior. “Things have been terrible since you disappeared, and they just keep getting worse.”

I softened a bit, “I know things have not been good since I left, but being so hostile is not helping.”

“I’m so used to having to demand things to get them done that it’s hard to do anything else, out of habit,” he said.

“Well, you don’t have to worry about me not helping the king, I wouldn’t just let him die,” I said.

“Thank you,” he said.

“What about Thunder Blitz?” I asked.

“I’ll make sure he doesn’t bother you for the rest of the trip. He might be a good soldier, but he’s not good with civilians,” he said.

“Just keep him under a tighter leash, otherwise there will be trouble,” I said.

“Alright. Now head back down below decks, it is safer down there in the storm,” he said.

I nodded and went back below decks to check on everypony.

The Lunar guards were all ok, and Twilight and her friends were a little shaken by Blitz but were otherwise fine, and Luna had been in her quarters the whole time.

“How’d it go?” Silverwing asked.

“We shouldn’t have to worry about Blitz for the rest of the trip,” I said.

“Thank goodness,” she said.

“So how long was the trip to Equestria?” I asked.

“It was three days, one to get to the storm, another to traverse it, and almost a day’s worth of sailing to get to Equestria,” she said.

“So two more days of sailing,” I said.

“Yeah,” she said.

“Well, I am tired after today, so I’ll get some sleep,” I said.

“Um, what about your door...” she asked, pointing to the slightly ajar hunk of metal.

“Oh, about that,” I said.

“It’s ok, we’ll have it fixed, but we do need to find you another room,” she said.

“You can share my room,” Luna called, overhearing our conversation.

“Well, I guess that’s solved, see you in the morning,” Silverwing said.

“Take care of yourself, Blitz might be a little hot headed after my talk with the Admiral,” I said.

“Thanks for the advice,” she said and walked off.

I went into Luna’s room and settled down on a bunk opposite from her.

“You are concerned for her well being,” she said.

“Yes, she’s been through alot, and Blitz doesn’t sit well with me,” I said.

“And you also have concern for the king,” she said.

“Yes, I’ve known him for most of my life before I came to Equestria,” I said.

“You have never told either me or my sister about this,” she said.

“I’ve only told Trottson and Ivy anything detailed about my past and my homeland,” I said.

“You seem different from these other ponies,” she said.

“How?” I asked.

“I can see it inside you, and Silverwing as well, a kindness that most of these other ponies don’t have,” Luna said.

“That’s, strange,” I said.

“Destiny has strange ways of showing itself,” Luna said, and lay her head down to sleep.

“Destiny,” I mimicked, before laying down myself.

I awoke sometime in the night, the ship swaying in the heavy waves.

Luna was still asleep, so I left the room quietly and took a walk, to get used to the rocking.

I didn’t pass many ponies, just the occasional crewmember moving to a different part of the ship.

I turned a corner and I saw Blitz was talking with one of his squad members. I ducked back behind the corner hoping to listen in on his conversation.

“I can’t believe that the Admiral ordered me to stay clear of those Equestrians,” he snorted.

“Sounds like we have a snitch,” the stallion said.

“Maybe, but I doubt it, more than likely it was Silverwing,” he said.

“What do we do boss?” he asked.

“We can’t do anything, the Admiral made that painfully clear,” Blitz said.

“Stupid softies,” the stallion said.

“Mixer is the only one that matters, without him this is all for nothing,” Blitz said.

“What if things go wrong?” the crony asked.

“As long as we can get Mixer back to New Pegisopolis, I couldn’t care less about the others, we need him back,” Blitz said.

“Aw, I didn’t know you was such a softie,” another squad member said walking up.

“Shut it, you know exactly what I mean,” Blitz snapped.

“So what do we do in the meantime?” the first asked.

“We keep our distance from them, just like the Admiral said,” Blitz said.

“Ok boss, keep our distance, got it,” the other said and walked away, presumably to tell the others.

“Keep an eye on them,” Blitz said to the one that remained.

“How close an eye?” he asked.

“Don’t make yourself obvious,” Blitz said. “We don’t want to get in trouble with the Admiral again, at least until we get back ashore.”

“Got it,” he said and trotted off.

I turned to leave before Blitz noticed me and I bumped into Silverwing.

“Wha,” she started before I covered her mouth and pulled her against the wall.

I made a shh, gesture and motioned for us to move back down the hall.

Once we got to a bulkhead, we ducked inside.

“What was that all about?” she asked.

“I think Blitz is up to something,” I said.

“What kind of something?” she asked.

“I don’t know, but I don’t think it’s good for my friends, or me,” I said.

“We have to do something about it,” she said.

“We need to see what happens, we don’t want to show our hand yet. The best we can do is be prepared for something,” I said.

“What do you propose?” she asked.

“Stick close to me for now, and keep your squad out of the loop. The less they know, the less likely they will get involved,” I said.

“But,” she protested.

“I don’t want anything happening to ponies that don’t have to get involved, now head out by yourself, I’ll go back to our quarters, you take the longer way around and meet me there,” I said.

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

“I didn’t know what I was doing when the changelings invaded, but that worked out ok,” I said.

“What?” she looked at me quizzically.

“Long story,” I said. “You had to be there.”

“Ok,” she said and left the room.

I followed a minute or so after and went back to the room and snuck in without waking Luna, placing a detection crystal just inside the door so I could tell when Silverwing was coming.

A few minutes of waiting and the crystal picked up a pony heading down the hall.

I waited by the door until I heard a soft knocking.

I opened the door and stood there with Silverwing.

“So, what now?” she asked.

“Take this,” I said, handing her a crystal.

“What is is?” she asked.

“Audio crystal, so you can talk with me instantly,” I said.

“Like a radio?” she said.

“Yes, but it only works with crystals harmonized with it,” I said.

“So how do I use it?” she asked.

“Just talk into it and I will pick it up with this one,” I said, showing her another small crystal. “When you’re not using it to talk to me keep in in your ear like this,” I said, showing her how to place it in her ear so it wouldn’t be uncomfortable or obvious.

“Ok, so how do I know it’s working?” she asked.

I went inside the room and closed the door.

“Can you hear me?” I whispered into my crystal.

I opened the door back up and saw her face was shocked.

“How did you make these?” she asked.

“Lots of practice and magic,” I said. “Now don’t stray too far from our rooms, but don’t hang around. Wait until everypony’s awake before you start to stick close,” I said.

“Alright,” she said and walked away.

I went back inside and fell back asleep.

The next two days were kind of boring. Most of the second day was spent below decks riding out the storm.

On the third day, we woke up early to see the sunrise.

“Wow, it looks so beautiful reflected on the water,” Rarity said.

“Yeah, sunsets are even better,” I said.

“That’s right, you would know what a sunset on the water looks like,” Ivy said.

“Yeah, I suppose I forgot to tell all of you that I’m from where we’re headed, but I think you could have figured that out by now,” I said, staring out over the water.

“This whole time and you never told us?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah, I didn’t know how you would react to knowing that I was from another country, let alone another continent,” I said.

“But why didn’t you tell us after we were friends?” Applejack asked.

“I didn’t want to concern you, and plus, it never came up,” I said.

“That’s a pretty lame excuse,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Yeah, you’re right, it is,” I said with a laugh.

“What happened to you in Equestria?” Silverwing asked.

I sighed, “So many things, both wondrous and terrible.”

“But aren’t you glad to be going home?” Pinkie asked.

“After all I’ve been through, Equestria seems more like home now,” I said, looking up it the brightening sky.

“I see...” Silverwing said, her voice trailing off.

There was an awkward silence for a few moments before I broke it.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you feel sad or anything, I was just speaking my mind,” I said.

“It’s ok,” she said.

“No, it’s not. I shouldn’t be feeling so conflicted like this,” I said.

“What do you mean conflicted?” Fluttershy asked.

“Happy, sad, nervous, weary, so many conflicting emotions,” I said.

“It is the burden of having two homes,” Luna said.

“Does that mean you’re staying?” Twilight asked worried.

“No, I couldn’t stay now, but I still feel strange here,” I said.

“Maybe when you go back you could take somepony with you?” Pinkie suggested.

“Maybe, but lets just enjoy the sunrise, we might be in the city by the end of the day,” I said.

So we sat there enjoying the rest of the sunrise before spending the rest of the trip on the deck, enjoying the warm sun and the fresh sea breeze.

I was nervous about what would happen in New Pegisopolis, but I wouldn’t shy away from it, whatever was going to happen here, I was going to see it through to the end.

Shadows of the Past part 2

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The Mixer Chronicles

Book Seventeen:
Shadows of the Past
Part 2

It was almost dusk when we finally arrived in New Pegisopolis.

All the Equestrian ponies were awed by the sheer size of the buildings, some of which were higher than the lowest clouds.

“Wow,” they all said as they admired it from the ship.

“Yep, that’s her, New Pegisopolis,” I said.

“You grew up here?” Twilight said.

“Yeah, though I never went in any of the larger skyscrapers,” I said.

“If you all are done sightseeing, we will be departing for the shore soon,” the Admiral said as he walked up to us.

“I trust that we will receive a warm welcome,” I said.

“Yes, there is an escort waiting for us that will take you to the palace,” the Admiral said.

“Thank you for your hospitality,” Luna said.

“Not at all, it is the least we can do for being so good to Mixer,” he said.

“Well, thank you regardless,” Luna said.

“Silverwing, I would like you to accompany them,” he said.

“Yes sir,” she replied.

“Now, if you'll excuse me I have to take care of some docking procedures,” he said as he left.

“He seems happier,” Ivy said.

“I’m sure he’s glad to be back, with the reason he left in the first place,” I said.

“Well, I’m just glad that we haven’t seen Blitz,” Silverwing said.

“The Admiral kept his word at least,” I said.

“I’ll be glad to be back on solid ground,” Brick said, leaning on the railing, looking like he was going to be sick.

“How did you hold it in the rest of the way?” Star Shine asked. “We rode through a freaking storm!”

“Good self control,” he replied.

We stood on deck until the ship finally docked and we were escorted down the gangplank by a pair of guards in blue uniforms.

They ushered us to a set of carriages and we got in and rode to the palace.

Luna and Silverwing were riding in the front with me.

“So what is the king like?” Luna asked.

“Well, he was a good king last I saw him. He was kind to his staff, loyal to his people, and compassionate to the problems of others,” I said.

“He’s been less involved in public since you left Mixer,” Silverwing said.

“He sound like a fine ruler,” Luna said.

“He was,” I said.

“He still is,” Silverwing corrected me.

“That’s good to hear,” I said.

I looked out the window and saw that we were approaching the palace.

“Look,” I said to Luna, pointing towards the palace.

“Impressive,” she said, admiring the rather large complex.

The palace was three stories with a domed fourth floor. There were two wings in addition to the main building, each almost as large as the centerpiece. The construction made a large courtyard on the other side of the building, which was enclosed by a security fence, to serve as a lawn and recreation area. Of course, some of these features were not visible from the front, but I lived in the palace for many years so I knew most of it like the back of my hoof.

“Yes, I still remember most of the layout,” I said.

“You must have a good memory,” Silverwing said.

“No, I’m just good with directions. By the way, how is the prince?” I asked.

“He took it kind of hard when you disappeared. He stopped going out amongst the people for almost three months,” Silverwing said.

“But he used to love sneaking out of the palace to be amongst the other ponies,” I said.

“Recently, he has been spending most of his time traveling the outlands, living amongst the ponies in the smaller settlements,” she said.

“I was hoping to see him again,” I said.

“You’ll be here for a few days, I’m sure he will get news of your return and come see you,” she said.

“We are here,” the driver said.

We stopped and exited the carriage and waited for the others to get out of their carriages.

“Right this way,” an attendant told us when we were all gathered.

We followed him inside and were greeted by the king’s steward, Quill Weaver.

“Mixer, is that really you?” he asked.

“Yes, it’s good to see you Quill,” I said to the aging grey earth pony.

“It is good to see you are back,” he said.

“Everypony, I would like to introduce the king’s steward, Quill Weaver,” I said.

“It is a pleasure,” he said bowing.

“The pleasure is all ours,” Luna said.

“Mixer, the king is in his chambers, you should go to him, I will escort the rest of you to the guest chambers so that you may relax until you can be attended to,” Quill said.

“Thank you for your hospitality,” Luna said, as I hurried to the third floor room where the king’s chambers were.

I neared the door and two guards stopped me.

“None can see the king without clearance,” one of them said.

“I am Mixer, the king’s head chemist,” I announced.

Their eye went wide as the guard that addressed me said, “I’m sorry sir, go right in.”

I walked in and slowly made my way over to a nurse who was sitting in a chair by the wall.

“Who is it?” I heard the king’s voice say from the large bed towards the other wall.

“I will check,” she said, walking over to me.

“Tender Heart, I’m here to help the king,” I said.

“Mixer it really is you,” she said.

"How is Prime Arch?" I asked.

“Did I hear the voice of my best chemist?” the king asked sitting up, giving a cough after doing so.

“Yes, you did,” I said, walking over to him.

“Mixer, so good to see you again,” he said, his voice shaking slightly.

“You sound terrible,” I said.

“Oh, it’s nothing, just a bit of a bug,” he said, going into a coughing fit.

“It’s not nothing, but I’m here to help,” I said.

“That’s good to hear,” he said laying back down.

“Is the lab still up and running?” I asked.

“It hasn’t stopped,” he said.

“I’ll be back soon,” I said, rushing out of the room.

I ran to the lab on the second floor east wing and donned my old lab gear.

“M-mixer sir?” an assistant asked as I stepped in.

“Tell me, what do we have going now?” I asked him.

“Well, we don’t have anything going now,” he said.

“Quick, get me one of the doctors, I need to know what to mix,” I said, as I started setting up a workspace.

“Right away,” he said and left.

He came back with a unicorn mare in a white lab coat and glasses.

“What are the king’s symptoms?” I asked, looking through a list of chemicals that were in stock.

“He has almost no appetite, we have to force him to eat anything, he has a cough that is of undetermined origin, it could be an effect of many issues. He has been losing strength and sleeping more lately,” she said.

“Ok, so I need a sample of his blood, and a few other sample to see what I can find. Can you do that?” I asked.

“We already tested his blood and didn’t find anything,” she said.

“I don’t care, I want to test it myself,” I said.

“And who would you be?” she asked.

I turned around, “I’m Mixer.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know,” she said.

“It’s ok, just go,” I said and turned around to start mixing some medication for the symptoms.

The mare came back a little while later with a few samples.

“I took a blood sample like you asked, along with a couple mucus samples,” she said.

“Thank you,” I said, and took some of the blood from the sample and put it in a petri dish.

I had a low powered microscope from before and didn’t see anything unusual, just like what the doctor had said.

I took the microscope apart with my magic and the doctor asked what I was doing.

“I’m putting in better lenses,” I said, and created a new set of crystal lenses.

I reassembled the microscope with its upgraded lenses and took another look.

Upon this closer inspection I was able to discern tiny anomalies on the blood cells.

“Hmm, I’ll have to look at that later, for now, take this to him and give him a small dose,” I said to the doctor.

“What is it?” she asked.

“It should help with the cough, and it might give him an appetite,” I said.

“Ok,” she said and left.

It was almost strange for ponies to be listening to my every order again.

“Sir, there is a pony here to see you, she says her name is Twilight sparkle,” the assistant said.

“Let her in,” I said and examined the blood sample again.

“Mixer, this lab is amazing,” she said.

“I know, I made sure that it was,” I said, examining the sample under a magical light. “Take a look at this,” I told her.

She looked at the sample, “What are those things?” she asked.

“If you mean the big red ones, those are blood cells, if you mean those little things attached to the blood cells, I don’t know,” I said.

“I never knew that such things existed,” she said.

“Not surprising considering the state of technology in Equestria,” I said.

She gave me a look.

“Not that that was an insult, just an observation, but I digress, I want your help in identifying the abnormalities attached to his blood cells,” I said.

“They almost look magical,” she said, looking again.

“Exactly, meaning that this couldn’t be a simple infection,” I said.

“So what, you think somepony did this to him?” she asked.

“I’d have to study them more closely to be sure, but yes,” I said.

“I can’t even detect any magic coming from them,” she said, her horn glowing with a detection spell.

“Yes, meaning that they would not appear in a diagnosis, especially since he’s a unicorn,” I said.

“This does sound like somepony did this to him,” Twilight said.

“I’ll start working on a way to get rid of them, you try and dispel whatever magic they have,” I said.

“Alright,” she said, preparing a dispelling spell.

She used the spell on the sample while I got together a set of possible cures.

“I don’t get it, I’ve tried three different dispelling spells, but none of them have done anything,” she said.

“Use the strongest one you’ve got,” I said.

“Alright,” she said and took on a cating stance and prepared the spell, her horn glowing brighter than I had seen it before.

After she cast the spell, and I could feel, the magic from a few feet away.

“I think that did it,” she said, looking at the sample. “What the?” she trailed off.

“What?” I asked looking at the sample.

The little abnormalities were detaching from the blood cells and coalescing into larger bodies. These bodies were starting to attack the blood cells, tearing them with sharp edges.

“That’s not good...” I said.

“They must be kept dormant by the magic,” Twilight said.

“His body can’t handle the aberrations, but If we use the spell on him he’ll die. We have to find a way to keep them from activating once they detach,” I said.

“How?” she asked.

“Get another sample ready, I’ll introduce a possible inhibitor just before you use the dispelling spell,” I said.

“Alright,” she replied and readied the sample.

I introduced the first cure and she used the spell. The anomalies released the blood cells and did the same as before, leaving hardly any blood cells left.

We tried several times into the night until Twilight was exhausted.

“One more time,” she huffed.

“It’s going to have to be, this is the last mix I have,” I said.

I introduced the last cure and she used the spell on it.

We watched as the abnormalities detached and coalesced again.

We lost hope, until they started to attack each other, neutralizing themselves.

“Yes!” Twilight exclaimed.

“Get some rest, I’ll prepare a full dose and then we can fix this,” I said.

“Alright,” she said, and flopped down in a chair.

I mixed up a dose and we went to the king’s chambers.

“Let us pass, we have a cure for the king,” I said before we even got to the door.

The guards opened the door and let us in.

The moon was full and illuminating the room, casting shadows along the floor as we walked over to the king.

“Mixer, thank you for that medicine earlier, it made me feel better,” he said.

“We have a cure for you,” I said.

“And who is this lovely mare?” he asked.

“This is Twilight Sparkle, she came here from Equestria,” I said.

“Well, it is nice to meet you miss Sparkle,” he said.

“Nice to meet you too your majesty,” Twilight said with a bow.

“She’s going to help me cure you,” I said.

“Very well, what is it?” he asked.

“Here’ drink this first,” I said.

“What’s this?” he asked.

“It will suppress the hostile bodies when Twilight uses the spell on you,” I said.

“What spell, pray tell, would that be?” he asked.

“A strong dispelling spell sir,” she said.

“Why would you need to do that?” he asked.

“Because, the affliction you have is partly magical, and if we were to simply use the spell on you without giving you the suppressant first, it could very well kill you,” I said.

“Well, what now?” he asked, after downing the cure.

“We have to wait for your body to metabolize the cure, so that it spreads throughout your body,” I said.

“Oh, that does sound unpleasant,” he said.

He talked with Twilight while we waited for the cure to metabolize.

“Alright, it should have metabolized now,” I said.

“Alright, get ready your highness,” Twilight said, preparing the spell.

“Go ahead,” he said, and Twilight used the spell on him.

At first nothing happened, then he started coughing violently.

“Your highness!” one of the guards called.

He keep coughing, holding his stomach.

“No, there must be something I missed,” I said.

“My stomach,” the king gasped in between coughs.

“Stand back!” the guard said.

Twilight backed away, but I stood fast, getting a sizeable crystal vessel ready.

“This might feel unpleasant,” I told the king as I magically induced vomiting.

The guard tackled me as the king vomited into the crystal vessel.

“You’re under arrest!” he said, forcing me on the ground.

The king vomited twice more then sat up straight. “Wait, let him go,” he said, wiping his face.

“Sir!” he said, holding me down.

“I hoped that would work,” I said.

“Thank you Mixer,” the king said, as the guard got off of me.

“Whoever did this wanted to make sure you died,” I said, noting the blob of grey goo in the crystal vessel.

I sealed it and set it aside.

“Do you know who could have done this?” Twilight asked.

“I don’t know who could have even come up with such an affliction, and built so many failsafes into it,” I said.

“And I don’t know who could have wanted me dead so badly,” the king said.

“It’s good to see that your strength is already returning,” I said.

“That illness was taxing, but I will recover. Now, get some sleep, I can see that you have been up all night,” he said.

“Yes, sir,” I said.

I followed Twilight to where the others had settled in.

“There is an extra room here for you,” she said.

“Thanks, I could probably find my old room ,but I would prefer to stay closer to all of you,” I said.

“Ok,” she said with a yawn.

“See you in the morning,” I said as she went into her room.

I went to the open room and dropped onto the bed, falling asleep instantly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was awakened the next morning by a knock on the door.

“Master Mixer, the king would like to see you,” a voice said.

I got up and went outside the room.

The others were not in their rooms and the servant was gone as well.

I went to the main hall to look for somepony to ask where the king was now.

I found the king talking with Luna in the dining hall after hearing them as I passed.

“That sound’s like Mixer,” the King laughed.

“You wanted to see me sir?” I asked.

“Ah Mixer, we were just talking about you,” he said.

“Yes, I was telling him about your formation of the Lunar guard,” Luna said.

“Really, a life oath, I didn’t expect that though,” the king said.

“Yes,” I said, my face reddening slightly.

“I wanted to thank you for curing me of that affliction,” he said.

“It was my duty,” I said.

“Still, thank you. And thank you for bringing with you such lovely ponies,” he said.

Luna blushed at this, “You are a great pony yourself,” she said.

“You are too kind Luna,” he said.

“So what did you want to see me about?” I asked.

“I wanted to talk to you about how you have been since I last saw you,” he said.

“That would take many hours,” I said.

“Thankfully, Luna has told me much of the important details, and I must say, I think you belong in Equestria,” he said.

“What?” I said, taken aback by this.

“You are doing so much good there, it would be wrong to keep you here. That and you have a life oath to fulfill,” he said.

“T-thank you,” I said.

“Now, the lab tech wanted to see you, I think they want autographs,” he said, chuckling as he added the last part.

“Ok,” I said, and left to attend to the lab.
--

Twilight and the others were taking in the sights of the palace when Mixer approached them.

“Oh good, I was hoping to find you around here,” he said.

“Oh Mixer, I thought you were going to see the king?” Silverwings asked.

“I did and he gave me a lead as to who could have made the king ill,” he said.

“Who?” she asked.

“Do you remember that lesser noble, Lucian?” he asked.

“The one who went and hid in his castle up north when the other nobles revolted?” she asked.

“Yes, the very one,” he said.

“What are we going to do about it?” she asked.

“You go and get the rest of your squad, I will take the rest of us and scout it out,” he said.

“Alright some action,” Rainbow Dash asked.

“How are we going to get there?” Twilight asked.

“there are a couple of carriages outside that will take us close, but we will have to go the rest of the way on hoof,” he said.

“What about Luna?” Trottson asked.

“We should bring her too, she might be able to help is infiltrate the castle,” he said.

“Ok, I’ll go get her,” Trottson said.

“Alright, the rest of you, let’s go and wait outside,” he said.
--

“Come on! You can’t really forgotten to clean up after yourselves,” I said to the lab technicians.

“Sorry, we didn’t want to disrupt your work,” one of them said.

“You should at least have know to keep it contained,” I said.

“Sorry we’ll get right on it,” another one said.

“See that you do,” I said and left.

The lab techs were suddenly acting like a bunch of foals.

I went to a window and looked out at the city. If I hadn't been looking down because of the lab tech stupidity I would have almost missed the four black carriages that were preparing to leave the front drive. The only thing that caught my eye about them was the fact that I was standing at the fist while Luna got in.

“OH BUCK NO!” I yelled and ran down to the front but they were gone by the time I got to the front.

“Quill where are those carriages going?” I jabbed the question at his as he walked outside.

“But you,” she started.

“Where?” I asked again, grabbing his neat suit.

“Who are you?” he questioned.

“Who took them?” I asked.

“Why you did,” he said.

“Where?” I growled.

“North, to Lucius’s castle,” he said.

“The little unicorn noble, whose sister runs a large estate?” I asked.

“Used to run,” he corrected me, “She died just before the noble rebellion.”

“Get me a carriage there now,” I said.

“Right away,” he said.

A carriage pulled up and I jumped on the seat next to the driver.

“Go! I don’t have time to waste with luxury right now,” I said.

“Right away,” he said.

We took off in hot pursuit of the carriage with the imposter and my friends.
--

“Ok, so here’s the plan,” the fake me said. “There is a side entrance to the castle that is lightly guarded. We can sneak in that entrance and make our way through the basement levels to the servant’s quarters, then from there to Lucius’s room where we can capture him.”

“That would be the only entrance we could use, the rest of this place is crawling with guards,” Trottson said.

That is why Luna can hide us in the shadows while we get close,” the imposter said.

“Then let’s go,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Are you ready?” Luna asked.

“Yes,” all of them said.

She enveloped them in a dark mist and they moved swiftly to the planned entrance.

They took out the two guards that were stationed there and went inside.

When they went inside they followed a hallway until they entered a large room with two floors and a doorway opposite the one they came in.

There was a bright flash and when they recovered there was a charcoal grey unicorn with a jet black mane standing on the second floor.

“Lucius!” the false me snapped.

“No, that isn’t the real Mixer,” the charcoal stallion said. “Lucius used a body swap spell on me so that he could bring you all here and trap you.”

“Lies!” the fake me said.

“Don’t believe me? Check his neck, he isn't wearing my seed crystal pendent,” the stallion said.

“He’s right,” Ivy said.

“That’s something I would not forget in carelessness,” Lucius said.

The false me teleported away as the other closed in on him.

“Trottson you and the Lunar guard stay here and stop any guards that try to stop us, we’ll go in further to find proof of Lucius’ treachery,” Mixer/Lucius said, as he jumped down.

“Alright,” he said as the eight of them took defensive positions around the room.

“Let’s go,” Mixer/Lucius said.
--

I fought through a patrol of guards, using a pair of crystals to parry their weapons while I delivered stunning punches to each of them.

When all of them were moaning on the ground I went through the door they were guarding.

When I went to the end of the hall I saw the Lunar guard all facing the hallway with scowls on their faces.

“Thank goodness you’re all o,” I was cut off mid sentence as Brick charged me and I sidestepped him.

“What was that abou-” I tried to ask but had to roll onto my back to deflect Phalanx.

“I’ll stop trying to ask now,” I said as Brick came charging back.

I sidestepped him again and sent him crashing into a wall.

Star Shine and Rose came at me next, Rose trying to land vicious hits on me while Star Shine pummeled me.

I grabbed one of Star’s punches and swung him around, flinging him and Rose away.

Thunderlane was next to jump in, trying to get around me to land a few kicks and punches where I couldn’t block.

I set him off balance with my magic and pullen on his extended leg, flooring him just in time to avoid a dive by Trottson.

As I got some distance between me and Thunderlane, Trottson and Phalanxed tried to pincer me between the two of them diving at me.

I ducked at the last second, giving each of them a tug with magic so that they would crash into each other.

“Sorry,” I said as I stepped away from the pile of ponies and feathers.

I wasn’t watching and Ivy clocked me in the back of the head, which wouldn’t have been an issue had I been wearing my armor.

I spun around after I recovered and met her gaze.

I was almost so transfixed by her bright green eyes that I almost didn't hear Brick charging me from behind.

I didn’t even turn around, I simply waited until he was close enough and I did a backflip, my muscles complaining at the sudden acrobatic act.

I landed on Brick’s broad shoulders and brought my front hoof against his helmet.

It made a resounding ring, but Brick didn't falter, instead throwing me off and sliding right under Ivy.

I cracked a smile, the irony amusing given the current situation, before I barely dodged her stomping hoof.

I grabbed her leg and rolled her over, ending up on top of her.

She kept the momentum going and we rolled a few more times before she ended up on top and I used all four of my legs to throw her at Brick.

I made sure that Brick fell over when he caught Ivy by pushing him with magic before bolting for the far door before they could recover.

I slammed the door shut and evaluated my injuries as I ran down the hall.

Aside from a nasty bump on my head from Ivy I only had some minor bruises.

I came to another door and opened it, only to be greeted by Rainbow Dash tackling me.

“Nice to see you too Dashie,” I said as I wrestled free from her grip.

The mane six were all standing like they were ready to fight, all except Fluttershy, who sat back, and Rarity, who was more off the the side, ready to give support instead of fighting.

RD got up and flew back to join her friends.

After a few second stare down during which I decided whether I should try and ask them what was happening, I realized that I no longer had my seed crystal.

When I flinched, RD went for a dive, on that I prepared to meet on my back legs.

Before she impacted a masterfully thrown lasso fell over my head and secured itself around my back legs.

Rainbow smiled as Applejack gave a tug and I fell flat on my back.

“Not so tough now are you Lucius,” she said.

I used my magic to pull on the rope, pulling Applejack to the ground and using it to toss Rainbow Dash towards a nearby wall.

I winced as a ring was jammed on my horn and I felt the rope slacken.

It was promptly followed by being held upside down by Twilight.

That should put a stop to that,” Twilight said, as Applejack and Pinkie got closer to me.

“Oh, he looks like a piñata,” Pinkie said, materializing a stick from behind her back.

Applejack stayed clear while Pinkie got ready to swing.

Not accounting that I had my forehooves free she swung the stick, which I promptly caught and pulled her closer with.

I could feel Twilight pulling the stick out of my grasp, but that wasn't my intention in the first place, I instead grabbed Pinkie and tossed her at Rainbow Dash, who was just recovering from hitting the wall.

I felt a lurch as I dropped lower, followed by a sharp pain in the side of my head as my brains were scrambled by a good old fashioned Apple family buck.

I went limp and I heard Twilight say, “I think you might have overdone it,” to Applejack, over the ringing in my ears.

“Nah, he’s fine,” she said, poking giving me a push and letting me swing by the rope that Twilight was still holding up.

“I think you can put him down now,” Rarity said.

I felt the solid ground as I was let down.

“We should take him to Mixer, maybe him and Luna have found that evidence they were talkin about,” Applejack said.
Twilight, Applejack and Rarity were all distracted by their conversation so that they didn’t notice when I slipped the ring of my horn and untied the rope from my legs with magic.

“Hey, wait a second,” Applejack said as she noticed what I was doing.

She didn’t have time to finish as I sent the ring hard onto Twilight’s horn and tied the three of them together, before sending them into Pinkie and Rainbow Dash.

I staggered to my feet and headed towards the door, Fluttershy sitting in my way, shaking.

“Um, please stop,” she said, covering her face as I neared her.

I would have stopped anyways, but my addled head made me stop and sit, then lay down, in front of her.

“Look, Fluttershy stopped him,” Pinkie said, the rest of them struggling with the tangle of rope and ponies.

“Um, thank you,” Fluttershy said.

I struggled back to my feet and moved around her, moving through the slightly open door behind her.

Fluttershy came walking after me as I staggered through the passage.

“Could you please stop, if that’s ok with you I mean,” she asked.

“I’m sorry Fluttershy, but I can’t stop yet,” I said, panting.

I kept going for a bit, her hoovesteps behind me until I finally stopped and leaned against the wall.

“I’m sorry,” I said.

“For what?” she asked, sitting down next to me.

“For not being strong enough to stop this,” I said.

I heard hoovesteps from down the passage.

“Oh Mixer it is you,” she said.

“Yes, but I can’t fight now, not after that kick,” I said, holding the side of my head.

“There he is!” I heard Rainbow Dash call.

“Now he has Luna, and all of us here, and I can’t even stop him,” I said, tears starting to form in my eyes.

She leaned over and gave me a hug, “Don't worry, you don't have to fight anymore, we’ll fight for you,” she said.

“Fluttershy? What are you doing?” Twilight asked.

“Helping Mixer,” she said.

“By hugging Lucius?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“This is the real Mixer, the other is Lucius,” Fluttershy said.

“Are you sure, because when Mixer lead us here the first time her was a fake, the missing pendant gave us proof,” Twilight said.

“And this one is missing the pendent as well,” Rarity said.

“No he isn’t” Ivy said, rushing down the hall with the rest of the Lunar guard.

“Ivy! What happened?” Twilight asked.

“We fought Mixer, and I took this from him,” she said, holding up my seed crystal.

“You sly little filly,” I said.

“You taught me to think on my hooves,” she said.

“So I did,” I said.

“I’m sorry I don’t have anything to patch you up with, I used what I had on the others,” she said.

“So what now?” Trottson asked.

“We stop Lucius,” Fluttershy said.

“Here, let me help you,” Brick said, hoisting me onto his back.

“And here, take this back,” Ivy said, handing me the pendent.

I put it on and adjusted myself to be more comfortable on Brick’s back.

“Let’s go,” Fluttershy said.

“When did you become so brave?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“When you needed me to be,” she said and led the way onward.

When we entered the next room Lucius and Luna were standing at the top of a set of wooden stairs the ended at a small platform before a large door.

“Good, you captured him,” Lucius said.

“Quiet imposter!” Fluttershy said, her words biting.

“What?” he asked.

Fluttershy flew up to him and got in his face, “You tricked us into fighting our friends you rotten trickster, and I will not let you get away with hurting my friends!”

“Silly filly, I already have,” he said as he zapped Fluttershy with a bolt of magic and sent a cage dropping down on Luna.

“FLUTTERSHY!” I yelled, and caught her with magic.

“Now, you will all taste that same power,” he said as small rods poked up through the floor, and current flowed through them.

The Lunar guard were all big magnets to the electricity, the tendrils arcing to their armor first. Then it arced from their armor and horns to Twilight and Rarity, before arcing through the rest.

“LUCIUS!” I roared, feeling the electricity jolting through me from Bricks armor.

The others started collapsing from the electricity, coats singed and horns smoking.

When the electricity stopped flowing Bricks legs gave way and I tumbled onto the ground.

Lucius gave an evil laugh, “You can’t stop me,” he said smugly.

“No, but I can!” Silverwing said, bursting in with her squad.

“You were supposed to be delayed,” he said.

“You can’t delay orders from the king,” she said as she dove at him.

“I’m tired of your meddling, DIE!” he shouted as he sent a bolt of electricity charging towards her.

She rolled and the bolt passed by her with almost no clearance.

She broke off from him and two more of her squad mates started pestering him.

The other three tried to lift the cage from Luna while he was distracted.

“No you don’t,” he said and prepared to unleash a bolt at the three of them.

“No,” Silverwing said as she grabbed him from behind, putting him in a headlock and causing him to miss.

“This is the last time you will meddle with me!” Lucius said as he fired electricity backwards through Silverwing.

She screamed as the electricity flowed through her and small bolts flew from her wingtips, burning them.

She went limp and fell off of him.

“Silverwing!” I shouted, watching her slump to the ground.

I created a crystal and aimed it a Lucius, but he saw me and reactivated the floor pylons and I dropped the projectile.

After being satisfied that I could not get back up he turned to deal with the rest of silver squadron.

I levitated my seed crystal and moved it over to Luna who was trying to break the cage, but finding no success as it was impervious to magic.

She stopped when when saw the small crystal levitate in front of her.

I spun it around, trying to show her that she could use it to cut through the bars.

She cut two of the bars and was able to slip out.

She transformed into Nightmare Moon and roared in the royal canterlot voice, “NOW I SHALL SHOW YOU THE TRUE MEANING OF FEAR!”

He screamed as she fell upon him, transforming into a dark miasma.

When she returned to her solid form, Lucius was curled up in the fetal position, his eyes wide with terror.

She transformed back to her normal form and she went to check on all of us.

As I looked around I saw the singed forms of all my friends, and the still form of Silverwing and I gave a cry to the heavens before collapsing into darkness.

I awoke in a hospital bed, my body aching and my head throbbing. I could hear the sound of a heart monitor beeping, then I closed my eyes and escaped back into the darkness.

I don’t know how long I slept but when I woke again, the room was softly lit with a lamp next to me.

“You’re awake,” I heard a female voice say.

“You shouldn’t try to move, you’ve been through alot,” another soothing voice said.

“Where am I?” I asked weakly.

“You’re in Trottingham Hospital,” one of the nurses said.

“Your friends brought the two of you here a day or two ago,” the other said.

“The two of us?” I asked.

“Yes, your friend was in pretty bad shape,” one of them said.

“Who?” I asked, worried.

“Her,” the nurse said, pointing to the bed next to me.

I turned and saw Silverwing laying in the bed next to me, her wings bandaged and set against her body.

“She’s stable but she hasn’t woken up yet, and the doctor says that she might not be able to fly again,” one of the nurses said.

I fell back into the bed. I couldn’t believe it, she was alive, they all were!

“Mixer?” I heard Silverwing say, her voice shaking.

“Silverwing, are you ok?” I asked.

“She gave a weak smile, “I’m glad we came to save you in time,” she said, then she put her head back.

“Silverwing,” I said worried.

“Don’t worry, I won’t leave you,” she said.

“I’ll hold you to that,” I said, doing the same and placing my head back on the pillow.

I fell back asleep again and woke up sometime during the next day.

There was no sign of the nurses and a window was open, letting in the midday sun’s rays.

“Oh, you’re awake,” Silverwing said.

I looked over and saw that she was sitting up, a bandage on her head.

“You too,” I said, sitting up myself.

“So where are we?” she asked.

“The nurses said that we were in the Trottingham hospital,” I said.

“So that’s where we are,” she said.

“Where is Trottingham exactly?” I asked.

“North of New Pegisopolis, a small settlement, though one of the larger ones,” she said.

“Well, they seem to have good medical care,” I said.

“Yeah, they do,” she said.

A knock came to the door and a nurse came in holding a letter.

“This came in the mail for you, it’s addressed to Mixer,” she said.

I took the letter and opened it.

Dear Mixer,
Mixer, you and Silverwing were in critical condition so we left you in Trottingham to recover. All of us are fine, just a few bruises and some singed fur but nothing serious. We have returned to New Pegisopolis to continue with talking to the king about what we will do next.
Get well soon,
Princess Luna

“Well, at least they wrote,” I said.

“What does it say?” Silverwing asked.

“Here take a look,” I said, passing the letter.

She took it and read it over.

“I hope that nothing else goes wrong,” she said.

“Don't jinx it,” I said jokingly.

“I’m starving,” she said as her stomach growled.

“Me too,” I said.

The nurse left and came back with two plates of hospital food.

“It’s better than rumors say it is,” I said.

“Better than standard rations,” Silverwing said digging in.

We ate then slept more, having nothing better to do.

I had pleasant dreams that night, better than any I’d had in awhile.

Shadows of the Past part 3

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The Mixer Chronicles

Book Seventeen:
Shadows of the Past
Part 3

In Equestria the ponies from the three ships, the Magestic, Dawn Treader, and Exodus, were trying to enjoy themselves in Las Pegasus.

Some of them were able to cut loose and have a decent time, but most of them were uncomfortable around so many foreign ponies, despite how nice they were trying to be.

Vinyl had heard about the situation, and decided that she would see if these new ponies would like her music.

Since the time that I created the Mobile Party for her, she had gotten a much larger fanbase and was getting more money. She used some of that extra money to buy a blimp, and now used it as her own personal party yacht.

There were mixed reactions from all the ponies in Las Pegasus when the large white balloon with a record on either side, came floating in sporting a gondola studded with large speakers.

“Hey everypony! This is DJ Pon3 here, bringing you some fresh beats to lighten the mood and lift those spirits,” she said over the mic of her airship.

She started playing upbeat music while she headed to the docks to allow for the ponies to make use of the gondola’s dancefloor.

Octavia was going along for the ride, bringing her cello, since it now served as a great crowd control implement being indestructible.

While Vinyl was busy getting her party on, Octavia decided to talk to some of the more down ponies.

“It just stinks that the rest of them got to go home while the rest of us are stuck here,” one of them said to her.

“Feeling homesick?” she asked.

“Yeah,” another replied.

Octavia asked a few more and got similar responses.

She went back to the party blimp and told Vinyl what was troubling the ponies.

“Homesick? Why didn’t you say so, let’s get you ponies back home!” she said, her voice blasting over the speakers of the Mobile Party, which fit nicely onto the deck of the blimp.

“But there’s a magical storm blocking the way home,” one of them said.

“I’ll get you there,” she said.

“But the airship can’t handle a storm!” Octavia said.
“Screw that noise, I’m Vinyl Scratch!” she said, and told
the Pegisopolis ponies to get ready to go home.

They all got onto their ships, not knowing what to think of this.

They started towards the storm belt and soon Vinyl could see the dark clouds on the horizon.

“Ok everypony, I’m gonna have to drop the bass on this one, so you might want to cover your ears,” she said as she powered up the Mobile Party.

She waited until the winds started picking up to fire both bass cannons into the heart of the cloud bank in front of them.

Twin beams of sound split the clouds, pushing them aside, until there was a path through them.

Vinyl could hear cheers from the ships below as they moved forward, and she cranked the music to eleven to keep up the energy.

Vinyl would have to fire the bass cannons a few more times on the journey but she would end up making it with everypony intact, except for maybe some slight hearing issues.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I woke from my nice dreams and saw five ponies standing and sitting around the room.

“What are you guys doing here?” Silverwing asked.

Some of them looked down while others looked around but only one kept his eyes locked with hers.

“Bad news I’m afraid,” he said.

“What news?” I asked.

He gave a deep sigh, “You princess Luna and the others have been arrested for the attempted poisoning of the king,” he said.

“What?!” I asked.

“Luna was talking with the king when he fell over doubled just after taking a drink of wine. One of the Lunar guard fled from the room, bursting back in with Thunder Blitz hot on his trail. He handed something to Ivy before Blitz tackled him. The king took whatever it was from her and he ended up getting better, but they still think that was an unrelated act,” he said, visibly enraged by the situation. “All it took was Blitz’s accusations to cement the case against them.”

My mouth hung open, “This can’t be happening,” I said, breaking down.

“Why are you telling us this now?” Silverwing asked.

“Because, the guards are on their way to bring you two in,” he said, as we heard hoovesteps thunder up the stairs towards the room.

“Stand aside,” a guard said and pushed the others back form Silverwing and I.

“But they aren’t fit to move yet,” a nurse said.

“Then move them in the beds,” he said.

“Quicksilver, don’t do anything stupid, let us handle this,” Silverwing said as they wheeled us out.

“Yes mam,” the stallion said grudgingly.

They took us outside and loaded us onto a waiting airship.

“You two will be taken into custody and questioned about your involvement with the recent attempt on the king’s life,” the head guard said.

We stayed silent as we took off and headed towards the capitol.

The airship was not too fast but was eating up the miles as we passed open prairies and the occasional farm.
There was a shaking in the ship and then there were shouts coming from below decks.

I could see that this wasn't part of the plan and shielded both Silverwing and I with crystal before a large bang shook the ship and fire started spewing from a gaping hole in the side of the deck below us.

I could see the terrified look of the captain as the rest of the ship burst into flame and another explosion shook the ship.

The flaming hulk of the ship suddenly lurched and started falling towards the earth, the helium now escaping from the burnt envelope.

I almost blacked out when we hit the ground but keep me consciousness and lowered the crystal barrier that had protected us from the crash.

We pulled ourselves from the burning wreckage and looked back as it belched smoke.

“What about the others?” Silverwing asked.

I looked back, “You don’t think anypony survived that do you?” I asked.

She gave me a look and I coated myself with a thin layer of crystal and went back to check for any survivors.

I only found one that was still breathing, and that was the captain.

I pulled him out and left him laying on the grass away from the wreckage, now starting to collapse in on itself.

I went back to Silverwing who was sitting on the grass waiting for me.

“We need to leave the area,” she said.

“Where would we go?” I asked.

“There’s a farm not too far from here,” she said.

“Let’s get moving then” I said and we started walking to the north, where a small farmhouse was resting on a hillside.
It took us longer to walk there then if we were at full strength, but we made it there before dark and snuck into the barn to get some rest.

“It’s just you and me now,” she said.

“Yeah, two ponies against the world,” I replied, rolling over on a pile of hay.

“One of which can’t even use her wings,” Silver said.

“Things don’t look too good,” I said.

“Then get some sleep, maybe things will look better in the morning,” she said.

I made myself comfortable as I could on the course hay and fell asleep.

That night my dreams were plagued by images of my friends all trapped in cages, calling out for me.

We were woken by the shouts of a colt.

“Pa! There’s a couple ah strangers in the hayloft,” she called.

“Are you pullin my leg again junior?” an annoyed voice answered.

“Nuh uh, I saw em up there,” the colt said.

“Show me,” the voice said.

“We didn't try to hide, seeing as how that would only hurt our situation so we just sat up and waited until a brown head topped with a straw hat popped up and addressed us.

“Now what in tarnation are you doin in mah hayloft?” he questioned.

“We’re sorry mister, we just needed a place to rest for the night,” Silverwing said.

“Well shoot, all ya had ta do was ask,” he said.

“See I told ya they was up here,” the colt said.

“I can see that now,” he said. “You look like you’re hurtin miss,” he said to Silverwing.

“I’ll be fine,” she said.

“And what ‘bout you son, you alright too?” he asked me.

“Nothing that time won’t fix,” I said.

“I see, well, why don’t you two come down and tell old Hayseed what’s yer trouble,” he said.

“That sounds gracious of you but we need to get going,” I said.

“And where would y’all be heading off two in such a hurry lookin like that?” he asked.

“We have to get to New Pegisopolis,” Silverwing said.

“Ah, lookin to get to the big city. What fer?” he asked.

“My friends need help,” I said.

“Well shoot, you can't rightly leave yer friends out to dry now can ya,” he said.

“No, so thank you for the use of your barn, but we must get going,” I said.

“Now hold on there pardner, I can’t just let you walk out without some kinda help,” he said.

“I don't think you want to help us more than you already have, the guards are looking for us,” Silverwing said.

“So you two are on the lamb?” he asked.

“In a manner of speaking,” I said.

“Well, ah’m just a simple farmer and ah don’t know nothin about no escapees,” he said with a grin on his face.

“Thank you,” Silverwing said.

“Mah pleasure miss,” he said.

“So we’re gonna help em pa?” the colt asked.

“Nope, we’re just gonna take some produce into market,” he said with a wink.

He got a cart ready and out a tarp over the two of us and we began our ride to New Pegisopolis.
--

“Yeah! Now that’s what I’m talking about!” Vinyl said over the mic after they cleared the storm belt in just a few hours.

The crew were cheering as Vinyl played her favorite song over the giant sound system.

“Thank you! Thank you! I’ll be here all day,” she said.

“Um, Vinyl, we’re running out of fuel...” Octavia said.

“Oh, whoops, should have checked the tank before we left,” she said, rubbing her head.

“So do any of you guys have some extra fuel?” she asked as she lowered altitude to get closer to the largest ship, the Majestic.

She landed the party blimp on the stern half of the Majestic and was greeted by a crowd of cheering ponies.

“Whoa whoa whoa, back up guys,” Vinyl said.

A quick shrill note from Octavia’s cello and a glare silenced the front most fans and they gave Vinyl some room.

“So who do I ask about getting something to eat around here, I’m starving,” she said.

“That would be me Miss Vinyl,” a grayish stallion in a captain uniform said, cutting through the crowd.

“Please, just call me Vinyl,” she said.

“In any case, I want to thank you personally for helping us get through that storm,” he said.

“No problem, just point me to the nearest meal and I’ll call it even,” Vinyl said.

The captain laughed, “I think that can be arranged.”

Octavia followed Vinyl and the captain, keeping the crowd that was following them in line.

“So how long do you think we have until we reach your city?” Octavia asked.

“You saved us more than a day’s worth of travel, so I think we will be there by morning,” the captain replied.

“Ok, good, I could use some sleep,” Octavia said.

“Come on Tavi, you don’t think these ponies will wait all night for my music do you?” Vinyl asked.

“I suppose that I can’t stop you if you want to tire yourself out with another all nighter, but I’m going to catch some sleep after a nice meal,” Octavia said.

“Aw, you’re no fun,” Vinyl complained.

“If you ladies would like something to eat, the mess is right this way,” the captain said, bowing and indicating the hallway to his left.

Octavia and Vinyl enjoyed a nice dinner while a few guards kept the rest of the crew out to give them some peace.

When they finished, Vinyl gave a belch and said, “That was good eats.”

“I’ve had better, but it was better than going hungry,” Octavia said.

“Welp, I’m gonna go out there and give those ponies what they want,” Vinyl said.

“Very well, I’ll be catching up on my sleep,” Octavia said.

Vinyl waved her off and went to the door where there was a group of crew members waiting for her.

“Let’s go boys!” she said and led them to the deck where the airship was being refueled.

Octavia sighed and the captain led her to a room where she could sleep in peace.
--

We arrived in New Pegisopolis after a day long ride and sleeping for the night as Hayseed pulled the cart.

“Well, this is your stop,” he said pulling the tarp off us.

“Thank you for your help,” I said.

“Don’t think nothin of it,” he said, and pulled his cart away.

We were on the outskirts of the city. It would take us a lot of walking to get to the capitol.

“We should try to stay as hidden as possible,” I said.

“Um, Mixer, I think you should look at this,” Silverwing said.

I looked at what she was indicating and saw our names and faces on a wanted poster.

“Conspiracy against the king, resisting arrest, sabotage of official property and, murder?” I listed off the offenses that went with our names.

“Should you see these ponies, contact the guard immediately,” Silver said, reading the rest of the poster.

“We should run now,” I said.

“Why?” Silver asked turning around.

“Because, suddenly the other ponies are avoiding us like the plague,” I said.

“Feathers!” she spat and the two of us started running toward the palace.

As we ran the other ponies shied away from us and moved to let us pass.

“We don’t have much time if we want to clear our names, I’m sure the guard is already on our trail,” I said.

“If we can make it to the palace before we get caught we can make our case to the king,” she said.

“Let’s hope that they are slower than we are,” I said.
--

“Boy am I beat,” Vinyl said as Octavia flew the airship towards the port landing pad.

“Well, if you would have slept instead of partying then you wouldn’t be dealing with that now would you?” she said.

“As always, you were right Tavi,” Vinyl said.

“That’s ok, somepony has to watch you sorry flank,” Octavia said kindly.

“Thanks Tavi,” Vinyl said, giving Octavia a sleepy hug.

Octavia returned the affection, “Now, try to wake up, I need you alert for dealing with these other ponies.”

“Alright,” Vinyl said, shaking herself.

“Hmm, looks like those ponies want something,” Octavia said.

Vinyl out her sunglasses back on after rubbing her eyes and pushed Octavia out of the way.

“Ok party ponies, lets start the day out right, with some wubs,” Vinyl said.

She turned on the music and set the playlist to repeat.

“I don’t think that’s what they wanted,” Octavia said.

“What was that Tavi?” Vinyl asked over the music.

Octavia slid the volume control all the way down, “I think they want you to land.”

Two pegasi guard flew up to the gondola and shouted at Vinyl, “You have to land this craft for inspection!”

A few of the pegasi crew members flew up to meet them.

“They’re good,” one of them said.

“Yeah, leave them alone,” another protested.

“Without them we wouldn’t be here,” a third chipped in.

“It’s cool guys, I’ll land, I have to unload the Mobile Party anyways,” Vinyl said.

The party blimp touched down and the dock workers secured it as Vinyl dropped the main ramp in front.

She powered up the Mobile Party and walked it off the blimp.

“Halt!” Thunder Blitz yelled at her.

“Hey, if you don’t mind, I’m just gonna go look for my friend Mixer ok?” she said to the irate pegasus.

“You are under arrest!” he yelled and a few other pegasi took up positions around her.

“I wasn’t asking,” she said and turned up the music while she piloted the mech forward.

One of the pegasi dove at Vinyl from behind but was met with a swing from Octavia’s cello, sending him flying.

“Why do you always have a way of making authority figures mad?” she asked Vinyl as more gathered around.

“Just part of my charming personality,” Vinyl said.

Octavia sighed and readied herself to repel attackers.
--

“That was close,” I said, as I looked out the door we had just ducked it to get away from the guards.

“There’s no way we can get to the palace now,” she said.

“There is one way,” a voice from behind us said.

We turned around and were greeted by Silverwings squadron.

“Quicksilver what are you doing here?” she asked.

“We’re here to give you a helping hoof mam,” he said, taking off a pair of sunglasses he was wearing.

“Then you take her and get to the king, I’ll try and help my friends,” I said.

“But Mixer,” Silver started to protest.

“Go, I can handle this by myself,” I said, creating a crystal board to fly on.

Quicksilver gave me a salute, “Good luck.”

I hopped on my board and flung the door open with my magic.

“There he is!” I heard a guard yell as I took off towards the palace.

Only one of them was a pegasus so he took off after me while the others followed on foot.

“Stop!” he yelled.

I slowed down so he could hear me, “If I go with you will you take me to the one who is in charge of the investigation?”

“What?” he asked, looking dumbfounded.

“Will you take me to him?” I asked.

“If you come quietly,” he shouted.

I stopped in mid air and let him catch up to me.

“Land,” he said.

I complied but stopped him from restraining me, “Take me to the investigator.”

“Alright, but I’m keeping my eye on you,” he said.

“Fine just take me there,” I said with urgency.

He led the way towards a building that was separate from the palace.

I was escorted inside and we went up an elevator to one of the top floors.

“Well, well, I didn't expect someone like you to just hand yourself over,” a voice came from a turned chair.

“That’s because you need to know the truth,” I said.

“Oh, and what do you know about the truth?” he asked spinning around to face me.

“I know that Thunder Blitz is in league with Lucius, and that he is the one you are looking for not me,” I said.

“Oh is that right? Because right now it’s the testimony of a well respected member of the air force against a chemist who has been missing for over a year,” he said.

“So you think that an injured unicorn and a grounded pegasus could sabotage an entire airship right out of the hospital?” I questioned.

“Listen here, my name’s Cold Case, and I have never been wrong, not once,” he spat.

“First time for everything,” I said.

“Right now, Blitz has a lot more pull than you right now, and that means until you give me solid proof, then you are the one who is suspect here,” he said.

“And you think that after I cured the king and my friends helped, that they would simply poison him themselves?” I asked.

“The only thing that is true about that is that you cured him, that doesn’t mean that your so called friends didn’t poison him while you were incapacitated,” he said.

“So you just said that I’m innocent,” I said.

“That’s not what I,” he started.

“Listen here, ‘Cold Case’, Thunder Blitz is the one who poisoned the king, he was being manipulated by Lucius. If you want to argue that he couldn’t have, think about his position as leader of one of the top two squadrons, that gives him opportunity, on top of motive,” I said.

He scowled as I continued to deconstruct him.

“The fact that he was one of the two surviving members after an op went bad should have raised some suspicions about his ability to commit such a crime. The only witness to said acts was almost killed by Lucius, meaning that she could have been silenced. If Lucius promised Blitz the sole position as ace then he would do it because of his lust for power. Finally, he was the one who accused them of the poisoning of the king, even after Ivy helped the king by giving him an herb to stop the poison,” I said.

“How did you know all that?” he asked shocked.

“Because, there are ponies out there who know what Blitz is capable of and are not afraid to question him,” I said.

The building was shaken by a loud boom.

“What was that?” he questioned.

I looked out the window and saw that far below Vinyl was fighting with a few pegasi in the Mobile Party.

“Well, it’s been nice talking to you,” I said and bust through the window.

I free falled down and slowed my descent with magic so I landed softly next to Vinyl and Octavia.

“Mixer, just the stallion I wanted to see,” Vinyl said.

“I see you managed to make some new friends,” I said.

“Yeah, and they don’t even like my music,” Vinyl said, cranking one of the dials to send a concussive blast from the subwoofers.

“Head that way,” I said, pointing to the palace.

“Got it,” Vinyl said as she steered the machine in that direction.

With my help we kept Blitz and his cronies off of Vinyl and when we finally reached the palace Vinyl said, “I think this is your stop. Tavi go with him, I’ll keep our friends busy.”

“Be careful,” Octavia said as we jumped off the mech and landed on the ground.

“Lets go Octavia,” I said.

She looked back as Vinyl used her magic to throw records at her attackers.

“She’ll be fine, after all, she is Vinyl Scratch,” I said.

She took one last look, then slung her cello on her back and we ran inside.

Thankfully the guards in front did not stop me. Unfortunately, the guards who were watching our friends were not so kind.

Octavia started to play a battle hymn on her cello while I engaged two of the guard and a third went after her.

I mostly dodged out of the way, but the guard that went after Octavia found her to be far less forgiving, hitting him in the face, mid draw, and using the cello like a pivot point to kick him from.

The two guards that were fighting me found that as I was dodging them I was working on restraining them with crystal shackles.

When they finally noticed, they fell flat on their faces and were unable to get back up.

When I turned around, Octavia had the bottom of her cello planted next to the guards face, holding him down with the weight.

“What’s all that noise out there?” a groggy voice called out from inside the room.

“Nothing, just some music,” I said, masking my voice as best I could.

“Well keep it down out there will you?” the voice said.

I got ready behind the door and burst through it, startling the guard who had been talking and knocking him out of his chair.

“Mixer!” a chorus of voices cried as I entered and subdued the guard.

“I came to get you out of here,” I said.

I broke the locks on all the doors and all fourteen of them walked out into the hall.

“What is the meaning of this?” King Prime Arch asked.

“I was fixing the problem,” I said.

“What problem?” he demanded.

“The problem we have with Thunder Blitz trying to kill you and imprison all my friends,” I said.

“Go then, but do release my guard first,” he said.

I loosened all their shackles and took off with the others towards the outside.

When we got outside we were just in time to see Silver Squadron saving Vinyl and Blitz turning tail and running.

“Quicksilver, keep on him!” I called.

“Right,” he called back and went off in hot pursuit.

“Vinyl are you ok?” Octavia asked.

She got up off the floor of the platform revealing that one of her sunglasses lenses was broken.

“Just a few bumps and bruises, you should have seen the other guy,” she said with a smile.

“Octavia you stay here with Vinyl, the rest of you follow me,” I said. “We are not letting him get away!”

We followed the path that Quicksilver was following and it led to the to the facility that Lucius was being held in.

As we were running I stopped because I thought I saw Derpy.

“Derpy? What are you doing here?” I asked the gray mare.

“Now see, I told you it was better if we didn’t just go walking about when there is a high speed chase,” a brown stallion with an hourglass cutie mark said.

“Who are you?” I asked.

“Well, for times sake you can just call me the Doctor,” he said.

“Ok, but what are you doing here of all places?” I asked, the others kept following the trail.

“We, um, came here to keep something from going wrong and catastrophically changing the timeline,” he said.

“What?” I said, cocking my head sideways.

“I didn’t quite get it at first either,” Derpy said.

“Look, there he goes!” The Doctor said, pointing at Thunder Blitz and two of his cronies as they carried Lucius away.

“Not while I’m still standing,” I growled and took off after them with a crystal.

I grew a fews darts of crystal, each one razor sharp and threw them one at a time at the two carrying Lucius.

I hit the fist on in the wing tip and he just kept flying, the second one hit him in the shoulder, embedding itself into his body and causing him to spiral towards the ground.

The third one missed Blitz by mere inches, and the fourth and final one hit the struggling second henchman dead in the center of the wing.

Him and Lucius crashed onto a rooftop that I descended upon them like a bird of prey.

Lucius got up and tried to run for Blitz, but I stopped him by throwing a razor crystal his way.

He ducked at the last second and the crystal merely took off most of his horn, instead of hitting him in the back of the neck.

He hit the ground in agony then rolled over and started to crawl away from me, fear in his eyes, murderous intent in mine.

As I slowly walked his way I made a crystal and extended it to blade length, holding it off to one side.

As Lucius crawled backwards he ran out of rooftop and sat in horror as I approached.

“Please don’t,” he breathed.

I scowled down at him, “You lost that chance a long time ago.”

I went to bring the blade down on him but Twilight teleported in front of me. I stopped the blade barely an inch from her face.

“Don’t do this Mixer, it’s not who you are!” she said.

“Twilight get out of the way,” I said.

“Can’t you see you’ve done enough already, he doesn’t even have a horn left,” she said, gesturing to the severed horn behind me.

“You would have me spare him, even after what he did, what he was going to do?” I asked.

“Yes, because killing him would make you no better than him,” she said.

I looked into Twilight’s eyes, two amethysts of mercy, then at Lucius, his eyes two crimson pools of pure fear.

Twilight closed her eyes as I raised the blade again, burying it with a thud in the roof.

“I’ll let him live,” I said, and turned away.

Lucius and Thunder Blitz were taken into custody and both given life sentences in maximum security prison.

While the others preparing to leave, I went to take care of some unfinished business.
--

Lucius was sitting his his cell, a small room with white walls and a small barred window.

He detested the fact that he was in this situation but was glad that he had escaped his last encounter with me with his life intact.

“Lunch time,” a voice said from the other side of the door and slid a tray in through a slot near the bottom of the door.

Lucius walked over a picked up the tray, taking it to the wall under the window to eat the meager meal.

After taking a few bites he felt his throat start closing up and gasped as he held his throat.

I opened the door and stared at him, choking on the floor.

I saw the terror in his eyes.

“I could kill you right now, and nopony would be the wiser, they would just find you choked to death. But I’m better than that,” I said, rolling a white vial his way.

He picked it up and drained the small amount of liquid, gasping as air returned to his lungs.

I turned around to leave but shot him back a cold stare, “If you ever make me regret giving you that antidote, I will make you wish that you had died sputtering on the floor,” I said coldly then walked out the door, locking it behind me.
--

“Ready to go?” Twilight asked.

“Yes,” I said cheerfully.

“Then let’s go,” Silverwing said.

“Are you coming with us?” I asked.

“Yep, me and the whole squad are coming with you,” she said.

“Call it a mission of good will,” Quicksilver said.

“It will be nice to have a break after all this,” Silverwing said.

We left the palace and met up with Vinyl and Octavia who had gone on ahead to prep their blimp for takeoff.

“Hi Vinyl, how’s the eye?” I asked.

“I’ll be fine, I’ve got another pair of sunglasses at home,” she said.

“That’s good,” I said.

“By the way, I never thanked you for helping me out,” she said to Quicksilver.

“No problem,” he said.

We all got on the Royal, now mostly empty except for a few necessary crew and those ponies that wanted to see Equestria.

Vinyl sped up the trip, rending the clouds with the double bass cannons to make it easier to travel.
By the next afternoon we were back in Las Pegasus, the welcoming party ready to go.

Celestia herself had come to welcome us all back.

There was much celebrating the friendship of our two nations and everypony partied well into the night.

After telling Celestia all of what happened Luna went and found Sombra and they spent the rest of the night celebrating together.

Vinyl got her party blimp in full swing and even Octavia was dancing on the dancefloor.

All the Lunar guard were having a fun time, even Brick was having a good time hoof wrestling with some of the ponies from New Pegisopolis.

I was sitting apart for a while until a small grey unicorn filly ran up to me.

“Mixer!” she cried as she jumped onto me giving me a big hug.

“Crystal, its good to see you again,” I said, scooping her up in my own hug.

“Don’t ever leave me for that long again,” she said.

“Don’t worry, I don’t plan on going anywhere anytime soon,” I said.

“And who is this?” Silverwing said walking up.

“My name’s Crystal, what’s your’s?” she asked.

“Crystal, this is Silverwing from New Pegisopolis,” I said.

“Nice to meet you Crystal,” Silverwing said.

“Nice to meet you too,” Crystal said.

“So are you two related?” Silverwing asked.

“No, I’m here guardian while her mother is indisposed,” I said.

“Yeah, I embarrass him if I call him daddy,” Crystal said.

“What happened to her mother?” she asked.

“That’s a sensitive question,” I said.

Crystal stepped in between us and looked up at Silverwing.

“Mixer is right, that is a sensitive situation, but you seem like the kind of pony I can tell this to,” she said.

“Are you sure?” I asked.

“Yeah, remember I can sense these kind of things,” she said smiling to me.

She let her horn glow and her disguise disappeared with the usual green flames and puff of smoke.

Silverwing stared in awe as her wings unfurled and Crystal smiled at her.

“That’s amazing!” Silverwing said, not put off by the sharp teeth, the holes in her legs or her odd horn.

“Yay somepony who likes my true form!” Crystal cried giving Silverwing a hug.

“So she’s not a pony right?” Silverwing asked.

“No she’s a changeling,” I said shaking my head.

“Can she stay with us?” Crystal asked.

“Well, I suppose so, if it is ok with the princesses,” I said.

“If what is okay with us?” Luna asked from behind me.

“If Silverwing can stay with us,” Crystal said.

“Oh course she can,” Celestia said, joining her sister.

“She can stay with us!” Crystal said, jumping around.

“What about the rest of my squadron?” she asked.

“They can stay with the Wonderbolts,” Celestia said.

“I believe you have met one of them already,” Luna said.

“Spitfire?” Silverwing asked.

“Yes, and I’m sure she would be fine with housing your squad for a while,” Celestia said.

“So Silverwing, are your wings feeling better?” Luna asked.

“They don’t hurt if that’s what you’re asking,” she said.

“That’s good at least,” she said.

“Yeah, but I’m going to leave the bandages on for another day or two,” she said.

“It’s ok, don’t rush the healing process,” Luna said.

“It’s getting kind of late,” I said to Crystal.

“Oh, let her stay up for once,” Sombra said, finding Luna again.

“Okay,” I ceded.

“Yay!” Crystal cried.

“And you don’t have to worry about staying transformed,” Celestia said.

“Yay!” Crystal said and went to go join in the festivities.

“Well, I guess we should enjoy ourselves too,” I said to Silverwing.

We went to the party blimp and cheered on Pinkie as she had a dance off against Quicksilver.

Everypony in the city was at the docks having a good time partying, all except one lone shadow, a pony that went unnoticed as he lurked at the edges of perception.

“Soon...” he whispered to himself.

Rainbow Factory

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The Mixer Chronicles

Book Eighteen:
Rainbow Factory

After the night of partying Silverwing returned to the palace with us while her squad trained with the Wonderbolts for a week.

“You built your base underground?” Silverwing asked as all of us rode down the lift.

“Yes, it is an excellent place to defend and we have plenty of space,” I said.

“I can see that,” she said as she took in the size of the cavern.

“We only use this as a base though, we spend most of our time above ground,” Trottson said.

“Yeah, and we have enough free time in between shifts to do just about anything,” Rose said.

“It sounds nice,” Silverwing said.

“It is,” Trottson said.

“Well, welcome to our humble complex,” I said as the lift reached the bottom.

She looked around at the small cluster of buildings that were both freestanding and built into the cavern walls.

“It does look like quite the position,” she said, walking past most of the buildings but stopping at the barracks.

“This is where we sleep, well, where most of us sleep,” Ivy said, nudging me.

“Hey, I rented the house for Crystal,” I said.

“I’m just joking around with you,” she said.

“And right over here is our house,” I said, pointing to an unassuming doorway in the cavern wall.

“Don’t worry, it’s much better on the inside,” Crystal said, as Silverwing gave the door a dubious look.

The three of us, Silverwing, Crystal, and myself, went into the house and Silverwing marveled at the interior. All of the walls in the main room were polished rock, but the floor was covered with soft white carpeting. There was a large red couch on one side of the room with a magical fireplace in front of it. From the entrance it was possible to see into the kitchen, where the carpet gave way to a grey tiled floor. There was another room in the downstairs and three more upstairs, all of which were bedrooms.

“Wow, it’s so nice,” Silverwing said, jumping on the bed in the spare bedroom.

“Yeah, they usually rent these houses out to miners who don’t want to make a long commute, but I’m using it now instead,” I said.

“It’s our house here in Canterlot,” Crystal said.

“You have another house?” Silver asked.

“Yes, I have a home in Ponyville, but it is more of a vacation home now,” I said.

“You’ll have to show me sometime,” she said.

“I think you’ll like it,” I said.

We went downstairs and I started making some lunch for the three of us.

I stopped when I heard a knock at the door.

“I’ll get it,” Crystal called and ran to the door.

When she opened it I could see that it was Luna and Sombra.

“Sombra, Luna!” Crystal welcomed them.

“What are you two doing down here?” I asked from the kitchen.

“What? Can’t we just stop by to say hi?” Sombra asked.

“The princess does not simply drop by to say hi,” I said.

“Oh really?” Luna asked.

“Count the number of times you have just dropped by to say hi and not told me to do something,” I said.

“Touche,” she said.

“So what’s up?” I asked.

“We have been thinking, and we would like you to go to Ponyville with Silverwing and Crystal. Think of it as giving her a tour, plus you deserve a vacation after recent events,” she said.

“You know what, I think I’d like that,” I said.

“I’m glad I don’t have to order you to take a break this time,” she chuckled.

“What’s all this about?” Silverwing said, going down the stairs.

“Ah, Silverwing, I don’t think we were properly introduced last time we met, I’m Sombra,” he said.

“Nice to met you Sombra,” she said.

“Anyways, you will get to experience some of the hospitality of Ponyville,” Luna said,”

“What?” Silverwing asked.

“Mixer has a house with room for all three of you, and I would like it if you stayed there’ away from the hustle and bustle of Canterlot life for a week or so,” Luna said.

“Oh, ok,” Silverwing said.

“It’ll be fun,” Crystal said.

“So, care to stay for lunch?” I asked Luna and Sombra.

“What are you having?” Sombra asked.

“Just some sandwiches, they are pretty easy, so I have a hard time messing them up,” I said.

“Um, no thank you,” Luna said.

“Oh, come on, he can't mess up a sandwich,” Sombra said, remembering the last time I tried to cook.

“Ok...” Luna said.

They stayed and the five of us enjoyed a good lunch, good by my standards at least.

After that Silverwing and Crystal got ready to go to Ponyville.

“So how is Ponyville?” Silverwing asked, as we walked to the trainstation.

“It’s great! It’s kind of small and all our friends live there,” Crystal said.

“She means Twilight, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie, Rainbow Dash, and Vinyl and Octavia,” I said.

“Yeah, and the Cutie MArk Crusaders!” Crystal said.

“Who?” silverwing asked.

“They are made of Applejack and Rarity’s younger sisters and a filly from Cloudsdale named Scootaloo,” I said.

“And why are they called the cutie mark crusaders?” she asked.

“Because they help young fillies and colts find their cutie marks,” Crystal said.

“Just be warned, Pinkie likes to throw parties for new ponies in town,” I said.

“That doesn’t sound too bad,” Silverwing said.

“Just letting you know in advance,” I said.

We boarded the train and arrived in Ponyville shortly.

“It’s so, simple,” Silverwing said when we arrived.

“Yeah, I like it,” I said, leading our little group towards my house.

When we left the station I thought I saw a shadow flicker in the corner of my eye, but dismissed it as some piece of debris from the train coming and going.

We walked through town until Pinkie waved us into Sugarcube Corner.

“Hey guys over here!” she called.

“Yay, it’s Pinkie!” Crystal called and ran over.

Crystal jumped on Pinkie and the two of them rolled on the ground laughing as Silverwing and I walked up.

“Hi Silverwing!” Pinkie said getting up.

“Hi Pinkie,” Silverwing said.

“I would like to introduce you three to Mr. and Mrs. Cake!” Pinkie said, gesturing to the proprietors of Sugarcube Corner.

“Oh Pinkie, who are your friends?” Mrs. Cake asked.

“This is MIxer, and Silverwing and Crystal!” Pinkie said, motioning to each of us in turn.

“Well it’s nice to meet all of you,” Mrs. Cake said.

“Nice to meet you too, Mrs. Cake,” Silverwing said.

“Where did Mr. Cake go?” Pinkie asked.

“He just went out to get some more ingredients, he’ll be back in a few minutes,” Mrs. Cake said.

“Aw, I wanted him to meet all of you,” Pinkie sulked.

“We’ll be in town for a week so I’m sure we’ll have plenty of chances,” I said.

“So Mixer, I never knew that you were a father,” Mrs. Cake said.

I coughed, caught off guard by the statement.

“I’m not,” I said, clearing my throat.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Mrs. Cake said.

“It’s ok, I can see why you would think that we were a family, I can see that we look just like one,” Silverwing said.

“But he’s just my guardian, and Silver is just visiting,” Crystal said.

“Ok, I see,” Mrs. Cake said.

“Well, we should get going now,” I said.

“Oh, don’t go without taking a cupcake!” Pinkie said.

“Yay! Cupcakes!” Crystal said.

Pinkie handed each of us a cupcake and Crystal proceeded to chow down on hers, Silver and I waiting to get to my house.

“Now I know that you’re going to get a Pinkie Party,” I said.

“Huh?” Silver asked.

“You met Mrs. Cake, now she knows you and would be perfectly willing to make you a large welcome cake,” I said.

“Hey look, it’s Rainbow Dash,” Crystal said pointing skyward.

We looked up and saw Rainbow doing some cloudbusting.

She sped around and had the sky clear of clouds in, had to be ten seconds flat.

She flew down to us after she was done.

“Yay! Do it again!” Crystal said, bouncing up and down.

“Sorry, no more clouds today kid, maybe tomorrow,” she said.

“Aww,” Crystal complained.

“So Silver, how’s the wing?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“I took the bandages off, but I haven’t tried flying yet,” she replied.

“Oh,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Well at least you are keeping up, ten seconds flat,” I said.

“HA! I knew it,” Rainbow said strutting about.

“Well, keep up the good work, we’ll see you later,” I said.

“Ok, see you guys later,” she said, waving goodbye to us.

“I wonder if we’ll bump into any more of your friends?” Silverwing asked.

“Don’t say that,” I said as a door flung open and music came pounding from inside.

“Mixer! Silverwing! What’s up?” Vinyl said.

“Hi Vinyl, we’re in town for the week, I’m showing Silverwing around.

“Cool,” Vinyl said, bobbing her head to the music.

“I see you got your glasses fixed,” Silverwing said.

“Nah, I threw that pair out, these are a brand new pair,” she said.

“So, how have you been since we last saw you and Octavia?” I asked.

“A little sore, but were recovering just fine,” Vinyl said.

“I see that hasn’t stopped you from rocking out,” I said.

“You know me, nothing can stop this party,” she said.

“Well, we were just heading over to my place,” I said.

“Ok, sounds cool, see ya later then,” Vinyl said.

“Bye Vinyl!” Crystal said.

“See ya,” she said and went inside.

“So where is your house?” Silverwing asked.

“On the outskirts of town, in a tree,” I said.

“Your house is in a tree?” she asked.

“It is a tree, much like the library,” I said.

“The library is a tree?” she asked.

“Yeah, right over there,” I said and pointed to Twilight’s house that was also a library.

“Wow, I didn’t think you could do that,” Silverwing said.

“Trees grow bigger with the help of magic here,” I said.

“I guess so,” she said admiring the size of the large tree.

“Are we going to visit Twilight too?” Crystal asked.

“We can,” I said, and steered Silverwing towards the library.

“I take it Twilight lives in the library?” Silverwing asked.

“Yes, her and her assistant Spike,” I said.

“Spike?” Silverwing asked.

“He’s a baby dragon,” Crystal said.

Silverwing’s eyes went wide, “There is a dragon here?”

“Of course,” Crystal said, cocking her head to one side puzzled by Silverwing’s reaction.

“Crystal, where I Silver comes from, Dragons have been extinct for more than a hundred years,” I said.

“Really?” Crystal asked.

“Yes,” I said.

“Wow,” she said.

We walked over to the door and knocked.

“Coming!” Twilight called from inside.

She opened the door and it looked like she was fresh out of bed, her mane left in uncombed clumps.

“Twilight, what's wrong?” Crystal asked.

“Oh nothing’s wrong, I was just,” she paused for a large yawn, “Reorganizing the library.”

“Have you been up all night?” I asked.

“Yes, Spike couldn’t sleep, and so I couldn’t sleep either, and then I reorganized the library and I was just about done when you knocked at the door,” she said, her head drooping sleepily.

“Ok, we didn’t want to interrupt you, plus it looks like you could use some rest,” Silverwing said.

“Can’t we help?” Crystal asked.

“I have Spike finishing up the last of the books now,” she said, issuing another yawn.

“Well, we’ll just go then, you get some rest, we’ll come back tomorrow,” I said.

“Ok...” she said sleepily and wandered back inside.

“Sometimes she works herself too hard,” I said.

“Sounds like somepony else I know,” Silverwing said.

“Hey, I don’t stay up at night doing research anymore,” I said.

“I remember the one time when you woke up the entire palace when one of your ‘experiments’ made the loudest bang you ever heard,” Silverwing said, laughing.

“Yes, and the lab tech who was attending the lab nearly went deaf,” I said.

“When I look around this place it feels so peaceful, nopony is rushing to get somewhere, there are no large buildings, just a simple little town with happy inhabitants,” Silverwing said.

“Yeah, that’s why I like it here,” I said.

We went on and arrived at my house without bumping into anypony else we knew.

When we got inside Silverwing marveled at me living room/study, where I had my instruments, and now the gift sword from Haakim over the mantle.

“When did you get all these?” she asked.

“When I got more bits I decided to get some instruments, more as decoration than to play, but I do pick them up on occasion,” I said.

“And where did you get that sword?” she asked, admiring the ornate blade.

“It was a gift from a sheikh of Saddle Arabia,” I said.

“You have been busy here haven’t you,” she said.

“More than you could imagine,” I said.

After I showed her all of my instruments and my lab, what was left of it, I remembered that there were only two beds in my house.

“Hmm, how are we going to do this?” I said, thinking out loud.

“Do what?” Silverwings asked.

“There are three of us and only two beds...” I said.

“I can sleep with you,” Crystal said.

“Are you sure, I could just sleep downstairs,” I said.

“No, I don’t want you sleeping on the hard floor,” Crystal said.

“Ok, if you insist,” I said.

“It’s ok, you don’t have to worry about keeping me up with your snoring,” she said playfully.

“Hey, I don’t snore,” I said.

Silverwing laughed as Crystal made snoring noises.

“That’s a pretty good impression,” Silverwing said.

“Oh, so now you’re in on this too,” I said, playfully.

Crystal broke out in peals of laughter when Silverwing made even bigger snoring sounds.

“Ok, this is how you make a snoring sound,” I said, and trumped all of them.

“That’s so loud it would wake up everypony from here to Canterlot,” Silverwing said through her laughter.

“You could scare away a dragon with snores that loud,” Crystal chimed in rolling on the ground.

“It’s getting late, and I don’t know about you two, but I’m getting kind of tired,” I said, stifling a yawn.

“Oh no, not you two,” Silverwing said, as she caught the contagious yawning.

Crystal giggled then let out her own yawn.

We each went to our rooms and I got into bed, Crystal climbing in after me and snuggling close.

I stayed awake for a bit longer, looking out the window at the crescent moon.
In the weak light I thought I saw a silhouette, but I was too tired to care or think anything of it so I just closed my eyes and went to sleep.

The next morning when I woke up the bed was empty, and I could smell breakfast downstairs.

I walked downstairs to see that Silverwing had made all three of us breakfast and that Crystal was waiting at the table in her natural form.

“Good morning sleepy head, we thought you would sleep the day away,” Silverwing said.

“Well, as you can see, I’m awake,” I yawned, “Mostly.”

“Oh, by the way, while you were asleep, Applejack dropped off some apples for us,” Silverwing said.

“I’ll have to thank her later,” I said.

“Yeah, but for now let’s eat,” she said, and set out three plates of eggs and toast.

“Wow, it looks so good,” Crystal said.

“Yeah, better than my cooking,” I joked.

We ate and then Crystal wanted to go and hang out with the CMC.

“I think they have school today, but you can have fun with them later,” I said.

“Ok,” she said.

Silverwing and I talked for a bit while Crystal played outside for a bit.

“So how did you end up here?” Silverwing asked.

“I’m not sure the specifics, but it happened when I was doing an experiment, I can’t even remember what it was,” I said.

“Do you think Lucius had something to do with it?” she asked.

I winced slightly at the mention of his name, but I replied, “If I had to guess, yes.”

“Well, now you dealt with him so you have nothing to worry about,” she said.

“Oh I wouldn’t say that I have nothing to worry about,” I said, looking out the window to where Crystal was playing.

“So what is it with you and her?” Silverwing asked.

I sighed, “I turned her mother into stone,” I said flatly.

“What?” she asked, looking horrified.

“There is a lot more to it, but that is the part of why she is with me,” I said.

“So what happened?” Silver asked, calming down.

“Her mother tried to invade Equestria with an army of changelings, and was pushed back by princess Cadence and Shining Armor, Twilight’s older brother. After that she went into hiding until she attacked again. With Sombra’s help I was able to get the Elements of Harmony to their bearers and the changelings were pushed out again, only this time Chrysalis was crafty. She waited until after the Elements had been used and were being transported back to arrive in person. After she threatened everypony, I trapped her in a crystal with myself, sealing both of us in the Astral Plane. when I released us she tried to turn over a new leaf and act good, but when Discord returned to collect a debt I owed him, Chrysalis was caught in the blast the turned Discord back into stone,” I explained.

“Wow, that sound like a lot,” Silverwing said.

“Yeah, then after I formed the Lunar guard, Crystal tried to get her mother back, that’s when, after talking with her mother, she came into my care, to learn how to be more like a pony and to live in harmony with us,” I said.

“Well I think you are doing a fine job,” she said.

“Yeah, but she’s still a filly, I worry for what will happen when she gets older,” I said.

“I’m sure that it will all be ok,” she said.

“Thanks,” I said.

We sat for a while longer then went outside.

“Crystal I think that Apple Bloom and the others should be done with school soon, would you like to go to the schoolhouse and see?” I asked.

“Yes,” she answered.

“Ok then, you know the drill,” I said and she changed into her unicorn form, which she could hold almost all day now.

We walked to the schoolhouse and when we arrived all the little fillies and colts were happily leaving.

“Hey Apple Bloom!” Crystal called, waving to her friends.

“Hi Crystal,” apple Bloom said, running up with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.

“Ready to go on another adventure?” Sweetie asked.

“Yay adventure!” Crystal said.

“Well you can do that once we get to Sweet Apple Acres,” I said. “Besides, we have to go thank Applejack for the apples.”

“Ok,” Crystal said, as the four of them led the way towards the Apple family orchard.

It did not take us very long before we were surrounded by apple trees and the smell of apples.

“Applejack! We’re home!” Apple Bloom called.

“Hey there! I see you got your friends all rounded up. Going to go on another ‘crusade’?” Applejack asked ambling over.

“Always,” Sweetie said.

“Ok now, just be sure to be back before dark,” Applejack said, as the four of them scampered to the treehouse.

“Hi Applejack, how are things?” I asked.

“Well, things have been mighty fine since we got back from that big ol city of yers. So how’re y’all doin?” she asked.

“I’m fine,” I said.

“I’m pretty good too,” Silver said.

“Well that’s good ta hear. Say, would you like some cider? we made a batch early this year,” she said.

“No thanks, save it for some other ponies,” I said.

“What about you miss Silverwing, would you like ta try a swig?” she asked.

“It wouldn’t be any trouble would it?” Silver asked.

“Nope,” Big Mac said joining us.

“Oh Silver, meet mah big brother Big Macintosh, but everypony just calls him Big Mac,” Applejack said.

“Nice to meet you Big Mac,” silverwing said.

“Eeyup,” he said, shaking her hoof.

“Yeah, he doesn’t talk much,” Applejack said.

“Nope,” Big Mac added.

“Big Mac, why don’t you get some sider for our friends here,” Applejack suggested.

“Eeyup,” Mac said and went off into the barn.

“You’re gonna love this,” Applejack said.

“So what’s so special about cider?” Silverwing asked.

“This isn’t just any old cider, this is Apple family cider, the best around,” applejack said.

“Yeah, and they proved it when a couple of unicorns tried to prove that they could make better cider with a machine,” I said.

“I wonder whatever did happen to them Flim Flam brothers?” Applejack asked.

“I’m not sure,” I said, semi truthfully.

Just then Big Mac came back with a small keg on his back and a couple of mugs hanging from the spout.

“Wait till you get a lode of these apples,” Applejack said, pouring each of us a mug.

Silverwing drank some of her’s first.

“Well?” I asked.

“This is the most amazing drink in the world!” she said, draining the rest of it.

“Told ya,” Applejack said.

“Well, bottoms up,” I said, drinking mine.

They were right, it was the best drink in the world. Nothing I had ever tried to make to add flavor to a drink had anything on this cider.

“I’ll take that there drooling that that’s a yes,” Applejack said.

“Most definitely,” I said.

“Eeyup,” Big Mac said giving a smile.

“How can we repay you for this wonderful cider?” Silverwing asked.

“Just think of this as calling it even for saving our sorry flanks from that unicorn,” Applejack said.

“Ok,” Silverwing said.

“You know, Rainbow Dash would kill us if she knew that we got some before she did,” I said.

“Don’t you worry about RD none, I’m sure she’ll get some this season,” Applejack said.

“Alright, and thanks a bunch for the apples and the cider,” I said.

“Think nothin of it,” she said.

“Well, we have the rest of the day ahead of us, I’m sure the little ones will be at it all day,” I said.

“Well, we could go visit Twilight,” Silverwing suggested.

“Sounds like a plan,” I said.

“Well if yer all gonna see Twi, tell her hi for me will ya,” Applejack said.

“Can do,” I said and the two of us walked back into town.

“The Apples seem like a nice bunch,” Silverwing said.

“Yeah, they are, especially to new ponies,” I said.

“They are so different here then when I first met them,” Silverwing said.

“That’s because they are home now, they feel secure and more relaxed,” I said.

“That makes sense,” she said.

“Just be ready for Rarity, she will want to give you a makeover and then make you a whole new set of dresses,” I joked.

“What about Fluttershy?” she asked.

“There is a pnoy that I’m not sure of anymore. She used to be shy and timid, until I got to know her, then she became more open, but I have never seen the side of her I did in Lucius’s castle,” I said.

“She sounds like an interesting pony,” Silverwing said.

“She’s nince, but watch out for her rabbit, Angel,” I isad.

“Angel?” she asked.

“He doesn't like me, let’s leave it at that,” I said.

“Ok. Well at least it looks like Twilight might be awake today,” silver said as we neared the library and could see Twilight inside, reading.

We knocked on the door and Spike let us in.

“Oh wow! A real dragon!” Silverwing said.

“Um, hi?” Spike said.

“Spike, this is Silverwing, Silverwing this is Spike,” I said.

“Nice to meet you,” Spike said.

“Wow, I never thought I would get to see a dragon, much less talk to one,” she said.

“Ok...” Spike said.

“Oh sorry, nice to meet you,” she said.

“Hi Twilight,” I said as we walked in.

“Oh hi,” she said putting down the book. “What’s up?” she asked.

“Nothing much, we left Crystal with the Apples, and we don’t have anything else to do the rest of the day,” I said.

“Oh, I see,” Twilight said.

“And it seems that I forgot about our country's lack of dragons,” I said, as I looked over to see Silverwing bombarding Spike with questions.

“So what is up, it looks like something’s troubling you,” Twilight said, taking me into the other room.

“I’ve noticed these odd things happening lately,” I said.

“What kinds of things?” she asked.

“A flicker of motion here, a shadow there, always at the edge of my field of vision, and always gone before I look,” I said.

“Hmm, sounds strange, and has anypony else noticed these things?” she asked.

“Not that they have told me,” I said.

“Well, if it keeps up, tell me,” she said.

“Ok, I will,” I said, and we went back into the other room.

“Twilight, save me!” Spike said, running and hiding behind Twilight’s leg.

Silverwing laughed hysterically.

“She keeps asking me all these questions, I thought my ears were going to fall off,” he said.

The three of us started laughing, “Oh Spike.”

“Sorry, I’m just curious to know more about dragons,” Silverwing said.

“It’s alright, I’m sure he will recover,” Twilight said.

“Well, now Rarity is the only one we haven’t seen yet since we got into town,” I said.

“Oh, well, I’m sure she will be glad to see you,” Twilight said.

“Ok, let’s go then,” Silverwing said, not wanting to bug Spike with more questions.

“Ok,” I said, and the two of us left.

“Thankfully, it is just down the road,” I said, as we turned towards the white building.

“Wow, it looks so nice,” Silverwing said.

“Yes, Rarity takes her boutique quite seriously,” I said.

“Well then, shall we?” Silverwing said.

“You go on ahead, I just remembered something I need to get,” I said, and dashed off.

I didn’t want to alarm Silverwing about the shadow, or whatever it was, but I saw it again, and I was determined to find out what it was.

As I came to a halt somewhere in the market, I looked around, and saw a flicker of movement go down a back alley.

I gathered my magic and teleported into the alley, giving myself enough space to hopefully get a good look at what it was that I had seen.

“Stop!” I said to the shadowy form that was running straight at me.

When it came to a stop I could see that it was a unicorn, a little shorter than myself, wearing a black cloak and sunglasses.

He stopped, then smiled as he disappeared, seeming to fade from existence.

I didn’t buy it and used a crystal to seal the exit to the alley, leaving a closed corridor with me at one end and where the stranger had been on the other.

I heard a thud as something struck the crystal, but was rebounded off.

The jet black unicorn melted back into sight and this time there was a shining blade sticking out from one of the straps on his forehoof.

“Nowhere to run now,” I said.

“But everywhere to hide,” he said, and faded away again.

“I know you’re still here,” I said.

There was silence, except for the sounds of commotion on the other side of the crystal barrier of ponies finding the obstruction rather odd.

There was a muffled whump, and I could tell that whoever it was, had just teleported away under his invisibility.

I lowered the barrier and walked out, leaving the other ponies to ponder what had happened in that alley.

Whoever this pony was, he was clearly very dangerous, and well armed.

I walked back to Carousel Boutique and entered just in time for Rarity to finish a cup of tea with Silverwing.

“Oh, you’re here. What did you have to get?” Silverwing asked.

“Something from the market. So what have you two been doing?” I asked.

“Oh we were just having a lovely conversation about your country’s fashions,” Rarity said.

“I’m sure it was, enlightening,” I said.

“Oh it was, and I told Silverwing about some of the Equestrian fashions,” Rarity said.

“Well, I’m sorry to cut this short, but don’t you think we should go and get Crystal?” I asked Silverwing.

“I’m sure she will be fine, she’s with her friends and Applejack and Big Mac can watch out for them,” she said.

“Well, I’m sure Rarity would like Sweetie Belle back before dark,” I said.

“You are right, I like to have Sweetie back at a reasonable hour,” Rarity said.

“Well, I’m sure the four of them would go all day and all night if we didn’t round them up,” I said.

“I suppose you’re right,” Silverwing said.

We said, goodbye to Rarity and went outside, heading to Sweet Apple Acres.

“Oh shoot, I forgot to talk to Fluttershy,” I said. “You go on ahead and get Crystal, I’ll meet the two of you back home,” I said, and trotted off.

“Ok, just don’t stay out too late,” Silver said to me as I left.

I genuinely did forget about Fluttershy, but I just used that as an excuse to try and apprehend the unicorn before he could hurt anypony.

I created a detection crystal so that I could covertly know when he was around.

As I walked through town I kept checking whenever it detected something in an odd location, but all of it was just regular activity.

Then it went off, and I looked but didn’t see anything.

The crystal detected a body in the mouth of an alley, and this one had more than one exit.

I walked casually by, until I got to the mouth of the alley, then I threw down a crystal just at the threshold of the alley, sealing it, and teleported inside, throwing down another crystal behind me.

The unicorn made himself visible after that, seeing that I could tell where he was, even if I couldn’t see him.

“Persistent aren’t you,” he said, lowering his hood.

His mane was bright red, like fire, with darker streaks running through it.

I pulled out an inhibitor ring that I carry with me and jammed it on his horn with magic before he could react.

“Oh goody...” he said.

I created crystal shackles from the wall behind him and bound his legs, making it impossible for him to escape.

“Looks like you underestimated me,” I said.

“Heh, if I had ‘underestimated’ you, then why waste a perfectly good chance before?” he asked, as I pushed him down.

“Who sent you here?” I asked.

“Why, you brought me here,” he said in a smart tone.

“I’m not playing games here assassin, tell me who hired you?” I questioned him, pushing him down into the dirt.

“Now you know that violence won’t get you anywhere,” he said, and I gave him a kick, rolling him over onto his back.

“Why are you here?” I growled, pinning him down.

“I came seeking you,” he said.

“WhY?” I questioned, moving my hoof from his chest to his neck.

“To... warn... you,” he gagged out.

“Warn me of what?” I questioned, lifting me hoof.

He gasped, “About something far worse than Discord, or Chrysalis, or even Lucius,” he said.

“What do you know about Lucius?!” I yelled at him, picking him up.

“I know that since you locked him up for good, your head has become much more valuable,” he said.

“I’m taking you to Celestia for questioning,” I said, throwing him down.

“You won’t make it that far, at least, not with me still alive,” he said.

“So what, you’re going to off yourself?” I asked.

“Oh no, they will be doing the offing,” he said.

“And who are they?” I asked.

“The threat I was talking about,” he said.

“If they are as underestimating as you, I should have no problem,” I said.

“You don’t understand, I left their group, now they want me dead, to keep their secrets. If I tell you, then you can root out a problem and I get to live, it’s a win win,” he said.

“We’ll see about that, when we get to Canterlot,” I said, and levitated him so I could carry him.

“We’ll see if we get that far,” he said.

I lowered the barriers and there were a couple shocked gasps as the ponies saw me walk out levitating a bound unicorn.

I took him back to my house and left him on the ground by the door.

“Mixer who is that?” Silverwing asked.

“A prisoner, now we have to go to Canterlot right away,” I said.

“What’s going on?” Crystal asked.

“We have to go, now,” I said. and we left out the door, and I picked the prisoner back up.

“You know Mixer, that carrying me out in public is not helping with the whole ‘they want me dead’ thing as it is,” he said.

“Quiet, I won’t let anypony sneak up on us,” I said.

“And then you’ve got Crystal and Silverwing with you too, that just makes you one big easy target,” he said.

“Now, you’re just trying to get cut loose,” I said.

“Oh really, well then, when a hit squad of super ponies walk up to you saying, ‘your head, my blade, make it happen,’ don’t say I didn’t warn you,” he said.

“Mixer, what’s going on?” Silverwing asked in a distressed voice.

“I found him spying on me, and he says that there is some kind of threat to Equestria that he will tell us in exchange for protection,” I said.

“What?” she asked shocked.

“I take it you have been following me for awhile?” I asked.

“Since you got back into Ponyville,” he said.

“Ok, Silverwing, go tell Twilight to get the others and go to Canterlot, I don’t want any surprises if he is telling the truth,” I said.

“Now why would I lie to you?” he asked smartly.

“Oh maybe because you are a spy, or an assassin, or that you only just met me,” I said.

“Fair enough, but I am telling the truth, they will come,” he said.

“Mixer, I’m scared,” Crystal said.

“Don’t be, as long as I’m here nothing will hurt you,” I said.

“What if you’re not there?” the unicorn asked.

“I’ll be there,” I said, making it clear that the peanut gallery bit was not appreciated.

“Ok, just questioning your ability to be everywhere at once, though I suppose that you are the great Mixer,” he said.

“Listen you,” I said, drawing him closer to me, “You’ll be lucky to get off simply staying in the dungeon for the rest of your life.”

“Again, we’ll see if I make it that far,” he said, and remained silent the rest of the way.

Silverwing returned and said that Twilight was already on it.

We arrived at the train station and met up with Twilight and the others and boarded an express train to Canterlot.

“Wow, we actually made it on the train,” the prisoner said as I set him down on the floor of a shipping car.

“I’ll be staying here to watch you, make sure you don’t get lonely,” I said.

“Lovely,” he said sarcastically.

We rode the train for a few minutes until there was a thud in the roof.

“Well it took them long enough,” the unicorn said.

A pegasus, swung down in between cars and opened the door that led toward the front of the train, cutting of my escape.

Two more ponies swung down through the sides on ropes, adding to the barrier in between us.

I picked up the unicorn and went back another car, only to be stopped when a pegasus that was larger the Big Mac, actually tore a section of roof off. He landed in the car in front of us with a thud, and we heard a clunk as the car disconnected from the train.

“Oh, that’s not good,” he said in a calm tone, not befitting the situation.

“Oh really?!” I said, thinking of how best to tackle the situation.

I turned to face the larger pegasus, hoping that I could keep him from flattening us for a few seconds while the other three caught up to us.

I readied two long crystals and used them like staves to block each titanic swing from the buff pegasus, with one small problem, they were starting to crack from the strength of the swings.

As I blocked a double hooved smash, I heard a sound of metal on crystal and then a thump.

I dodged out of the way and saw that the prisoner had gotten to his feet and somehow floored one of the other attackers, while still being bound in the crystal.

I rolled backwards avoiding another mighty swing and ended up back to back with the prisoner.

“Well, you seem to be doing alright,” he said sarcastically.

“Hold on,” I said, turning around and grabbing him, throwing open one of the side doors of the car as I did.

We jumped and tumbled for a few seconds coming to rest as the train car started to falter and roll back down the hill.

I stood up and looked as the four that were attacking us jumped out of the car and started making their way towards us.

“Ok, I think running might be a better option,” I said, undoing the shackles on the prisoner.

“Gee thanks,” he said and reached for the ring on his horn.

I created a ball of crystal around him and set it on the tracks, jumping on the top facing backwards.

“Go,” I shouted through the crystal.

After giving us a boost with magic we started rolling up the hill, the power of both of us keeping us ahead of two of them, but the two pegasi took to the air and started closing the distance.

I started to create a swarm of small crystal pellets, until I had a hailstorm of them that I flung at the approaching pegasi.

The smaller one was buffeted and fell backwards, wis wings faltering under the onslaught, however the larger one simply shrugged it off and continued his pursuit.

“You are going to need more than that to stop him, I would have to guess he has at least two, maybe three augmentations,” the prisoner said.

“Augmentations?” I asked.

I split open the crystal ball and it opened rearwards, forming a flying trap for the large augmented pegasus.

I closed it on him when he got caught in one of the halves and he rolled back down the hill, impeding his comrades.

“Now what?” the dark unicorn asked.

I created a broad board of crystal, “Hop on.”

He jumped on and we took off towards Canterlot,which was a ways away.

I could have made it no problem, except I had been using a lot of magic that day and so be the time we neared the castle, we were dipping through the air.

“Are you sure you can make it?” the unicorn asked.

“I’ll make it,” I said as my horn sparked and sputtered keeping the two of us in the air.

He didn’t look reassured and then he slipped the ring off and disappeared, though I could still feel his weight on the board. Then the board got lighter and I knew he was gone.

“Blasted unicorn,” I said to myself making the rest of the way to the castle by myself.

When I landed I was greeted by the Lunar guard and given my armor.

I put it on and went into the throne room where Celestia, Luna and the others were gathered.

“Mixer what happened back there?” Twilight asked.

“We were attacked, but we got away,” I said.

“We?” asked Celestia.

“Yes, there was a prisoner that was with me but he got away,” I said.

“How did he escape?” Luna asked.

“When we were fighting he slipped away,” I lied, not wanting to tell them that he simply teleported away.

“Well, we must take this threat seriously if they attacked you in broad daylight,” Celestia said.

“I know, but we have nothing to go on since our only source of information, just... vanished...” I trailed off, feeling an odd sensation behind me.

“Well, I’ll keep the guards on alert for any suspicious activity,” Celestia said.

“Twilight, you and your friends should stay here at the castle until it is safe,” Luna said.

“And I’ll make sure we keep up with patrols,” I said.

“Now go, it is getting late,” Celestia said.

I went to the caverns with the Lunar guard that were not on duty and I went to my house with Crystal and Silverwing.

“You two stay here, I put a magical lock on the door that can’t be opened from the outside without the right technique, but you can open it from the inside just fine,” I said.

“Ok, what about you?” Silverwing asked.

“I have a duty to perform,” I said, and left them inside, pulling the piece of paper that was sticking out of my armor’s shoulder piece.

Thought you might want a little more info...

I read the note and my eyes grew wide, they could do just about anything without even the princesses knowing.

As I ran to the airship dock, I could hear another set of hooves as he materialized besides me.

“Where are you going?” he asked.

“We are going to save Luna,” I said.

“What?” he asked.

“If they know about you, and that I got away with you, then their next move could be to capture Luna while she raises the moon,” I said.

“So what’s the plan?” he asked.

“We fly out without her knowing and make sure she gets back safe and sound,” I said.

“And how do you plan to do that, you were barely able to keep us in the air last time,” he said.

I pointed to a pair of loops on my armor which held two slightly blue potions, “I made these to keep me going.”

When we reached the airship dock, I walked over to a panel in the side of the door and lifted it off, revealing a small passage in the door.

“We take this maintenance hatch to the outside then we wait for Luna to take off,” I said, crawling into the small space.

“So why trust me now?” he asked, climbing in with me.

“Because, I think that you are the only one who can help right now, having the most knowledge about this organization,” I said.

I pushed on a handle in the side of the passage and it swung outward, revealing a sheer drop down the side of the mountain.

I created a crystal board and held it in place while I jumped on it.

“Coming?” I called back to the unicorn.

He jumped on and I moved us to a lower position so Luna would be less likely to notice us.

“So, we’re just going to follow her?” he asked.

“Yeah, and make sure nothing happened to her,” I replied, forming a set of hoofholds for when we started to move faster.

We waited, just above the trees, when we saw Luna take off from her room in the castle.

We took off and followed at a safe distance behind her, keeping above the tree level.

As we flew over the forest canopy I asked my conscripted ally to fly for a few seconds.

“Alright,” he said, taking up the levitation while I sat down and concentrated.

I used a long range detection pulse, trying to detect any possible threats.

“There are three pegasi, traveling at high speed below the trees, about halfway in between us and Luna,” I said, almost trance like.

I held the detection for a few moments more and then let it go.

“They don’t appear to be making any moves towards Luna or us,” I said.

“I take it you will be flying again?” he asked.

“On moment,” I said, and made three small pedestals in front of him, topping each with a small crystal ball.

I pushed my horn to each one, forming it around my horn. I discharged a jolt of magical lightning into each one.

“What are those?” he asked.

“Shock orbs, each one is fragile and will detonate upon impact stunning anypony in at least a ten foot radius,” I replied.

“Nice,” he said and handed the levitation to me.

We flew for longer until Luna stopped, preparing to raise the moon.

I did a short detection pulse and waited for it to rebound with its findings.

“Oh no,” I said.

“What?” my companion asked.

“There are three groups, on unicorn and three pegasi, all set at different points,” I said, dropping the levitation, starting a brief freefall.

“What are you doing?” he questioned as he caught us.

I didn’t reply, only forming three crystals from the board and sending them on an intercept course with the charging spells that the unicorns were casting.

I barely got them in place before three rays of energy shot up from the trees and deflected off of the crystals.

After realizing that they had lost the element of surprise, the nine pegasi erupted from the canopy and headed right for Luna.

I heard the sound of one of the orbs being picked up and watched as he flung it right at the nearest group, nailing all three of them.

He smirked as the three of them fell towards the forest.

I took over the flying and he took the shooting as we flew up to meet Luna.

The other two groups fanned out after seeing their comrades taken down, and my gunner was only able to get one of them with the two remaining orbs.

“Hold on,” I said to my gunner while I clamped him onto the board, and spun it upside down.

“Hey!” he cried.

I detached the three empty pedestals from the underside of the board, “Use these.”

I watched as he threw one like a javelin, nailing one of them, leaving only four pegasi left.

I pulled us to the side, dodging a beam of energy from the trees.

“Luna we have to get out of here!” I shouted.

She heard me and started flying back towards the castle, with us following behind.

Now the four pegasi were closing the distance between us, getting closer, but also easier to hit, as another fell to a thrown pedestal.

Luna was swerving and weaving around through the air, dodging vollies of magic that flew up from the forest.

I flipped the board around, leaving my comrade flying, and myself to deal with the last of the pegasi.

I created a sizeable amount of crystal pellets and threw them like a bunch of shot towards the group.

They all stopped and covered their faces, being bombarded by the swift little missiles.

They broke off and flew down towards the unicorns that were now falling behind.

I rotated the half of the crystal I has attached to, getting both of us on the same side of the board.

“That was a little too easy,” I said.

“You should feel lucky, they usually only travel in groups of two,” he said.

As we were getting out of range, leaving the assailants behind us, three streaks of light met at Luna’s location, scoring their first direct hit.

We dove the catch the falling alicorn, and caught her just above the trees.

I let us down through the trees to the forest floor, checking Luna over.

“She doesn’t appear to be injured. They must have just used stun spells,” I said.

“You look a little ragged,” he said.

I pulled on of my potions from their belt and drank it, feeling the energy return to my tired body.

“I can go for the rest of the night with this,” I said.

“Alright,” he replied dubiously.

“They are following us,” I said, sending out a detection pulse.

“Leave them to me,” he said, and disappeared.

I tried to carry Luna, but she was too large to carry without letting her drag on the ground so I used the board as a stretcher.

My plan was to get Luna to Zecora’s hut, which would be some distance away, but I was going to keep going with or without my newfound ally.
--

My ally was sitting in a tree, invisible, after setting up a tripwire trap for the three unicorns.

Below him sat a “wet clone”, a semi solid illusion of himself, that seemed to be scanning the forest for attackers.

He himself saw the unicorns coming long before they saw his clone, preparing to put on a show.

The three unicorns, each of which had an augmentation, were standing at a distance, watching the clone. When one of them fired a bolt of magic at it, it dodged out of the way, looking surprised by the sneak attack. The other two fired bolt as it charged them, each missing as it dodged them.

When it was almost on top of them the first fired a searing bolt at it at point blank.

A hole opened up in the clone’s chest, a look of shock and horror on its face, until the wound started to melt shut.

They didn't even know what hit them. My ally jumped down behind them and smashed two of their heads together, letting them slump to the ground. The third was met with a swift blade to the throat, stopped in the middle of casting a magical attack.

He pulled the blade out and wiped it on a nearby fern, letting his clone dissipate into a fine mist.

When the pegasi caught up to the scene, all they would find was three dead unicorns and a slight puddle of water.
--

“So, where are we going?” he said, suddenly appearing next to me.

I jumped about two feet into the air, and landed clumsily.

“Don’t do that!” I yelled.

“Sorry,” he apologized and we began walking again.

“We are trying to get to Zecora’s, but we have to walk, otherwise we would be targets,” I said.

I heard Luna stirring, “What’s going on? Where are we?” she said groggily.

“We are somewhere in the Everfree Forest, and we saved you from a group of assailants,” I said.

“They were trying to capture you,” me ally said.

“And who is this?” she asked, now starting to stand up.

“You may call me Soulless,” he said.

“Well that’s... cheerful,” I said sarcastically.

“I was part of an organization that abducted ponies to syphon their souls for augmentations, you don’t exactly get to have a nice name in that line of work,” he retorted.

“You what!?” both of us exclaimed.

“It’s a long story, but right now all that matters is that they are getting bolder. They would have never attacked a princess if they weren’t worried,” he said.

“We have to do something, and soon,” I said.

Soulless shook his head, “If you storm into Cloudsdale, all up in arms, there will be many casualties, and you will not win.”

“Then, stealth and surprise are our allies,” Luna said.

“Right up my alley,” he said.

“I have an idea, but I need Silverwing’s help,” I said.

“What do you propose?” Luna asked.

“Silverwing goes to Cloudsdale, and poses as a rich pony from another country who is willing to pay to have her ability to fly given back to her. While she tried to contact this organization, I will try to dig up what I can, posing as a bum, with Soulless being my backup,” I said.

“What?” Luna said shocked. “Just the three of you?”

“Any more of us and they might suspect something, plus Soulless can be invisible for extended periods,” I said.

“Alright, but I doubt my sister will approve of this,” Luna said.

“That is why we won’t tell her the actual plan, but give her another, less risky plan,” I said.

“Like what?” Luna asked.

“Having Silverwing’s old squad members go undercover and try to find out as much as they can before a coordinated strike,” I said.

“Deception for the greater success, I approve,” Soulless said.

Luna shot him a dirty look, “I trust you Mixer, I just hope that nothing goes wrong.”

“We are dealing with an unknown enemy, things are bound to go wrong at some stage, I just hope we can minimize the damage,” I said.

“Can we get going now? I hate to just sit here and let them gain back the ground I gave us,” Soulless said.

“Yes, we have to get back to Canterlot as soon as possible, and now we don’t have to detour to Zecora’s to treat you Luna,” I said.

“So why don’t we just fly?” Luna asked.

“Because, an alicorn and two unicorns riding a crystal is a rather conspicuous target,” I said.

“Then we must hurry,” she said.

“What if we fly below the treetops?” Soulless asked.

“It will be hard going,” I said.

“We cannot afford to waste time,” Luna said and spread her wings.

“Very well,” I conceded and the three of us flew through the trees towards the base of the mountain that Canterlot was seated upon.

“You go back the normal way, there’s no way they would be willing an attack so close to the castle. We’ll go in the back way,” I said.

She nodded and took off for the castle, while Soulless and I went for the maintenance hatch.

“So, you think your plan is going to work?” he asked me as we hovered by the hatch.

“I don’t know, but it is the best plan I can think of,” I said, prying it open.

We climbed inside the hatch and reemerged in the hangar.

“Mixer, what are you doing up so early?” Clockwork asked when we walked past his office.

“Couldn’t sleep well after yesterday,” I said.

“I can understand that, an attempt on your life can be quite rattling,” he said with a nod and went back to his paperwork.

We walked through the caverns, Soulless cloaked so as to not arouse suspicions.

“Hey Mixer, where were you last night?” Ivy called as I was about to enter my house.

“I couldn’t sleep last night so I went for a walk,” I said.

“Then why didn’t Silverwing know where you were, and why are you still in your armor?” she asked.

“I must have forgotten to tell her, and I’m still wearing my armor because of security reasons, same as you,” I said.

“And why do you look like you have been running through the Everfree forest?” she asked.

“You can wait for the report like everypony else,” I snapped.

“What happened?” she asked worried.

“I took care of it,” I said, and closed the door behind me.

“Mixer! you’re back,” Silverwing said, getting up from where she and Crystal were laying on the couch.

“Silverwing, I need to talk to you about something,” I said.

“What?” she asked.

“Something that we need to discuss in private,” I whispered.

She nodded and we went upstairs.

“So what is it?” she asked.

“The group that attacked me yesterday, tried to capture Luna last night,” I said.

“That’s horrible!” she gasped.

“I need your help to root them out, but it will be very risky,” I said.

“And sneaking into New Pegisopolis when we were wanted wasn’t?” she countered.

I sighed, “I need you to try and get access to them by posing as a ‘customer’, a pony who wants to get her ability to fly back at any cost,” I said.

“Do you know where they are?” she asked.

“Somewhere in Cloudsdale, a city of almost exclusively pegasi,” I said.

“So I’m the perfect mare for the job,” she said.

“Yes,” I replied.

She looked down and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, they were hard and her expression was colder.

“So, you want me to go scam some lowlifes? No problem,” she said.

I stared at her, mouth agape and head cocked to one side, “What was that?”

“You said you wanted a no nonsense pony, willing to get her wings back at any cost, well now you have her,” she said.

“I wasn’t aware that you could act,” I said.

“I’m falling back on some military experience, coupled with a little anger and a whole lot of purpose,” she said sharply.

“Can you turn it off at will?” I asked.

She closed her eyes and shook her head a few times.

“Not without drawing some attention,” she said in her normal softer tone.

“Good, now let’s go, Celestia will be hearing from Luna shortly and Ivy will have no doubt told the other guards about the commotion,” I said.

“Ok,” Silverwing said and we walked downstairs, passing Crystal’s sleeping form.

“I’ll leave a note, you go,” I said, and Silverwing left.

I left a note telling Crystal that Silverwing and I would be gone for a few days, and that she should not let anypony into the house, unless they were Ivy, Luna, or Celestia.

I went out and rode the lift up to the surface.

When I got to the throne room, everypony was already gathered there, even Soulless who had hidden himself somewhere in the rafters, everypony but Luna.

“Mixer, care to explain?” Celestia said, her gaze none too pleased.

“Yes, but where is Luna?” I asked.

“Right here,” she said, walking in with Sombra.

“I feared that there might be an attack on Luna as she was raising the moon, as it would be when she was the most exposed, and there was,” I said.

“He is right, I was attacked, but he saved me and brought me back,” Luna confirmed.

“Why didn’t you inform anypony that you would be following Luna?” Celestia asked.

“I didn’t want to overly concern you, and make it a hassle to Luna, or expend resources on nothing but a fear,” I said.

“Why do I get the feeling that you aren’t telling us everything?” Celestia questioned.

“Because, he did not want to alarm you by telling you all that I could have been killed had it not been for him,” Luna said.

“What?” the cry was echoed around the room.

“This organization, they wanted Luna for some kind of process where they steal a pony’s soul, and use it to augment their members,” I said.

“Then the threat is grave indeed,” Celestia said.

“That is why I have a plan to locate and eliminate them,” I said.

“And what plan is the?” Celestia asked.

“To have the old members of Silverwing’s squadron pose as ponies moving into Cloudsdale, and trying to mine information while undercover,” I said.

“Is that it?” Celestia asked.

“No, then we use the element of surprise to take them down before they have time to retaliate,” I said.

“How?” Celestia asked.

“With a surgical strike by Sombra and I. We are two of the strongest ponies at your disposal, without endangering you or Luna,” I said.

Celestia contemplated this for a moment before giving her answer, “Very well, proceed. But should anything happen, I want you to abort.”

“Thank you,” I said with a bow, “I shall inform Quicksilver and the others immediately.”

I sent a messenger to the Wonderbolts, where the old members of Silver Squadron now resided.

After that, I meet Silverwing and Soulless in a secluded spot.

“Ready?” I asked Silverwing.

She shifted to her persona and nodded.

“What about you?” I asked out loud.

“I’ve been ready since last night,” Soulless said, appearing next to me.

“What is he doing here?” Silverwing asked, her voice full of distaste.

“He’s going to help us take this organization down. He knows what their facility looks like, though not where it is. That’s where you come in,” I said.

“A pleasure to meet you on better terms Silverwing,” Soulless said.

She ignored him like wasn’t there and looked at me, “So how will I contact you?” she asked.

“I will be in Cloudsdale, posing as a bum. Don’t worry about finding me, I’ll find you,” I said.

“Shall we be off?” Soulless asked.

“Yes, we need to find them as fast as possible,” I said.

“But how are we going to get there? There are no flying trains, we can’t take a chariot, and none of us can fly,” Silverwing said.

“We can ride on a crystal,” I said, creating a board big enough for the three of us.

We flew while the sun was still rising and arrived in Cloudsdale before it was fully into the sky.

I let Silverwing off on the edge of a large cloud, serving as the main part of Cloudsdale.

“There is an unoccupied cellar at this address,” Soulless said, handing Silverwing a note.

“We’ll land somewhere else,” I said, and left her there.

“I take it you have a cloudwalking spell,” Soulless said.

“Take the board,” I huffed.

I cast the cloudwalking spell and the two of us landed on a cloud, springing back on the soft cloud.

I pulled a brown cloak from my saddlebag and swapped it with my armor.

“Take this and hide it somewhere,” I said.

“You’re not wearing any protection?” he asked, taking the armor.

“I never said that,” I said, making a crystal ‘skin’ that was protecting the vital parts of my body, hidden by the cloak.

I showed him a slightly blue crystal layer on my neck, that I could make fall back when I put my hood down.

“Crafty,” he said, and disappeared.

I put my hood up and walked into the town of cloud buildings, and pegasi residents.

I found an unassuming portion of street and sat myself down, looking like I was some kind of bum. Thankfully with my cloak, it would be hard to discern whether or not I was a pegasus, and most would not look closely enough to see my horn.

I occasionally asked a passerby to spare a few bits, and most just kept on their way, though a few did throw a bit or two my way.

As I sat there, observing the crowds I wondered how Silverwing was doing.
--

Silverwing looked for the address that Soulless had given her, and sure enough, a cellar was unlocked and unoccupied. She found that there were a few foodstuffs in a crate, and a bedroll hiding in a corner.

After eating a bit, and hefting the large bag of bits that I had given her, she went for a walk around town, to gauge her surroundings.

She made note of all the sleaziest looking establishments she could find, keeping them in mind for later.

After walking for most of the day, Silverwing was making her way back to the cellar, when a beggar approached her asking for a few bits.

“I can spare a couple of bits.” she said, reaching back for her pack.

“Silver, it’s me,” I whispered.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said out loud, “Let me check my other bag.”

“Soulless is looking for any ponies he recognizes from the organization, but so far nothing has come up,” I whispered.

“I took a walk around and have a few places I can check to see if I can get a contact,” Silver whispered. “Here you go,” she said out loud giving me two bits.

“Thank you,” I said.

She nodded and walked off.

I slipped the bits into my cloak and walked towards an alley to see if there were any others who I could pump for information.

I walked through the alley and found nothing, and the same with the next three alleys I checked, nopony in sight. When I walked through the fifth, I was stopped by a pegasus with a wide brimmed hat and a black jacket.

“You know, it’s not too safe to be wandering around back alleys,” he said, separating himself from the wall he was leaning against.

His lavender coat didn’t take away from his menace.

“I’m not looking for any trouble,” I said, head down slightly.

“Ah, but my friend, trouble has found you,” he said, and a blade slid from the sleeve of his jacket.

“You’re making a mistake,” I said, backing up.

“Ah, but see, again you are wrong,” he said smugly as I bumped into something solid.

I turned around and there was a unicorn mare, with ice blue eyes, and a minty green coat.

She smirked and a blade came from a group of bracelets she was wearing.

I felt the pegasus looming behind me and winced when he tried to pierce through my neck.

I gave him a buck before he could recover from the shock of impacting the crystal, and faced the mare.

“You didn't think you could hide your presence from us did you?” she asked in a seductive voice.

I prepared to fight my two assailants but a flicker of motion behind the mare told me that I didn’t have to worry.

I smiled at her as a heavy hoof came down on the back of her head, accompanied by the extended blade.

She collapsed and I turned around to see the pegasus was getting ready to take off. A quick crystal dart hit him in the wing, grounding him.

He cursed and tried to run, but he slammed into Soulless, as he turned to see if we were pursuing him.

I pulled him out of Soulless’s reach before he could bring his blade to bear on the pegasus, leaving his hat to get cut in two.

I restrained him with crystal and bound the two of them together.

“Are you trying to get yourself killed?” Soulless exclaimed, cuffing me on the back of the head.

“I knew you would have my back, and now you have two ponies to, ‘interview’,” I said, putting some emphasis on interview.

He sighed and said, “True enough,” and levitated the two with a smile, before teleporting away.
--

After returning to the cellar, Silverwing took some more food, and waited until nightfall, before heading out to go searching for an informant.

She went to a joint called the Thunderhead tavern, and was greeted by the smell of smoke and alcohol.

She looked around and was that she had made a good choice, thugs and lowlifes of all kinds were enjoying themselves. There were a few scarred pegasi playing pool in one corner, while a variety of characters were at the bar.

In one booth seat she saw a shifty looking, skinny pegasus, with a white jacket over his slightly yellow coat, looking around from behind mirrored sunglasses. His black hair was sticking up in a slightly slicked back look, and he had a toothpick hanging from his mouth, switching it from side to side.

Silverwing went to the bar and ordered some hard cider before slipping over to the booth.

“This seat occupied?” she asked.

“That all depends on who’s asking?” he said, looking up at Silverwing from behind his glasses.

“Somepony who might be looking for some help,” she said and slipped into the seat opposite of him.

He took off his glasses and put them in his jacket pocket, revealing golden yellow eyes, “What kind of help?”

She took a drink of the cider and resisted the urge to gag, “The kind of help that might be frowned upon by certain individuals,” she said.

“We’ll I might be able to help a sweetheart like yourself, given the right price,” he said, revealing a shining white set of teeth.

“You sure you can help with my problem?” she questioned, taking another gag inducing swig.

“That all depends on the nature of your problem,” he said, reclining in his seat, putting his hooves behind his head.

“I need some special help,” she said, putting emphasis on the word special.

“How special are we talking?” he asked leaning in.

“The kind of special that can fix a set of bum wings,” she said.

“Hmm, I don’t think you have enough to afford that kind of help,” he said.

She reached into her bag and slammed the heavy bag of bits on the table, turning some heads.

“I think this should cover it,” she said.

“I don’t think you understand me, the kind of help you’re looking for has a very high price,” he said.

Silverwing reached across the table and pulled him by the lapels of his jacket to her face.

“Listen you slime,” she growled, “I don’t care what it takes, you help me out, or I might just decide to paint the table a different color.”

She held him for a couple of seconds longer and then threw him back against his seat.

He straightened his jacket and slid the bag of bits over to his side of the table.

“Alright, I’ll see what I can do,” he said and got up and walked past to bar, throwing a couple of bits for the mess that Silver had made when she spilled the cider.

Silverwing took a deep breath and walked out, a few pairs of eyes following her.

She walked back to the cellar and unrolled the bed roll and tried to fall asleep.
--

I slept in an alley, Soulless keeping an eye out for any more of the order.

When I woke up, Soulless handed me a loaf of bread.

“Thanks,” I said, and quickly devoured me meager breakfast.

He just waved his hoof like it was nothing.

“So does this organization have a name?” I asked.

“A name? no, not really, but the facility has been dubbed ‘the rainbow factory’, because of the process of soul syphoning. When a pony has their soul syphoned is had a color to match their coat, thus the rainbow moniker,” he said.

“So, the rainbow factory...” I mumbled.

“Well, you should get going, Silver probably found something last night,” he said, and melted away into invisibility.

I got up, pulled my cloak tight around me, and set off to do my daily begging.
--

Back at the Canterlot castle, Celestia was reading a report from Quicksilver.

Princess,

We have spotted a few suspicious characters around, but we have not been able to find anything solid as of yet. Today we will start investigating the suspects.

Quicksilver

Celestia frowned, they should have been able to do something more than pick suspects.

The Lunar guard had doubled their shifts, and also had a guard for Celestia, leaving all but two on call at all times.

“Do we know where Mixer is?” she asked Trottson, who was one of the two Lunar guard that were with her.

“No,” Trottson said shaking his head.

“And Silverwing is gone too,” Phalanx said.

“Mixer, what are you planning?” Celestia whispered to herself.
--

“Spare a few bits?” I asked a passing pony.

“Get a job you bum,” he said as he passed.

“Lovely fellow, isn't he?” Silverwing asked walking up to me.

“Did you find anything?” I asked.

“Working on it,” she whispered. “I don’t have any bits today,” she said out loud.

She walked away and I was left to keep bumming.

Nothing happened on my end for the rest of the day, no attacks, no anything.
--

Silverwing was walking to get some more food for the cellar when she was approached by the contact she had met last night.

“Nice to see you again sweetheart,” she said.

“What do you want?” she snapped.

“It turns out that your request has been approved by my contacts,” he said.

“Oh?” Silverwing said, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes, they will contact you tomorrow,” he said and turned to walk away.

“You better not be stiffing me you,” Silverwing was cut off.

“Sweetheart, if I was stiffing you, I wouldn’t have bothered to say hello,” he said, and walked away.

Silverwing continued on to the market and bought enough food to last her until the next day.
When she returned to the cellar, she stored the food and thought about what her next move would be.
--

That night Celestia was just finishing some paperwork, when Luna walked in.

“Sister, there is something I have to tell you,” Luna said.

“What is it?” Celestia asked.

“It’s about Mixer. He and Silverwing have gone to Cloudsdale to try and find the organization personally. That is why he and Silverwing are missing,” she said.

“I feared that he might do something reckless like that,” Celestia said.

“What are you going to do?” Luna asked.

“You aren’t doing anything,” one of the royal guards

“What?!” Celestia asked, stunned.

Guards flooded into the room, all of them with spears and brandishing them at the two princesses and the Lunar guard members.

“You are all coming with us,” another said.

All throughout the castle, paid off guard had simultaneously held all the most important members hostage, even managing to get into my house and abduct Crystal.

By the time the sun was up, the castle was empty as a crypt.
--

It was day three of our investigation, and I would have to renew the cloudwalking spell if we didn’t find something soon.

“Mixer, it’s been too quiet,” Soulless said, appearing next to me.

“I know, that’s what worries me,” I said back.

“I saw a pony approach Silverwing yesterday, said something about a meeting today,” Soulless said.

“So we can move today then,” I said.

“Yes, but be careful, the leader is crafty, and she is ruthless,” Soulless said and disappeared again, leaving the word ruthless hang ominously in the air.
--

Silverwing was startled by the knock at the cellar door.

“Silverwing?” a unicorn in a fine suit asked.

“Yes?” she answered wearily.

“We are here to take you to a meeting, about your wings,” he said, and motioned out the door.

“Ok,” she said, and followed the Unicorn and his pegasus comrade, similarly dressed.

They walked through town, and they stopped at a double door set into the side of a building.

“Right this way,” the unicorn said, and opened the door.

Silverwing went inside and was greeted by a plain metal hallway.

“I take it that you understand the process that we do here,” the unicorn said, closing the door behind him.

“Yeah,” Silverwing said wearily.

“Then that makes our job much easier. follow me and we will get you to the augmentation chamber shortly,” he said.

Silverwing followed the unicorn, not knowing what to expect, just that they were trouble.
--

I Took another look through the alleys and was stopped by a well dressed unicorn and two pegasi.

“Ah, Mixer, it is good that we found you so soon,” he said calmly.

“What do you want?” I snorted, getting ready for a fight.

“Why, our mistress requests your presence,” he said.

“I think I’ll pass,” I said.

“Such a shame, we wouldn’t want to hurt the pretty princesses, or that fiery Ivy,” he said.

“You’re bluffing,” I spat.

“I wonder what Crystal would have to say about your reaction,” he said in a sympathetic tone.

“That’s impossible!” I said.

“It might be a lie, but are you willing to risk the lives of the bearers of the Elements?” he asked.

“You’re sick!” I said.

“No, sick is having to kill the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and we would like to prevent that,” he said.

“How?” I asked, the fight starting to sap out of me.

“Sombra yelled the same thing as he was brought in,” the unicorn said.

All the fire went out of me, leaving me with only despair.

“I’ll go,” I said quietly, head down.

“What was that? I couldn’t quite hear you,” he said.

“I’ll go with you,” I said, tears starting to form in my eyes.

“See, that wasn’t so hard. Oh, and don’t think that that sneak Soulless can help you, he is being dealt with,” he said, turning to go.

I fell in behind him and the two pegasi got on either side of me.

I was lead to a door, and was taken to a small metal room below the cloud level.

“Don’t try to escape. the room is magic proof, and any action you take could cause, unsavory consequences,” he said and locked the door.

I sat for what seemed like hours until I heard some commotion outside the door. Then it was silent.

I heard the sound of the lock turning and then the door lazily swung open, revealing the two guards that had been watching me laying on the floor.

“Well, are you going to just stand there or are you going to escape?” Soulless’s voice asked.

“If I escape, then they will hurt everypony,” I said dejectedly.

“I know you, and you don’t just give up,” he said, still invisible.

“But I can’t possibly win, they have everypony captive, and I can’t do anything or they will kill them,” I said, hanging my head.

“And you think that they won’t anyway? Sitting here sulking is not going to help them. Now are you going to suck it up and make a plan, or are you just going to give up?” he said, almost shouting.

I closed my eyes and started thinking.

“Can you make it look like the guards are still at their posts while concealing the bodies hidden in the cell?” I asked.

“Is Pinkie Pie hyper?” he countered and made the illusion so.

“Now, more than likely they will take me somewhere else, when they do they will probably put an inhibitor ring on me, I need you to make sure that it is removed when I need it to be,” I said.

“Now this is starting to sound promising,” he said.

“If i have to I’m going to take this whole facility out of the sky,” I growled, “If I do, I want you to make sure that everypony gets out safely.”

He became visible, a smile on his face, “Now that’s more like it,” he said and vanished.

I was going to make whoever did this pay.

In a while the unicorn came back and pulled me out of the cell.

“You are lucky, few ever get to meet our mistress,” he said, and fastened a ring on my horn.

He pulled my along down a series of corridors until we came to a large room, with a second story platform in plain view. On the platform was a throne, upon which a jet black unicorn mare sat, drinking some kind of blue emulsion from a wine glass. She was about the same size as Celestia, and she wore a princess’s adornments, all except a crown.

Her blood red eyes gazed down at me with a dark mirth.

“Ah, the guest of honor finally arrives,” she said, taking another drink of the strange substance.

On one side of the room, a procession of ponies were being forced into the room by large thugs. Celestia, Luna, Sombra, Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Vinyl and Octavia, the Lunar guard, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and finally Crystal and Silverwing, all looked frightened and slightly beaten.

“Normally I would not be so foolish as to gloat, but seeing the situation, I will make an exception,” she said.

“Are you alright?” I called to my friends.

“Oh, for now, but you have much more important concerns,” the mistress said. “You have been an annoyance for some time Mixer, even before you were sent to Equestris.”

“Sent?” I questioned.

“Yes, I had you sent here, to get you out of the way, but my idiot brother showed his incompetence by failing to deliver you to the right location. His mistake ended up costing him his horn, but now I will fix his mistake,” she said.

“You mean that?” I started.

“Yes, Lucius is my younger brother, and you have proven to be a very stubborn thorn to be rid of. I assumed that you would have been killed on the ship by my brother’s lackey, but I was wrong, and now I will make you suffer before adding your power to mine,” she said, a wicked smile crossing her face.

She took another drink of the liquid before continuing.

“I will make you watch as all of your friends die, one by one, to feed my growing army. Now who to start with? Luna perhaps, making you watch as the princess you hold so dear has her soul ripped out. Or should I start with Crystal, and let you listen to her cries as you watch her slip away. Ah, I know, I will let you watch as Fluttershy is put on the table, crying for you to save her, watching as I use her soul to power up one of my captains, watching as the color drains from her,” she said, ending in evil maniacal laughter.

She motioned with her hoof and two of her goons moved closer to Fluttershy.

“You. You have committed the most monstrous of crimes. The most heinous of indecencies, and the most vile sadism. For that I. Will. END YOU!” I yelled as I felt the ring lift from my head and I sent the seed crystal pendant like an arrow straight through her heart.

She let out a grunt as she was forced to the back of her throne, then threw her head back in laughter.

“I am Serina, the most powerful being in all Equestria! This little nick will not stop me,” she said, and proceeded to allow the hole to close.

I used my magic and made the crystal grow into a three foot long spike, pinning her to the throne. She let out a scream of pain and looked at me with fury in her eyes.

Another scream of agony came as I made smaller spikes branch out inside of her, and coated her with crystal.

When the crystal was completely around her I created more crystal and made a full suit of armor out of it.

“Soulless, take them and go,” I growled, and created a blade out of the right gauntlet.

“Ok,” he said and ran over to them, undoing their bonds while I fought with the guards.

“Ok everypony, lets go, time for my good deed for the century,” he said and started to lead them out of the room and towards an exit.

“What about Mixer?” Crystal asked.

“He’ll be fine,” Soulless said, and picked her up with his magic, passing her to Silverwing.

I had created another blade on the left gauntlet and was carving through the guards, taking large cuts out of each, but some of them just got right back up.

It came down to one last guard, a maroon mare that looked around at the carnage and went weak in the knees.

I grabbed her and brought my blade up to her face.

“Tell me where the machine is!” I growled in her face, only my eyes showing through the crystal armor.

“Please don’t kill me, I’ll take you to the machine, and the prisoners,” she said and started to move down a hallway.

When we reached it, I ripped out part of the circuitry and it started a chain reaction, sending tremors through the facility.
--

“What was that?” Twilight cried when they were almost shaken off their feet.

“It sounded like the augmentation room was blown up,” Soulless said.

“Mixer,” Sombra said, more of a breath.

“Quickly, if he took that out the whole facility could explode,” Soulless said, and redoubled his pace.
--

“Are these all the prisoners?” I asked the mare.

“Yes, they’re all here,” she said, cowering.

There were about fifty ponies of all types, and they all looked defeated.

I created the beginnings of a protective crystal ball and told them to get in.

They all herded into it and I sealed it, ensuring that they would survive the explosion.

“What about us?” the mare asked.

I created an orb around her as well and left her in the orb that was just a little too small for her.

“Wait, I know a way that we can get out!” she cried.

“What way?” I demanded.

“Through the rainbow fall pipe, it should be able to fit them,” she said.

“Where is it?” I demanded.

“A few rooms over,” she said.

I used my magic to tear a hole in the wall to confirm that, feeling another strong tremor followed by a boom.

It was true, there was a pipeline that would carry them out, so I pulled them to it and told them to hang on, as I set the crystal into the stream of liquid rainbow.

I almost fell over as another tremor shook the facility.

I punched a crystal blade into the wall and started it on its way to covering the outer plating of the facility, protecting the surrounding clouds.
--

As the party neared the entrance, there was a sound of shearing metal and groaning supports. When they made it to the cloud surface, the non pegasi being held up by either magic or a pegasus.

As they looked back, the hallway they had just been occupying started to pull back into the cloud.

“MIXER!” Silverwing cried.

Celestia held her back.

“I know that he was dear to you, but putting yourself at risk will not help. The Wonderbolts will already be under the cloud inspecting the wreckage,” she said.

Silverwing and a few of the others started to cry as they could hear the metal crashing to the ground far below.
--

I staggered to my feet and felt a sharp pain in my side. A crystal shard was sticking out of my side. I used it as a medical patch and stopped the bleeding.

I looked at the ground around me and saw metal debris mixed with crystal shards and some of my blood. I felt my face and found a scar just below me right eye, running almost the full length of my face.

I survived the fall by using my armor as a cushion, but gravity had shattered it, leaving me bare.

I picked up a shard and started staggering to a nearby wood, leaving the destruction behind me, knowing that my work was not yet finished.
--

“What do you mean there is no trace?” Silverwing sobbed, shaking Spitfire.

“On the initial sweep we didn’t find any trace of a living pony, just the bodies of the order,” Spitfire said.

“He can’t be gone,” she said, still holding onto Spitfire.

“There is another more thorough search going on now,” Trottson said, trying to comfort her.

They waited while the first of the search teams reported back.

“Search team brave reporting,” a wonderbolt said saluting Spitfire and Celestia.

“What did you find?” Spitfire asked.

“We found some shattered crystal and a small pool of blood, but no trace of a body, or hoofprints,” he said, giving his report.

“Keep looking, and tell us if you find anything else,” Celestia said.

The Wonderbolt gave a slute and flew away.

Silverwing was sitting by herself on the ground, crying softly.

Fluttershy walked over to her and sat down next to her.

“Why? Why did he have to go and get himself killed?” Silverwing sobbed.

Fluttershy didn't say anything, only put her arms around Silverwing in a gentle hug.

“He was brilliant, he was going to work it all out, then he went and got himself captured,” Silverwing continued.

“Shh, don’t say any more,” Fluttershy said, calming Silverwing.

They both sat there, quietly crying for a few moments more until Luna and Sombra came over.

“I’m terribly sorry, both of you,” Luna said.

“Maybe if we had seen that so many of the guard had been turned, then maybe we could have prevented this,” Sombra said, hanging his head.

“It’s not your fault, none of us knew what they were capable of,” Celestia said, joining them.

“Even I didn’t think that they could take the entire castle in one night,” Soulless commented.

“Thank you Soulless,” Luna said.

“Excuse me?” he asked bewildered.

“If it weren’t for your help, I might have been killed before we even knew what was happening,” luna said.

“Mixer is the one you should thank, he did what I thought was impossible, he killed Serina,” Soulless said.

Fluttershy whimpered slightly, and Silverwing looked up at him, anger in her eyes.

“If you were so helpful, then why didn’t you help Mixer?” she questioned.

“He told me to make sure that all of you got out alive. He made that explicitly clear,” Soulless said.

“Both of you, stop it,” Fluttershy said.

“She’s right, we aren’t doing any good pointing hooves, and flinging accusations in grief,” Celestia said.

“We have to get back to the castle and return to our duties,” Luna said.

“Yes, we do have to see how much damage was caused while we were imprisoned,” Celestia said.

Celestia and Luna bid the others farewell and flew off to the castle.

“Has anypony seen Crystal?” Silverwing asked.

“She is over there,” Soulless said, pointing to the changeling sitting by herself, staring at the debris field.

Silverwing let go of Fluttershy and walked over to Crystal, sitting down next to her and looking out at the debris field.

It looked like a pile of twisted metal, all strewn about a large area. Here and there ponies could be seen sifting through the wreckage.

“He’s not gone is he?” Crystal asked.

“I don’t believe it. He would never leave us,” Silverwing said.

Extermination

View Online

The Mixer Chronicles

Book Nineteen:
Extermination

Two days after the destruction of the rainbow factory, the mane six felt that they should spend some more time with family. To this end, Applejack took Apple Bloom to see her cousin Babseed in Manehatten.

“Hey Apple Bloom, what’s up?” she asked when they arrived.

“We just wanted to see how you were doin and all, seein as how we haven’t talked in awhile,” Apple Bloom said.

“How long are you going to be in town?” she asked.

“For a few days,” applejack said.

“Well, I’m gonna make sure that your stay is the best one you’ll ever have in Manehatten,” she said.
--

In Canterlot, Soulless was doing what he had been for the past two days, wandering around the castle and hanging around the Lunar guard barracks.

“Are you ever going to take those glasses off?” Ivy asked him as he paced around.

“No,” he said flatly.

“Why?” she asked.

He stopped and looked at her.

“Because, I like them,” he said, and went back to pacing.
--

In Ponyville Twilight was studying some of the documents that were pulled from the wreckage.

“Arg,” Twilight growled, throwing a bundle of papers aside.

“What is it Twilight?” Spike asked.

“These documents don’t make sense, there isn’t enough here,” she said with an exasperated sigh.

“Why don’t you try to get some sleep it is getting kinda late,” Spike suggested with a yawn.

Twilight stacked the documents up and patted Spike on the head.

“For once, sleep does sound better than reading,” she said with a yawn.

Twilight climbed into bed and pulled the covers over her, welcoming sleep.
--

There was a lonely earth pony stallion taking a walk in Manehatten. He had been at work all day and was glad to be walking home, enjoying the clean night air.

What a lovely night, he thought to himself as he was passing under a streetlamp.

Suddenly he saw a bunch of scared looking ponies burst out of an old factory.

“What’s going on?” he asked a passing mare.

“Get down!” she shouted and tackled him.

A few moments after hitting the ground, the factory exploded in a great ball of flame.
--

“The factory incident was investigated, and the ponies seen fleeing just before questioned,” a pony said to Celestia, reading a rather long scroll. “The cause of the explosion is still undetermined, but the witnesses say that a hooded pony released them from a holding cell and told them to run for safety. It is impossible to tell whether or not they were telling the truth as the interior of the factory was burned out and there are still unidentified bodies.”

“Was there any machinery recovered from the site?” Celestia asked.

“No, any machinery had been destroyed when the investigators were able to enter the building,” he replied.

“You may go now,” she said and turned to a guard. “Bring Soulless here.”

After a few minutes the black unicorn was brought to the throne room.

“You wanted to see me?” he asked, as if he had anything better to do.

“Yes, I want you to investigate possible sites for the remaining members of the order,” she said.

“Why didn’t you ask sooner,” he said.

“Because, we had no reason to believe that there were any other cells of the group,” she said.

“Well, I could have told you that,” he said in a smart tone.

“Take Ivy and go investigate Las Pegasus, I will sent other teams to Appleoosa, Phillidelphia, and Van Hoover,” she said.

“Fine,” he said and walked out.
--

“Two days. Two bloody days of searching and nothing!” Soulless complained.

“Maybe if you stopped acting like you were mister cool, then we could get something done,” Ivy retorted.

“Maybe if I didn’t have you or your princess’s rules slowing me down I could have already found all of them!” Soulless bit back.

“Well maybe, if you weren’t such a stubborn mule, you would be able to do things our way!” Ivy yelled.

“Tell me why she paired us up again?” Soulless asked bitterly.

“Because, I grew up in Las Pegasus, and you know the most about this group,” Ivy said.

“I’m perfectly capable of searching by myself,” he said.

“The whole city, by yourself?” Ivy scoffed.

“I’d be able to do it faster than you,” he retorted.
--

I laughed inwardly, Soulless and Ivy were so caught up in their heated debate that they didn’t even notice when they passed me.

I slipped into one of the back alleys and put on the mask that I had purchased to hide my face.

I knew exactly where to find the next cell of the organization, and I was going to gut it.

I went through the back alleys, dodging the crowds and prying eyes that would stop me, and I arrived at the back entrance to a tall executive building.

I bucked the door down and created two crystal bands around my front hooves, from which I could bake blades.

A guard came around the corner, and charged me.

I tripped him up and flung him to the ground, hearing a rib or two crack with the force.

I searched him for a floorplan, or a keycard, something that could give me an edge. I pulled out a keycard, and stowed it in a pocket on my cloak.

I ran through the hallways, taking down guards as they blocked my way, some with a simple incapacitation, others with a swipe of a crystal blade.

When I found the elevator I took it up to a floor that was oddly blank on a floor plan I had found.

When I opened the door the the twenty third floor, I prepared meet the head of this operation.

I was met with a stallion trying to get into the elevator.

He swung a hoof at me that I caught and used to lever him to the floor.

“Please let me go! I want to get out of here!” he cried as I held him in a armlock on the ground.

“What do you know about the organization?” I asked.

“What organization? I’ve been locked on this floor for two days,” he said.

“Are there others?” I asked, picking him up off the floor.

“Yes, there are about twenty of us, all in different rooms. When the guards left I broke the lock and tried to get away, that’s when I ran into you,” he said.

“Show me where they are,” I said, and he led me to a bunch of locked offices.

I smashed or slashed all the locks and there were now a group of civilians that needed rescuing.

I led them to the elevator and it took both elevator cars to support all of them.

We started down towards the ground floor and it seemed to be going alright until the car gave a lurch.

“They’re going to cut the cables!” a mare cried.

I opened up the emergency hatch on the top of the elevator and I jumped to the other elevator car, tearing open that hatch too.

“Hold on, I have to keep the other car from crashing,” I said to the passengers and turned back towards the other elevator car.

There was a loud snap and the car began to freefall.

I caught it with my magic, straining at the weight, slowing it down until I felt it lightly stop at the ground floor.

When the other car reached the ground floor I jumped back to the other car and pried open the door.

“Follow that hallway until you get to the broken down door. Go out that way and tell the authorities about this building,” I said.

They nodded and started heading towards the hallway.

Since the Elevator was out I had to use the stairs to get to the top floor, fighting my way as I went.

When I finally got the the top floor, I had blood on my face and hooves, and I had had enough of the guards.

I flung open an office door and two brutes of pegasi turned to block me.

I simply slammed them against the walls with magic and advance on the unicorn that was sitting in a desk,, the city sprawling in the window behind him.

“They said that you would come for me,” he stammered, standing up as I slowly advanced towards him.

“Then you know why I’m here,” I said.

“You came to kill me,” he said, his horn flickering with magic.

I stepped closer to him, almost in arms reach.

“I came here to finish business,” I said with a smile, and grabbed his throat.

I broke the window behind him and the wind started tearing through the room.

“Please let me go,” he said, holding onto my arm.

I held him out over the edge.

“How many augmentations do you have? Three? Four?” I asked.

“Three,” he replied.

“Oh, then you should survive the fall,” I said with a smirk and let go.
--

Ivy didn’t believe her eyes. A unicorn stallion had just fallen from the very top of this skyscraper, bouncing once before coming to rest. That wasn’t even the most unbelievable part, he was still alive, coughing up blood, but alive.

“I doubt that executive stress did that,” Soulless said sarcastically.

“He’s a demon,” the unicorn wheezed, and coughed up more blood.

“Even with augmentations, I don’t think he’ll last long,” Soulless said.

“Who did this?” Ivy questioned him.

His eyes were still filled with terror, “That smile...”

“I think the fall scrambled his brains,” Soulless said.

“He won’t stop till we’re all dead,” the unicorn wheezed grabbing Ivy, then fell back, air escaping his lungs for the last time.

“Mam, we already have teams searching the building, but without the elevators, it will take some time before we can search the whole building,” a pegasus in a police uniform said.

“Make sure all the exits are covered, and that nopony enters or leaves that building without me knowing so,” Ivy said.

“Let’s check it out,” Soulless said.

“What?” Ivy asked.

“Search the building,” he replied.

“You go on ahead, I’m going to question some of the ponies that came to us,” Ivy said, and went to the group of ponies that were being looked after by a team of medics.

Soulless could tell without even investigation the I had done this, nothing else makes marks quite like a crystal blade.

He went to the basement and found what he was looking for, the essence transfer machine.

He went to the main machine then pulled out a medium sized crystal, and stored it in his cloak before destroying the machine.

When he met back with Ivy she asked him what he had found.

“I didn’t find anything of importance,” he said.

“We have to report to the princess about this,” Ivy said.

“Go ahead,” Soulless said walking away.

“Where are you going?” she asked.

“To go look for our next lead,” he said, and left.
--

Over the next three days as I made my way to the small village of Hollow Shades, a small town hidden in the forest far east from Canterlot, I read the files I had pulled from the office I had raided.

I learned how the soul siphon process worked and was working on a spell to have the same effect.

I also learned that the fallback point for surviving members was in Hollow Shades, and then onto Appleoosa.

When I arrived in the sleepy little village, it was already dark and I spied the tavern where the meeting place was.

I walked calmly in and dropped my hood, walking up to the inn keeper.

“And how can I help you stranger?” he asked.

“A few friends of mine are meeting here,” I said.

“I don’t know what you are talking about, none of the rooms have been rented today,” he said.

“We were meeting in the basement,” I said, placing a small sack of bits on the counter.

“Oh, those friends,” he said. “There have started without cha,” he said pointing to a closed door.

“Thank you,” I said and opened the door, closing it behind me and creating a crystal barrier for extra protection.

“Who’s there?” a voice came from in the basement as I descended a set of stairs.

“There aren’t any others that made it,” a female voice said.

“Why, hello there,” I said, a grin crossing my face at the sight of the six ponies gathered around a rectangular table.

The one that sat at the opposite end of the table from me appeared to be in charge and he slumped back into his chair.

A pinkish purple unicorn mare was to my immediate left, with a grey pegasus stallion farther along the table. To my right was a blue pegasus mare, another grayish pegasus stallion, and a brown earth pony stallion. The stallion at the head of the table was a white unicorn.

“Well?” I asked. “No panic? No angry threats? Not even a welcome?”

“What do you want us to say? You have dismantled most of the order, now only a few of us are left,” The pegasus mare said.

“True,” I said, giving her a nod.

“What are you going to do to us?” the unicorn mare asked.

“Well,” I said, pulling out a chair at the end of the table and sitting in it backwards, “That all depends.”

“Depends on what?” the unicorn asked.

“On how this little meeting goes,” I said.

They shuffled around in their seats uncomfortably.

“So what do you want?” the unicorn asked.

“Mostly, infomation,” I said.

“Well, it’s not like we have much of a choice,” the pegasus mare said.

“First off, how many augmentations do each of you have?” I asked.

“Three,” the unicorn answered.

“Two,” the pegasus mare said.

“Two,” the earth pony said.

“One,” each pegasus stallion said.

“What’s an augmentation?” the unicorn mare asked.

“Oh, this will be fun,” I said rubbing my hooves together. “So, who wants to tell her?”

“Augmentations are enhancements that we get using the souls of other ponies,” the pegasus mare said.

“What?!” she almost fell back in her chair with shock.

“Yes, these allies of yours have all taken in at least one pony soul to enhance their abilities,” I said.

“H-how could you?” she questioned them.

The pegasus mare glared at her, “You really can’t be so childish can you? The ponies that become our powers are worthless, not fit to be on Equestria, so we incorporate them into ourselves, making them a part of something worthy.”

“Hmm, now there’s a conceded thought,” I said.

“How are you any better? You are exterminating us because our leader threatened your precious friends. Friends that were your only weakness,” she snapped.

“Then, perhaps you would like to explain where I got the drive to defy your leader, even when I was faced with certain defeat?” I countered.

“How am I supposed to know how fools think?” she retorted.

“Then maybe this ‘fool’ can teach you something about being humble,” I said, and created a crystal.

“So what, you’re going to maim me? Kill me? Go ahead,” she snarled.

“Oh no, nothing so nice or merciful, I’m going to tear the very power you hold so dear right from your still living hooves,” I said and cast the essence drain spell, channeling the soul into the crystal.

She screamed as the slightly yellow spirit was slowly pulled fim her chest, leaving her writhing on the floor as the soul found its new home in the crystal.

“As you can see, the power you wield can easily be taken away,” I started to reform the crystal into a pony shape, “and used against you.”

The crystal pony started to move on its own and a scared ethereal voice issued from its mouthless face.

“Where am I? Who am I?” she asked.

“What, Shine?” the unicorn mare asked.

“Oh,” I said, raising an eyebrow, “You know her?”

“Shine?” the crystal pony asked, tilting its head to the side, and pegasus wings forming on its back as the soul started to reform the body.

“Sunshine, it is you!” the mare said and gave the crystal pony a hug. “You disappeared over eight months ago,” the unicorn said, tears starting to roll down her face.

“You will pay for that!” the now recovering pegasus moaned.

“Oh, then I suppose that means you want your other soul sucked out too,” I said, and made another crystal.

Se shut up and glared at me.
--

Soulless had followed the trail to this small village in the middle of nowhere, and now was questioning an innkeeper about my whereabouts.

“Sorry, I don’t know anything about any pony named Mixer,” he said.

Soulless sighed, unsheathing his hidden blade, “Let me try this again. Where is Mixer.”

“I told ya, I don’t know about any pony named Mixer, but a few strange looking fellow went into the basement,” he said pointing at the door.

He sheathed his blade and went to the door, pushing on it. When it did not yield he put his weight behind it and pushed harder.

“Hey, if you keep that up you’ll break the door,” the inn keeper complained.

Soulless just started to beat on the door, attempting to break it down.
--

“Well, it appears out time is up, but I will leave you with a parting gift,” I said, and made five crystals.

I syphoned all but the unicorn mare and pocketed the souls.

“When he breaks in here tell him what happened,” I said to the mare.

“What?” she asked.

“If you tell him what happened and explain that you didn’t want to be in the organization, I’m sure he will go easy on you, unlike them,” I said, and picked up the earth pony, a technician for the soul siphon machine.

I created a large crystal and started boaring out of the cellar that we were in.

I heard a snap as the door gave and created a board to fly on. As soon as the hole was finished I flew up and out, heading towards Appleoosa with me new assistant.
--

When Soulless broke through the crystal, or rather broke it away from the walls, he was met with four writhing ponies, a bewildered mare and a pony made out of crystal.

“Oh boy,” he said and moved down towards the group.
--

I had camped after traveling far enough away from Hollow Shades.

The tech woke up with a start, having been unconscious since I syphoned his augmentation.

“Where am I?” he asked.

“Oh, you’re up,” I said. “We are somewhere between Hollow Shades and Appleoosa.”

“So why take me and leave the others?” he asked.

“Because, you were a tech, and you didn’t actually prove to be evil or malicious,” I said.

“So you just saved me?” he asked.

“No, I brought you along so that you can help me, maybe atone for some of the work you did,” I said.

“So you think that I will just help you?” he asked.

I laughed, “Well yeah, otherwise you would probably be either dead or in a dungeon right now.”

“I see your point,” he said and looked into the stars.

“Get some sleep, we have to leave early to keep ahead of the game,” I said, laying down on the grass.

“So how do you know I won’t just kill you or escape while you’re asleep?” he asked.

“Because, if you were like that, you would have already tried something,” I said, and rolled over.

I heard him lay down and soon we were both asleep.

In the morning we ate some fruits from the forest and then started towards Appleoosa.
--

Soulless had brought back four prisoners, he had found Mixer, he had even managed to use a respectable tone with Celestia, and yet he was still being treated like some kind of stranger.

He had been told to leave the tracking down of me to the Lunar guard, and to stay in Canterlot, but he had no intentions to be useless.

He got on the same train that Ivy, Brick, and the siblings Starshine and Rose had gotten on, riding on the top as it sped towards Appleoosa.

Trottson, Phalanx and Thunderlane to fly the airship with a detachment of royal guards in it once they got back to the castle from Van Hoover.
He looked out across the front of the train as the green grass started to give way to the browns of the desert climate.
--

“So what are we looking for?” Tech, as I started calling him with no objections, said.

“Anything suspicious, disappearances, odd characters, lots of bits being thrown around, things like that,” I said.

“And why did you ditch your cloak for that duster and hat?” he asked.

“Blends in better,” I said.

He shrugged and followed me into town.

It didn’t take long before we ran into Braeburn.

“Mixer? Well shoot, when did you get into town again?” he asked.

“Aw, not too long ago. Sorry to bother ya with this, but have you seen any strange goings on?” I asked, my tone trying to match the southern accent.

“Hmm, not that I can think of, nothing too strange,” he said.

“What about large purchases, or property being bought?” I asked.

“Hmm, well I reckon that that mansion that some rich pony built just a few months ago might count,” he said.

“Anything else?” I asked.

“Well, there was this group of ponies, two stallions and a mare. They looked all hoity toity and rich, they was looking for supplies to make a ‘survey expedition’ into the badlands,” he said.

“Thank ya kindly,” I said, with a tilt of my hat and headed in the way he had indicated when he mentioned the mansion.

“Oh, but if you see a little filly running around here tell her her parents are looking for her,” Braeburn said.

“A little filly?” I asked.

“Yeay, Sand Sprite, she went out playin this mornin and she hasn’t come back to her parents, they’re startin to worry,” he said.

“I’ll make sure to keep an eye out,I said and started away at a faster pace.

“What’s wrong?” Tech asked.

“You couldn’t tell? They obviously set up a small cell here, and are using that mansion as a base of operations,” I said.

“There’s something else...” he said.

“Yeah, they abducted a filly and are more than likely going to use her for an augmentation,” I said.

“But that’s crazy, even by our standards,” he said.

“There is nothing more dangerous than a cornered dog,” I said, and started into a full blown run.

We ducked behind a large rock in front of the mansion.

“It doesn’t look like anypony’s home,” tech said, taking a look at the front of the large house.

I brought out the five crystals and made them into ponies.

“This might come as a shock to you, but you are in Appleoosa, and I need your help to punish the ones that made you like this,” I said to the five, one unicorn, two earth ponies and two pegasi.

They seemed to understand and nodded.

“When I give the signal, I need you to make it look like the house is surrounded, and create a distraction,” I said.

They nodded again and dispersed around the house and hid themselves.

“Ok, lets go knock and see who’s home,” I said and walked up to the door kicking it in.

“Knock Knock!” I shouted.

“Didn’t you say something before about the element of surprise?” Tech asked.

“It doesn’t appear that anypony’s home,” I said, looking around.

As if on cue ponies appeared in every doorway, two doors above and in front of us, two above and behind us, two on either side, and a large double door directly above us on the second floor.

“Ah Mixer, it seems that you have foolishly charged into a trap,” a unicorn sporting a cliche top hat and monocle.

“You can’t seriously call this a trap can you?” I asked.

“You are surrounded, without support, and greatly outnumbered, I’d call that a trap,” he said.

“What these guys?” I said motioning to a burly earth pony off to my right. “You are right about being outnumbered, you need more ponies.”

“I can assure you that you will not be leaving this mansion,” he said, gritting his teeth.

“Oh, I’m gonna walk out of here, once all of you deadbeats are, well, dead,” I said, creating a crystal sword and passing it to Tech.

“Dispose of this trash,” the unicorn said, waving his hoof.

Four ponies on the ground floor closed in on us, getting ready to pounce on their prey.

“Tech, you might want to cover your eyes,” I suggested.

“Why, so I don’t have to watch as you get beaten to a bloody pulp?” he asked, his vision darting between two of the attackers.

“Why do you have to ask so many questions? When I tell you to do something you do it!” I complained, and let off a magical flash as he covered his eyes.

While the others were recovering, I grabbed Tech by the collar and pulled him through a doorway, hiding us.

“Um, boss, we have a little problem,” on of the thugs said as he looked out the second story window.

“What is it?” the unicorn said, still rubbing his eyes.

“There are more ponies out there,” he said, and a crackling sound reached us as a bolt of magic impacted on the window, shattering it.

“Gah! return fire! And bring me Mixer’s head.,” he shouted, and all the unicorns went to the windows and started firing back their own magical bolts.

“So what now?” Tech whispered.

“We find that filly, and get her out of here,” I said.

“I think the cellar is this way,” he said, pointing around a corner.

I followed him and found a set of cellar doors, and swung them open.

I was tackled by a pegasus and started struggling to get him off.

After getting a few good hits in on him, and having my face nearly bashed in, I heard a thunk, and felt the stallion go limp, a crystal sword embedded in the base of his neck.

“Thanks,” I grunted, rolling the body off of me.

“Let’s hurry, I think I hear the machine starting,” he said and we hurried down the stairs to the cellar.

When we hit the bottom, we saw the process start, a young earth pony filly strapped to one table, crying in pain, while a blue-grey unicorn stallion was on the other table, writhing.

I created a crystal as a conduit, using the soul siphon spell to make the process a complete circuit, not a one way drain.

Tech shut the machine down, and ripped out the interior, totaling it while I went to the table with the stallion, and made a crystal wrist blade.

While he was still writhing I stabbed it into his throat.

After turning away from the body, I undid the straps tying Sand Sprite to the table and gently lifted her up, and onto a crystal board.

We moved back upstairs and saw that for the most part, the order thugs were winning.

I lifted Sand Sprite off the board and laid her down on a couch that was in the room.

“Protect her with your life,” I commanded, and moved to enter the other room.

I created a wrist blade on my right hoof, and slashed a thug as I moved to the stairs, going for the leader.

One of the unicorns at the window turned around just in time to see me climbing the stairs and attempted to use a magic bolt on me.

I slid to one side, narrowly evading the searing blast, then I jumped, two steps at a time up to him before he had a chance to fire another. He gasped as I stabbed the blade into his chest, then I kicked him out of the window.

I could hear a door slam behind me as the unicorn tried to flee.

I sprinted around the other thugs, giving them a quick jab or slash if they tried to stop me.

I smashed through the door and saw the unicorn trying to climb out of the window.

“Looks like your trap backfired,” I said, and yanked him magically back into the room.

“Please, I’ll give you anything. I’ll do whatever you want, just don’t kill me,” he pleaded.

“You cowering is disgusting, shut up,” I growled, and extended the blade.

“No, don’t” he begged.

I brought up the blade and then hesitated, holding it poised in the air.

“Heh, I did just think of a use for you,” I said.

“What? I’ll do anything,” he said.

“Tell me, how many augmentations do you have?” I asked.

“Just two,” he replied.

I created two crystals, and proceeded to drain both of his augmentations, leaving him convulsing on the ground.

After stowing the two I rolled him onto his stomach, and gave him the mercy of a swift death.

I walked out and jumped down to the ground floor, using magic to cushion the impact.

I walked back into the room where Tech was and both he and Sand Sprite were ok.

“I think she will live without complications,” Tech said, lifting a hoof from her forehead.

I walked over and picked her up again, laying her on a crystal board.

There are three of them left, deal with them as you see fit,” I said, turning to go out the back.

“What about you?” Tech asked.

“I’m going to return this filly to her family, then I’m going to cut off the last three heads of this hydra,” I said, and left.

As we neared the town Sand Sprite stirred on the board.

“Where am I?” she asked.

I picked her up and set her gently down, letting her find her legs.

“It’s ok now, we are just outside of Appleoosa,” I said, pointing to the town ahead of us.

“What about those bad ponies?” she asked.

“Don’t you worry about them, I took care of them,” I said in a gentle tone. “Now, let’s get you back to your parents, they’re worried sick about you.”

“Thanks mister,” she said, giving me a smile.

I wondered how I must look, dingy, slightly blood stained duster, torn hat, scar on my face. I must look pretty bad to be having me walk into town next to a smiling filly.

A few of the towns ponies started to take notice of me and Sand Sprite ran over to them, leaving them giving me a mix of looks, some greatful, others of spite.

“You brought her back,” Braeburn said, walking up to me.

“Yeah,” I said hollowly.

“Is there anything I can do for ya?” he asked.

“Yeah, give me some supplies for the badlands,” I said.

“What do you need those for?” he asked.

“To finish some business,” I said.

He gave me a look but said, “I won’t pry any further, but be careful out there, wouldn't want to have to save your flank again would we?”

“Thanks,” I said with a nod and he walked off.

He returned a few minutes later with a large pack.

“Thanks,” I said again and quickly put the pack on.

“What’s the rush?” he asked.

“The train just pulled in, and I’d rather not have to deal with the ponies on it,” I said, and hurried towards the badlands, leaving Braeburn standing by himself.
--

“Well howdy,” Braeburn said to the Lunar guard members.

“Braeburn, we heard that there could have been a possible disturbance,” Ivy said.

“Yeah, there was a fight at the new mansion,” he said.

“Which way?” Brick asked.

“That way,” Braeburn pointed, indicating the mansion that I left.

“Thanks,” Ivy said and the four of them rushed in that direction.

When they were gone, Soulless walked up to Braeburn.

“Well, I haven’t seen you around here before. Welcome to Appleoosa,” Braeburn said.

“Was Mixer here recently?” Soulless asked.

“You a friend of his?” he asked.

“In a manner of speaking, he and I have worked together,” Soulless said.

“He took of for the badlands just a little bit ago, said something about unfinished business,” Braeburn said.

“Good, so it isn’t too late,” Soulless said to himself.
--

“Who are you?” Ivy demanded of Tech.

“Um, would you believe me if I said I was here to help?” he asked.

“No,” Brick growled.

“Well, I am, at least, I was forced to be,” he said.

“Explain yourself,” Ivy ordered him.

“Ok, Mixer broke in on our meeting, took me with him, brought me here, handed me a sword and told me to deal with the rest after he saved a little filly from them,” he said, pointing to the three thugs that were tied up.

“And you expect us to believe that story?” Brick snorted.

“Really? No, I don’t. If I hadn’t been through it myself, I wouldn’t believe it,” he said.

“I think he’s telling the truth,” Rose said.

“You can’t be serious?” Star Shine asked.

“If his story is true, then what does he have to gain by lying to us?” she asked.

“His life,” Brick said.

“What about them?” Ivy asked, indicating the crystal ponies that were just standing about staring aimlessly into space.

“Mixer used some kind of soul drain on the augmented ponies, and used the souls to make these ponies.,” he said.

They all nodded.

“So Mixer is still alive,” Ivy said.

“We don’t know that,” Brick said.

“Do you know another pony that could do this?” she questioned.

Brick just grumbled and turned away.

“We have to find him,” Ivy said.

“I think I can help with that,” Tech said.

“How?” Ivy asked.

“He said that he was going to, ‘cut the last three heads off this hydra’. And when we got to Appleoosa, Braeburn told us that three ponies had gone into the badlands,” Tech said.
--

I was scouting out the mouth of a the cave that I had found, and saw that there were two guards outside. Younger than most of the others I had seen of the order, and both looked tired.

I created two lenses of crystal and used magic to allow me to see their auras, and tell which ones had augmentations.

One of them was just a normal pony, but the other had the aura of a soul swirling around him.

I prepared to go into the den of the beast, creating crystal armor plates under my duster, and making two wrist bands of crystal, from which I could form blades.

I created a crystal and used the drain spell on the one with the augmentation, his fellow guard watching as his partner fell to the ground.

I knocked him out and finished off the other, leaving me with three souls to use as soldiers.

I slipped inside and took out another patrolling guard, siphoning his two augmentations.

I had five now, enough to call a fighting force.

As I moved through the cave system serving as an outpost, I found three unaugmented ponies to every one with augmentations, and most of the augmented ones had only one.

When I moved deeper into the cave, I turned a corner and saw a lone guard, a rainbow colored aura brightly circling him. If each color was only one soul, then he had at least six or seven, if not more.

I contemplated sneaking around him but decided that he would make a great addition to my growing attack force.

I surprised him with the first drain, but he still stood after turning around and giving an angry growl.

I drained another from him before he reached me and just dodged a swing from him, rolling to one side.

I used one of the souls and made it into a pony. This was a slightly red colored soul, and the earth pony form that resulted was glaring angrily at the guard.

He covered me while I drained a third and then a fourth soul from the guard.

After the fourth, he faltered going down on one knee, and gasping in pain.

I drained a fifth and a sixth, the effort causing my body to shake and my magic to flare.

After the sixth, the guard collapsed, his breath coming in quick gasps.

His aura was his own, but after the repeated drains, it was weak, and I could tell that he was not going to live.

He looked up at me with pained eyes.

“What ... are you?” he wheezed.

I walked over to him and rested a hoof on his shoulder.

“I am an angel of death, come here to redeem the lives of so many. It is my duty to ensure that every single member of the organization is dealt with,” I said.

He wheezed and coughed.

“I believe it,” he wheezed.

“Rest now, and hope that in the next life you can redeem yourself,” I said, and ended his suffering.

I created the other sould I had gathered into a small force of twelve nigh indestructible fighters.

“What do you want us to do?” one of them asked.

“I need you to help me bring justice to all those that did this to you,” I said, a little winded.

“What do you need us to do?” another said.

“I need you to fight,” I said.

“Very well, we will bring our vengeance on these evil ponies,” a mare said.

“There are only a few of them left. The three most powerful will be well guarded,” I said.

“We will help you,” another said.

I led them down a corridor and two stallions saw us as we rounded the corner. Their eyes went wide and they bolted down the passage.

“It seems that we no longer have the element of surprise,” I sighed.

“Let them know of us!” a stallion boasted.

“They will know their folly!” a mare shouted.

We continued down a hall and three augmented guards met us.

“Four, five, six. They all have six augmentations,” I said.

“More to add to our force,” a stallion said and they charged the three guards.

Crystal bodies were thrown back, but they got back up and went back into it.

I readied eighteen crystals, nine on each side, making it look like I had a pair of wing as I started to drain the souls.

I blocked out the fighting as I concentrated on the spell, which was never designed to be used this much.

By the time I had drained three from each, I was almost exhausted.

I couldn’t keep it up and I almost collapsed, only nine of the eighteen souls.

“Ah!” one of the ponies cried as their crystal body cracked.

I repaired her body and leaned against the wall to catch my breath.

I watched as the crystal ponies were tossed and slowly, they stopped getting back up, not out of tiring, but out of a lack of moral.

The three of the semi drained guards started to advance on me.

I was sure that they would kill me, until I saw a blade flash, and one of them fell to the ground.

The other two barely had time to react before Soulless cut them down.

“You, are ahead of time,” I huffed.

“I’d say that I’m right on time,” he said.

The crystal ponies got back up and I added the nine I had created to their number.

“Oh, I brought this,” he said and handed me the potion that I had left on my armor.

“Where did you?” I asked.

“You gave me your armor remember? he said.

“I do want that back,” I said.

“Don’t worry, it’s at the castle now,” he said.

I drank the potion, restoring my strenght.

“Oh, and the Lunar guard are on their way,” he said.

“Then I have to hurry. you go and take out the rest, I’ll go for the leaders,” I said.

“You’re not going alone,” he said.

“Who said anything about being alone,” I said. and he looked around at the twenty some crystal ponies.

“Fair enough,” he said and proceeded down another hallway while I led my troops towards the heart of the caverns.

When we got to a large door, I could see shining coming from the edges.

When I opened the door I had to tear off my aura goggles, otherwise I would have been blinded by the combined auras of the three leaders.

One was a pegasus mare, hovering in the air, the other was a large earth pony, his maroon coat rippling with strength, the third was a white unicorn with a longer blue mane, and a sharp looking horn.

“So Mixer, prepared to finally die,” The pegasus sneered.

“And stay dead,” the earth pony added in a gravelly voice.

“The only ponies going to die here are you,” I said, and my force filled the room, the pegasi taking flight to let the others have more room.

The large room was now filled with twenty four crystal ponies of all varieties, all against three highly augmented ponies.

I created three crystals and drained them of their first souls, all the while each of them simply laughing.

“You think you can drain us?” the mare scoffed.

“We each have sixteen augmentations,” the unicorn boasted.

“not counting the ones you just stole,” the earth pony added.

My jaw dropped, each one of them had more than double any regular member I had encountered, I doubted that they were as strong as Serina was, but I also wasn’t able to pull a killing blow with surprise.

The pegasi started to chase after the pegasus mare, struggling to keep up with her blinding pace.

The earth pony leader was wading through them, barely slowed down by the fact that he had at least five ponies hanging off of him.

The unicorn sat calmly, watching as ponies and spells bounced off a force field he had made.

I turned the three into souls into ponies and started draining the next set, even able to penetrate the unicorn’s barrier.

Two, three, five, the souls kept coming, but not one of them seemed to be effected in the slightest.

I stopped to repair a few of them that had gotten damaged in the fighting and watched as the pegasus leader clipped a wing on another pegasus.

She spiraled for a second, trying to regain her balance, then four pegasi caught up with her and dragged her down, holding her struggling body in place.

I moved over to her before she could break free and slid my blade into the back of her neck. She let out a brief cry and then went limp.

The earth pony roared, tossing and cracking many crystal ponies.

I fixed them, faster than he could break them, and now the pegasi were starting to pile on him as well.

I prepped another crystal and drained another soul from him.

He bellowed as ponies piled upon him, trying to beat him into submission with wave after wave of force.

The unicorn was now using his magic to toss ponies about, making cracking noises as they impacted on the stone.

I kept repairing them, keeping their number at now over thirty.

The earth pony made a thud as his legs buckled and he fell on the ground, buried by a mound of furious crystal.

The unicorn had had enough and created a shockwave, sending ponies crashing against the wall, and almost blowing be out the door.
--

Outside the cave Ivy and the other Lunar guard were fighting the fleeing remains of the order, easily dispatching the unaugmented newbloods.

“He must be inside!” Ivy called to the others as they finished up the latest wave of fleeing ponies.

Just then they heard a loud boom and a rush of air from the cave.

“We have to hurry!” Rose shouted.
--

When I recovered, I saw the broken body of the earth pony resting against the wall, along with all the recovering crystal ponies.

“Well, I don’t know about you, but I tire of this brutish display,” he said.

I straightened up, now with my head fully exposed without my hat, which had been blown away in the shockwave.

“I propose we settle this like gentlecolts, and have a magical duel,” he said.

“I accept,” I said, and readied myself to fight this foe, creating a set of crystals and hovering them around me.

“Very well, you have the first move,” he said.

I created a sword out of one of the crystals and took in in my mouth, keeping my hooves free in case I needed them, and I charged at him.

He laughed and prepared a blast of pure energy.

I teleported to him before he could cast it and switched the sword to my hooves, thrusting it into his chest.

He groaned and then tried to rear up and stomp on me.

I dodged backwards, and was barely able to put up half a barrier before forks of lightning came from his horn.

The chest height barrier kept me from taking the brunt of the blast, but I used my horn to take the rest of it, redirecting the shock out through me hooves.

When he was finished, I could tell he was winded, having a sword sticking out of his abdomen, dripping blood like a leaky faucet.

I jumped back from the blackened barrier that I had created and now had some distance between him and myself.

I barely registered Soulless entering the room before a roaring torrent of flame burst forth from the unicorns horn, rushing towards me.

This time I created a full height barrier and held it while flames continued to pour from his horn, trying to burn the crystal to nothing but cinders. After a half a minute of the inferno it was getting harder to breath and I could feel both a backdraft coming from the rest of the cave, and the edges of my duster starting to catch fire as the heat intensified.

I threw off the duster, the hungry flames immolating it.

Another half minute and the flames were still flowing forth, showing no signs of stopping.

Just when I thought that I was going to pass out from lack of oxygen the flames stopped, revealing that the walls and floor on half of the room were soot black, and in some places the fire was still burning.

I saw the unicorn fall over, whether from blood loss, oxygen deprivation, or some combination of the two.

I let out a painfully dry laugh and said, “I win,” before collapsing.
--

When I woke up, my mouth felt dry and I felt the sensation of being in a higher altitude.

“Good, you’re finally awake,” Soulless said.

“Where am I?” I asked weakly.

“On the Lunar guard airship, we are on our way back to Canterlot. Oh, and Ivy will want to talk to you,” he said.

I slumped back on my pillow, “Why couldn’t I have died there?”

“Because, that would be too easy, and then who would I have to follow around,” he said jokingly.

He set a glass of water next to me on an end table and left.

I sat up and drank like it was the best drink I had ever had, which after almost being immolated, was pretty good.

A minute or so later Soulless returned with Ivy.

I sat up and then tentatively got to my feet.

“I’ll just leave you two alone,” Soulless said and left.

Ivy walked over to me and slapped me across the face.

“Ow,” I said, rubbing my cheek.

“That is for going off and making us think you were dead,” she yelled, then gave be a big hug.

“Ow,” I squeaked out.

She loosened her hug and then said, “This is for coming back alright.”

“You know me, I can’t stay dead for long,” I said jokingly, “I’d get bored.”

“Well I’m glad that you made it through this one, I don’t know what we would do without you,” she said, releasing me.

“So what did I miss?” I asked.

“Not much seeing as how you made all the headlines in Manehatten and Las Pegasus,” she said.

“Figured out it was me?” I said.

“Who else could it be?” she countered with a playful smile. “Well, I’m sure we can catch you up later, for now just get some more rest,” she said, and left.

When the door closed I turned back to the bed and sighed, “I wonder how I’ll face everypony?” I said out loud.

“Well, I certainly hope you don’t plan to just hide,” Soulless said, dropping his invisibility.

I almost felt like punching him, “How long have you been there?” I asked, annoyed at his invasion of privacy.

“The whole time,” he said.

“So much for leaving us alone,” I huffed.

“You thought you were alone at least,” he said.

I sighed, “What do you want?”

“You wanted to know what happened while you were, indisposed?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said.

“Well, Silverwing and Crystal have not been out of your house for a few days, though they have at least talked to us. Luna and Sombra seemed less talkative. Celestia seemed more annoyed with me than usual, though that’s probably just her. Trottson has been leading the Lunar guard, oh and Shining Armor showed up the day after you disappeared with a bunch of his guards,” he said.

“So he did get my letter, unfortunately, it was a little late,” I said.

“It’s good that he did, Luna almost had the entire royal guard locked up, leaving the princesses without any protection,” he said.

I sighed again, “What happened to the crystal ponies?”

“Oh, you mean the souls that you extracted? They went dormant, and now they’re in the cargo hold,” he said.

“Forty two...” I said.

“Forty seven, you forgot the five you left with that ex order member. Oh and the pegasus from Hidden Shades,” he said.

“What happened to him?” I asked.

“They left him in Appleoosa, said something about finding honest work,” he said.

I smiled, “At least something good came of all this bloodshed.”

“Not true. You singlehoovedly dismantled and wiped out a secret organization, exposed a corrupted royal guard, and made a new ally. I’d say you did pretty good,” Soulless said.

“I made more than an ally,”I said, “I made a friend.”

“Who me?” he asked.

“You knew what I was planning all along, otherwise you would not have showed up before the Lunar guard, and I would be dead,” I said, extending my hoof.

“You are right about that,” he said shaking it.

“I think I’m going to take a walk,” I said.

“You were out for most of the day,” Soulless said.

“Oh, only that long? surprising considering I exhausted myself in that magic duel,” I said.

I went out the door with Soulless behind me and went to the deck.

“Hey, you’re up,” Thunderlane said as I passed him.

“Good to see you up and on your feet,” Brick said.

“You sure you’re ok to be up and about?” Rose asked.

“Give him some space,” Trottson said.

“Thanks,” I said to my lieutenant.

“Not at all, it’s good to have you back,” he said.

“Looks like we are about ten minutes out from Canterlot,” Phalanx said.

“Ten minutes till I face judgement,” I said.

“What?” Trottson asked, perplexed.

“You all have seen me fight before, though not even you saw me kill before. Now I don’t know what the others will think of me for what I did...” I trailed off, staring at the horizon.

Trottson put his hoof on my shoulder, “You did what you had to, no pony can blame you for that,” he said.

“Still, how many lives did I end, a dozen? A hundred? More?” I asked, looking at him, locking eyes.

He didn’t say anything, just stared into my eyes.

“I even know that it was justified. If I had let them live, then they would have come back, and I might not be around then,” I said, looking back over the edge of the ship.

I heard some shifting behind me and knew that they were all cautious of answering.

“Listen,” Soulless said, “I know death more than anypony here, and what you did might not seem like it now, but you did the right thing.”

“Yeah, but will the others who haven’t had to deal with the horror of death, how will they react knowing that their friend has ended so many lives?” I asked.

“We will find out,” he said, and went back below decks.

I stayed on deck, watching as the sun moved towards the horizon, leaving a beautiful red sunset.

As we drew closer to Canterlot I could make out a gathered crowd, Celestia and Luna included, waiting on one of the airship docks.

When we landed, they let out the gangplank and I walked off first, walking down a corridor of guards from the Crystal Empire.

Soulless caught up to me and the both of us walked towards Luna and Celestia. Twilight and the others lined up at the end of the tunnel of guards on either side.

“Princess Celestia, Princess Luna,” I said, bowing.

“Mixer, rise,” Celestia said.

I stood back up, “I will accept any punishment you deem fit to give me,” I said.

Luna was about to say something, but her sister cut her off with a look, leaving her just biting her lip.

“Mixer, you have shunned your duty as the head of the Lunar guard, avoided all attempts to find you, and killed scores of ponies in a quest for revenge, and for that I should have you sentenced to life in the dungeon,” she said.

The others looked worried, some looking away entirely.

“However, you have saved us from a grave threat, one that promised to end so much peace and harmony. And for that all of Equestria has your gratitude,” she finished.

All the gathered ponies let out a collective breath and then my friends gathered in a circle around me.

“You sure gave me a scare there,” Shining Armor said.

“When will you learn to stop going off by yourself you idiot,” Sombra said good naturedly.

“Don’t ever do that to us again,” Luna said.

“So what happened to you?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah, and who is this guy?” Rainbow Dash asked, pointing at Soulless.

“Was that really you that blew up that factory in Manehatten?” Applejack asked.

“Deary, what happened to your face?” Rarity asked, running her hoof across my new scar.

“Oh I’m so glad you’re back, I’m going to throw the bestest welcome back party you ever saw!” Pinkie said.

“Ok, in order: It’s a long story, he’s a friend, yes, it happened after the facility fell out of the could, and finally, hello everypony, I’m glad to be back but there are a couple of ponies I need to see,” I said, pushing my way out of the group.
When I cleared the pack I headed towards the lift but was intercepted by something small and black.

“I knew you would come back!” Crystal said, flying straight into me and knocking me over with the force of her hug.

“Oh, hi Crystal,” I squeezed out.

“Glad to see you survived again,” Silverwing said, following farther behind Crystal.

“Happy endings for all,” Soulless said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

“Oh, you should know, that this story is far from over,” I said.

“Oh?” he asked.

“Yeah. Don’t you know? Every ending is just another beginning,” I said.

Aftermath

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The Mixer Chronicles

Book Twenty:
Aftermath

A few days after my return, and everything was back to being relatively normal, except for the fact that we now had an ex assassin hanging around the castle.

“Are you just going to follow me around for the rest of your life?” I asked Soulless.

“Do you have a better suggestion?” he asked.

“Well, you could join the Lunar guard,” I said.

“No thanks,” he said.

“You could get a job,” I suggested.

“And what job would you give me?” he countered.

“You could, oh, I don’t know, get married, have a family and kids, lead a normal life now, any of these sound viable?” I asked exasperated.

“Geez,” he said.

“You asked for suggestions,” I retorted. I sighed, “So what do you want?”

“I was kind of wondering what you’re going to do with me, you know, since you wiped out the rest,” he said.

“Well, I know you have an augmentation, but I won’t do anything about it now, it’s still a little too soon,” I said.

“Oh, thanks,” he said, and wandered away.

I went to the cavern and passed by the barracks.

“Hey, you coming tonight?” Ivy asked as I passed.

“Huh?” I asked.

“Did you really forget the party that’s being held for you?” she asked.

“Oh yeah, that’s right,” I said, remembering the party that Pinkie said she was going to throw.

“After two days of preparation, you better be there,” Ivy said, giving me a light punch on the shoulder.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be there,” I said, and continued towards the house.

“Tonight is going to be so fun!” Crystal exclaimed when I opened the door.

“Yes, I heard that all our friends will be there,” Silverwing said.

“And even some new friends,” Crystal said.

“Yeah, everypony is supposed to be there,” I said.

“And don’t forget, this is all for you, so relax and enjoy yourself,” Silverwing said.

“Don’t worry,” I said.

“Of course I’m going to worry, you’re being a stick in the mud,” Silverwing joked.

“Well, tonight I promise to cut loose,” I said.

“You better,” she said and went into the other room.

“So what about that other pony?” Crystal asked.

“I don’t know. He seems like a good person, but he keeps a distance from everypony,” I said.

“I think he’s lonely,” Crystal said.

“Well, he has at least one friend,” I said.

“That’s something...” she said.

“I think by now you don’t need to use your disguise, unless you want to,” I said.

“Ok,” she said.

“I’m going to check on something,” I said.

“Don’t take too long,” Silverwing shouted from the other room.

“I won’t” I said and left.

“So where are you off to?” Ivy asked when I passed the barracks.

“I’m going to check up on the surface, I haven’t been up there for over a day,” I said.

She fell into step behind me.

“About Soulless...” she said.

“What about him?” I asked.

“Well he seems kind of... well, odd,” she said.

“He probably isn’t used to this kind of peace,” I said. “He has been in that organization for some time.”

“I know, but it seems like something else,” she said.

“What do you mean?” I asked as we got on the lift.

“I mean, are you sure it’s a good idea to keep him around?” she asked.

“I think it would be a bad idea not to,” I said.

“There’s something about him that bothers you too isn’t there?” she asked.

“He has an augmentation, and I’m sure Celestia will want me to do something about it,” I sighed.

“You mean?” she asked.

“Yes, he has the soul of a pony enhancing his abilities,” I said.

“So what are you going to do?” she asked.

“Nothing until Celestia tells me to,” I said.

“So you exterminated all the others, but are letting him live?” she accused.

“Yes,” I bit back. “I know that he can redeem himself, he just needs a push in the right direction.”

“If you say so,” she conceded.

We rode the rest of the way up the lift and when I looked out the window I could see that it was getting late in the afternoon.

“I didn’t realize it had gotten so late,” I said.

“Yeah, the party will be starting in another hour or so,” Ivy said.

We went into the hall where the bulk of the part would be held.

“Yey Mixer!” Vinyl shouted from the Mobile party, now parked at one end of the hall with a dance floor in front of it.

“Hey Vinyl,” I called back.

“Here to check up on the decorations?” Pinkie asked, landing in front of me, wrapped in streamers.

I held back a giggle, “Yes. Do you need a hoof?” I asked.

“Nope! Just have to reload the party cannon,” she said.

“Did you try to ride it again?” Ivy asked facehoofing.

“How did you know?” she asked trying to untangle herself.

“Here,” I said, using my magic to free her from her colorful bindings.

“Thanks!” she said, moving back over to her cannon.

“Fire in the hole!” Ivy said.

I ducked as a blast of streamers and other decorations came flying from the cannon.

“Nailed it!” Pinkie exclaimed.

“Well, it does look nice,” I said.

“Oh, this is noin, wait till I get the tunes on, then the light show begins,” Vinyl said.

“I can’t wait,” I said.

“Well, you’ll have to, were not ready yet,” Pinkie said, wheeling away the party cannon.

“Oh my...” I said.

“I think you have some prepping of your own,” Ivy said.

“Wha?” I asked, as she started pushing me away.

“You haven’t talked to Luna and Sombra since you got back. They were concerned for you, but thought it was better to let you come to them when you were ready,” she said once we were out of the hall.

“Oh yeah...” I trailed off.

“Are you sure you are ok? you seem to be forgetting an awful lot of things,” she said.

“Sorry,” I apologized.

“What for?” she asked.

“For everything I guess,” I said.

“Look at me,” she commanded, turning me around. “You didn’t do anything wrong,” she said firmly.

“No, I did, but everypony is acting like it’s nothing,” I said.

“That’s because what you did was for all of Equestria. If you hadn’t then somepony else would have had to, otherwise they would have come back,” she said, searching my eyes.

“I still don’t know how you can look at me the same way,” I said, turning my head away.

“Because, this scar, what you did, they don’t change who you are. To us you will always be our friend, Mixer,” she said.

“I might be the same to you, but that doesn’t make me feel any different about it,” I said.

She sighed, exasperated, “Why do you always beat yourself up whenever you do something heroic? It’s like you can’t stand to be a hero!”

“Did I ever say that I wanted to be a hero?” I countered.

“Then why do you continue to save the day and become famous and beloved? If you don’t want to be a hero, then why did you try to stop Discord? Why did you help defeat Chrysalis before the wedding? Why did you turn Sombra good? Why did you discover Saddle Arabia? Why did you form the Lunar Guard? Why did you,” I put my hoof up to her mouth, her eyes watering.

“Please. I know what I’ve done, and what I will continue to do, but what I don’t want to do is make you cry,” I said softly.

“You just so difficult sometimes,” she said.

“I’m sorry, but I’ll make it through. I always get over it,” I said, giving her a weak smile.

“If you say so...” she said.

“Now, let’s go say hi to Luna,” I said.

“Yeah...” she said.

I sighed, “Listen, I’ll be alright, so... can you give me a smile?”

She gave a weak smile.

“That’s better, now let’s go see what Sombra has to say,” I said and led the way onward.

“Mixer, go ahead,” Trottson said when we got to the door.

“Hello?” I called poking my head in the door.

I immediately felt the pull of magic and found myself face to face with Sombra, who was sizing me up.

“Looks like you finally decided to get some fresh air,” he said.

“Well I can’t stay down there forever, now can I?” I said.

“And you even look cooler,” he said.

“What you mean this thing?” I asked indicating my scar.

“Yeah, now nopony will mess with you,” he said.

“Aw you know I’m still just as much a softie as you,” I said.

He got his arm around my neck and started giving my a playful nuggie.

“Are you two are done playing yet?” Luna asked, hiding a smile.

“One moment honey,” he said, as I slipped out from his grasp.

“That’s enough of that,” I said, straightening my disheveled mane. “So, what’s up?” I asked.

“Other than the party, nothing,” Luna said.

“Oh, ok,” I said.

“Ok? There’s a huge party getting ready for you and all you can say is ok?” Sombra questioned.

“Everypony seems to be telling me that,” I sighed.

“Maybe because it’s true,” Luna said.

I sighed heavily, “Why is everypony expecting such a reaction out of me?”

“Because! This whole thing is for you, and you are the only one who doesn’t seem excited about it,” Sombra said.

“I know I might not seem excited about it now, that’s because I have a lot on my mind. But don’t worry about me, when I actually get to the party I know I’ll be a lot happier about it,” I assured him.

He held me with an unsure look for a few moments.

“He’s right, we shouldn’t push him so hard,” Luna said.

He sighed, “I know, I’m sorry,” he said.

“It’s alright, I know you are just concerned for me, and I appreciate that, but it’s kind of awkward having everypony fretting over me,” I said.

“I understand,” he said.

“So, how are you going to kill time until the party starts?” Luna asked.

“I might as well talk to everypony. I haven’t been the most talkative since I got back,” I said.

“That sounds like a fine idea,” Luna said cheerfully.

“Well, I’ll leave you two to prepare then,” I said, and walked out.

“So, what did they have to say?” Ivy asked.

“About the same as you,” I said.

“I take it they told you to loosen up too?” she asked.

“Yes,” I sighed, “And so I told them I would go talk to everypony to pass the time.”

“And are you?” she asked.

“Yes, I do still keep my promises,” I said.

We walked to the section of the castle that Twilight and her friends were staying in, and I started looking for ponies I had yet to talk to.

We ran into Applejack first, who was going to meet Rarity to talk about the plans for the party.

“Well howdy Mixer, you fellin any better?” she asked.

“Yeah, I’m feeling alot better thanks,” I said.

“Y’know, I never did thank you properly for saving us, especially my little sister,” she said.

“You know you don’t have to, I,”

“No, I have to thank you, otherwise it won’t feel quite right,” she said.

“You’re welcome Applejack,” I said.

“So what’s up?” she asked.

“Just trying to talk to everypony to pass the time until the party,” I said.

“Well, I was just headin of to go meet Rarity, you can come along two. Both of you,” she said.

We followed her down the hall and into a room that was full of dresses and outfits.

“Oh dear. Should I wear this one? No, to formal. This one? No no no, it simply would match. This one?” Rarity was talking to herself.

“Uh, Rarity?” Applejack said.

“Hm, what is it dear?” Rarity asked through the clutter.

“It’s just a party, it’s not like you’re going to the Gala,” she said.

“A lady must always look her best,” Rarity said back, going through another rack.

“Excuse me one second Mixer,” Applejack said to me before diving into the racks.

“Oh! Ow ow ow, that’s my mane!” Rarity cried as Applejack pulled her out from the forest of racks.

“Sorry about that,” Applejack said.

“What was so important that... oh Mixer! I’m sorry, if I had know you were coming I would have prepared something for you,” she said, looking around.
“It’s quite alright Rarity,” I chuckled.

“Are you sure?” she asked. “I’m sure I could find something if you wanted.”

“I’m fine, really. I just wanted to drop by and say hi, maybe find out what’s up,” I said.

“Oh, well, I was just trying to pick out a suitable ensemble to wear to the party,” she said.

“It’s not a formal affair, you can just come as you are,” I said.

“Oh I simply couldn’t,” she said.

“Nonsense, you’ll be among friends, and you don’t have to feel obligated to dress up just on my account,” I said.

“Are you sure?” she asked.

“You’ll be fine,” I insisted.

“Alright, if you say so,” she said dubiously.

“I’ll see you two later,” I said, waving as I left the crowded room.

“Wow,” Ivy said.

“What?” I asked

“You totally changed since you talked with Luna and Sombra,” she said.

“Like I told you before, I’ll get over it, and I’m already working on it,” I said.

“I’m glad that you are starting to get back to your old self,” she said.

“The party hasn’t even started,” I said.

“So who do you want to talk to next?” she asked.

“I bet you that Twilight is in the library,” I said.

“To Twilight it is,” Ivy said.

We went to the library wing and we found Rose and Starshine practicing spell outside of the library.

“Rose, you need to concentrate more. Don’t lose your focus,” Twilight said.

“I don’t understand this at all,” Star Shine huffed.

“What’s the matter, having a little trouble casting a new spell?” I asked.

“It’s not my fault that the explanation doesn't make sense,” he grumbled.

“It might make more sense if you payed attention,” Twilight said. “Look, your sister has it already.”

Rose had used the spell while we were talking and now there was a small bundle of bandages laying on the ground.

“Item synthesis? Isn’t that a little advanced Twilight?” I asked.

“It’s not quite synthesis, more like transmutation,” she said.

“That sounds a little more in the skill range,” I said.

“Maybe for you,” Star Shine said.

“Hey, everypony learns at different rates,” I said.

“That’s right,” Twilight said.

“So it’s alright if you don’t get it Star,” Rose said, giving him a pat on the shoulder.

“Yeah, it’s just frustrating,” he said.

“So Mixer, what’s up?” Twilight asked.

“Just wanted to say hi, see what’s up,” I said.

“Well, I was just helping Rose with a spell that she was trying to learn,” Twilight said.

“I wanted to be able to help if somepony got hurt,” Rose said, wrapping up the bandages.

“By the way, Ivy have you noticed anything strange?” I asked, sighing inwardly.

“No, why?” she asked.

I picked took one of the bandages and flung it in a seemingly random direction.

“What was that for?” Rose asked as the bandage flew through the air.

“To check a hunch,” I said as it stopped in mid air.

“What?” they all chorused as the bandage seemed to just hang in mid air.

“How long have you been following me?” I sighed.

“How did you even notice?” I shocked voice said.

“Because, you didn’t silence yourself,” I said, as Soulless came out of his invisibility, frowning.

“Why were you following us?” Ivy demanded.

“I got bored,” he said with a shrug.

“Well, do you think you can ask before tagging along next time?” I asked.

“Now what fun would that be?” he asked.

“Then maybe Rainbow Dash wouldn’t land on top of you,” I said, smirking.

“Wha-”

Rainbow Dash, who had been doing some maneuvers, came in for a landing and happened to land right on top of him.

“Whoops, didn’t see you there,” she said, picking him up off the ground.

He proceeded to dust himself off, instead of addressing Rainbow Dash.

“Hey what's with you, can’t talk or something?” she prodded.

“I usually don't appreciate it when pegasi use me as a landing pad,” he snorted.

“Well maybe you should watch out next time,” she retorted.

“You’re the one who blindsided me,” he said cooly.

“Well you were invisible until just a few seconds ago,” I commented.

“You’re not helping,” he grumbled.

“Well you were following us without permission,” I said.

“Still not helping,” he said.

“Can somepony tell me what’s going on here?” Rainbow Dash asked while Soulless and I continued our little engagement.

“Hay if I know,” Star Shine said.

“Soulless was following us around,” Ivy said.

“Oh, so he was being a sneak,” Rainbow Dash said.

“I was not!” he protested.

“But you were, by definition, sneaking,” I said.

“Shut up,” he said.

“Are you two just about finished squabbling?” Twilight questioned.

“Oh, I was just having a little fun,” i said.

“Fun in whose perspective?” Soulless retorted.

“So, you ready for the party?” Rainbow Dash asked me.

“Of course, it is for me after all. What kind of pony would I be if I missed my own party?” I said.

“The-” Soulless began.

“Don’t finish that statement,” I said, cutting him off.

“Well, I’ll see you there I guess,” Rainbow said and walked off.

“See you later Dash,” I called as she left.

“So what now?” Ivy asked.

“You take Soulless back to, wherever, and I’ll go finish up,” I said.

“Alright,” she said.

“Joy,” Soulless said sarcastically.

“I’ll see all of you later,” I said to Twilight, Rose, and Starshine as I left.

I had only Fluttershy to talk to, and probably Octavia since Vinyl was there.

I went to the first place that fluttershy would be, the gardens.

When I got to the gardens I saw that it was mostly empty, except for a grounds keeper.

“Hey, have you seen a yellow pegasus with a pink mane around here?” I asked him.

“Nope, no pony fitting that description,” he replied.

“Thanks,” I said and headed off to search the rest of the castle.

I searched everywhere, but I could not manage to find her.

I wandered back to the garden, and found Octavia and her group practicing.

“Octavia, what are you doing here?” I asked.

“We will be providing the musical entertainment until Vinyl gets going,” she said.

“Oh. Well, have you seen Fluttershy around?” I asked.

“Hmm, no, not that I can recall,” she said.

“Oh... thanks anyways,” I said, and wandered away.

I walked back to the lift and rode it down to the cavern.

I walked past the barracks and it was empty.

“I actually want to talk, and now everypony is nowhere to be found,” I said to myself.

“Yeah, don’t you just hate it when that happens,” Soulless said.

I jumped, “I should really just expect you to do that by now,” I sighed.

“Well, you can’t expect everything,” he said.

“Do you know where everypony is?” I asked.

“Yeah, why?” he asked.

I gave him a look, “You never make things easy do you?”

“Why make things easy when this is so much more fun,” he said.

“Well, where are they?” I asked.

“Most of them have already gone up to the surface, getting ready for the party and whatnot,” he said.

“Then what are you doing down here?” I asked.

“Waiting for you,” he said.

“And how did you know that I would come down here?” I asked.

“I didn’t, but I was told to make sure you didn’t try to sneak away down here to avoid the party,” he said.

“By who?” I questioned.

“Give you three guesses,” he said.

I sighed, “Just tell me.”

“I said guess,” he said.

“Ivy?” I huffed.

“Nope,”

“Sombra?” I asked.

“Wrong again,”

“I give up,” I said.

“You sure? you still have one more guess,” he said.

“Just tell me,” I groaned.

“None other than the one you are looking for,” he said.

“Fluttershy?” I asked, my mouth dropping open.

“Her and Silverwing,” he said.

“What!?” I exclaimed.

“Yeah, I’m just kidding, Celestia was the one who told me to make sure you attended. Though why I actually listened to her is a mystery,” he said.

“You idiot!” I yelled as I smacked him on the head.

“Ow. Though I suppose we are even now,” he said.

I sighed, “If only you weren’t so stubborn, then you would fit right in.”

“I do have a question though, what is Rainbow Dash like?” he asked.

The question caught me off guard.

“Well, she’s a little over confident, loud, rowdy, a little selfish at times, but a good friend and a great flier. Why?” I asked.

“Oh no reason,” he said.

I could have sworn I saw his eyes roll behind his sunglasses.

“Anyway, we should get going, the party is going to start soon,” I said.

“You go on ahead,” he said.

“Oh no, you’re going too,” I said, “Even if I have to drag your invisible flank there, you’re going.”

“Force won’t be necessary,” he said, and turned invisible.

“And how do I know you won’t just walk away?” I asked.

“Because, if you think I’m not there, then it will be all the funnier if I trip you,” he said.

“You better not,” I said, and walked towards the lift.

We rode up the lift and were greeted by Thunderlane, now out of his armor and ready to relax.

“Oh hey, you better get going, don’t want to miss the party,” he said.

“I was just on my way there,” I said.

I walked through the castle and noticed that the sun was setting.

“The day’s ending...” I said wistfully.

“But with tomorrow will come a new day,” Soulless said.

“And a new beginning...” I whispered.

“What was that?” he asked.

“Oh, nothing,” I said, and continued on.

When we got to the hall, ponies were starting to filter in, mostly just friends, but also some of the regular guards.
Celestia and Luna were the last to enter and then there was the sound of a mic turning on.

“Welcome everypony!” Pinkie said over the mic on the Mobile party.

“Are you ready to party!” Vinyl said.

“Let’s get this party started!” Pinkie said, and music started playing from the large speakers.

“So much for our group,” Octavia sighed.

“At least you got to play at all,” I said.

“I suppose that’s true,” she said.

“This is something to make me smile, I haven’t seen you in quite a while,” Zecora said.

“Zecora, how have you been?” I asked.

“I am fine, nothing wrong, but tell me friend, why have I not seen you in so long?” she asked.

“I have been busy, as you might have heard. When a new country comes around it causes quite a stir,” I said.

“Yes I see, now how have you been?” she asked.

“Honestly, I’ve been better, but I think this party will help,” I said.

“It saddens me that you’ve been blue, now tell me about your new friends, two,” she said.

“Three actually,” Soulless said.

“Deary me, now there’s three? Are there more surprises for me?” she asked.

“This is Soulless, he helped us recently,” I said.

“Helped you out did he now? Now to that I’ll have to bow,” she said.

“And the other two are Silverwing and Crystal,” I said.

“For that one, there needs explaining, for is she not one of the changelings?” Zecora said.

“Daughter of Chrysalis in fact, but she is good, unlike her mother,” I said.

“Good or not, we shall see, but for now let us party,” she said, and made her way to the dancefloor.

“Aren’t you going to join her?” Soulless asked.

“Not yet, I think I’ll see if there are any refreshments to be had,” I said and made my way to a table that had been set up and covered in all sorts of goodies, including some apple cider.

Rainbow Dash was partaking of the cider, and going through the cups like it was nothing.

“Whoa, slow down there RD, otherwise you’ll get sick,” Applejack said.

“I’ve waited so long to taste this cider,” she paused to give out a belch, “and I’m going to enjoy it,” she said, downing another mug.

I pulled a mug away with magic as she reached for it.

“Hey,” she protested.

“Heh, I think you can stand to share one mug of cider,” I said, taking a few swallows.

“Yeah, save some for the rest of us,” Applejack said.

“But it’s so good,” she complained.

“All the more reason to save some for us,” Trottson said, swiping his own mug.

“Hey,” Rainbow complained, trying to snatch back the mug.

"Mmm, this is good,” Trottson said, keeping Rainbow away with one hoof.

“Is it really that good?” Ivy asked, taking a mug.

“Yep,” I said, and finished my mug.

“RD, I think you should just give up, the more of a fuss you make, the more ponies come over here,” Applejack said.

Rainbow Dash groaned and took a mug for herself before leaving the table.

“Thanks, I don’t know how I woulda gotten her to stop without ya,” Applejack said.

“No problem,” I said, and went towards the dance floor.

I let the music wash over me and danced like I didn’t care for a while, then went off to the side after a bit.

“You sure do have some moves,” Spitfire said walking up to me.

“Really?” I huffed.

“Yeah, you usually party this hard?” she asked.

“I usually don’t party at all,” I said.

“Could have fooled me,” she said, then walked off.

I took the time to look around the hall. There was some kind of contest going on at the snack table. The dance floor was full, Luna and Sombra taking up a significant amount of space. Groups of ponies talking here and there. Celestia was talking with Twilight, no doubt something about what Twilight has experienced.

All throughout the room I found everyone of my friends. Rarity was talking with Fancy Pants, Silverwing was talking with Quicksilver and the old members of her squad, Crystal was having fun with the CMC, the Lunar guard were sprinkled around the room, enjoying themselves, even Soulless was visible, leaning against a wall, levitating a mug of cider. The only pony I couldn’t see was Fluttershy.

“Where could she be?” I asked out loud.

“Where could who be?” a soft voice said.

“O-oh, Fluttershy, I, uh, didn’t see you there,” I said awkwardly.

“So who were you looking for?” she asked.

“Um, actually, I was looking for you,” I said.

“Oh,” she said.

“Yeah...” I said, rubbing the back of my head.

“What did you want?” she asked.

“I wanted to talk to you,” I said.

“What did you want to talk about?” she asked.

“Can we go someplace a little quieter?” I asked.

“Sure, the garden should be fairly quiet,” she said.

We left the hall and went to the garden, where the stars and moon gave enough light to see by and the music was much quieter.

“So what did you want to talk about?” she asked.

“I wanted to talk about, us,” I said.

“Us?” she asked.

“Yeah, us,” I said.

“What about us?” she asked.

“I... I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be around me anymore,” I said, tears starting to form in my eyes.

“What?” she asked shocked.

“I... I don’t want to see you get hurt, and every time we spend time together, you get hurt,” I choked out.

“That’s not true,” she protested.

“But it is,” I said, tears flowing freely now. “When we first got together, Chrysalis attacked and threatened you. When we got back together again, Discord stole my emotions. When you were in Saddle Arabia, you were in danger. Even when we were in New Pegisopolis... I thought I lost you. Then with Serina. I never want something to happen like that ever again,” I said, trying to make my words clear through my tears.

“But...” she said.

“This is already hard enough, please,”I said.

She looked at me with sad eyes.

“Know that no matter what, I will always love you,” I said, and turned to go.

I heard her start to cry as I walked away, a sound that tore my heart with every soft sob.

I went to a deserted part of the castle and found a balcony to sit on.

I sat there, crying and staring up at the stars for what seemed like hours.

“Mixer?” a voice called from inside the doorway to the balcony.

“Go away Luna,” I said.

“She’s not the only one here,” Silverwing said.

“I just want to be alone right now,” I said.

“But we’re worried about you,” Ivy said.

“How many of you are there?” I asked.

“Just us three,” Luna said.

I sighed, looking back at them.

“We’re sorry,” Silverwing said.

“Why? It’s my fault,” I said, hanging my head.

There was silence for a few seconds.

“Don’t blame yourself,” Ivy said, walking closer.

“There’s no one else to blame,” I said.

“That’s not true,” Silverwing said.

“Yes it is. I made the decision,” I said.

Ivy put her arms around me.

“Stop talking like that,” she said softly.

I couldn’t hold back a fresh wave of tears.

Luna walked over and put her hoof on my shoulder.

I looked up at her through blurry eyes.

“We are here for you,” she said gently.

“Thank you,” I said.

After a few seconds of silence I got a hold of myself.

“How is she?” I asked.

“About the same as you,” Silverwing said.

“Some party this turned out to be,” I said.

“You enjoyed it for awhile,” Ivy said, letting me go.

“Yeah, I did,” I sighed.

“You are strong, you will get over this,” Luna said.

“In time, yes,” I said.

I noticed that the music stopped and that the lights were dimming.

“Looks like the party is over,” I said.

“Get some rest, maybe you’ll feel better in the morning,” Luna said.

“I doubt it, but some rest does sound good,” I said with a yawn.

“Let’s go,” Silverwing said, leading me away with Ivy.

We walked back to the lift and rode back down in silence, Silverwing with one wing draped around me.

Ivy went into the barracks while we went to the house.

When we opened the door, we saw that Crystal had only gotten as far as the couch, before laying down and falling asleep.

“She’s so young and pure,” I said, “Not touched by disappointment or pain.”

“Hey, it’s going to be ok, alright,” Silverwing said.

“Yes, sorry,” I said.

“Is that you dady?” Crystal said sleepily.

“Yes, it’s me,” I said.

“I’m sleepy, she said.

“Then let’s get you to bed,” I said tenderly.

I picked her up with my magic and laid her across my back.

Silverwing just smiled as Crystal yawned.

I carried her up the stairs and to her room, where I laid her in the bed and tucked her it.

“Good night,” I said softly, before closing the door.

“I thought you got embarrassed when she called you ‘daddy’?” Silverwing asked.

“I’ll let her tonight,” I said, and went to my own room.

I laid down and fell asleep, thinking about what I would do now.

Old Friend

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The Mixer Chronicles

Book Twenty one:

Old Friend

I was outwardly fine after that night, though I don’t think I ever recovered from it emotionally.

A couple of weeks later, Celestia told Luna to gather us together.

“So what do you think Celestia wants?” Trottson asked.

“I don’t know, but I think my armor is dusty,” I said.

“You should wear it more often, then it wouldn’t gather dust,” Phalanx said.

“Aw, leave him alone. I think he looks better without the armor,” Ivy said.

“I think I fly better without it on too,” Thunderlane said.

“I don’t know why you’re all complaining, I have the biggest set out of all of you,” Brick said.

“That’s because you’re the biggest one here,” Rose said.

That got a chuckle out of a few of us.

“I don’t know why you are complaining, you don’t have a horn that’s always rubbing against your helmet,” Star Shine said.

“Ok, that’s enough,” I said.

“Yeah, we’re almost there,” Trottson said.

We walked into the throne room where Celestia and Luna were waiting for us with a large group of the royal guard.

“Good, now that you’re here we can begin,” Celestia said. As you are all aware, after the recent events, I have had need of a more, potent, security measure,” she said, addressing us. “To this end I am going to attempt a course of action that many of you may not agree with,” she said, this time looking straight at me. “I am going to have Twilight and her friends release Discord, and reform him so that we can make use of his special talents.”

There were a few murmurs from the guards, but for the most part they said nothing.

“I have already informed Twilight, and Discord will be moved tomorrow to Ponyville to be released,” she said.

“I hope you don’t plan on us doing it,” I mumbled to myself.

“You are dismissed,” she said, and the guards dispersed.

“You can’t be serious,” I said, walking up to the Princesses.

“I am very serious, Mixer,” she said. “After all, it is you who first showed me that Discord’s power could be used for good.”

“Yes, but sending him to Ponyville? Aren’t you worried that he’ll hurt them?” I challenged.

"They have the Elements, and this time he can’t do anything to them,” she said.

“Alright,” I said grudgingly, “But if he so much as harms one hair on any of them, I’ll make sure that he stays a statue.”

I stalked off angrily, outraged at Celestia being so reckless.

“So, how did it go?” Soulless asked, as I passed him leaning against a wall.

“Celestia has seen fit in her infinite wisdom to free Discord,” I said, trying not to shout.

“Well she is over a thousand years old, that does come pretty close to infinite wisdom,” he said smartly.

“I’m not in the mood for this,” I said.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, falling in behind me.

“I just broke up with Fluttershy to prevent this kind of danger to her!” I shouted, to no pony in particular. “Now Celestia is sending Discord to her! What did I do to deserve this?”

“Calm down, yelling about it is not going to do anything,” he said.

“And you’re not worried? I can pick up on a few things, and you liking Rainbow Dash is one of them,” I snapped.

He looked taken aback, his sunglasses almost falling down his muzzle.

“What? Shocked to see that somepony can penetrate your barrier of apathy?” I questioned.

He bared his teeth, “What did I do? Celestia is the one who sent the embodiment of chaos to Fluttershy, no me.”

“So you’re not denying having feelings for Rainbow Dash?” I countered.

“You’re changing the subject,” he protested.

“No, you’re changing the subject,” I countered.

The two of us would probably gone at it If Ivy and Trottson hadn’t come by when they did.

“What has gotten into you two?” Ivy asked as she held me back and Trottson did the same to Soulless.

“Your friend over there’s taking out his anger on me,” Soulless growled.

“And he’s just being as dense as usual,” I snorted.

“Well maybe if you could have a bit more self control,” Soulless retorted.

“Self control? SELF CONTROL? I’ll show you a lack of self control,” I growled, pushing Ivy aside to take a swing at him.

He rolled Trottson out of the way and blocked it with his forearm.

“Stop it you two!” Ivy shouted, pulling me backwards.

Trottson quickly recovered and put himself between us.

“Mixer what’s wrong? I’ve never seen you like this,” Trottson said.

“He’s worried about his precious Fluttershy,” Soulless said.

“No,” Ivy said, holding on tight to me as I wrestled to get at him again.

“That’s enough!” Luna said, walking towards us with her wings open, making her look even larger than she was.

I stopped struggling against Ivy’s grip, but she didn’t loosen.

“Now, tell me what’s going on,” she said.

“We found these two about to go to blows,” Trottson said.

“It has something to do with your sister’s decision to free Discord,” Ivy said.

Luna sighed, “I knew that she should have been more tactful about telling you.”

“She’s sending Discord to Ponyville, unrestricted,” I said.

“Mixer, I know how you feel about this, but rest assured that we have everything under control,” she said.

I sighed, “Only because you say so.”

“Now, go and take the day off, you seem to need it,” she said.

“I can’t keep taking off duty just because of some stress,” I protested.

“If you can’t control yourself, then what else can I do except relieve you of duty?” Luna countered.

“I apologize for that outburst, I’m just upset at your sister,” I said.

“For what?” Luna asked.

I sighed, “For being so reckless in this matter.”

“Are you sure it’s not something else?” she pried.

“No, that’s it,” I said.

“Ok, then I’ll let you stay on duty, but remember to keep yourself under control,” she said, and left us.

“Well. Trottson, can you do something with Soulless for now? Ivy, come with me,” I said.

“What?” she asked, catching up to me.

“It’s not just this, Celestia told me that I have to take care of Soulless soon, otherwise she’d make me do it,” I said.

“Well, it does need to be done,” she said.

“I know, but I wanted to give him a little more time,” I said.

“I wonder why she is being so hard on you,” Ivy wondered.

“I don’t know, but the sooner this is over, the sooner I can relax again.

“So what was it that you were fighting about?” Ivy asked after a few seconds.

I sighed, “Nothing worth talking about.”

“There you are!” a voice called from behind us.

“We’ve been looking for you everywhere,” Silverwing said, walking up behind Crystal.

“You have?” I asked.

“Yeah, you haven’t been around for awhile,” Crystal said.

“Sorry, I’ve had a lot to deal with,” I apologized.

“It’s ok, I know you have a lot of responsibilities,” Crystal said, smiling.

“That’s no excuse for ignoring you or Silverwing,” I said.

“That’s right,” Silverwing said playfully.

“Gee thanks,” I said.

“Wow, your mood is already improving,” Ivy said.

“Huh? Is there something wrong?” Crystal asked.

“No, nothing you should be concerned about,” I said, rubbing her head.

“Are you sure?” Silverwing asked.

“Yes,” I said.

“So can we play?” Crystal asked.

“Not right now, I have work to do. But I promise, soon I’ll find some time to play,” I said.

“Promise?” she asked.

“I promise,” I said.

“Alright,” she said happily. “I know you will now, you never break promises.”

She scurried away, Silverwing chasing after her.

“I wish I was still so good at keeping promises...” I mumbled.

“What?” Ivy asked.

“Let’s go do a check on the airship,” I said.

“Alright then,” she said.

We went to the caverns and we found clockwork ordering some of the workers around.

“Clockwork, what’s going on?” I asked.

“Oh good, you’re here,” he said.

“What is that?” Ivy asked, pointing to something near the front of the hull.

“Oh, well that is an anti infantry cannon,” Clockwork said.

“What?” I questioned.

“Well, I kept some of the designs from when you were under the Whirlwind syndrome, and this is one of them,” he said excitedly.

“I designed a cannon?” I asked.

“Yes, and it took me quite some time to get the design to to work,” he said proudly.

“So when do you think we will need a cannon on the airship?” I asked him.

“Yeah, it’s not like we’re going into battle,” Ivy said.

“Ah, one can never be too careful,” he said.

“So I take it that you accounted for the extra weight of the cannon and its ammunition,” I said.

“Well, I did take that into account, but we’re still working on getting the load to balance out,” he said.

I sighed, “This is why I didn’t put any armaments on it to begin with.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll have this all worked out in a couple of days,” he said.

“Here, let me see what kinds of figures you have,” I said.

“Well, when I count that the cannon should have about fifty five pound rounds, plus the weight of the cannon and crew...” he said.

I sighed, facehoofing, “You would need to gut the thing just to keep it in the air.”

“Which is why I’m having some of the best casters make all the fixtures in the hull lighter,” he said.

I looked at the ship and did notice small flashes of light going through the hull.

“Even so, the ammunition would still slow down the ship,” I said.

“Which is why the ammunition racks are going to be levitating, negating the weight from the ammunition,” he said proudly.

“So then with the extra weight shaved off, we can run the bladders cooler, extending out flight time and making it faster,” I said.

“Exactly,” he said proudly.

“I’m impressed,” I said, while Ivy just kind of looked confused.

“The improvements should be done in a couple of days,” he said.

“Keep up the good work,” I said, leaving Clockwork to oversee his project.

“So now where are we going?” Ivy asked.

“I’m going to go work on something, you can do whatever you want,” I said.

“What are you going to work on?” she asked.

“Oh, a few things to apologize to Soulless with,” I said.

“Why? you didn’t get into that big of a beef with him,” she said.

“Oh, but I will,” I said sighing.

“Oh, right,” she said.

“Welp, best get to work, I’m gonna need a pretty big sorry,” I said, ducking into a new workshop that I had constructed.

I began with the potions that I was going to give him to make up for the augmentation. I decided on a strength potion, an energy potion, and a pair of magic enhancers.

I prepared the ingredients, and then began the process.

While they were cooking, I went on to making a special surprise for him.

I heard a knock on the door as I prepared to begin on the surprise.

I went to the door and opened it a crack.

“Hello?” I asked.

“Yeah Mixer, Luna was looking for you,” Thunderlane said.

“What did she want?” I asked.

“She didn’t say,” he said.

I sighed and opened the door wider.

“Do you think that you could get Rose or Ivy to watch these for me?” I asked.

“What are they?” he asked.

“Potions, and if they boil over I’ll have to start all over again. Fortunately they shouldn’t if I’m not gone too long,” I said.

“Ok,” he said.

I left the workshop and went up the lift.

Luna and Celestia were waiting at the top of the lift for me, Luna looking concerned and Celestia looking, somewhat annoyed.

I was tempted to let an ‘oh buck’ slip from my lips, but kept it under wraps.

“Mixer, we were just looking for you,” Celestia said.

Now normally, I’m not one to be nervous with Celestia, unlike most other ponies, but wien Luna looks concerned, that cracks it.

“Princess, what did you want?” I asked, giving a slight bow.

“I wanted to ask you what the disturbance earlier was about,” Celestia said.

“Sister...” Luna began, but was silenced by Celestia putting up a hoof.

“Well?” she asked.

“I got into an argument with Soulless,” I said.

“Have you taken care of that yet?” she asked.

“Not yet, but-”

“I told you that you had to take care of the problem, did i not?” she said.

“You didn’t give me a whole lot of time to prepare for it,” I said.

“Regardless, you should be swift about it,” she said.

“What aren’t you telling me?” I asked.

Luna looked away, while Celestia stared me down.

“Discord was sent earlier today, and he will be staying with Fluttershy until he is reformed,” she said evenly.

It was everything I had to not either scream at her or take off for Ponyville at that instant. I swallowed, suppressing my initial reaction.

“I thought you said that he would be moved there tomorrow,” I said shakily.

“I decided to move it up. That’s not a problem, is it?” she asked.

I gritted my teeth, “Not at all.”

“Good,” she said and turned around.

Luna turned and followed, casting a look back at me.

After they had turned the corner I waited a few more seconds before stamping my hoof, cracking a tile.

“Suddenly, it seems like the ‘sun’ is beeing a little more than oppressive,” Soulless said, materializing next to the wall.

“You have a knack for being inconvenient,” I said.

“What did you do to get her mad at you?” he asked.

“I don’t know, but I’m getting tired of it,” I said.

“So, uh, could I ask you something?” he asked.

I sighed, “What?”

“So you know what you said about Rainbow Dash earlier?” he asked.

“I know,” I said.

“Well, since, you know, you’re kind of her friend, you could, I don’t know...” he said, looking everywhere but at me.

“So, the dark gloomy assassin wants me to get him with Rainbow Dash?” I asked, a little more smug than what should be allowed.

“You’re not helping,” he growled.

“Calm down, I’m just messing with you,” I said. “Of course I can introduce you two, but, ah, you’ll need to lose the glasses, and the cloak.”

He sighed and took his glasses off, revealing slightly reddish eyes.

“You eyes, they look, different,” I said.

“It was a side effect of the augmentation,” he said.

“Oh, and it might not be a good idea to wear the hidden blade while you’re with her,” I said.

“Noted,” he said and tucked his glasses into a pocket in his cloak before taking it off.

“Hey, you already look better,” I said.

“I feel stupid,” he said.

“You’ll get used to it,” I said.

“You wear armor half the time,” he complained.

“I really don’t like to though, and when I do it’s always cumbersome,” I said.

“Oh, and can you explain why you look like somepony took a chunk out of the night sky?” I asked.

“I dyed my coat, it was after joining so I looked more intimidating,” he said.

“Well, it worked,” I said.

“Don’t even think about asking me to change my coat though,” he said.

“Don’t worry, I won't,” I said.

“Anything else?” he asked.

“Not now, you’ll have to go as is when you meet her,” I said, handing him back his things.

“Well, thanks,” he said, putting his cloak and glasses back on.

“No problem,” I said.

“So what are you going to do now?” he asked.

I sighed, “I have to find something to do for the rest of the day. I doubt it will be any time soon that Discord is reformed.”

“What about Crystal?” he asked.

“Hmm, I have been a little preoccupied the past few days,” I said.

“Well, the lift is right there,” he said.

“I suppose I’ll see you later,” I said.

“Always,” he replied as I started down the lift

I rode down the lift and walked over to my house.

“Anypony home?” I called, opening the door.

“Oh, I didn’t think you would be back so soon,” Silverwing said, “You know, since you were working on that project Ivy was telling my about.”

“Oh! I completely forgot about those,” I said, rushing out to the workshop.

“Oh, hey Mixer,” Ivy said as I flung open the door.

“Did they boil over?” I asked checking the potions.

“No, you were barely gone long enough for me to get here,” she said.

“Do you think that you can follow these instructions?” I asked, getting a piece of paper and a quill.

“Instructions for what?” she asked.

“Instructions for finishing the potions,” I said, quickly scrawling down what to do.

“What do you need those for, can’t you just tell me?” she asked.

“It’s faster if I just give them to you in writing,” I said, finishing up.

“So you want me to finish them for you?” she asked looking it over.

“Yes,” I said, going to the door. “Oh, and if you can’t follow the instructions, just shut it down, I’ll pick it up from where you left off.”

I shut the door and hurried back to Silverwing.

“Ok, now that that’s taken care of, I have the rest of the day off,” I said huffing.

“Yay!” Crystal said.

“Yes, I have the rest of the day to spend with you,” I said.

“Yay,” she said once more before proceeding to run around excitedly.

“So what do you want to do?” I asked.

“Can we run through the halls again?” she asked.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, but we can go through the caverns,” I said.

“Ok,” she said.

I created the old seat out of crystal and let her jump up to it.

“You’re heavier than last time,” I said.

“Can I tag along?” Silverwing asked.

“Sure,” I said, heading out the door.

We walked through the tunnels towards the mine center, passing large formations of crystals and old mining tunnels.

“Well, I haven’t seen you down here in awhile,” Gold Rush said, walking up to us. “And who’s this?”

“This is Crystal, and this is Silverwing,” I said, indicating each in turn.

“So, this is the changeling filly we’ve been hearing about,” he said.

“Yep, that’s me,” she said proudly.

“Well, you don’t look like you’d hurt a fly,” he said, patting her on the head.

“She really wouldn’t,” I said.

“So what brings you down here?” he asked.

“Well, I thought I would show Crystal around the caverns a bit,” I said.

“Well, I can give you a quick tour of the newer tunnels,” he said.

“That sounds like fun,” Crystal said.

“Well then, let’s get you three some hard hats,” he said, walking over to the equipment shed.

We followed him over and he handed one to me and Silverwing.

“Hmm, we don’t have one in your size,” he told Crystal.

I formed a protective covering over the seat, providing a substitute.

“Will this work?” I asked.

“As long as she stays under it,” he shrugged.

We followed him to a set of track and we started following them deeper into the mine.

“I’m surprised there is so much activity here,” I said.

“Well, after you first found the new deposits, we started to explore deeper, and found so many more,” Gold Rush said.

“How old is this mine?” Silverwing asked.

“As far as we know, the original mine was over a hundred years old, but these tunnels are newer,” he said.

“There are so many gems,” Crystal said in awe as we passed cart after cart full of gems of all varieties.

“Yes, there seems to be no end to them,” I said.

“This is a great mountain, and there are many caves and tunnels yet to be explored,” he said.

“So how far does this tunnel go?” Silverwing asked.

“Well, this particular tunnel seems to snake through the mountain on a downward path for quite some ways,” he said.

“Interesting,” I said as yet another cart was being pushed by us.

“Hey, there are the two you brought to me a while ago,” Gold Rush said as they were pushing the cart past us.

“Flim, Flam, you two look better,” I said.

Both of their coats were dirty from mining dust, but they both looked healthier and stronger than when I last saw them.

“Mixer! Thank you for giving us this job,” Flam said.

“Yeah, you’re a lifesaver,” Flim said.

“Well, as you can see, these two have been working hard,” Gold Rush said.

“It sure looks like it,” I said.

“Well, it was nice seeing you, but we have to get back to work,” they said, pushing the cart farther along.

“I wondered about those two at first, but you were right, they proved to be hard workers,” Gold Rush said.

“Who were those ponies?” Crystal asked.

“Two brothers who I helped out. When I found them they were living on the street,” I said.

“And you brought them here?” Silverwing asked.

“I couldn’t leave them out in the cold, besides, it was near Hearth’s Warming Eve,” I said.

“Well, we’re almost there,” Gold Rush said.

“Where?” Crystal asked.

“The miners have taken to calling it the Hall of Mirrors,” he said.

“Ohh, what’s that?” she asked.

“A chamber filled with mirror like crystal formations. It’s really beautiful when you have a colored light,” he said.

“Like this?” I asked, making my horn glow.

“Yes, it creates a rather magical atmosphere,” he said.

“I want to see!” Crystal said.

“Well, here we are,” he said a few seconds later as we stepped into a large cavern.

“Wow,” the three of us said, awed by the sight.

The entire cavern was covered with smooth crystals, each reflecting the ponies moving through it.

The walls near us were reflecting the glow from my horn, giving the area around us a blue hue.

“It’s beautiful,” Silverwing said.

“Yes, but it can get confusing to find the real tunnels from the reflections sometimes,” Gold Rush said.

“So what’s past this?” I asked.

“Just some newer deposits that we found, nothing quite like this,” he said.

“Do you think we could go back now, this is starting to make my head spin,” Silverwing said.

“Yeah, it can have that effect on some ponies,” Gold Rush said.

We walked back along the path we had taken and we finally got back to the hub.

“Well, it was a nice tour, but I guess we’ll be seeing you,” I said.

“Take care of yourselves,” Gold Rush called as we left.

“That was fun,” Crystal said.

“I’m surprised how far they have gotten,” I said.

“Well, I’m just glad to be out of the Hall of Mirrors,” Silverwing said.

“I liked that room the best!” Crystal said.

“It was definitely interesting,” I said.

“Well, it gave me a headache,” Silverwing said.

“Well, we’re almost back home, so you can lay down and take a rest if you need to,” I said.

“I’m fine now,” she said.

“Well, I know you have been watching Crystal for me since I’ve been busy, so I won’t feel bad if you want to take a rest for a bit,” I said.

“No, I’m fine,” she said.

“Alright,” I said.

“Ok,” she said.

“Well, we’re back,” I said, letting Crystal get off the seat before turning it into a small crystal.

“Wow, it didn’t feel like we were down there that long,” Crystal said, looking at the clock on the wall.

“Wow, we spent over an hour down there,” I said.

“It didn’t feel like that long,” Silverwing said.

“Well, now its into the afternoon, and that’s all we did,” I said.

There was a knock at the door.

I walked over and opened the door.

“Your potions are done,” Ivy said.

“Oh, I didn’t think they would be ready so soon,” I said.

“Well, I couldn’t ‘finish’ them, but I thought I would tell you since you got back,” she said.

“Ok, I’ll go check on them,” I said.

“Alright,” she said and walked to the barracks.

“Will you be fine while I go check on them?” I asked Silverwing and Crystal.

“We’ll be fine,” Silver Wing said with a yawn.

“Ok, I’ll be right back,” I said, and left for the workshop.

When I got there, I checked the potions. All of them were finished brewing, and just needed the finishing touches put on them.

I finished and bottled them, then went back to the house.

“Ok, I’m back,” I called as I came through the door.

Silverwing and Crystal were both asleep on the couch, taking a nap.

I suppose I could use one too,” I said to myself and joined them.

When I woke up, I was the only one on the couch.

“Oh, you’re finally awake,” Silverwing said.

“What time is it?” I asked.

“It’s time for dinner,” she said. “We were just about to wake you up.”

“Did I miss anything?” I asked.

“Trottson came by earlier and wanted to know where you were. I just told him that Luna gave you the day off, and that you were taking a nap,” she said.

“Well, at least that’s technically true,” I said.

I got up and stretched a little.

“Well, are you coming?” Silverwing asked.

“Yeah,” I said, finishing my stretch.

We ate our dinner, and then I got up and started to leave.

“Where are you going?” Silverwing asked.

“I’m going to take my shift,” I said.

“But you have the day off,” Silverwing said.

“Yeah, but I thought I would give whoever is on duty a break,” I said, heading out the door.

I rode up the lift and walked to Luna’s chambers.

“What are you doing here?” Starshine asked.

“I’m here to relieve you two,” I said to him and Brick.

“But we just started our shift,” Brick protested.

“Then you can stay if you want,” I told him.

“Thanks,” Star Shine said, leaving.

“So what prompted that?” Brick asked.

“I can’t stand doing nothing, and I won’t be able to sleep tonight,” I responded.

He just shrugged.

We spent the rest of our shift just standing there, saying nothing.

When morning came around I was tired, but Brick was as stolid as ever.

“Do you ever sleep?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he said.

“Then how can you be so awake?” I asked.

“I sleep during the day when I have to,” he said.

“You’ll have to teach me to do that sometime,” I said.

“Can’t you just use some sort of sleep spell?” he asked.

“If I knew one I could,” I said.

“Then learn one,” he said.

“I could if I wanted, but I prefer natural sleep,” I said.

“Fair enough,” he said.

Just then, the door opened and Sombra stepped out.

“Are you two going to keep talking all day?” he asked groggily.

“I didn’t know that you slept in the same room as Luna,” I said.

“Oh, Mixer. I thought Star was on duty,” he said with a yawn.

“He was, but I relieved him last night,” I said.

“Oh,” he yawned.

“So why were you in Luna’s room last night?” I asked.

“We were watching the stars,” he paused for a yawn, “and I fell asleep.”

“Sure,” I said raising an eyebrow.

His face turned red, “It’s not like that!”

“Lighten up, I’m just teasing,” I said.

“You better be,” he said, now more awake.

“Sombra, I’m sure you woke the entire castle with your yelling,” Luna complained sleepily from inside.

“Sorry,” he called back.

“Well, now that I’m up, you might as well tell Mixer the news,” she said.

“What news?” I asked.

“That Discord is already reformed, and that Celestia would go get him shortly after raising the sun,” he said.

“Already?” I asked in disbelief.

“Yes, Fluttershy proved to be quite adept at reforming Discord,” he said.

“So he’s on his way here now?” I asked.

“Yeah, Celestia would have already went to get him,” Sombra said.

I took off towards the throne room, leaving Sombra to call after me.

I ran past a few guards, but all they did was get out of the way.

When I slid to a stop in the throne room the door started to open.

“So what do you have planned for me now that we’re on the same side Tia?” Discord asked Celestia as they walked in.

“I told you not to call me that,” she said.

“What? We're friends now right?” he asked in that signature Discord tone.

“Discord!” I said challengingly.

“Oh, Mixer, still playing guard pony I see,” Discord said.

“And I see you’re just as smug as ever,” I said as we walked closer to each other. “What’s the matter, got a chip on your shoulder?”

Celestia got ready to break up a fight as we glared at each other.

After a few seconds we both broke up laughing.

“Discord, you old such and such. How have you been?” I asked.

“Oh, you know how being a statue is, though I did rather enjoy the past day,” he said giving a little stretch.

“Remember when we first met?” I asked.

“Ah yes, you thought you could trick me with some poison joke,” he said.

I laughed, “Yeah, I didn’t have a clue how to get you to drink it though.”

He snapped his fingers and a glass appeared in his hand, accompanied by a small cotton candy cloud.

I created a crystal glass of my own.

“Fill her up?” I asked.

He obliged by moving the small cloud.

Celestia just stood there dumbfounded while Discord and I had a toast of chocolate milk.

Discord started laughing, “What’s wrong Tia, didn’t think we could get along?”

“Discord was the first one I met when I got to Equestria, having him be on our side is like a reunion with an old friend,” I said.

She just stared at us, mouth hanging open while Discord refilled his glass.

“I think we broke her,” I whispered to Discord.

“But...” she said lamely.

While she stood there trying to make sense of it, I took a chunk out of the cloud with magic and proceeded to snack on it.

Discord started laughing uncontrollably, “If I’d know it was that easy to stump you Tia, I would have made friends a long time ago.”

“And now I don’t have to worry, because now you’re with us,” I said finishing my cloudy treat.

“So now you’re friends with Discord?” she asked.

“Why not? Free chocolate milk, the occasional crazy prank, and the best actor in all of Equestria? What’s not to like?” I asked.

“Aw, you’re too kind,” Discord said.

“The only reason I was mad was because I was worried if your plan failed,” I said, refilling my own glass.

I don’t know if it was the situation catching up to her, or just plain confusion, but Celestia just started laughing.

“That’s the spirit Tia,” Discord said, making another glass and filling it.

“It’s good to see you two getting along so well,” she said, wiping a tear from her eye, and taking the glass with her magic.

“To Discord,” I said, holding up my glass.

“To Discord,” Celestia giggled.

“To me,” Discord said, completing the toast.

“There you are,” Sombra said, walking in with Luna.

“Tia, are you toasting with Discord?” Luna asked.

I made two more glasses with crystal and filled them.

“Have a glass,” I said, passing them the glasses.

“So, I take it everything’s alright?” Sombra asked, downing his glass.

“Yes, it’s all good,” I said.

“That’s wonderful news,” Luna said, sipping some of her’s.

“Well, I’m off,” I said.

“Where are you going?” Celestia asked.

“To take care of something,” I replied and left, finishing my glass.

I walked through the castle to the lift, riding it down to the cavern.

When I reached the bottom I was greeted by Ivy and Trottson, going to take their shift.

“What’s going on?” Ivy asked.

“Discord is back and reformed,” I said cheerfully.

“Well, that’s good to hear I guess,” Trottson said.

“Well, have fun,” I said, passing them and heading to the workshop.

When I got there I wrote a letter and set it aside before going to work on my special surprise for Soulless.

Chasing Rainbows

View Online

The Mixer Chronicles

Book Twenty Two:
Chasing Rainbows

It was the day after Discord was reformed and I was on my way to the workshop when Soulless stopped me.

“You said that you wanted to see me?” he asked.

“Yes, you have an meeting with Rainbow Dash by Saddle Lake later,” I said.

“Wait, what?” he asked, stopping in his tracks.

“Oh, and I have a little surprise for you,” I said, opening the workshop.

“What?” he asked following me in.

I went into the back room and slid a hoverboard across the floor.

“This should allow you to fly with Rainbow Dash, and possibly show off a bit,” I said.

The board was made of laminated wood, with three crystals embedded into the bottom with levitations enchantments. The board had a base coat of white, with two red stripes running down it with black lines bordering them.

“How do I use it?” he asked.

If you want to go up higher, then channel magic into the crystals, and it will rise. If you let it go, it will go back to hovering height,” I said.

“Any more surprises you’d like to throw at me?” he asked, picking up the board.

“No, now, take off your cloak and give me your hidden blade,” I said.

“Ok...” he said weakly, undoing the straps and handing the mechanism to me.

“Wow, this is remarkable,” I said.

“Well, don’t go fiddling with it while I’m gone,” he said, taking off his cloak.

“Alright, I won’t tinker with it,” I said.

“You better not,” he said, folding his cloak and setting it down on a table.

“Well, you better go, don’t want to be late for the first date do we,” I said, pushing him towards the door.

“It’s not a date,” he complained heading out the door.

After he was gone I went back and examined the mechanism.

It was simple sheath with a blade that locked into position when fully extended. There was no visible mechanism to extend the blade so I assumed he did it through magic. At the base of the blade there was a small dull gem socketed into the blade.

“Hmm, I’ll have to take a closer look at this later,” I said, putting it aside.

I planned on watching him test out my newest invention from Canterlot with a telescope.

I went up to the surface and set it up near the edge closest to Ponyville and watched as the train steamed towards it.

I turned the telescope towards Saddle Lake and searched for Soulless or Rainbow Dash.
--

Soulless had been a little concerned ever since he left his hidden blade with me, but he was confident enough in his abilities that he could handle most situations. Talking to Rainbow Dash, however was not one of those situations.

Rainbow Dash was there before he was, and had set up a chair and was soaking up some rays.

“Heh, I was wondering if you were going to show up,” she said, looking over at him.

“Well, I had to get this from Mixer, he wants me to test it,” he said, laying the board down.

“Why does he need you to test a surfboard? There aren’t even any waves today,” Rainbow said.

As soon as she finished, Soulless let the board hover a foot off the ground.

“Because, this is a hoverboard,” he said.

He attempted to get on it, but found that every time he tried to put his weight on it, the board would slide away from him.

Rainbow snickered as he attempted this a few more times.

Finally, he held it in place with magic while he got on it.

“So, you finally got on it. Now what?” Rainbow asked.

Soulless cast a spell to keep his hooves attached to the board before making it rise up a few feet.

“So, you think you can fly now huh?” Rainbow asked.

“Well, I don’t think ‘flying’ is the right term, but yes,” he said, leaning forward, making the board move forward.

After getting the hang of the movement of the board, Soulless came back to a rest by Rainbow Dash.

“Think you can keep up?” Rainbow Dash asked, stretching her wings.

“We shall see,” he said before raising the board another foot.

“Don’t worry, I’ll go easy on you,” she said preparing to take off.

They both got into a starting position by the lake.

“On your mark,” Rainbow said.

“Get set...” Soulless said.

“GO!” they said in unison, taking off over the lake.

Rainbow led with Soulless not too far behind her, keeping the board at a steady altitude.

She did a shallow banking turn and Soulless followed easily.

“Ready to kick it up a notch?” she called behind her, gaining speed.

Soulless leaned farther forward to keep up.

Rainbow Dash decided to put him through his paces, slowly at first, then quickly changing altitude.

Souless was able to keep up with the changes in altitude, but was slower than Rainbow at turning.

“Still back there?” she asked, turning around and flying backwards.

Soulless took that opportunity to put on some extra speed and pass under her.

“Hey!” she said, turning around and giving chase.

Soulless had to put more power into the board to keep it stable at high speed, but managed to stay just ahead of Rainbow Dash.

“What’s wrong, can’t keep up?” he called back.
--

“What’cha doing?” Silverwing asked me.

“Watching a test,” I said, keeping the telescope trained on the pair of aerial acrobats.

“A test?” she asked.

“Yes, I gave Soulless a gift, and ‘m watching it in action,” I said.

I created a crystal spyglass and handed it to her.

“Look,” I said.
--

Souless and Rainbow Dash were starting to do some aerial maneuvers now. Barrel rolls, corkscrews, dives and climbs, even a few stall drops.

“You’re pretty good, I’ll have to admit,” Rainbow said, flying next to Soulless during a straight away.

“You’re not bad yourself,” he said, doing a roll over to her other side.

“You ready to show what you’ve got?” she asked.

“See if you can keep up,” he said, going into a steep climb.

Rainbow Dash met his climb, and the two of them started spiraling around each other.

After climbing far up into the clouds, Soulless let go of the spell keeping him planted to the board and dropped.

He dropped in freefall, the board slightly ahead of him, while Rainbow Trailed behind, trying to catch him. He did a few spins while he was falling and Rainbow started to get more speed, leaving a telltale rainbow trail behind her. As the water approached, Soulless reconnected with his board, and pulled up just above the water, sending up water on either side of him while Rainbow Dash followed behind him.

The end result was a trio of rainbows just over the lake, ending at the shore where the two of them were now resting.

“You sure got some moves kid,” Rainbow huffed.

“You too,” he said, only slightly winded.

“I misjudged you Soul, you’re pretty cool,” she said.

“Thanks,” he said.

“We should do this again sometime,” she said, sitting down in the chair she had left before.

“Whenever you want to,” he said.

Rainbow Gave a yawn and reclined in her chair.

“Well, it’s been fun, but I’m gonna catch some sleep now,” she said.

“Ok then,” Soulless said and left.
--

“Well, I think that went well,” I said to Silverwing, leaving the telescope.

“Wow,” she said.

“I know, the board was a resounding success,” I said.

“That wasn’t what I was talking about,” she said.

“Oh, that. I suppose that their meeting went swimmingly as well,” I said.

“Do you really think that they will work out?” she asked.

“Anything is possible,” I said, packing up the telescope.

“That’s it?” she asked.

“Well, I hope it works out. He really needs something like this to help him get used to how society works,” I said.

“So what now?” Silverwing asked.

“Now, I have to go prepare for his return,” I said, walking away.

I went to the caverns and immediately went to the workshop.

I started hastily drawing the mechanism for the hidden blade, keeping it for later.

Just as I finished putting it away, Soulless walked through the door.

“So, how’d it go?” I asked, pretending like I didn’t already know.

“It went well,” he said, setting the board down on the table. “This preformed great,”

“Great. Now, here are your things back,” I said, handing him the cloak and hidden blade.

“Thank you,” he said, strapping the blade on and throwing the cloak over his shoulders.

“You’re welcome,” I said.

“I’ll see you later I guess,” he said.

“Sure,” I said, looking around for some spare parts.

It was a week after Soulless and Rainbow Dash had met at Saddle lake. He had made significant improvements to his attitude and was starting to warm up to everypony.

That made that night even harder. Celestia came to me while Soulless was out with Rainbow Dash.

“Mixer, we have to talk,” she said.

“About what?” I asked.

“About dealing with Soulless,” she said.

I sighed, “I’ll take care of it tonight. You know, it would be nice to have more time, but I have enough in place to minimize the repercussions.”

“See to it that you do,” she said and left.

I was waiting in one of the courtyards in the castle just after dark.

“You wanted to see me?” Soulless asked, almost invisible in the gloom.

“Yeah, Luna wanted me to go on a patrol around the mountain tonight, and I wanted to bring you along,” I said.

“Why would you need to patrol?” he asked.

“There was a report of possible parasprites in the forest at the base of the mountain. If they are true, then we need to get rid of them before they become a nuisance,” I said.

“So why us?” he asked.

“Because, parasprites are easier to find at night because they’re inactive. Plus, you probably are better at seeing in the dark than I am,” I said.

“So let’s go then,” he said.

I created a crystal board and we started our “search”.

We were just getting out of view of Canterlot when I created a crystal to store the soul.

“What’s that for?” he asked.

“I’m sorry,” I said, as I started the drain, casting a sleep spell at the same time to lessen the pain.

He let out a small grunt before passing out.

“I’m sorry...” I said again once the drain was complete.

I flew us to the open hangar door where Ivy and Trottson were waiting for me.

“Is it done?” Trottson asked.

“Yes,” I said getting of the board, but leaving Soulless laying on it.

“I can’t imagine that he will take this well,” Ivy said.

I took the hidden blade off of him, “Take him to the barracks. Ivy, when he wakes up, don’t let on that you know anything, but tell us as soon as you can. Oh, and don’t stop him if he wants to leave,” I said.

“Alright,” she said, picking him up gently.

“Trottson, you go tell Luna and Celestia that it’s done,” I said.

“Right,” he said, trotting towards the lift.

“What about you and the others?” Ivy asked.

“I’ll be in the workshop for a while, the others are not to be let into the barracks until Soulless is out of there,” I said.

“Ok,” she said, carrying Soulless towards the barracks.

I went to the workshop and began disassembling the hidden blade, separating the parts and putting them into a saddle bag. I took special care with the hidden blade, encasing it in crystal.

After I had the blade all in pieces, I double checked the lock on my house before heading up the lift to meet Luna.

When I approached, I saw Brick and Phalanx guarding the door.

“Luna’s expecting you,” Phalanx said, motioning to the door.

I entered and saw that Star Shine, Rose, Trottson and Thunderlane were with Luna and Sombra.

“There you are,” Luna said.

“I see everypony is here,” I said.

“Yes, Ivy sent us here,” Rose said.

“Good,” I said.

“So what is this all about?” Star Shine asked.

“As you know, Soulless was part of that group that I got rid of,” I stared. “He had an augmentation, but until now I let it go. Tonight I drained his augmentation, and now he’s asleep in the barracks.”

These was silence, coupled with some uncomfortable shifting.

“What are you going to do when he wakes up?” Rose asked.

“That all depends on what he does,” I said.

“Well, he won’t be awake until tomorrow, correct?” Luna asked.

“Right, the spell and the fatigue from the drain should keep him out for a while,” I said.

“Then you all may stay here for the night. There’s no sense in you all staying up all night,” Luna said.

“Are you sure?” I asked.

“Yes. I wouldn't mind some company for the night,” she said.

“Alright,” I said.

“I suppose I should get some pillows and blankets for all of you,” Sombra said, going off to another room.

“So... are we sleeping in a group or something?” Thunderlane asked.

“Whatever you want to do I guess,” I said.

“Ok, this is what we’ve got,” Sombra said, lugging a large bundle of pillows and blankets in with him.

We each took a blanket and a pillow and split off. Star Shine and Rose curled up together, sharing a large blanket. Thunderlane and Trottson each took one and chose separate ends of the room to sleep in. Sombra and Luna got the bed, while I took my blanket and pillow and went to the balcony.

I checked the components for the hidden blade before going to sleep in the cool night air.
--

Soulless woke with a start.

He felt sore all over from the drain.

“Oh good, you’re awake,” Ivy said from a table a short distance away.

Soulless sat up and looked around the barracks.

“You should lie down,” Ivy said, grabbing a bowl with some cereal in it.

He got up and took another look around.

“What’s going on?” he asked sharply.

“Mixer brought you back from patrol last night. He said there was some kind of accident,” Ivy bluffed.

“Where are my things?” he asked again, declining the bowl.

“I think Mixer has them,” Ivy said, setting the bowl down.

Soulless got a dark look in his eye.

“You should get some more rest, you were pretty banged up,” Ivy said, trying to get him to calm down a bit.

“No, it’s better if I stretch my legs,” he said forcefully.

Ivy stood aside as he stalked out of the barracks.

Soulless went to the lift and rode up it, making himself invisible.
--

I was one of the first awake.

Brick and Phalanx were now where Trottson and Thunderlane had been. Rose and Star Shine were both still curled up together, while Luna and Sombra were both on the bed snoring.

I didn’t want to wake them up, so I quietly opened the door, meeting Trottson and Thunderlane.

“You’re up,” Trottson said.

“Yeah, I didn’t want to wake any of the others,” I said.

“Well, we just got a note from Ivy saying that he’s awake,” Thunderlane said.

“Well, I guess we’ll be dealing with him soon then,” I said.

“Yeah, I’m just worried about what he’ll do,” Trottson said.

“Well, he is a highly skilled ex assassin,” I said.

I could've sworn at that moment I felt something brush my flank.

“But I don’t think that he can do much damage without his hidden blade,” I finished.

“Um, what did you say you did with that again,” Thunderlane said, leaning slightly to the right.

“I put it in my...” I trailed off, feeling my saddle bag get lighter. “No you don’t,” I said, snatching the blade with magic.

Thunderlane started to go after the retreating hoovesteps but I stopped him.

“Let him go. The last thing we want is to have a fight with him,” I said.

“Are you sure?” Trottson asked.

“Yes. I’m sure we’ll see him again soon,” I said.

Moon's Rising

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The Mixer Chronicles

Book Twenty Three:
Moon’s Rising

“What do you mean he’s gone?” Celestia questioned.

“He took some of the components for his hidden blade and left. There is no trace as to where he could have gone,” I said.

“Mixer, I know it must have been hard to do that to him, but it had to be done,” Luna said, trying to make things seem a bit better.

“I know it had to be done, and I took care of it. For now, I think we just need to give him time to cool off,” I said.

Celestia sighed, “Very well. It is the least we can do since you took care of the augmentation.”

“Thank you,” I said.

“Now there is another matter that you need to attend to,” Luna said.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Tonight you and the Lunar guard are to go to Ponyville and meet Applejack at Sweet Apple Acres. There have been reports of strange sounds in the night, and some things have gone missing,” Luna said.

“We still can’t use the airship yet,” I said.

“Then you can take the train,” Celestia said.

“Alright then, I’ll inform the others,” I said.

I turned and walked away.

It was just past noon, and I was still a little concerned as to where Soulless had gone.

“So, how did it go?” Trottson asked.

“We have a new assignment,” I said.

“Don’t tell me we have to track him down,” he said.

“Don’t worry, we just have to go investigate some strange reports around Sweet Apple Acres,” I said.

He let out a breath, “That’s good, some easy work will be good for the team.”

“Yeah, they haven’t had any real action in a while,” I said.

We walked down a few corridors until we were at a courtyard that we had designated as a meeting point.

“Listen up everypony,” I started. “We have an assignment.”

“What kind of assignment?” Thunderlane asked.

“We’ll be investigating some strange reports around Sweet Apple Acres,” I said.

“That’s it?” Brick asked.

“Yeah,” I said.

“Well, at least it’s better than guard duty,” Star Shine said.

“Yeah, we actually have some time in the field,” Ivy said.

“Well, since we can’t use the airship, we will be taking the train,” I said.

“So when do we leave?” Phalanx asked.

“As soon as all of you are ready,” I said.

“Then let’s go,” Brick said.

“I have to get something before we leave, but the rest of you can head to the train station,” I said.

“Alright,” Trottson said, taking the rest of them to the train station.

I went to the cavern to grab something from my workshop.

As I walked to the workshop I noticed scratch marks on my house door.

I sighed, “I’m glad I made that door thick,” I said as I opened the workshop door.

I grabbed a bundle from one of the work tables and left, checking to make sure Soulless wasn’t hanging around. Satisfied that he wasn’t I headed up the lift and to the train station.

“So what was it you had to grab?” Ivy asked.

“Oh, just a little something,” I said.

“Well, any longer and the train would have left without you,” Thunderlane said.

“Well, I’m here now, so I hope the train gets a move on,” I said.

As if on cue, the train started to move, and soon we were on our way to Ponyville.

“So do we have anything to go on for these ‘strange reports’,” Phalanx asked.

“Just that there have been strange noises and missing items,” I said.

“What do you think it could be?” Rose asked.

“Maybe some timberwolves getting too close to town,” Thunderlane suggested.

“Maybe,” I said shrugging.

"Well, we’ll find out soon enough,” Trottson said as we neared Ponyville.

When the train pulled into the station, we got off and headed towards Sweet Apple Acres.

“Hey, what are you all doing in town?” Pinkie asked as we passed her.

“We’re here to investigate some strange reports around Sweet Apple Acres,” I said.

“Okie dokie lokie,” she said and trotted off.

“She’s entirely too upbeat,” Brick said.

“You get used to it,” I shrugged, and we continued on.

We soon made it to the Apple farm, and were greeted by Applejack and Big Mac.

“Howdy y’all, glad you could get here on such short notice,” Applejack said as we walked up.

“We would have been here sooner, but the airship is undergoing, renovations,” I said.

“Well, thanks anyways,” she said.

“So what seems to be the problem?” Thunderlane asked.

“We’ve been hearin some strange things from the forest lately, and some of our stuff is missin too,” she said.

“Do you have any idea what could be making these noises?” Ivy asked.

“Well, the only thing that gets close enough to the farm to make that much noise is a pack of timberwolves, but they sound different,” Applejack said.

“Well, we’re here to investigate, so when it gets dark we’ll start our search,” I said.

“In the meantime, do you have anything that we can help with?” Rose asked.

“Well, if y’all want ta help, then we could use some help buckin apples,” she said.

“I think I can handle that,” Brick said.

“Eeyup,” Mac said as the two large stallions headed out to the fields.

“Anything else?” Ivy asked.

“Well, I can’t think of much else, unless y’all want to help with the chores,” she said.

“Might as well,” Star Shine sighed.

“Trottson, you and Thunderlane take a look around from the air, see if you can see anything out of the ordinary,” I said.

“On it,” Thunderlane said with a quick salute before taking off.

“Oh, I got an an idea,” Applejack said.

“What?” I asked.

“Why don’t you go ask Carrot Top if she’s seen anything. She lives just over there,” Applejack said pointing to a carrot farm just over a hill.

“Rose and I can handle that,” Ivy said.

“That just leaves me and you , Phalanx,” I said.

“I’ll go see if Brick needs some help,” Phalanx said, flying off towards where Brick and Big Mac had left.

“Guess it’s just you,” Applejack said.

“I guess I’ll help you and Star with the chores,” I said.

“Well, with three of us it shouldn’t take long,” Applejack said.

After finishing the chores, Star and I flopped down on the grass.

“How do you do that by yourself, everyday?!” Star questioned huffing.

“Do you mean aside from having done it since she was a little filly?” I countered catching my breath.

“I wonder if Brick is this exhausted?” Star asked.

“Looks like Mac found himself a new friend,” Applejack said as the two of them came back lugging two huge cartfulls of apples, Phalanx laying on top of one of them.

“Eeyup,” Brick and Mac said together.

“How you doin Phalanx?” I called up to the pegasus.

“I don’t know how those two can do it, let alone make a contest out of it,” he said, rolling off the large pile of apples.

Brick and Mac laughed.

“It’s good hard work,” Brick said.

“I’m glad somepony enjoyed it,” Star said.

“Do you need a little shower?” Thunderlane asked, lounging on a cloud.

“Hey! I’ve been working my feathers off bucking apples and you get to lounge around?” Phalanx questioned.

Thunderlane was about to make a comeback when Trottson bucked the cloud, causing it to shock him.

“I told you to check back with Mixer, not take a break,” he said, annoyed.

“Sorry,” Thunderlane said, “It’s just nice being back in Ponyville.”

“Well, you’re still here to do a job,” I said.

“Yeah I know,” he said apologetically.

“Hey, here comes Ivy and Rose,” Brick said.

“Did you find anything?” I asked.

“No, she didn’t have any more information than the Apples did,” Rose said shaking her head.

“Well, it’ll be dark soon, so why don’t all of you come inside and have some supper,” Applejack said.

“Will it be ok with Granny Smith?” Thunderlane asked.

“Oh, I’m sure she won’t mind, after all, you did help out at the farm today,” she said.

“That’s sounds good,” I said.

We went inside and Granny Smith prepared a great big dinner for all of us, saying that she was glad that we were all helping out.

After we were done with dinner, we went outside and split up patrols.

“Ok, so there is a lot of ground to cover, so we’ll split up into three teams,” I said. “Applejack and Big Mac, you can take Rose with you. Ivy, you go with Thunderlane, Star Shine and Phalanx. Trottson, you and Brick are with me,” I finished.

“Why don’t I go with Rose and the Apples?” Star asked.

“Because, I want each team to have a unicorn to provide light,” I said.

“Alright,” he said.

“If anything happens, signal the nearest group,” I said.

“Alright,” they said and headed off in their respective directions.

“We’re going to check the south field,” I said.

“After you,” Trottson said.

We walked towards the farthest point from the barn and began our search.

“So what have you been carrying around with you this whole time?” Brick asked.

“Oh, just something I brought incase we happen to run into Soulless,” I said.

“You were expecting to run into him here?” Brick questioned.

“I was hoping not to, but with him you never know,” I said.

“Wait what was that?” Trottson said, dropping lower.

There were some growling sounds in the tree line, accompanied by a pungent odor.

“Timberwolves,” Brick growled.

Five of them stalked out from the trees, with a few more lurking in the shadows.

“That’s a lot of timberwolves,” I said, creating a wrist blade from crystal.

“And looks like there are more,” Trottson said, pointing deeper into the forest where more could be seen chasing a flitting light source.

“I hope that the others will smell this before this gets too hairy,” I said.
--

“There are so many!” Applejack cried as six timberwolves came out from the trees.

“Eeyup,” Big Mac said getting protectively in front of Rose, who was looking terrified.
--

“Take that you pile of twigs!” Thunderlane shouted as he came down on a timberwolf, sending wood scraps flying.

It sounds like the same this with the others,” Phalanx said, looking to the blue colored lights in either direction.

“Then we need to help them,” Ivy said, beating a timberwolf back.

“What about us?” Star Shine asked, tossing one with his magic.
--

I slashed at a timberwolf as it lunged at me and sent it whining away, a gash along its wooden muzzle.

The flitting light was now heading this way, pursued by three timberwolves.

“Take this!” Brick cried as he bucked on into another.

“Why did you do that?” I yelled as the two of them formed into a larger one.

“Whoops,” he said, slamming another one to bits.

The light was now almost to the tree line and I could make out the silhouette of a pony.

Trottson dropped onto the back of the larger timberwolf and started beating on the back of its head. It started running around trying to shake him off.

“Brick help him out,” I called as I went to meet the oncoming pony.

He was wearing a cloak, but I could still tell that it was Soulless who was running from the timberwolves.

He slid to a halt just in front of me and turned around. I could hear the sound of his hidden blade extend.

“How’ve you been?” I asked as I turned around to face two more timberwolves.

He didn’t reply, only back closer to me until we were back to back.

“As talkative as ever,” I said, making another wrist blade. “Oh and take this,” I said tossing the tightly wrapped bundle I had into the air.

He slashed at a lunging timberwolf and grabbed it out of the air.

I swiped at another and rolled over him, blocking another as it went for him.

He shredded the wrap and it unveiled a gauntlet with a swirling pattern in the metal, with a gem placed in the center.

“Thought it might make for a better sorry,” I said as he put the gauntlet on and extended the hidden blade within. “Oh, and lux,” I said, making the gem on the gauntlet glow with yellow light, illuminating the area.

I heard Soulless grunt as he started going on the offensive.

I did the same and soon both of us were a whirlwind of slashes and stabs, pushing the timberwolves back.

I looked over once they had retreated or broken at Brick and Trotson, now both trying to wrestle with the beast.

“How are we supposed to deal with this thing?” Brick yelled as he held onto a swinging back leg.

Soulless dashed up and plunged both of his blades into what would be it’s throat.

It shuddered and then fell to pieces.

“The new blade is different,” was all that he said, examining the blade in the shine of the gauntlet.

“It’s a bit thicker for parrying and for penetration,” I said.

He went invisible but the light from the gauntlet gave away his position.

“At least help us with the rest of them,” I said, heading towards the next group of fighting.

“Fine,” he growled, becoming visible again.

Brick, you and Trottson go help the Apples, Soulless and I will help the others.

“Right,” Trottson said, flying off.

“I think I’ll just follow you, and then let Phalanx and Thunderlane go help the Apples and Trottson,” Brick said.

We rushed over to the others who were having a better time.

“And don’t come back!” Thunderlane yelled as a timberwolf ran from him.

Brick jumped at one and crushed it, grunting as he pulled twigs out of his armor.

“Phalanx, you and Thunderlane go help the Apples,” I said.

“Got it,” Thunderlane said, taking off, while Phalanx wrestled with a timberwolf.

Soulless dashed over to the timberwolf and slashed at where would be its joints, and it howled in pain.

“Thanks,” Phalanx said, getting up.

Soulless just went over and finished off the timberwolf.

Star threw another one clear to the trees, and the rest followed as Brick chased after them.

“We have to help the others, looks like they have a bigger problem,” I said.

“Rose!” Star said, as he heard her scream.

The four of us charged through the trees, our way lit by three orbs of light.

They were fighting two larger timberwolves, and a third massive one, almost three times the size of Rose, who it was bearing down on.

I picked up Soulless with my magic and tossed him at the beast.

He did a flip in the air to steady himself, then stuck both of his blades into it’s muzzle hanging there for a few seconds.

This gave Star Shine enough time to pull Rose to safety with his magic.

“Thanks,” she said as Star pulled her close.

I created a few spikes of crystal and threw them at the smaller ones, dazing them while the others beat them back.

Soon it was us against one very large, very angry timberwolf.

“Any ideas?” Brick asked.

I threw him on top of it with my magic, “Yeah, start beating on it!”

The pegasi got on top of it as well, while the rest of us harassed it.

After a minute or so of it thrashing about Brick finally fell off of it.

“Ok, this thing is too big,” he said as he got back up.

“And I can’t penetrate deep enough to kill it,” Soulless said.

I created a few long spikes of crystal, and spread them amongst the unicorns.

“Try to pin it down,” I called.

I jammed a spike through it’s foot into the ground.

I howled in pain and turned to me while Soulless jammed another in it’s back foot.

Star and Rose couldn’t penetrate it, but they distracted it so I could create a bunch of long thick poles of crystal.

“I get it, pen it in,” Applejack said.

I nodded, concentrating on keeping enough of them coming to cage it in.

After a few moments it was surrounded by poles of crystal and had a solid roof over its head.

“Well, that takes care of that,” I huffed.

“Great, now what about the rest?” Trottson asked.

“They shouldn’t come back,” I said.

“Great, now can you get this thing to turn off,” Soulless said.

“Fine, lux,” I said, and the gem dimmed.

“Thanks,” he said, turning invisible.

“You can’t be able to do that for long,” I said.

“Oh really?” he said, still invisible.

“Lux,” I said, and his gauntlet lit up.

“Fine,” he said, becoming invisible.

“Do you think we can sleep in the barn tonight Applejack?” I asked.

“Sure, it’s the least we can do for you since you helped us out,” she said.

I noticed that Soulless had disappeared again.

“Lux”I shouted, and a slight ways off he light up.

“Would you stop doing that!” he yelled.

“Just get over here,” I called.

The light walked over to us.

“Just, let me apologize, then you can go off and do whatever,” I said.

He became visible, “Alright.”

“I’m sorry for what I did, but Celestia forced me to. I really didn’t want to have to do it, especially since, you know, but I’m sorry. And the command for the light is ‘lux’, simply say it and it will switch it on and off. I figured that you might like something like that, plus the gauntlet is more armored,” I said.

He didn’t say anything, just tested it out.

“Are you comin?” Applejack asked as they headed toward the barn.

“Yeah,” I said, following the others.

When we got to the barn, Applejack and Big Mac separated some hay into mats for us to sleep on.

“I know it’s not as good as a proper bed, but it’s better than sleepin on the floor,” she said.

“Thanks,” I said, fluffing up my own hay mattress.

All of us laid down to sleep even Soulless.

“Good night y’all,” Applejack said, closing the door.

I fell asleep soon after that.

Soulless was the first on up. He was also the first to leave.

When I woke up, he was nowhere to be found.

“Well, I suppose I couldn’t expect any less from him,” I said to myself.

“Hmm?” somepony mumbled, rolling over.

“Oh, nothing,” I said.

“Well, now that I’m awake, I might as well stretch,” Phalanx said.

“Ugh, sleeping in armor is rough,” Thunderlane said.

“Mornin everypony, we brought you breakfast,” Applejack said, carrying plates of steaming food.

“Yum, breakfast,” Ivy said.

We ate quickly, all of us hungry after last night’s fight.

“I sent Apple Bloom over to Twi’s,” Applejack said. “I figured maybe she could explain why so many of em were around last night.”

“Yeah, they normally don’t run in such big packs,” Thunderlane said.

“Hmm, that is unusual,” I said.

We waited a few minutes until Twilight arrived with spike and two saddlebags full of books.

“Ok, where is it?” she asked.

“Out back,” Applejack said.

“Let’s go then,” she said.

We took her to the large cage that I had made, where the timberwolf was laying down.

“Wow, that’s one big timberwolf,” she said, pulling out one of her books.

“Yeah, that was my bad,” Thunderlane said.

“How many did you knock together?” she asked.

“Four...” he said.

“Well, that explains the size,” she said, looking through her book.

“Does it say anything on why there were so many?” Applejack asked.

“No. They shouldn’t be in packs of more than five, but from your description, there were over twenty,” she said.

“Anything in there about how to get rid of him?” I asked.

“Yes, there is a spell in here that undoes this kind of amalgamation,” she said flipping through another book.

“So will it just split them up?” Trottson asked.

“Yes, but then they can be taken care of easily,” she said finding the spell.

She prepared the spell, then cast it on the large timberwolf.

It barked and howled, and fell apart, reforming into four regular sized ones.

“Applejack, how do you want us to deal with them?” I asked.

“Well, it wouldn’t be right to just put em down,” she said.

“Alright then, we will have a team come and relocate them deep into the Everfree,” I said.

“Thanks,” she said.

“Well, We have to report back to the castle now,” I said, turning to leave.

Just then Spike produced a letter from Celestia.

“It’s addressed to you,” Spike said to me.

“To me?” I asked reading the letter.

Dear Mixer,

An issue has arisen, and I require you to return to the castle immediately. The airship will be ready when you get back.

“Well then, let’s shake it, the princess needs us back now,” I said rolling the scroll up and handing it to Spike.

We hurried to the train station and got on.

“What do you think’s wrong now?” Ivy asked.

“Do you think it’s Soulless?” Brick asked.

“I doubt that Soulless is the cause. She said that the airship would be ready for us when we got there, so it must be somewhere else,” I said.

“Where would there be trouble? Most of Equestria has been better than ever lately,” Trottson said.

“The only place that there could be trouble that would need us to use the airship would be Saddle Arabia, or the Crystal Empire,” I said.

“Then it must be serious,” Rose said.

“Well, we’ll find out soon, the train is moving faster than usual,” I said.

We arrived shortly in Canterlot and hurried to the Castle.

“Good, you have arrived,” Celestia said when we arrived.

She and Luna had been talking until we arrived.

“What do you need us to do?” I asked.

“We have received word that the Saddle Arabians are under siege from the minotaurs. You and Luna will go to assist them,” she said.

“Right away,” I said, leading the way to the cavern lift.

“What is she talking about?” Ivy asked as we ran.

“I was in Saddle Arabia before, and I helped them repel an attack by a tribe of minotaurs. They must have come back, and now have the city under siege,” I said.

“You’ve been to Saddle Arabia before?” Rose asked.

“He was the one who discovered Saddle Arabia,” Luna said.

“Wow,” she said.

Once we got to the lift, we went down and hurried to the hangar.

“The ship is already,” Clockwork said as we boarded.

“Where is Sombra?” I asked Luna.

“He had to go to the Crystal Empire to help Cadence and Shining Armor with some building problems,” she said.

“Oh, well I was hoping to have him along with us,” I said, going to the wheelhouse.
Luna and Star got the door as Thunderlane and Brick went down to the engine room.

“Brick, after you check the engine room, go and evaluate the cannon,” I called into the comm crystal.

“Ready to go,” Thunderlane said from the engine room.

“Hold on,” I said, easing the airship out of the hangar.

Soon the airship was clear of the hangar and turning towards the south.

“Going full throttle,” I said over the comm crystals.

I pushed the throttle to full and held onto the wheel as we lurched forward.

“How long do you think it will take to get there?” Thunderlane asked from the engine room.

“We should reach the city by tomorrow at this pace,” I said.

“Well, we might have to extend that by a bit, because I’m not sure the engines could take that the whole way,” he said.

“We’ll deal with that when the time comes. Brick how is the cannon?” I asked.

“The targeting sight is weird, but it appears to be functioning,” he said.

“Give it a test fire,”I said.

Shortly after that I heard a boom, followed by a thud in the forest below.

“Hmm, I’ll need to practice more,” he said.

“Well, you can come back up now, we’ll save the ammunition for the battle,” I said.

“Phalanx, you take the helm for a bit,” I said, after we had been traveling for a while.

“Aye aye,” he said taking the wheel.

I walked out to the deck where Trottson, Rose and Star Shine were talking with Luna.

“Rose, Star Shine,” I said. “Today I’ll be teaching you how to manipulate crystal.”

“Really?” Rose asked, excited.

“Yes. Let’s start with these,” I said, forming a crystal for each of them.

“What’s first?” Star asked.

“First, focus on the crystal. Think about it’s shape, about its form,” I said.

Both of them stared intently at their crystals.

“Now, channel a little magic into them,” I instructed, showing them with my own crystal.

Both of their horns started glowing and the crystals were enveloped in the same glow.

“Now, think about changing the shape of the crystal, something simple like size should be a good start,” I said, making my crystal longer.

Stars grew slightly, while Roses, shrank.

“Good, now practice changing it back and forth between the original shape and a different one, at least until you are used to how it feels to change it,” I said.

They did as instructed for a few minutes until they could change it’s size with relative ease.

“Good, now try to change the shape of it, like so,” I said, changing the crystal into a flat square.

They both tried this but neither of them got it.

“Just keep trying, you have all day to practice,” I said, heading back to the wheelhouse.

The rest of the day was uneventful, just traveling and the siblings practicing crystal magic.

“Mixer, the engines are going to overheat soon,” Thunderlane said from the engine room as the sun started to set.

“Ok,” I said as I pulled the throttle back to minimal speed.

“Does this mean we will be stopping for the night?” Ivy asked.

“No, we’ll still be moving, just not very fast until the engines cool down, and you can get some sleep whenever you want,” I said. “That goes for all of you,” I called to the ponies on the deck.

“There are still rooms below decks right?” Star asked.

“Yes, they should be,” I said.

Everypony but Luna went below deck to get some rest.

“Aren’t you going to rest too” I asked her, leaving the wheel with Phalanx.

“I still have to raise the moon,” she said.

“I know you usually fly off to do it, but I know you can do it from here,” I said.

“I didn’t think anypony knew,” she said.

“I figured that since the only time your sister raises the sun somewhere other than the castle is on the summer sun festival, that you could raise the moon too,” I said.

Luna’s horn started to glow, then after a minute or so, the light faded.

“Was that it?” I asked.

“Yes,” she said.

“So what? You don’t manually raise the moon?” I asked.

“Not exactly, My sister and I merely keep them moving across the sky. To move them manually would take too much energy for even both of us combined, so that is why were simply give them a push to start them,” she said.

“Well that’s... interesting,” I said, a little bewildered.

“You are the first pony to know about this since my sister and I became the princesses of Equestria,” she said.

“I’m honored that you would tell me such a secret,” I said.

“It feels nice to tell somepony,” she said. “Everypony always reveres us for our powers, but this information makes us seem less powerful.”

I shook my head, “It’s not just your power that you are revered for, but also because of your fair rule,” I said.

“Thank you Mixer, you are one of the few ponies that don’t always bend knee to us every time we are present,” she said.

“Well, I guess that’s because I’ve always worked with royalty. I’m pretty comfortable around them,” I said

“Thank you anyways. Now shouldn’t you get some sleep as well?” she asked.

“I suppose I should,” I said. “Phalanx, do you think you will be good taking the helm for a while?”

“Sure,” he called back.

“I hope they left some room for us,” I said.

Luna and I both went below deck and found that there were still beds enough for both of us.

I went to the engine room where Thunderlane was still watching the engines.

“How much longer until they cool down?” I asked him.

“They’re hot enough to fry eggs on, so it’ll be awhile,” he sighed.

“Well, when they cool off, wake me up, I’ll have Brick take over,” I said.

“Alright,” he said as I left.

I went to the bunk with room in it and caught some sleep before the engines cooled.

After an hour or so of sleep Thunderlane shook me awake.

“Hey, the engines are good to go now,” he yawned.

“Ok, you get some sleep,” I said, moving over to Brick.

I prodded him until he woke.

“What?” he groaned.

“You’re going to take over in the engine room while Thunderlane gets some sleep,” I said.

“Alright,” he said, rolling out of the bed.

I went to the helm and saw that Phalanx was drooping.

I put my hoof on his shoulder and he jumped, “What? Huh?”

“Go get some rest,” I told him.

“Alright,” he yawned.

I took the wheel and gave the throttle a bit more.

By that time we were just starting to cross the mountains that made the border between Saddle Arabia and Equestria.

By the time morning came, we were almost over the mountains.

“Rise and shine everypony,” I called into the comm crystals.

I heard some groans from below decks, but soon everypony was up.

“I don’t suppose you have a plan for breakfast?” Star asked.

“There might be rations in storage, but other than that, no,” I said.

“Great...” he said, his ears drooping.

“We should be there soon though,” I said, pointing to the city on the horizon.

“Then let’s go,” he said.

I throttled it up to full, and soon we were nearing the city.

“Sweet Celestia...” Trottson said when we saw the horde of Minotaurs camped outside the city.

“There are more this time,” I said gravely as some of them started bellowing at the approaching airship.

“Brick, do you want to test your aim?” I asked through the comm crystal.

“Gladly,” he said.

Soon enough, there was a boom, followed by cries from the minotaurs and some of them were hit by the cannon.

“Good shot,” Phalanx said.

As we neared the walls, they started throwing spears at us.

“Shouldn’t we get more altitude?” Rose asked worriedly as spears bounced off the hull.

The envelopes should protect against spears at this height,” I said as we soon crossed over the walls and floated near the palace.

Haakim and Alim were waiting on a balcony when we lowered the airship so that we could get off.

“I am glad that you were able to get here with such haste,” Haakim said.

“And that you have brought such power with you,” Alim added marveling at the airship.

“So, it looks like they came back,” I said.

“And with more numbers,” Haakim said.

“Fortunately we have the aid of the airship, and Luna,” Trottson said.

“Mixer, who are these? They wear the same armor as you,” Alim asked.

“These are the Lunar guard, they are here to make sure Luna stays safe,” I said.

“And to help break this siege,” Phalanx said.

“Then let us go to the walls to evaluate the situation,” Luna said.

“That might not be advisable without some armor princess,” Alim said. “The minotaurs have been taking out our guards with spears if they get too close to the wall without proper protection.”

“May I?” I asked Luna.

“Way you what?” she asked.

“Create your armor,” I said.

“As you wish,” she said, standing in a ready position.

I created a number of crystals and floated them around her.

The first armor piece to form was her chest guard, which moved into place to meet with the back plate. Next was armor to protect her flank, which made a link with the rest of the back plate. Next were armor pieces for her legs, overlapping to provide better protection while still giving her mobility. Finally were segments that ran up her neck, connecting to a helmet that started to form to her head.

“Amazing...” Haakim said as I finished.

Luna was now clad in a magnificent crystal panoply that was the same color as polished steel. Her mane and tail fit through slots in the armor, billowing in the wind.

There was one final crystal floating in front of her.

“What’s this one for?’ Luna asked.

I answered by forming it into a star shape, serving as both a shield and a blade, its two main points jutting out on either side.

“This should serve as a good weapon considering you can wield it with magic,” I said.

She took over holding it with her magic and spun it around a few times.

“I like it,” she said.

“Then let us go to the ramparts,” Trottson said.

We all went to the Ramparts, all except Ivy and Brick, who were manning the airship.

“They have had the city surrounded for two days now,” Haakim said as we climbed the stairs to the top of the wall.

“And they haven’t tried to storm the walls?” I asked.

“No, they just harass the guards and keep trade from getting in. In a few days they would have starved us out,” he said.

“That seems awful smart for them,” I said.

“They seem to have a new chieftain,” he said, pointing out to an area where a simple tent had been set up, surrounded by war banners.

“You might want to cover your ears,” Luna said before taking in a breath.

All of us who knew what was coming covered their ears.

“MINOTAURS! LEAVE THIS PLACE AT ONCE, OR SUFFER THE WRATH OF THE MOON PRINCESS!” she bellowed in the royal canterlot voice.

A large minotaur stepped out of the tent and bellowed back, in a voice that seemed quieter than Fluttershy, “Puny pony, just try and reach me!”

“Trottson, Mixer,” Luna said, brandishing her new blade.

“Right,” both of us replied as she jumped off the walls, diving into the minotaurs below.

“The rest of you, make sure they don’t try and breach the walls, I said, creating a board to follow after Luna and Trottson.

“What about you?” Rose asked.

“I’ll be fine, but take these,” I said, tossing them a bunch of small crystals, “Use them as spears or darts.”

I didn’t give her a chance to reply as I jumped down to join in the push through the sea of minotaurs.

Trottson and I stayed back far enough so that Luna could swing her star blade in a full arc around her.

We could hear shouts and bellows from behind us as they started to attack the city.

“Here!” I called to Trottson, making him a crystal blade.

He took it and started to carve at minotaurs as we flew past them.

We were making good time, closing the distance to the tent, and the leader of the minotaurs. As we approached it, the minotaurs started to back away from us.

Waiting for us was a circle, ringed with minotaurs, and the chieftain standing in the center of it.

“Come then pony. Face me!” he bellowed, slamming a large battle ax down on the ground.

Luna entered the circle, the minotaurs preventing Trottson and I from interfering.

“I am chieftain Garak Stonehoof, and you should feel honored to be the first pony to hear that name,” he said, before bellowing a war cry and swinging his ax at Luna.

She dodged it easily and brought her blade to bear upon him.

He put up the haft of his ax and caught the blade with it, blocking the blade from slashing his chest open.

He pulled back, putting distance between the two of them, before going in again.

This time, Luna deflected the blow with the flat of the blade, bringing it across his left arm as she flew past him.

He bellowed in pain, but recovered in time to knock away Luna as she tried to bring it down on him from behind.

He followed her descent with a swing of his ax, impacting on Luna’s armor with a ring.

She grunted as she flew a few feet away.

The armor had enough protection to prevent that from cutting her, but it hurt all the same.

Luna got up and met his charge with her own, locking weapons near the center of the circle.

Minotaurs cheered and bellowed as each tried to overpower the other.

I saw an opening and extended the blade so that it cut Garak across the face, cutting off one of his horns.

He reeled backwards, grabbing his face where it was cut.

Luna lunged with her longer blade, but Garak grabbed the blade near the base, tearing it from Lunas magical grasp.

Luna gasped as he brought the ax down on her, just above the shoulder.

Garak had the strenght to crack the armor, letting chips of crystal fly.

When he went to swing again, the ax slipped from his bloody hand, dropping to the ground with a thud.

Luna got up shakily and grabbed the star blade with her magic.

Garak forewent his ax for taking a more direct approach, thinking that Luna was still unarmed.

As he tried to grapple with her, Luna brought the blade to her, driving it into his back.

He howled with pain, but brought his fists down on Luna anyway, slamming her in the back.

There was a dull crack, followed by a cry from Luna.

There was a sound like a flash, followed by a whizzing, as a crystal spike rocketed into a nearby minotaur.

This got their attention, even distracting Garak as three more did the same, seemingly appearing from out of nowhere before embedding themselves in minotaurs.

This gave luna the time to grab the fallen ax and bring it to bear on Garak’s turned back.

He howled and stumbled as a great gash formed on his back.

Luna pulled the star blade out of him and rolled him over, holding it to his throat.

“Go ahead, finish me off,” he grunted.

“Order your horde to leave!” she growled.

“They won’t listen to me now, I have lost,” he grumbled.

As if in a verification of his words, the minotaurs started advancing on her.

Trottson and I broke to her side and got ready to protect her.

“Can you fly?” Trottson asked.

“No I don’t think so,” Luna said, trying her left wing painfully.

More of the crystal spears appeared and took out a half a dozen minotaurus.

“What keeps doing that?” Luna asked.

“Looks like Rose from the color of the flashes,” I said.

“What?” Trottson said, looking around for a way out.

“Um...” I trailed off as I saw a large number of flashes over by the wall.

I created a crystal barrier around us as a rain of crystal spikes came down from the sky.

The crystal rain cleared out more room for us, as I created a board so that Luna could escape with us.

Luna got on the large board, and fended off a few minotaurs that had survived.

As soon as we were both on the board, we took off toward the city.

As we flew, spears and javelins were thrown at us by the horde. One of them narrowly missed hitting me in the shoulder, instead just brushing by.

As we got closer, we could hear the boom of the cannon, as small groups of minotaurs were sent flying by the cannonballs from the airship.

Thunderlane and Phalanx flew out to meet us, both of them carrying shields to protect them from javelins.

“Luna’s hurt,” Trottson said when they were closer.

“How badly?” Phalanx asked, as Thunderland took up position behind us.

“She can’t fly, probably a broken shoulder and some cracked ribs,” Trottson said.

“What about the minotaurs?” Thunderlane asked, a spear bouncing off his shield.

“They look like they’re already destabilizing,” I said, noticing that some were retreating.

We were soon at the walls, and Haakim and Alim were there to greet us.

“It looks like your plan worked,” alim said, pointing to the breaking ranks of minotaurs.

“That’s what it appeared to be last time, but they came back,” I said.

“It would appear then, that there is something behind their recent attacks,” Alim said.

“Well, for now let’s recover,” I said, removing Luna’s armor.

We took Luna to the palace where the rest of the wounded were being tended to.

“Lie down,” I instructed Luna once we got her to one of the cots.

“I will be fine,” she said.

“We still have to check your injuries,” I said.

“I can help with that,” Amira said, trotting up to us.

“Yes, Mixer we have to talk,” Alim said.

I followed him and Haakim into another room while Amira tended to Luna.

“We fear that a dark prophecy is coming to pass,” Alim said in almost a whisper.

“These attacks are not random, they are planned...” Haakim said.

“What prophecy?” I asked.

“It is lost to most of us, but what we do have says that a great evil, Karbash, a great black dragon, long ago thought slain,” Alim said.

“What do you want me to do?” I asked.

“I want your airship to take my wife and the injured ponies out of the city, I don’t want to worry about them if it is indeed Karbash,” Haakim said.

“Alright, I’ll have Ivy take them away, but what about you?” I asked.

“We will stay and defend the city. If it is the return of Karbash, then perhaps we can buy time for the other cities,” Alim said.

“I don’t know, but I will stay here since Luna will want to stay as well,” I said.

“Very well,” Haakim said.

After our private talk I convinced Ivy to take the airship to the closest city to resupply the ammunition on the airship, as well as get some of the injured ponies to better care. She didn’t want to at first, but she conceded, taking Amira as a guide.

“We should be back in a couple of days,” Ivy said as they prepared to take off.

“We’ll see you then,” I said.

“We shall see,” Alim said after they had taken off.

Moon's Zenith

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The Mixer Chronicles

Book Twenty Four:
Moon’s Zenith

Ivy was pacing by the airship.

Three days ago she told me that she would be back in two, but the resupplying was taking longer than expected.

“Miss Ivy, the resupply you requested has been complete,” a worker said to her.

“Great, “ she said hurrying to the wheelhouse.

“I’m sure they are fine,” Amira said joining her.

“Well, I just want to be sure,” she said flitting from gauge to gauge.

Satisfied that everything was in order, she quickly coaxed the airship to a cruising altitude.

“Hold on,” she said, giving it full throttle from the start.

After a sudden lurch, the airship was speeding towards the city, eating up the dry ground.

“No...” both of them said when they saw curls of smoke on the horizon.

As they neared the city they were greeted by a sight that chilled both of them to the bone.

The walls of the city were crumbling in sections, leaving large gaps in places. There were chunks missing from the palace, revealing some wrecked rooms. Minotaurs were camped in and around the city cheering their victory to the airship.

All of these things paled in comparison to the giant black dragon that was curled around the spire of the palace.

The great beast saw the airship and spread its wings, letting out a roar and a gout of flame.

Amira stood paralyzed on the deck while Ivy ran to the wheelhouse to turn the airship around.

“This can’t be happening,” Amira wailed.
--

The Lunar guard, Haakim, Alim, Luna and I trudged onwards through the desert, tired, thirsty and broken.

Trottson was bleeding from his shoulder, Brick’s armor was broken in places, leaving bruised patched of coat exposed. Star Shine was leaning on Thunderlane, limping on his three good legs. Haakim’s royal robes were torn, his tattered armor hanging off in scraps. Luna still had her broken ribs, along with a few new cuts along her side. Alim was one of the better off ones of the group, although his horn was chipped from a minotaur’s club. I had a cut along my left flank, and my tail was cut shorter from when we fled the city.

“There is a rock up ahead where we can rest out of the wind,” I huffed from the front of the group.

“Good, we need a rest,” Rose said weekly.

When we got to the rock, those of us that could without injury, flopped on the ground, our sides heaving.

“The sun will be setting soon,” Alim said, surveying the surrounding desert.

“Then we will rest here until it does, then we have to press on,” Haakim said.

“Press on to where?” Phalanx asked, his right wing missing a considerable amount of feathers.

“I... I don’t know,” he said.

We sat in silence, recovering what energy we could while the sun set.

“We should get ready to move soon,” Alim said.

“Wait... do you feel that?” Brick asked.

“Feel what?” I asked.

“The ground shake,” he said.

Alim and Haakim looked around, their faces worried.

“Hmm, it’s gone now,” Brick said.

Alim let out a sigh of relief, “That’s good.”

“Why?” Brick asked.

“It could mean there were enemies coming,” Haakim said.

“Like them,” Rose squeaked as six ponies, clad in black robes appeared to rise up out of the sand.

We gathered together in a tight group, Haakim and Luna in the middle, as the six strangers advanced on us, brandishing scimitars.

“Who are they?” I asked.

“Desert raiders,” Alim hissed.

Four more of them appeared from the sand and they made a circle around us.

One of them held up a hoof and pulled the wrap from his face, revealing dark brown fur and green eyes.

“To what do we owe the pleasure of the great sheikh to be wandering our desert?” he asked us.

“What do you want?” Haakim spat.

“Such hostility,” the desert pony said coolly.

“If you’re going to rob us, get on with it,” he spat.

“Now why would we rob you? You all look like you’re fresh from a scrape with a cactus,” he said.

“A dragon attacked the city,” I said.

“Oh, so the stranger does have a tongue,” he said.

“Yes, my name is Mixer, and we would appreciate any help you can give us,” I said.

“Help? You think they can help us?” Alim questioned.

“They obviously can survive out here better than we can,” I retorted.

“Not only does he have a tongue, but a brain as well,” the desert pony said surprised.

“So can you help us?” I asked.

“We can, and that was our intention from the beginning,” he said, as the rest of the desert ponies lowered their swords.

“What?” Alim and Haakim both asked.

“You city dwellers may have forgotten the prophecies, but we can still recognize the moon goddess when we see her,” he said.

“What?!” all of us repeated.

“We can talk more on the way to our home,” he said as five enormous scorpions rose from the sand, each carrying a rider and a small platform on it’s back. “Come,” he said, climbing onto one of them.

“You expect us to ride those?!” Rose asked horrified.

“They’re friendly, I promise,” he said, patting it’s exoskeleton.

He helped Luna and I onto his, and the others each reluctantly got onto the others.

“Is everypony ready?” he asked.

“Yes,” Luna and I said.

“Then let us make haste,” he said.

The driver of our scorpion manipulated the reigns, or what could be called reigns, and soon we were speeding across the desert.

“Normally we would travel underground, but this way is faster," he said.

“So what is your name anyway?” I asked.

“My name? My name is Malak,” he said.

"So, Malak, what was it you said earlier about the moon goddess?” I asked.

“You have to ask?” he questioned. “I would have thought that you would know, seeing as how you travel with her,” he said.

“Do you mean me?” Luna asked.

“Of course mistress,” Malak said.

“I think there is some explaining to be done,” Luna said.

“Of course, as soon as we reach our destination,” he said.

“And where would that be?” I asked.

“Our home in the desert, a lone mountain, provided by the moon goddess for our people to prosper,” he said.

“Luna?” I asked.

She just shrugged.

We traveled through the desert until a lonely spire of rock came into view.

We quickly approached the great rock and entered through a small cave entrance.

It was amazing, on the inside the rock was almost completely hollow, bridges spanning across the empty space.

“Come all, the prophecy is coming to pass!” Malak shouted into the cavern.

The call echoed around the cavern until a group of ponies met us, each of them with a similar eye color, and all with dark shades of fur.

There were whispers and murmurs as they saw Luna.

“Come, let me explain,” Malak said, gesturing to another cave entrance.

When we went inside we saw that the entire length of the cave was painted with a prophecy, starting at one end, and ending at the end of the cave.

“Let us start from the beginning,” Malak started. “Long ago, there were two goddesses, the sun and the moon. The two lived in harmony for centuries while the ponies of this land grew and developed. As time went on the sun became jealous of her sister. The ponies cherished the night, when the gifts of the desert showed themselves, and ponies could move freely without fear of the day’s heat. During the day, the ponies could work and play, but they always worried about the heat, and constantly looked for water to slake their thirst. This caused the sun goddess to banish her sister to an earthly form, taking away her power to bring the night. After three days of scorching the earth, the sun goddess had to relent, but she did so in a deceitful way. She took her sister’s power for herself, bringing both the day and the night.”

We were nearing the end of the cave now.

“It is said, that the moon goddess was forgotten, wandering the land until a great threat from the past returns. It is said that when this threat arises, the ponies of the desert will be lead by the moon goddess, and defeat this great foe, heralding in a new age for our people,” Malak said, finishing.

“Wow,” we all said.

We followed him back out of the cave, and now it seemed that all the desert ponies were waiting expectantly for us.

"If you are the moon goddess, then please, show us your divine armor,” he said.

“Should I?” I asked.

She nodded.

I reformed her armor and soon she was wearing the elegant armor.

The desert ponies all bowed before her.

“It is you,” Malak said. “Come, come, we have something for you,” he said.

We followed him past the bowing ponies to a building that hugged a cave entrance.

When we entered the was a shimmering pool of water and a blade mounted on the far wall, in the shape of a crescent moon.

“This pool will restore you and your champions,” Malak said. “And the blade is yours.”

Luna walked over to the blade, staring at her reflection in the steel.

“I will leave you now,” Malak said.

“My sister and I will have to have a talk about this when we get back,” Luna said.

“So what are we going to do?” Trottson asked.

“Can you remove my armor?” Luna asked me.

I did as she asked, but kept the plates in form.

She dipped a forehoof in the water, sending ripples across its shimmering surface.

“Well?” I asked.

She then stepped into it, moving to the center, where it was up to her neck.

When she stepped out, all of her wounds were healed, and her coat shinned.

“Wow,” Rose said.

I was the next one to test the waters, fully submerging myself.

The water was cool, and felt amazing.

When I emerged from the pool, I noticed that my cuts had fully healed over, and my tail was it’s full length.

“Mixer, your scar,” Luna said.

I looked in the blade, seeing that where once the scar was dull , now it was a silvery color.

One by one, the others waded into the pool and emerged with their wounds healed, even Brick's armor was repaired by the mystical pool.

“Are you ready?” Malak called from outside.

“Yes,” Luna said.

“It is getting late, and even you will need rest for tomorrow's battle,” Malak said, ushering us to another building.

This building looked more like a house, and a family of three was outside bowing as we approached.

“Is this your house?” Luna asked.

“Yes, m'lady,” a mare answered.

“We are glad to have the honor of providing a place for you to rest,” the stallion of the house said.

“Surely there are places where we need not displace the residents?” Luna asked.

“I’m sorry, but there are not,” Malak said.

“I’m sorry to trouble you then,” Luna said.

“Not at all,” the mare said.

The ten of us filed into the house and found that it was fairly spacious for a house in a cave.

We all found places to sleep, whither in a bed or on the floor, and then we all ate.

Some time in the morning, we were woken up by Malak.

“Come. If we want to make it to the city in time for the battle, we must leave soon,” he said.

All of us got ready, and Luna donned her armor, taking the crescent blade and I made her star blade.

“Let us go. To battle!” Luna said.

There were cheers from the desert ponies while we went to the cave where they kept their scorpions.
--

Ivy and Amira had returned to the other city after seeing the dragon, and now, from the airship, they led an army of Saddle Arabians.

Amira was now outfitted with ornate steel armor, with bits a silver on it, while Ivy was in her Lunar Guard armor.

“I will avenge my husband,” Amira said coldly, as they headed towards the dragon.

“We don’t know what happened to them,” Ivy said.

“What else could have happened? I know my husband would not abandon the city,” Amira said harshly.

“Well, it looks like we are approaching the city,” Ivy said as they saw the tip of the palace on the horizon.

When the city was in full view, Amira ordered the troops to a halt from the airship.

“I know that all of you fear to face such an enemy as this, but know this! We must fight and win! For the safety of our loved ones! For the continued survival of our very people!” she shouted, rousing cheers from the troops.

She then told Ivy to go man the cannon and fire a shot.

Ivy went below decks and lined up a shot with some of the minotaurs.

When the shot was fired, Amira cried, “To battle!”

The cannon continued to fire as the airship drew closer to the city.

The troops below met the tide of minotaurs, but they were vastly outnumbered.

Soon, without considerable losses, the formation started to waver.

A roar of triumph from the dragon broke the moral of the rear line, and they all began to flee in terror.

In the airship, it looked as if the end was near, when, like a beacon of hope, a thin line appeared on the horizon.

The sound of our war cries reached them even before they could see us.

Some of the minotaurs turned from the soldiers and faced the oncoming line of scorpions.

We smashed upon them like a wave, scattering minotaurs as the scorpions went to work with their claws, while some of the desert ponies used slings and spears to attack the minotaurs from their backs.

I used my crystals, while Luna used her twin blades to clear a path for us.

Cheers went up from the soldiers as the saw Haakim riding on one of the scorpions, holding two scimitars and slashing at passing minotaurs.

“Brick, Trottson, Mixer!” Luna called to all of us.

“What is it?” I asked.

They dismounted their scorpions and came over to us.

“We are going to slay a dragon,” she said.

“Hold on,” I said, concentrating hard on the location of us, the dragons, and a large open span of desert.

My horn glowed so brightly, that I could easily see it through my closed eyes.

When I opened them, we were far from the city, and the dragon was hitting the ground.

I huffed from the exertion, but created more crystals, making each of us unique armor before removing the guard armor.

Brick had large pointed pauldrons, and a crest on his helmet, a visor covering his face.

Trottson had two flared fins on the side of his helmet, and I made pieces of crystal that clung to to leading edge of his wing, creating a blade like effect.

I had no particular armor ornamentation, except for a blade in front of my horn.

All four of us faced the dragon who was now facing us.

"Foolish ponies, you think you can stop me? I will rule this world!” he bellowed unleashing a blast of fire at us.

Trottson and Luna took flight, while I protected Brick and myself with magic.

Luna made the first attack, her blades spinning like saw blades as she flew along the dragon’s side.

Two lines of damaged scales followed her, but the dragon was unhurt from the attack.

He retaliated by knocking her down with a swipe of his wing, sending her crashing into the sand.

Brick rushed over to her as the dragon was about to bring a foot down on Luna.

“Hey princess,” Brick said, his armor keeping him from faltering as the dragon pressed on him.

I extended the pauldron spikes on Brick's armor, causing the dragon to stumble backwards.

Trottson went for an attack, sending punches flying at the dragon as he flew past its face.

“Foolish ponies,” he roared as he began to take off.

“Ready Brick?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he said as I picked him up with magic, hurling him at the dragon as Trottson flew past its wings, shredding them as he past.

The dragon roared as he fell to the earth, Brick impacting on him as he tumbled.

The dragon got back up after falling and Brick was now on it’s back, trying to beat on it.

I created a ring of crystal and made it large enough to fit around the dragons muzzle, stifling his ability to use his breath.

Trottson flew down by Luna and I, asking what he should do.

“Do you think you can handle being an arrow?” I asked.

He nodded, and I held him with my magic, hurtling him past the side of the dragon’s face.

The dragon swatted at Trottson as he past, scaring the side of its face with his wing blades.

I created crystal spears and arrayed them in the air above me.

I flung them at the dragon, trying to find a weakness that could topple the beast.

One of the crystals stuck in his hind leg and he growled in pain.

“Luna!” I called pointing at the spike protruding from the dragon as I flattened out the end of it.

Trottson distracted it while Luna flew around a swinging claw and gave the flat part of the crystal a mighty buck, driving it deep in the limb, causing the dragon to fall over.

I sprinted to the front to the dragon, looking it in the eyes as it started to recover.

I loosened the muzzle enough so that I could hear the beginnings of a flaming torrent.

“You know, I know how dragon-fire works, meaning I can make it backfire!” I yelled, as I slammed his mouth shut as he started to unleash the flames.

He howled as the flames rolled around inside of his mouth, the hungry flames backfiring, burning the dragon on his unprotected innards.

Soon there was a smoldering smell, and smoke was rising from the dragons nose.

Brick, you okay over there?” I called, once the dragon’s eyes had rolled back into his head, and his struggles had stopped.

“Yeah,” he called, back pushing a wing off himself.

I unsealed my helmet and took it off, sitting down on the sand.

“I don’t want to have to do that again,” I said.

“That was a neat trick,” Trottson said.

I unsealed his helmet as well, and started to remove my armor.

“Yeah, the thing was getting the chance,” I said.

“Well, I’m glad we took this thing down,” Brick said.

The dragon roared, coming back to life after having it's insides burned.

Luna rushed at it, bringing her crescent blade in an upwards swing to the beast's throat.

It gargled as the blade slid in between the scales, finding flesh.

She landed near us, wiping off the blade.

"I wonder how the others are doing?” Luna asked.

I unsealed her helmet and started to remove their armor as well.

I rolled onto my back, exhausted after all the magic use.

“I don’t know, but they should be winning,” I said.

Trottson pulled me up, “Well let’s go see.”

“I hope you don’t intend us to walk,” Brick said.

“We’re not that far from the city, just far enough away so that we would be undisturbed,” I said.

“Then we can walk,” Luna said.

The four of us started to walk, and soon we could see the city over a sand dune.

The minotaurs were nowhere in sight, and the soldiers were cheering.

“Looks like we won,” Brick said.

When we approached the army, we were welcomed by both the desert ponies, and the city ponies as heroes.

Alim and Haakim were on the airship, meeting Amira, and the Lunar guard had gathered there as well.

“You would not believe the day I’ve had,” I said to Ivy as she rushed to meet us.

“I bet,” she said.

“Thank you so much, all of you,” Amira said.

“Yes, we all owe you a debt of gratitude,” Malak said, walking up the boarding ramp.

“An we owe you an apology,” Haakim said.

“We accept. I hope this means we are free to come and go in the cities now?” Malak asked.

“Yes,” Haakim said.

“Boy do we have a story for Celestia,” I said.

Homecoming

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The Mixer Chronicles

Book Twenty Five:
Homecoming

After leaving Saddle Arabia, we began our journey back to Equestria, a story to tell, and one very tired unicorn.

“If you don’t mind, I’m going to go sleep,” I yawned, going below decks.

I slept for most of the journey home.

When I woke up, the others were asleep and I found Phalanx at the helm.

“Finally awake?” he chuckled.

“Slaying a dragon is rather draining,” I said.

“I can imagine,” he said.

“So where are we?” I asked.

“We’re almost to Appleoosa,” he said.

“Then we should be back in time for breakfast,” I said.

“I take it you wanted to take over?” Phalanx asked.

“Yeah, you can get some rest with the others,” I said.

He nodded and let me take the helm, heading below decks to get some rest.

I took some time to reflect on what I’d been through, all the way back to when I first came to Equestria.

When I first came to Equestria, I was just a simple chemist, nopony special. Then I met Discord, and I guess that was what set me on the path that led to where I was then. After Discord, I returned to a normal life, being a chemist.

It’s rather ironic. If it weren’t for my enemies, then I wouldn’t be slaying dragons and saving nations. Hay, without my enemies, then I would still be in that lab, making potions.

I reflected in this manner until the sun started to rise, and Canterlot was coming into view.

“Good morning,” Ivy said from behind me, yawning.

“Good morning to you too,” I said.

“So, it looks like things might be taking a turn for the better,” I said.

“How do you figure?” she asked.

“Not to jinx myself, but I think slaying a dragon and saving a nation is hard to top,” I said.

“What?” she asked.

“All the troubles I’ve faced have gotten progressively bugger, from Discord, to a dragon, they just get bigger. Now I think I’ve earned a little down time from fate,” I said.

“After all that you’ve done, you shouldn’t have to do any more,” Ivy said.

“Thanks,” I said.

We floated towards Canterlot, and decided to leave the airship out on the docks so we could go directly into the castle.

All of us filed in the throne room, now all back in our regular Lunar guard armor.

“Ah, you’re back! I take it everything went alright,” Celestia said, greeting us.

“Yes, we were able to help the Saddle Arabians,” Luna said.

“Good,” Celestia said.

“Mixer, you and the others can go now,” Luna said.

“As you wish,” I said.

The Lunar guard went to our barracks, and we took off our armor.

“It feels like ages since we’ve been out of that armor,” Star Shine said, stretching.

“Wow, I feel so light without it on,” Thunderlane said.

“As far as I’m concerned, you all have the rest of the day off,” I said.

“You sure?” Trottson asked.

“Yes, I’m sure that Luna and Celestia will be talking for some time,” I said.

“Alright,” Trottson said.

I went across the cavern and walked into my house.

“You’re back,” Crystal said, running up and giving me a hug.

“You seem a little less broken up about me being gone,” I said, picking her up and swinging her around, before pulling her in for a hug.

“I think it’s because you didn’t leave her alone,” Silverwing said, coming down the stairs.

“So how did you two fare while I was away?” I asked.

“Things were really quiet while you were gone,” Silverwing said.

“Things in Saddle Arabia were anything but quiet. We slew a dragon and fought an army of minotaurs,” I said.

“You slew a dragon?” Crystal asked, eyes wide with wonder.

“Yep, it was big, and black, and boy was it tough to fight,” I said.

“Well, you must have been exhausted after all that,” Silverwing said.

“I was. I slept half of yesterday,” I said.

“Well, I was just about to start breakfast,” Silverwing said.

“Ok, I was just going to put my armor on the stand in my room,” I said.

“Alright,” she said.

I went up to my room, carrying my armor with magic.

I set it down on my bed and looked at a small table that had the blade I took from Soulless in a stand.

“You and I have some unfinished business,” Soulless said, appearing behind me.

I walked over to the blade, and threw the crystal at him.

“Here, take it,” I said.

The case hit him in the head as he stared at me.

“Wait, what?” he asked dumbfounded.

“Oh, and I found this too,” I said, sliding his board over to him.

What?” he said again.

“Oh, and here take these,” I said, digging a case of potions out of my closet.

“Ok, did I suddenly step into crazy land?” he asked.

I walked over to him and cuffed him on the back of the head.

“You disappeared on us, before I could even explain things to you,” I said.

His mouth was hanging open, and he had a dumb look on his face.

“You mean, I thought of how I was going to get back at you for betraying me, and how I would get my blade back, only or you to say that we’re all buddy buddy and that you’re going to just give it back to me?!” he questioned.

I cuffed him again, “What were you expecting, us to be all furious at you? No, I didn’t even want to drain your augmentation, but Celestia made me do it. Furthermore, I kept the blade so you wouldn’t do anything stupid when you woke up,” I explained.

He facehoofed.

“I don’t understand you ponies,” he said.

“Well, you better get used to it, because now that all’s well, Rainbow will be wanting to spend more time with you,” I said.

He sighed, “So what now?” he asked.

“Breakfast?” I asked.

“Why not,” he sighed.

He put his things down, and the both of us went downstairs to join Silverwing and Crystal.

“Hey, where did he come from?” Silverwing asked when the two of us walked down the stairs.

“He’s joining us for breakfast, I hope you don’t mind,” I said.

“Hey mister, why do you always wear that cloak?” Crystal asked him.

“It’s good for when the weather gets bad,” I said, covering for him.

“But it’s nice in here,” she said.

“Matter of habit,” he said.

“Ok,” she said, accepting his answer.

Silverwing pulled me off to the side.

“How did he even get in here?” she whispered harshly.

“I forgot to lock the door I guess,” I whispered back.

Silverwing sighed and went back to preparing breakfast.

I walked back over to Soulless.

“I don’t think she likes me,” he said.

“I guess there’s still a little bad blood, but don’t worry, she’ll get used to you,” I said.

“Somehow I doubt that,” he said.

“You also didn’t think that I would just give you your blade back too,” I countered.

“True,” he said.

“And as one final gift, I’ll let you stay at my place in Ponyville, at least until we can find you a place of your own,” I said.

“You’ve got to be kidding,” he said.

“Nope, you can use it for as long as you want, and or need,” I said.

“Wow, and here I was expecting to have a fight, and you let me live in your house,” Soulless said.

“Oh, and don’t worry about being broke, I’ll talk to the princesses about arranging something,” I said.

“I never said anything about being broke,” he said.

“Oh, so I suppose that you have a decent job in mind that pays good bit that you can actually do?” I asked.

“Well, no...” he said.

“Then it’s settled, I’ll arrange for you to get an allowance of bits for assisting me and the Lunar guard,” I said.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“You’ve helped us alot so far, and I can only guess that you will help in the future,” I said.

“I’m sure I will,” he said.

“Now, let’s have some breakfast shall we?” I said.

The four of us ate, then I took Soulless and his things to the train station.

“Are you sure you want to let me use your house?” he asked.

“I’m not letting you, I’m telling you to. I don’t want you to just have to bum around the castle,” I said.

“I suppose you’re right,” he said.

We got on the train and started our way towards Ponyville.

It was not long before we reached ponyville and were at my house.

“Ok, so these are my insturments. You can play them if you want, though I doubt you will. This is a gift sword from Haakim, a sheikh from Saddle Arabia,” I said, motioning to the silver scimitar. “And over there is the fridge, though I think it’s empty. And there is a room upstairs that you can use. It’s the one on the left,” I called as I went upstairs and he looked around.

From the upstairs I saw Octavia and Vinyl approaching the house.

Downstairs, Soulless was checking the fridge, when Vinyl and Octavia walked in.

“Oh Tavi, there’s nothing to worry about,” Vinyl said.

“I know he told us we could use his place whenever, but I still don’t feel comfortable about you raiding the fridge every time we’re here,” Octavia said.

“Hey who are you?” Vinyl asked, seeing Soulless at the fridge.

“And what are you doing here?” Octavi asked.

“Hold on a second,” Soulless said.

“And why are you raiding the fridge? Octavia pays hard bits for the stuff we put in there!” Vinyl said.

“Vinyl!” Octavia complained.

“It’s ok, he’s going to be staying here for a bit,” I said, coming down the stairs.

“Oh, Mixer, what are you doing here?” Vinyl asked.

“Helping him get his stuff here,” I said.

“So who is this guy?” Vinyl asked, pushing him out of the way to check the fridge was still intact.

“His name is Soulless, and he’s a friend of mine,” I said.

“Well why didn’t you say so?” Vinyl said, giving Soulless a slap on the back. “Any friend of Mixer’s is alright with me.”

“So what’s up Octavia? You seem a little stressed,” I said.

“Well, I have been invited to play in Canterlot, as an audition for the Royal Orchestra, and I have a week to perfect this piece,” she said.

“Well, I can help you. I don’t really play the cello, but I can help with the rhythms and the pitches if you need me to,” I said.

“Well, actually, since you are well respected in Canterlot, could you do the announcing for the recital?” she asked.

“Of course,” I said.

“Thank you,” she said.

“Any time,” I said.

“So, you said your friend’s name was Soulless?” she asked.

“Yeah, don’t ask,” I said.

“Alright. At least Vinyl seems to be getting along with him,” Octavia said.

“I don’t think the same can be said for him,” I sighed.

Vinyl and Soulless were practically mirror images. Everything about them contrasted.

“So Vinyl, what have you been up to?” I asked, tagging Soulless out of some conversation Vinyl was trying to have with him.

“Oh, you know, same ol same ol. I have to say though, that Mobile Party is the biggest hit since it can go just about anywhere,” Vinyl said.

“So, how is that airship doing?” I asked.

“I’m having some maintenance done on it after a particularly rough party broke one of the speakers,” she said.

“I’m sorry to hear that, but I have to get back to Canterlot now, so try to stay out of trouble,” I said.

“Alright, see ya later,” she said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A week later I was dressed in my best standing in front of a full house at the Canterlot theater.

“And now fillies and gentlecolts, we present you with a special performance from Octavia, an avid cellist and know for her performances in small ensembles. Tonight, she will be playing Cello Suite in G major,” I announced as the curtains were parted to reveal Octavia sitting and ready to play the piece.

I walked off to the side of the stage, behind the scenes, where Soulless was standing.

“Well, you can speak very well in front of all of Canterlot,” Soulless said.

“You didn’t think I was going to let Octavia down did you?” I asked.

“You? never,” he said.

“Uh oh...”I trailed off.

“What?” he asked.

I pointed at discord who was sitting on one of the catwalks above the stage.

He noticed and waved, wearing a devious smile on his face, and a cliche evil moustache.

I facehoofed, “Get up there and try and stop him, I’ll keep him from ruining the show,” I said, as discord produced a fancy rapier and cut a sandbag loose.

I caught the offending object and set it down off to the side, out of view, as Soulless teleported up to the catwalks.

Above on the catwalks, Discord cut another sandbag loose as he moved away from Soulless. When Discord turned to face him, he was now wearing a black hat and vest, looking like a character out of a play.

“En garde,” Discord said to Soulless, brandishing the rapier, which looked no more dangerous than a prop.

I sighed inwardly at Discords theatrics, although, I suppose it was the place for them.

The two of them parried each other as Octavia played, Soulless muffling the sounds made from the impacts.

After most of the song, and three sandbags later, Discord turned to watch Octavia reach the climax of the piece, letting the rapier fight by itself.

“What is this?” Soulless complained as the sword parried and blocked him.

“Almost there,” I said to myself as Octavia neared the end of the piece.

Discord turned around and grabbed the rapier, continuing to battle with Soulless.

When Octavia was finished, there was thunderous applause, and Discord and Soulless both stopped fighting to look down.

Octavia took a bow and walked off the stage, over to where I was standing.

“Oh my, I think I’m going to be sick,” she said.

“You did great,” I said.

“That was still the most nerve wracking think I’ve done in my career,” she said.

“They loved it!” Vinyl said, entering the stage from a side door.

Octavia and Vinyl left the stage and Discord and Soulless appeared by me.

“Discord! What were you doing?” I practically yelled.

“Having a little fun,” he said. “And I’d say that was a wonderful performance.”

“What, you mean the one you were trying to sabotage?” I questioned.

“No, I mean your gloomy friend here. He was quite fun,” Discord said.

“You mean that whole fight was just a game to you?” Soulless questioned.

“Yes, we must do this again sometime,” he said, before disappearing with a snap of his fingers.

Veni, Vidi, Vici

View Online

The Mixer Chronicles

Book Twenty Six:
Veni, Vidi, Vici

It was a month or so since Octavia’s recital, and things had been beyond boring for me.

Everypony else I knew seemed to be enjoying things. Soulless and Rainbow Dash were going out to some form of date at least twice a week, and Luna and Sombra started going on dates too.

The rest of the Lunar guard seemed to be content with things being all quiet, while Discord seemed to be in a dry spell for any form of prank or trick to liven up the place.

Silverwing was also going through some physical therapy, and treatment sessions to get her ability to fly back, and Crystal seemed to be growing up a bit, because she now started to go out on her own, and learning more about castle life.

Everypony was content, except for me. I was caught in what was seeming to be a never ending loop of monotony with not so much as a stray cloud to cause trouble.

But as is often the case, it was merely the calm before the storm.

The sun was just starting to get high in the sky when a messenger hawk flew into the castle, carrying a torn note.

The tired bird landed on my armor, and I magically took the note from its leg.

There were only a few words on the note, and there was a blood spatter on it.

They came too fast...

Send help.

Haakim

I took the note to Celestia, and she read it over.

“This is troubling,” she said.

“What are we going to do about it? This doesn’t seem like it could be the minotaurs,” I said.

“Mobilize the Lunar Guard, we will bring what might we can to bear on this new menace,” Celestia said.

“Just the Lunar Guard?” I asked.

She had gotten up from her throne, and cast a look back at me, “No, all of the guard.”

By the time it was noon, all of the royal guard, the Lunar Guard, the Wonderbolts, even the Elements of Harmony were all prepared to move out.

Soulless had joined us and was going to be working with me, under the new title of Midnight’s Edge.

I even called in a favor, and Vinyl brought the party blimp to act as artillery and as a transport.

I met Luna, Celestia, Sombra, and the Element bearers in the throne room.

“Wow Princess, I’ve never seen you in armor,” Twilight said.

Celestia was wearing a splendid gold armor set, while I made Luna’s crystal armor, and Sombra had donned his old armor and helmet from before he came to Canterlot.

“I have taken the liberty of ordering armor for you six as well,” I said, passing out packages.

“Rainbow Dash and Twilight, you have the heavy armor, Pinkie, you and Applejack have the light armor, and Fluttershy and Rarity, you two have the medium armor,” I said.

“Why are we wearing armor?” Twilight asked.

“Because, even you will be going into battle,” Celestia said.

“Battle?” Fluttershy asked nervously.

“Yes, but you will stay with the Lunar Guard,” Luna said.

“The airship is all prepped and ready to go,” I said.

“Then we shall depart immediately,” Celestia said.

“Wait, what about Discord?” I asked.

“I will be able to call on him if we need him,” Celestia said.

“Ok,” I said.

We hurried off to the hangar where the Lunar guard had geared up.

“Clockwork, are you coming too?”I asked the unicorn as he directed the dock crew in armor.

“Yes, who knows when we might need to make emergency repairs,” he said.

“Well, I guess that’s true,” I said.

“All ready,” a dock crew member said to Clockwork.

“Good, let’s go,” he said, leading us onto the airship.

I took the helm and steered the airship out of the hangar, seeing a full hundred or so royal guards, and the Wonderbolts already waiting for us, along with Vinyl’s party blimp.

I was shocked to see that Silverwing and her squad were also flying around the gathered guards.

Celestia was also among the royal guards, a rather imposing figure.

Luna took off from the airship to meet her sister.

The taskforce that we had started to take on a formation, with Celestia and Luna leading the group, followed by the Wonderbolts and Silverwing’s squad on either side. The two airships were in the center of the formation, with the royal guards spread out on either side.

Soulless was in the cabin with me, watching as the swarm of pegasi flew along side us.

“Oh, and here are your glasses back,” I said to him, handing them his way. “It can get quite bright in Saddle Arabia.”

“Thanks,” he said, donning them.

“By the way, what’s that pendant for?” I asked.

“Illusionary armor, it makes me look like I’m covered in heavy armor,” he said.

“More intimidation tactics, that’s like you,” I said.

He just gave me a thin smile, and walked to the deck.

After a while, I saw Silverwing land with her squadron on the deck, and I handed the wheel off to Phalanx.

“Silverwing, you wings!” I said walking out to meet her.

“Yeah, those sessions really paid off,” she said.

“It feels good to fly with our lead again,” Quicksilver said.

“It just feels good to fly,” Silverwing said.

“Wait, what about Crystal?” I asked.

“I took her to Ponyville before we got ready. She’ll be staying with the Apples until we get back,” she said.

“Alright, that’s a good place for her to be,” I said.

“So what do you think we will be up against?” she asked.

At that question, I noticed that the others also listened intently for my answer.

“I honestly don’t know,” I said.

“You don’t think it was the minotaurs?” Trottson asked.

“No,” I said.

“Why?” Twilight asked.

“I don’t think Haakim would send such an urgent letter about an attack if it were merely minotaurs,” I said.

“Then what could it be?” Applejack asked.

“I have no idea,” I said.

I returned to the helm after Silverwing and her squad flew off, and realized that we might have come underprepared.
Haakim’s soldiers were hardened, with years of military training, the Royal guard didn’t have nearly the grade of martial training that they did. The other problem was that neither the Wonderbolts, or Silverwing’s squadron had weapons.

Our saving grace was the fact that we had Luna, Celestia, and Sombra.

We flew for the rest of the day, and the guards started to fly in shifts, allowing some of them to rest one one of the airships while the rest flew at the ready.

When morning came, all of the pegasi were flying again, and everypony was tense.

The tense feeling became worse when we saw a flag flying over the city that was clearly not from Saddle Arabia.

It looked similar to the pictures in books about the founding of Equestria when it mentioned the pegasi flag.

I could see a group of lightly armored pegasi rise from the city, and Silverwing and Spitfire were sent to meet them.
~~~~~~~~~~

“Halt!” one of the pegasi said as the two of them approached. “What is your purpose here, and why have you brought such a force with you?”

“What are you doing here? this city belongs to the Saddle Arabians,” Spitfire said.

“State your business, or leave,” the pegasus growled.

“We came because the Saddle Arabians called for our help,” Silverwing said.

“Well, this city now belongs to the Multus Empire,” one the head pegasus said.

“Hey, you can’t just invade a city like that!” Spitfire snapped.

Silverwing held her back while the pegasus looked the two of them over.

“Why not? They were just inferior terrenus ponies. We did them a service by absorbing them into our empire,” the pegasus said.

“Are you saying that ponies that aren’t pegasi are inferior?” Silverwing questioned.

“Of course they are, otherwise they wouldn’t be so weak as to need pegasus protection and guidance,” he said.

Now it was Spitfire’s turn to hold Silverwing back.

“How dare you? A unicorn is one of the best ponies I know. Without him I wouldn’t be alive,” she shouted.

“Then I take it you must have saved his life before,” the pegasus said.

Actually, what he said was correct, I wouldn’t be alive if Silverwing hadn’t saved me, and she wouldn’t have lived against the organization without me.

“Well...” Silverwing said.

“Than it was nothing more than repaying a debt,” the pegasus dismissed the argument with a wave.

“Of all the stuck up,” Spitfire began.

“Take your force and leave, these ‘Saddle Arabians’, as you call them, are under our jurisdiction,” the pegasus said.

“No,” both of them said.

“Very well then, if you refuse to leave, we will take martial action against you,” the pegasus said.

“Let’s go,” Spitfire said, pulling Silverwing away.

Silverwing pulled herself out of Spitfire’s grip and punched the pegasus across the face.

“You’re going to regret that,” the pegasus said, drawing a sword.

At that moment, the rest of our force saw what was going on and had mobilized.

I however, saw that the desert tribes had formed a battle line a little ways behind us, and flew down on a crystal board to meet them.

Celestia, followed me, after seeing me depart from the airship.

When I reached the line, Malak was waiting for me.

“Armor bearer, we are here to fight with you,” he said.

“What is this?” Celestia asked, flying down by me.

I could see that the desert tribe shrank when Celestia came near.

“This is Malak, and these are the desert ponies,” I told her.

Malak gave a bow to Celestia, “Sun goddess, with your help we shall win this battle for sure.”

Celestia gave a quizzical look at him.

“Long story,” I said.

“Very well,” she said. “But you must get back to the airship,” celestia told me.

“Yes, princess,” I said, and flew back up to join them.

By now, a large group of armored pegasi had taken to the air, and were approaching our force.

Vinyl took the opportunity to fire the twin bass annons, stunning a large portion of the pegasi, and sending them tumbling down to the ground.

After that, the two forces clashed in the air, and the sounds of battle spread across the sky.

Below on the ground, the Malak and his scorpion riders were charging towards the city walls.

“Soulless!” I called across the deck.

He came running up to me.

“I think that you and I are scheduled to do some city clean up,” I said.

“Sounds good,” he said, grabbing his board.

“Ivy, take the helm!” I called to her.

She rushed back and grabbed the wheel.

“Where are you going?” she asked.

“We’re going to go help Malak attack the city,” I said.

Soulless and I took off towards the city, passing by groups of fighting.

I saw Luna cleaving through pegasi with both blades, while Celestia was firing bolts of magic from a distance. Sombra was also joining in the fighting, using a crystal board and attacking any pegasus foolish enough to try and attack Luna.

Silverwing and Spitfire were flying around the battle, flitting from one fight to the next to minimize their chances of being caught by any pursuers.

As we closed in on the city, the scorpion riders were having their mounts climb directly up the walls, gaining entry into the city.

Behind the walls, other pegasi were waiting for them, and were bewildered when giant scorpions climbed over the walls and started ripping the lines to shreds.

Soulless and I passed over the fighting and went straight to the palace.

When we got there, there were some more heavily armed pegasi with spears.

I created a set of crystals to parry and strike with, while Soulless simply teleported behind one, stabbing him in the neck before his friends knew what happened.

Soulless and I had no problem fighting our way into the palace, and an even easier time finding where the leader of these pegasi were.

Soulless and I busted through a pair of double doors and saw four fully armored pegasi with halberds clustered around a table with an orange pegasus stallion wearing ornate armor with a prominent helmet plume.

“Take care of this trash,” the leader said to his personal guards.

“Well, I think that blade I gave you will come in handy now,” I said to Soulless, reinforcing my armor with crystal.

Soulless and I each took two guards.

He started his fight off by teleporting in the air, and using the momentum from his fall to drive the thicker blade through the armor of one of the guards, and into his shoulder.

I decided to take a less drastic approach and used their attacks against each other, mostly blocking and parrying each halberd swing to either do nothing, or get them off balance before smacking them to the ground.

There was one down side to my fighting style, they kept getting back up.

Soulless on the other hand had crippled his first opponent, and was trying to penetrate the armor around his neck to deliver a killing blow, while his other opponent tried to jab at him with the halberd.

Soulless was mostly making use of the wounded stallion he was on top of for cover, keeping the other from taking full blown swings at him.

While he was busy trying to bring down the first one, I was still doing my dance with the other two.

One of them brought his halberd down at me and I dodged it, letting it plink on the ground, and pulling it away from him while pushing him away.

I brought up the haft of the halberd to stop the other guard from loping my head off, and the head snapped off my commandeered halberd, falling to the ground with a few inches of the haft sticking out of it.

I then proceeded to use the broken haft as a quarterstaff, beating the first guard in the head, before spinning the other end around to land a hit on the other guard.

Soulless, having finally brought down the first opponent, tried the same trick with the other guard, but he rolled onto his back, tip of the halberd rising to meet him.

Soulless pushed the sharp point to the side with magic, rolling off the guard when he landed.

After a thorough beating about the head and shoulders, the first guard who I disarmed finally decided that it was better to just stay on the ground.

His compatriot was not so complacent, and had enough strength to shatter the haft when I blocked a full force swing with it.

I created a crystal to block the downwards follow up, keeping myself securely in one piece, and chipping his halberd blade.

I made the crystal form around the head of the halberd, turning it into a blunt mass of crystal.

He could barely lift the weapon with it’s new cumbersome head, and I took every advantage of it, giving him a solid uppercut before he could heft the weapon.

He staggered backwards letting the useless halberd fall away.

I grabbed the halberd with magic, and swung it like a baseball bat, catching him in the side, and sending him tumbling away with several broken ribs.

Soulless was now on the back of the second opponent, trying to wrestle him to the ground, but finding little to no success as the guard was obviously in top condition, and had the size advantage.

I saw that the leader was growing tired of this and grabbed a crossbow, aiming it at Soulless.

“Look out!” I called.

Soulless pulled the guard’s wing up for protection, but the bolt that fired went through the wing, embedding itself in his shoulder.

“Cowardly unicorns,” the pegasus said, tossing down the crossbow in favor of a blade similar to Soulless’s, except that it was longer, and was made out of a blue substance.

“Oh, so it’s a duel you want is it?” I asked.

“I didn’t think that unicorns had the honor to fight one one one with no magic,” he said.

I dropped my crystal armor, “Then you obviously don’t know me,” I said.

He retracted the blade, “Very well,” he said.

I was not expecting an unarmed duel, but I would fight regardless, because if I didn’t I was putting Soulless’s life on the line, and was going to have a much harder fight.

He came at me first, swinging a hoof to try and catch me in the face.

I dodged out of the way and brought a punch to his gut, which I think hurt me more than him, as I impacted tough muscle under hard armor.

He shrugged it off, and did the same to me, sending me skidding across the floor.

I wasn’t seeing this ending well for me, since this pegasus could hit like Big Mac, and was tougher than Brick.

He charged at me, and while I was on the ground, I rolled to face him, flipping him over me when he got on top of me.

He landed with a thud and both of us scrambled to our hooves.

I could see that Soulless had pulled the bolt from his shoulder, and was in the process of taking one of the potions I had made for him.

The pegasus and I started grappling, and he wrestled me to the ground, extending his blade.

“Do you submit?” he asked.

I looked and saw that Soulless was no longer in the room and figured that he went to go get help.

“Yes,” I said.

“Stand up,” the pegasus commanded.

I complied and stood, while he kept his blade trained on me.

“Now, remove your armor,” he said.

I did so, letting the Lunar Guard armor fall away.

He also yanked off my seed crystal pendant, tossing it to the side, before leading me out of the room at sword point.

When we exited the room, I saw that Soulless had taken care of a group of soldiers that tried to get to the fighting.

Twilight and her friends had also made their way to the city, and were just entering the room at the same time as me and my captor.

“Mixer!” Twilight cried when she saw that I was now a captive.

“It’s alright, let him go,” I said.

“Are you crazy?!” Rainbow Dash questioned.

“No, he won fair and square,” I said.

“How do you call a fight against a pony that much stronger than you fair?” Soulless retorted.

“Stand aside,” my captor said, holding the blade to my throat, “Or I will kill your friend.”

They all stared at him, shifting uncomfortably.

“And don’t try anything funny,” he said, pointing to Soulless.

We moved across the room, all of my friends watching as the general of the ponies took me prisoner.

When we got outside the doors, a group of soldiers came over to us and my captor gave them the order to retreat.

Next he grabbed my and took off, apparently with little effort.

“So where are we going?” I asked when the city was far behind us.

“To decide your fate,” he said.

“You mean you aren’t going to decide yourself?” I asked.

“You talk too much,” he said, loosening his grip, allowing me to slide down some.

“I doubt that you would drop me if you went to all the trouble of taking me as a prisoner. Also, I like to know a bit about the pony that’s deciding my life, least of all his name,” I said.

“Torris,” he replied.

“Well, Torris, who is going to decide my fate?” I asked.

“The triumvirate,” he said.

“The triumvirate?” I asked.

“The three leaders of our empire, and I am one of them,” he said.

“Then what are you doing all out here by yourself?” I asked.

He let me drop for a few seconds before swooping down and grabbing me again.

“Next time my hoof slips, I might not catch you, he threatened.

We flew on in silence as we headed toward our destination.

After what seemed like an eternity of flying, we landed in a city, where I was promptly chained, and had a magic inhibitor ring up on.

I was led by Torris and two well armed guards to the palace of the city.

When we reached a circular room, Torris pushed me to the floor, and I heard two other pegasi address him.

“Torris, what is this?” an older grey pegasus in similar armor demanded.

“Arax, there was an army, led by two alicorns, and I managed to capture this unicorn. He seemed to be important to them,” Torris said.

“Hmm, he doesn’t look like much, but I guess I can’t expect much out of you Torris,” a beautiful white mare chided.

“Sophia, you would not have fared so well had you been up against their weapon,” Torris said.

“What weapon?” Arax asked.

“It was on an airship, and it fired twin beams of sound that took out half a battalion,” the stallion said, flaring his wings in annoyance.

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to hear the part about what you’re going to do with me,” I said.

Arax stood over me, glaring down from under his helmet.

“And what insolence is this that you think you can openly address us?” he demanded. “Do you have no respect for your betters?”

“I have respect for you, but there’s no point in letting fear stay my tongue,” I said.

“Words worthy of a pegasus,” Arax said, moving away.

“Which does bring up what we do with him,” Sophia said.

“I think we should just kill him and be done with it,” Torris said.

“And that is why we don’t let you make the decisions yourself,” Sophia snorted.

“I think we should keep him, he may provide us information on the foe we now face,” Arax said.

“A threat that you brought upon us through your carelessness,” Sophia said.

“You would do well to know your place as the youngest of us,” Torris bit back.

“And you would do well to be mindful of your place,” Arax said. “Now, what do you think Sophia?”

She took a walk around me, examining me.

“I think we should keep him. If he is as important as you say he is to these ponies, then he could do well as a bargaining chip, should we wish to negotiate,” she said finally.

“Then it is decided, he shall stay alive,” Arax boomed. “Now, as your punishment for being so reckless, you will take your legion, or what’s left of it, and rout out the last of the minotaur savages.”

Torris grumbled as he left the chamber.

“Now, I need to prepare my own holding for an attack. You will take stewardship of the prisoner,” Arax said, leaving the room.

“Goody, I get to keep you all to myself,” she said, picking me up off the ground.

“You don’t seem like the others,” I said.

“Do you mean me being a mare?” she questioned, giving me a sly look.

“I mean, that you don’t seem so, biased,” I said.

“Well, unlike my cohorts, and the rest of this empire, I realize the value of earth ponies and unicorns,” she said, loosening the chains that held me in place.

“Well, since you’re so kind, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Mixer,” I said.

“Well Mixer, follow me, and we shall see what kind of accommodations I can arrange for you,” she said.

I followed her to one of the rooms in the palace and was locked in, with some megar amenities.

There was a bed, a basin, and a small window set into the wall.

“I’ll have a meal sent for you before dark,” I heard her say through the door.

I set down on the bed and began contemplating my situation.
--

Torris was fuming after being shamed by Arax.

“I will prove to them how capable I am,” he said under his breath as he led the tattered remains of his forces to attack the city that had previously been his. Unknown to him, Soulless had been waiting for just such a chance to get revenge on the one who took his friend.

The battle, rather the massacre, that ensued left Torris bloody and beaten, at the mercy of Soulless.

“Wait!” Luna said, as Soulless prepared to kill Torris.

“Why should I?” Soulless questioned, holding a weak Torris up with one hoof, his blade poised to strike.

“Because, he may know where Mixer is,” she said.

Soulless lowered his blade, and dropped the pegasus in disgust.

Luna picked up the pegasus with magic and brought his face in close to hers.

“Tell us where our friend is,” she growled.

“Heh, see if I tell you anything half breed,” he said, coughing up a little blood.

“What did you call her?” Sombra growled, grabbing the pegasus.

“Half breed,” Torris said, spitting out some blood onto Sombra.

Luna had to hold his hoof back with magic to keep Sombra from decking the pegasus.

“No amount of insults will help you now, nor will it change the fact that you are now at our mercy,” Luna said.

“Then what are you waiting for? Finish me off,” Torris said.

“Gladly,” Soulless said.

“Not yet,” Luna said barring his way.

“Maybe Soulless can, persuade, or guest to tell us what we want,” Celestia said.

“Ivy, how much do you think you can heal this guy?” Soulless asked.

“Well, since we have medical supplies, I could patch him up pretty well,” she said.

“Good,” Soulless grinned.
--

Sophia stepped into the room that served as me cell, a guard holding a tray with some food on it.

“I hope that this proves edible,” Sophia said.

“Saddle Arabian cuisine isn’t my favorite, but I can stomach it,” I replied.

She took a seat while I started on the mildly spicy dish.

“So, from what we heard, you can manipulate crystals,” Sophia said.

“And this matters why?” I asked.

She held up a forehoof and extended a blade that looked just like the one Torris had.

I used my magic, and a section in the middle detached itself from the blade, forming a perfect diamond shape.

“Amazing,” she said, as the crystal lengthened into a blade.

“You antagonize Torris, gladly take over watching me, and treat me with more respect than any other pegasus here. To top it all off, you tell me that I can turn your only weapon against you, without so much as batting an eye. What are you getting at?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.

She put her hood up and pushed the blade aside, moving closer to me.

“What am I trying to get at? You are most interesting,” she said, now face to face with me.

I was almost unnerved by how bold she was, almost as if she knew that I wouldn’t have actually attacked her.

“If my prediction is correct, Torris will have gone after your friends for revenge, and been utterly crushed. With him out of the picture, it leaves only Arax and myself to rule the triumvirate. As you can guess, Arax will be next in line for your friends to attack if they come looking for you, leaving only myself,” she said.

“So what, you are using this as an opportunity to take over the empire?” I asked.

“An accurate observation,” she said circling around to my left, “But now the whole picture. You see, our empire is in decline, and the power of the triumvirate to keep order is waning. Once I take leadership, I will begin to make reforms, stabilizing this pegasus centric empire, and lessen the superiority that most pegasi feel over the other races.”

“So, you’re a revolutionary,” I said.

“Yes, but I have to end this peacefully to be able to get back to the empire’s seat in time,” she said.

“So what, you want me to talk to my friends and convince them to let you surrender?” I asked.

“That is about the extent of it,” she said.

I was about to reply, but I hesitated as I felt something jabbing into my side.

I looked down to see that she had the tip of the blade resting against my side.

“You are very slippery,” I said. “But, that is unnecessary, as I was going to agree anyways.”

She retracted the blade, “That’s very kind of you,” she said.

“Then as a sign of good faith, can I be let out of this room?” I asked.

“You can do more than that, I want you to accompany me at all times,” she said.

“Smart, you let me have some freedom, but you keep an eye on me to make sure I cooperate, very shrewd,” I said.

“You’re fairly perceptive yourself,” she said, leading me out of the room.

The guard attempted to stop me, but she waved him off.

“Find him a set of robes will you,” she told the guard.

He saluted and sauntered off.

“So what am I going to do other than follow you around?” I asked.

“You will officially be my adviser in dealing with your friends,” she said.

“You’re making me, your prisoner, and a dangerous pony, your adviser?” I questioned.

“Who better to advise me on how to deal with your people?” she countered.
--

“Alright! Alright, I’ll talk, just make it stop!” Torris hissed through clenched teeth.

“Good,” Soulless said, wiping off his blade.

“My name is Torris, one of three leaders of the Multus Empire. The other two are Sophia and Arax, we each took a city as part of our holding in this land,” he huffed.

“And where did you take Mixer?” Luna asked.

“I took him to the others, but they sent me away before they sent him anywhere. If I had to guess, Arax is holding him,” Torris responded.

“And where is that?” Luna pushed.

“I can show you where,” he said.

Luna gave a motion and her, Soulless, and Ivy left the cell where they had been interrogating Torris.

“We don’t know what to expect when dealing with these pegasi,” Luna said.

“Then we need a plan before we go anywhere,” Ivy said.

“I might be able to help with that,” Malak said, detaching from a nearby wall.

“How?” Luna asked.

“As you may have guessed, my people are experts at moving around undetected. We could send him in with Torris as a shield, then storm the walls while they are distracted,” Malak said.

“Yes, and then the airship could wait just out of range, and move in when you get inside the walls,” Ivy said.

“So what? You expect me to just walk up and knock on the door?” Soulless questioned.

“Yes,” Malak said.

“This Plan better work,” he sighed, shaking his head.

“Well, you can rest for tonight, we will be moving in the morning,” Malak said, and departed.

Unum Omnes

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The Mixer Chronicles

Book Twenty Seven:
Unum Omnes

Soulless walked up to the gates of Arax’s fortified city, two barista's trained on them.

The dull orange pegasus had a fiery orange mane, and without his armor, his cutie mark was visible, two swords crossed over a flame.

the doors slowly opened for them, pegasi waiting in two lines leading to Arax, who stood proudly in his armor.

“Torris...” Arax said in disgust.

The beaten pegasus looked up at Arax.

Soulless grabbed him and put his blade to Torris’s throat.

“Where is Mixer?” Soulless growled.

Arax let out a short dry laugh, “You think that we would just trade for him? Torris no longer has the right to be a member of the triumvirate!” Arax boomed.

Soulless didn't reply, or give head to Torris, who was pleading for his life, he simply slit the pegasus’s throat.

After a moment, the gem in his blade started glowing softly, but nopony noticed, instead leveling a forest of spears at him.

“Are you really so willing to cast aside your only defense? Then you will be easy to take prisoner,” Arax said.

There was a terrified cry from the wall as a scorpion crawled over and tore into a pegasus manning a ballista.

Soulless wasted no time, activating his amulet, giving him the appearance of a pony made of steel, and teleported behind Arax.

“To slow assassin!” Arax said, batting away the blade that Soulless had aimed at Arax’s neck.

While Soulless engaged Arax, the airship began its attack on the city, firing a shot from the small cannon.

Thunderlane, Phalanx, Trottson, and Luna were all ready to take off.

“Stay close to me, I want a tight formation,” Luna said.

“Right!” the three of them said, taking off.

While they flew, scorpions battled pegasi, while Arax, fought Soulless.

“You will need more than cheap tricks to defeat me,” Arax, said, defying Soulless’s teleportation for the third time.

“Fine,” he growled, extending both blades.

Arax grabbed a sword that was tossed to him and the two began dueling, parrying and striking.

After a few parries, Arax and Soulless locked blades.

“You have some martial prowess after all,” Arax goaded, face to face with Soulless.

Soulless, torqued his blades and sent Arax’s sword spiraling away through the air.

Arax swore as he barely dodged Soulless’s next swing.

He grabbed a spear from a soldier and stood up on his hind legs, daring Soulless to charge.

He wouldn’t, normally charge, but the press of soldiers behind him forced his hoof.

He charged at Arax, full speed.

Arax leveled his spear, ready to thrust in into the charging pony.

Soulless teleported in close, sliding under Arax, and cutting both back legs, causing him to tumble to the ground.

Soulless followed up by jumping up and moving in to finish off the crippled pony.

It ended in a draw, one of Soulless’ blades buried in Arax’s left front leg, while the other was pressed against his throat. Arax held his spear to Soulless’ throat as well, staring up at him.

The soldiers that had been watching started to close in on him, brandishing swords and spears.

Phalanx, Trottson, and Thunderlane landed in a protective triangle around him, while Luna dove , wielding only her crescent blade.

When she landed, the soldiers gave her room, not wanting to become the new focus of the deadly blade.

“Order them to stand down,” Luna threatened Arax.

“They won’t stand down if I’m defeated, they will fight,” he said.

“I doubt that,” Soulless said.

“YOUR COMMANDER IS OURS, SURRENDER NOW AND NO HARM WILL COME TO YOU!” Luna shouted in the royal Canterlot voice.

Some of the soldiers laid down their arms, but more fled, flying over the walls and off into the distance.

Arax sighed, as Soulless got off of him, and Luna lifted him up with her magic.

“What do you want?” he asked, resigned to his fate.

“We want our friend back,” Luna said.

“He is with Sophia,” Arax said.

“The last of the triumvirate,” Soulless said.

“Yes, but she will now have whatever forces of mine fled as well as her own force,” Arax stated.

“Then we will trade you for him,” Luna said.

“I doubt that she will be willing to,” Arax said.

“We shall see,” Luna said.
--

I had slept the night in an unlocked room, with fine accommodations, and a good meal, but I was still suspicious about Sophia’s intentions.

In the morning, she had awakened me, and had me put on a robe with an eagle on the chest, and had me followed her around the city, talking about what I thought of the way the city was being run.

“Well, the citizens don’t seem to mind your presence,” I said.

“Do you know why?” she asked.

“Why?” I asked, knowing she was going to tell me anyways.

“It’s because I offered them the opportunity to prove themselves by being cooperative,” she said.

“What do you mean? I inquired, now interested in what she had to say.

“Torris and Arax each have their own way of ruling, Torris through harsh punishment, and Arax through strict rules. I, however, rule be having the ponies want me to rule them,” she explained.

I just looked quizzically a her.

“Let me explain. I told them how poorly the other two were treating their new ‘subjects’ and how I was not like them, and that if they cooperated, they could show the others that we weren't all bad, softening them for when I would eventually have to take them from Arax and Torris. Fortunately enough, you and your friends are speeding up the process,” she finished.

“So why are you so obsessed with taking power for yourself? The way you talk about taking power makes you sound like a power hungry tyrant,” I challenged.

“Trust me Mixer, there are worse ponies out there who are trying to wrest control of the empire for themselves,” she said, giving me a glare.

“Sophia! Sophia!” a soldier called, rushing up to us.

“What is it?” she asked.

“It’s Callidus,” he huffed, “He brought a detachment of the praetorians!”

“What?” she questioned, worry in her voice.

Three heavily armored pegasi landed in front of her, all with shields and swords at their belts.

“By decree of the new emperor, you and the triumvirate are to report back to capitol,” the lead one said in a strong voice.

“Callidus isn’t the emperor!” Sophia snapped.

“Then, we will have to consider you traitors if you fail to comply,” the stallion said, drawing his sword.

“I’ll never listen to that pretender!” she growled, extending her blade.

“Very well,” the lead stallion said calmly before lunging at her.

She gave out a squeak as he bore down on her, closing her eyes, her hooves drawn up in a feeble attempt to shield herself.

There was a clash of metal on crystal as I stood to block the blade, using the crystal from Sophia’s blade to make a gauntlet to stop the descending blade.

“What impudence is this?” he questioned, trying to overpower me.

“Sophia, run!” I cried.

“What?” was all that she could muster.

“Go!” I ordered again, pushing back on the sword.

He pulled away as she got up and moved to where a pair of her guards were fighting another of the praetorians.

I extended the gauntlet into a set of armor and a sword, and stood to block their path.

“You’re not getting through me,” I growled.

“Such confident words,” the lead on said, lunging at me.

I parried his blade to the side at attempted to slash him across the chest, but I couldn’t cut through the armor with force alone, and my blade bounced off.

I looked back when I head Sophia let out a cry of pain.

On of the praetorians had thrown a javelin and hit her in the joint between her shoulder and her wing.

I split off from the three that were fighting me and rushed over to her, pulling the javelin from her.

“We need to get her out of here,” one of the guards said.

“Sound, the retreat,” Sophia said, her breathing painful.

I put a crystal in the wound to prevent further bleeding and made a crystal board as the other guards held off the praetorians.

I took off with Sophia laying on my board, as many of her guards tried to disengage from the praetorians.

While many of them did not make it, a good number was able to escape, and we started flying towards where the nearest city was, Arax’s stronghold.

After flying for a short time, we ran into some legionaries from Arax’s force, telling us what happened.

“With Arax captured, we are now under your service,” the commander said to Sophia.

“Take us back, we need to gather our forces to fight Callidus,” she wheezed, still in pain from the wound.

“Callidus, the senator?” he asked.

“Yes, he has proclaimed himself emperor and plans to exterminate us,” she said.

“And he has a detachment of the praetorian guard with him,” one of Sophia’s legionnaires said.

“Then we are doomed,” the commander said dejectedly.

“Not with the help of my friends and the Saddle Arabians,” I said.

“What could you possibly do against the most elite warriors in the empire?” he questioned.

“Well, if they are as good as you say they are, then they will underestimate us, and that will be their downfall,” I said.

“I never thought that being considered inferior would be an advantage,” the pegasus said, shaking his head.

He showed us the way, and our force was soon speeding towards the city.

As we neared the city, I sent up a magical flare, which was answered by another deep blue flare.

Luna and the Lunar guard that could fly all rushed out to meet us.

“Mixer, what are you doing with them?” Luna asked, her blades ready.

“I can explain once we get her some proper medical attention,” I said, indicating Sophia.

“Why can’t you explain now?” Trottson asked.

“Because, I don’t know all the details myself,” I replied.

“What do you know?” Luna asked.

“That there is a large number of extremely well trained pegasi on their way here, and they won’t hesitate to kill us,” I said.

“That sounds troubling,” Luna said.

“What happened while I was gone?” I asked, wondering where the rest of the force was.

“We took this city, and are using it as a base now, because of the extra defenses,” Luna said.

“Well, we will definitely need them,” I said.

We flew back to the city and I let Ivy take Sophia to be treated while I talked with Celestia and Luna about what I knew.

“Mixer, it’s good to see you back,” Celestia said as I entered what appeared to be a war room.

Gathered around a table were Celestia, Haakim, Malak, Alim, Soulless, and Spitfire.

“I wish that it were under better circumstances,” I said, stepping up to the table with Luna and Trottson.

“What do you mean?” Haakim asked.

“We need to work together with these pegasi, otherwise we’re going to be steamrolled by an army,” I said.

“Work with them?” Soulless questioned.

“Yes. From what I know, it appears that we stumbled onto a power struggle between the members of the triumvirate, the governing body of their empire. Sophia was going to consolidate power to make reform in the empire, but a senator beat her to it, and now he’s leading an army here to crush the remnants of the triumvirate forces, and probably us as well,” I explained.

“Then we have to do something,” Alim said.

“What would you propose we do?” Malak challenged.

“I say we just let these pegasi fight it out,” Alim retorted.

“And what if once their done, they come after us?” Soulless retorted.

“Then we will surely be able to take the weaker force,” he said.

“I don’t think you understand how well trained some of these soldiers are,” I said, shaking my head. “I was barely able to handle three praetorians, I don’t see us fighting a hundred of them, plus another legion of pegasi.”

“Could we not just reason with them?” Celestia asked.

“I don’t think Callidus is the talkative type,” I said.

“Then we must fight, if not for ourselves, than for the Saddle Arabians,” Luna said.

“But how? They have the advantage of flight,” Malak said.

“So do we,” I said.

“But the airship is out of rounds, and half of the royal guards that we brought were hurt in the initial fight,” Trottson said.

“We still have Vinyl’s bass cannons, and they don’t know about it,” I said.

“And I’m sure Silver and I can give these pegasi legionnaires some lessons in hit and run tactics,” Spitfire said.

“Haakim, how much spice do you think is in this city?” I asked.

“The market will surely have a large quantity,” he said.

“Trottson, you tell the Lunar guard to get the airship up in the air, the same with Vinyl. Soulless, tell Twilight and the other Element bearers to meet with Celestia for a briefing. Spitfire, you go get Silverwing and go talk to Sophia about commanding the pegasi. Alim, do you have what you need should we need a sand storm?” I asked.

“Yes, though it might take some time,” he replied.

“Good, then you get ready. Luna, tell Sombra to meet me in the market. Malak, get your people concealed outside the walls. Haakim, can you rally the citizens to fight?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said.

“Then I need every able bodied pony ready to fight. Which leaves you and me Celestia,” I finished.

“What are you planning?” she asked.

“Splitting the defence across the four gates, and using the ballistas on the walls to hit them before they can get to the gates,” I said.

“What’s you plan?” she asked.

I pointed to the map of the city.

“You and Luna go to the south gate, that’s where the most will probably attack from, and you and Luna are the most powerful. On the east gate, I will be stationed to hold that flank with Star Shine and Rose, while Sombra, Ivy and Brick take the west. Twilight and the others Elements will be stationed in the north gate, where the fighting will be at its weakest, and where they will be the most safe in numbers. Sophia is in no shape to fight, but her and Arax know the strategies of the enemy by heart, and can help the rest of the soldiers fight. Silverwing, Soulless, and Spitfire will be leading the aerial defense, and commanding in part the pegasi of the triumvirate,” I explained.

“What about the airships?” she asked.

“They will hang above the city, acting as rest points should the fighting pegasi need them. And Vinyl will be able to catch them off guard with the bass cannon,” I said.

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

“Since when have I ever know what I was doing,” I said jokingly, as I left the room.

I went to the market and I saw that citizens were bustling about gathering up large urns of spice.

I opened up one and my eyes started to water with the intensity.

“That’s the stuff,” I said, fanning the air in front of me.

“So what did you want to see me for?” Sombra asked walking up to me.

“I need you to go to the west gate and shor it up with crystals, and take Ivy and Brick with you, so they can get practice on the ballistas,” I said.

“What about you?” he asked.

“I’m going to try and make a bunch of spice bombs with what time we have,” I replied, searching for a suitable workbench.

I worked furiously, packing spice into casings around charges, churning out dozens of small spice bombs.

As I finished packing what had to be the hundredth one, I heard war horns from outside the walls.

I left the market, and flew on a crystal board to the east gate to prepare.

I could see roughly five hundred ponies standing on the road leading up to the gate, a few standards here and there amongst their ranks.

I looked to the north and south gates and saw that they had similar forces facing them.

I heard Vinyls voice come over the speakers as the south force stopped their march towards the city.

“Hey there! You ponies ready to rock?” her voice boomed, carrying across the city.

The pegasi seemed to shift around quizzically, before a blast from the bass cannon ripped into their line. This time however, Vinyl was staggering her shots, firing only one at a time, doubling the firing speed.

They suddenly realised that they were under attack, and the other legions started to charge towards the city, some taking to the air, but others keeping to the ground.

“Attack!” the cry echoed from defenders and attackers alike as ballista bolts and small pellets of metal flew from slings flew from the walls.

The pegasi that were helping us took off from where they had been either hiding or resting, and meet those that tried to fly over the walls and attack the defenders from behind.

I could see Silverwing’s squadron, clad in their silver flight suits, the Wonderbolts, their signature uniform, and Soulless, on his hover board, leading flights of pegasi as the fought for air dominance.

I could hear a series of thuds as spice bombs were detonated, stunning the ground forces with the irritating powder.

Then I heard a roar of flames from the north gate.

Alarmed, I sent an audio crystal over there to find out what happened.

“Twilight, what’s going on!?” I shouted.

I could hear her muttering in the background as Rarity tried to calm her down.

“What happened?!” I yelled.

“I, I threw a fireball at them, and they just exploded in a ball of fire,” Twilight said shakily.

“Twilight, I know that you’re not used to seeing ponies die, but right now, we need you to get a hold of yourself,” I said, trying to calm her down.

“But,” she protested.

“I know, it;s hard to deal with, but if you don’t regain control of yourself, more ponies will die,” I said.

“A-alright,” she said.

“Now, do you think you can do it again?” I asked.

“What!?” she questioned.

“It’s alright if you don’t want to, just keep fighting,” I said, disconnecting it and getting back to the pegasi on my gate.
The ones on the ground were still out of range, but the ones in the air moved too fast to hit, so I unloaded the bolt, and replaced it with a crystal.

I fired the ballista and split the crystal projectile into a trio of smaller spikes that took out a couple of pegasi.

Star Shine and Rose were also using crystals to try and take down the pegasi, but couldn’t split them like mine, so they met less success.

I heard more explosions as more spice bombs were dropped on the north side attackers, which were pushing closer to the wall, now reaching the concealed desert tribes and their scorpions.

I created an audio crystal and attuned it to the crystal in Soulless’ left wrist blade.

“Luna and Celestia need help, see if you can’t take some of the pressure off,” I said.

“Roger,” he replied.

I send another audio crystal over to Sombra to check his progress.

“How’s your side holding up?” I asked.

“Not good,” he said, before he was interrupted by a spear thrown his way. “They’re pushing closer, and we don’t have enough firepower to hold them back.”

I created another one and sent it up to the party blimp.

“Vinyl, can you send a shot Sombra’s way, he could use a little breathing room,” I called.

“Sure thing,” she said, followed by the sound of the music turning up.

Silverwing flew down next to me, hovering above the rampart.

“Mixer, the north side is having a rough time,” she said.

“Rose, take the ballista, I’m going to go help the north wall!” I called over to her and her brother.

I hurried over to the north gate on a crystal board and meet with Twilight and the others, now dealing with pegasi almost to the gate.

“What happened?” I asked as I started creating crystal spikes to fire on the pegasi below.

“We’re just not cut out for this,” Twilight cried, comforting Fluttershy.

“Get off the wall, go tell Alim to put up the sandstorm,” I ordered.

She nodded and the six of them rushed off the wall.

I heard a sound of rushing wind and turned to see that the party blimp had been pierced and was now slowly falling towards the south gate.

“Vinyl!” I cried, turning to rain down crystals on the advancing pegasi.
--

“Hold on!” Vinyl shouted as the airship neared the ground beyond the south gate.

Vinyl and Octavia were tossed from the control center and onto the deck when it finally crashed into the desert sands.

“Tavi, you alright,” Vinyl coughed, picking herself up off the deck.

Octavia gave a little groan before replying, “I think I’m alright.”

“Well, get on the Mobile Party, we have to get back to the city,” Vinyl said, jumping up onto the platform, powering up the mech.

Octavia grabbed her cello and jumped on the mech as it stood up.

“Vinyl, I think the sandstorm’s coming,” Octavia said as she saw the sands begin to swirl.

“We’ll make it,” Vinyl assured her, steering the mech towards the south gate.
--

I left the wall when the sandstorm whipped up and headed towards the palace to regroup with the others.

“What happened to Vinyl and Octavia?” I asked Luna and Celestia.

“We saw their airship go down outside the wall before the sandstorm started,” Luna said.

“I’m sorry,” Celestia said.

“I’ll make them pay for that,” I said, holding back tears.

Just then the door flew open and a sandy Vinyl Scratch and Octavia walked in.

“Did we miss anything?” Vinyl asked, knocking some sand out of her ear.

“You’re alright,” I cried happily.

“It’ll take more than that to stop us,” Vinyl said.

“Now that that reunion is over, can we get back to the matter at hand?” Arax snorted, supported by Sophia, who’s shoulder and wing were bandaged.

“Arax is right, they might be off us for now, but they will no doubt be waiting to strike as soon as the sandstorm lifts,” Sophia said.

Well, we lost the party blimp, so there goes that,” I said.

“Actually, we brought the Mobile Party with us,” Vinyl said.

“Good, that gives us a little advantage,” I said.

“But, we’re all out of spice bombs,” Soulless said.

“And we’re really drained,” Star Shine and Rose said.

“It looks like we dodged a bullet only to get nailed on round two,” Vinyl said.

“Not so fast, we still have the city,” Haakim said.

“And these ponies are ready to fight to the death,” Malak said.

“Ok, so strategy time,” Soulless said.

“Well, the defence will be on the same premiss as last time, except without the spice bombs and the bass cannon having a full view of the battlefield,” I said.

“But what about when they break through,” Arax questioned.

“If they break through,” I corrected.

“No, they will break through on their next assault,” he said.

“Hmm,” I pondered.

“Haakim, have whatever urns of spice we have be moved to these positions,” I said, indicating a few street corners and choke points.

“Right,” he nodded.

“Oh, and put some in jars and give them to ponies the the buildings along the main street leading to the palace,” I called after him.

“What are those for?” Sophia asked.

“We can use the spice to slow down their advance, and it can also be used as a weapon when ignited,” I explained.

I could see Twilight shiver when I mentioned the flammability of the spice.

“Don’t worry Twilight, you and the other bearers will stay here if the fighting gets through the gates,” I said to her, trying to give her some comfort.

“If they break through the gates, we need to keep them from flying around freely,” I said.

“We can handle that,” Spitfire said.

“Malak, do you think that your people can lie in wait in the sandstorm?” I asked.

“Yes, but our number is starting to dwindle, and we only have six scorpions left,” he said.

“Hmm, maybe it would prove useful to bluff them out,” Arax said.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“If you were to allow a gate to fall, then they will cluster around that gate to make a beach head, and then they will be on your playing field,” he said.

“But which one?” I asked.

“I would say the south gate, since the other gates had the easier time defending before, they would not take it as a bluff and would suspect nothing,” he said.

“So Celestia and Luna, looks like you will be the welcoming committee,” I said.

“We shall put on a good show,” Luna said.

“We still have to hold the other gates until the south gate falls,” Sophia said.

“I will return to the east, Sombra Ivy and Brick will take the west. Vinyl, you take the mobile Party and go to the north gate,” I said.

“We’ll rock their socks off,” she said.

“When the gate falls, I want all the Lunar guard to be there, to support Celestia and Luna,” I said to Trottson who was sitting off to the side.

“If we split their attack down these three avenues,” I said, indicating the main road, and two streets that went along the perimeter of the walls, “Then they will be unable to fight effectively.”

“Especially with the narrow streets to get rid of the number advantage,” Sophia said.

“I just hope that the praetorians don’t show up,” Arax said.

“I’m sure they will,” Sophia said.

“Then gods help us,” he sighed.

We spent the next hour preparing for what would be the decisive battle for our fates.

After our preparations, Alim told us that it would lift soon, and that we should be ready.

The sandstorm started to falter and the whirling sands slowly started to settle, until we could see the ranks of pegasi standing on the roads.

As soon as the sandstorm was gone, they attacked.

I fired at them, but all of the forces on my side took to the air.

I was worried that the plan might fail, until a beam of sound swept half of the force out of the sky.

I sent a silent thanks to Vinyl as the desert tribe ponies started finishing off the ponies that fell from the sky.

The rest were left to me and Star Shine on the other ballista.

On the south side, the pegasi were at the gate, preparing to fly over it and open the great portal.

When they finally did, the call went up, “They have breached the gates!”

I rushed off the wall when I saw that the force was heading towards the south gate.

I ran towards the central avenue where Sombra and Haakim were waiting for me.

“Let us make haste to the fighting,” Haakim said.

Malak came shortly with two scorpion rider in toe.

“We shall not let them pass,” he said.

At the south gate, Luna and Celestia went down the street leading towards the east gate, while Ivy had been split off and was fighting alongside Saddle Arabians retreating towards the west gate.

Haakim went from the center avenue, through the back alleys and met up with Ivy, and helped the ponies to rally against the oncoming soldiers.

In the air, pegasi were fighting it out to keep the enemy as low to the ground as possible.

Down the main avenue, a line of soldiers with shields started to advance on us.

When then got close enough to an urn, I used my magic to flip the lid open, and a pony in a second story window through a lit torch at it.

The resulting explosion took out a few of them, and startled the rest, so that they stopped.

We kept our distance, pelting them with spears and crystals as they recovered.

They didn’t take many hits as they had shields, but a few of them took hits, and the line started to move more cautiously than before.

As they reached what would be called the halfway point, they met with us.

Brick had joined us and tossed an urn in the air.

I detonated it, sending smoldering powder all over the front lines.

They shouted as their eyes and noses were burned by the spice.

Just then, a cheer went up from the pegasi, and the ranks started retreating.

My eyes went wide as I saw the reason for this change.

The whole detachment of praetorians had marched through the gate and were now on their way down the main avenue.

A number of jars flew out of windows at the fleeing pegasi, leaving a nice line of spice of the ground crossing the road.

I grabbed a torch and lit it, throwing it at the line, creating a wall of fire between us and the praetorians.

Cries of dread went up when they just strode through the flames, their armor protecting them from the lapping fire.

“Fall back!” I cried.

As we fell back, the two scorpion riders charged forward, hoping to take glory by killing these ponies.

The first reached the line, and his mount grabbed one from the ranks and tossed him to the side, the armored pony banging against the wall of a building, armor slightly crumpled.

The second tried to crush another, but the praetorian was ready, and stopped the claw from crushing him.

Another jumped up, with the help of his wings, and jabbed a spear at the rider.

The pony cried in pain as the spear went right through his robes.

The scorpion got revenge on the praetorian by stabbing through his armor with its stinger.

The second rider met with a similar fate, and soon both scorpions were dead as well, their hard carapaces pierced by many a sword and spear.

When we reached the end of the avenue before a large open space in front of the palace, I detonated one last urn before putting up a spiked barrier of crystal.

“I hope that will hold them,” Brick said.

“I do too,” I said.
--

Ivy and Haakim were being flanked, the pegasi taking the back streets to get around them, and now they were trapped in between two lines of pegasi, slowly having the life squeezed out of their force.

“Haakim, we have to try and get away,” Ivy said.

“And leave these ponies behind? Never,” he said, slashing at another pegasus.

Soulless landed near them and cleared out a few pegasi before going over to them.

“I’m going to get you two out of here,” he said.

“No, take her, but I’m staying,” Haakim said.

Soulless gave out a sigh, then teleported himself and Ivy to where Sombra and I were.

“Mixer, Haakim is trapped on the west side. We have to help him,” Ivy pleaded.

“Haakim will fight to the last stallion if he has to,” Malak said.

“Fine, Malak, you go and bail him out,” I said.

“And the princesses need help or else they will be in the same situation,” Soulless said.

“Help them out then, and take Brick,” I said.

He nodded and teleported Brick over to the east side.

“Looks like it’s just you and me” I said to Sombra.

“Looks like we have company,” he said as five praetorians trundled through the air over the barrier.

Sombra and I both fired crystal spikes at the pegasi and they took them with their shield, making them useless, but saving their hides.

“Sombra, make your crystals stick to them, and grow them out, they won’t be able to move as much,” I said.

We started to cover the praetorians with cumbersome crystals, but more were coming over the barrier, and they were engaging in combat while Sombra and I were busy with the first ones over.

Soon, it was a heated battle as Sombra and I, along with a few Saddle Arabians and desert ponies, fought against the juggernauts.

Soon, we saw the other forces as they made fighting retreats towards the palace.

Sombra and I were having a hard time as the other fighters with us were cut down.

Soon, it was just me and him, backed up to the door of the palace.

Luna came flying like an arrow, and cut down a praetorian from the side, joining us in our defence.
Celestia also fired blots of magic at them, scorching their armor and staggering them.

Suddenly an urn came flying from one of the windows and landed on one of the pretorians, covering him and a few of his companions with spice.

Soulless ignited them and they took like dry grass, their armor cooking them.

Soon, the Lunar guard had joined us and we expanded our circle around the door, crowding together.

“Everypony inside!” I called, and Sombra and I created a crystal barrier that covered the entry as we piled inside.

“What now?” Soulless asked.

“Brick, Ivy, get ready to knock over some of these pillars. The rest of you, fall back to the throne room,” I said.

Soulless disappeared while I was giving orders, but I figured he had his own plan.

“They are going to try and come in through the upper levels,” Arax said to one of the soldiers inside.

“Take any spice we have left over and put it upstairs,” Sophia said.

“How long do you think before they break through?” I asked.

“Not long,” Arax said.

There was an explosion that rocked the building.

“Damn, they’re already inside,” Arax swore.
--

Soulless was trying to use the soul in his blade to do something, anything that could help defeat the praetorians.

He tried forms of magic on it, but nothing seemed to work.

He was desperate when the floor above him shook with an explosion.

As he started to hear hoofsteps in the hallway, he finally activated it, and a glowing orange blade extended from his hidden blade, like an extension.

The glowing blade was the same length as a regular longsword.

Two pegasi burst in the door and he turned around to face them.

He turned around to face them.

He swung his blade at them and both pur up their shields in defence.

Much to the surprise of Soulless, and the pegasi, his blade went right through the shields, indeed, right through the pegasi themselves, but they slumped lifelessly to the floor as the blade swept through them.

“H-he’s a demon!” a third pegasus that had come to join the fighting cried as he ran in terror.

“Hmm, that’s new,” Soulless said, examining the blade.

“Think I’ll call it the soul cutter,” he mused, as it seemed to cleave the ponies very souls.

He put on a murderous grin as he dashed out into the hallway.
--

The praetorians had lost three to the first pillar, but they weren’t falling for it again, and we had to start fighting them in the hall.

While Sombra, Luna and I held our ground, the Lunar guard slowly became overcome by the praetorians, sustaining heavy wounds.

They appeared to be trying to take them alive though, as they simply held down the ones that could no longer fight.

We were being pushed back to where Celesta was protecting Twilight, her friends, and Arax and Sophia.

Of the three of us, Luna was the first to falter.

Her strength ebbing, she could no longer use her magic, and the two blades she had dropped harmlessly to the ground.

Two praetorians closed in on her, but Sombra and I were at her side, fending them off.

I was next to falter, my reserves finally running out, I failed to block the full force of a sword, and went down on the ground.

Sombra and Luna backed towards Celestia, the Princess of the sun spreading her wings protectively over the mane six.

Sombra was fighting fiercely, but he could not hold them all off by himself, and he too fell.

Celestia stepped forward to protect her sister, but Luna jumped through the air and grabbed her crescent blade, fighting like a pony possessed, trying to take as many as she could.

Finally, her strength gave out and Celestia was left standing in front of the mane six.

“Twilight, take the Elements and get out of here,” Celestia said.

“No princess,” Twilight said, enveloping her teacher in a teleportation spell.

There was a flash and then Celestia was gone.

They were advancing on the helpless mares when cries and screams came from a stairwell off to the right.

Then as suddenly as they began, the screaming stopped.

Soulless slowly made his way down the stairs, tossing aside a dead pegasus soldier.

“Sorry it took so long,” he said, before teleporting into the praetorians’ midst and started swinging his glowing orange blade.

Every swing took out two pretorians as he swung his blade in wide arcs.

Soon, there were only ten left, but the made a pathway for a pony in splendid golden armor, with a greatsword on his back.

“Well, well, well, this is a surprise,” he said, looking at all the dead praetorians.

"You’re next,” Soulless said.

The pegasus let out a laugh, “You think you can kill me?” he questioned, drawing his large blade. “Then, come try.”

Soulless charged at the pegasus, but as he went to swing the blade, it flickered and died, leaving him swinging through air.

“Buck!” he swore, as the pegasus brought the pommel of his sword against Soulless’ face, knocking him out.

He went through the wounded ponies and knocked them out as well.

Sands of the Coliseum

View Online

The Mixer Chronicles

Book Twenty Eight:
Sands of the Coliseum

When I came to, we were chained to the wall of the throne room, hanging like trophies.

Soulless was the only one absent, a pair of shackles hung empty on the wall.

I guessed that he teleported away when he came to.

“Sophia, it’s quite cute how you thought you could stand against me with this little rebellion. And you Arax, you look like tartarus,” Callidus said.

“So what are you going to do with us, make us your personal trophies?” she spat.

“Oh, nothing quite so nice for you, you and the foreigners will be put in the coliseum, while the six lovely mares will be my personal servants,” he said.

“We’ll never be your servants!” Rainbow Dash snapped.

“Oh, this one has a fiery spirit. You will be fun to break,” he said.

“Don’t you lay a hoof on her!” Applejack cried.

“Oh, another fiery mare. This will be fun,” he smirked, turning away from his prizes.

“Sir, what about the one that got away?” a pretorian questioned.

“That one, I want you to search the city for him. I want him found, and brought to me. Alive,” Callidus ordered.

The guard saluted and left.

“Take the rest of them outside and chain the able bodied stallions together. They can pull the alicorn and the others in a cage,” he ordered, turning to leave.
--

Outside the palace, Soulless was lying on a rooftop, barely conscious.

He had managed to teleport himself out of the palace, but doing so had cost him the last of his reserves, and now he could barely get up, let alone flee if the pegasi came after him.

He barely registered as two forms climbed up to the roof and moved over to him.

“It’s Soulless. Tavi, we need to get him out of here,” Vinyl said urgently.

“Yeah, give me a hoof,” Octavia said as she pulled the unicorn onto her shoulder.

Vinyl helped her get the stallion off the roof and into the building, where a few of the soldiers from Saddle Arabia huddled together.

One of the Saddle Arabians brought over some spice, and waved it in front of Soulless, shocking him awake.

“Soulless, what happened?” Octavia asked.

The unicorn let out a groan while he held his head and wiped his nose of the strong smell.

“Callidus. He had all of the others except for Celestia as prisoners. I think Twilight teleported her away. Other than that, I don’t know what he has planned for them,” he said.

“We have to help them,” Vinyl said.

“But how? We can’t go up against them with the few ponies we have,” a Saddle Arabian said.

“No, but I can get past them,” Soulless said, standing up.

“Not in your condition,” Octavia said.

“I have to,” he insisted.

“Well, we’ll go with you,” Vinyl said.

“I can’t cloak you two as well,” he said.

“Then we can just take out a couple of the pegasi and take their armor,” Vinyl said.

“We don’t exactly fit in with them,” Octavia countered.

“No, it just might work. I can create illusions around you two to make you look like pegasi, though under close inspection they could probably tell that the wings aren’t real,” Soulless said.

“Than what are we waiting for? Let’s go,” Vinyl said, moving towards the door.

“No, it’s best if we wait until they are ready to move, then we can sneak into their formation,” Soulless said.

“But... we can’t just sit here,” Vinyl complained.

“Vinyl, they’ll be alright,” Octavia said, soothing her friend.

“I never said we have to wait to get the disguises,” Soulless said.

“You can’t be serious? There are too many of them to just take out two or three,” a Saddle Arabia said.

“I can take care of separating two or three, so long as you can take them out,” Soulless said.

“We don’t want to risk drawing too many of them though, there are families here as well as soldiers,” the stallion said.

“Then take them and get out of the city. I’m sure that they will not notice if you move in small groups,” Soulless said.

“What about you? We won’t just abandon you three to your deaths,” he argued.

“Don’t worry about us, just save yourselves,” Soulless shot back, getting up to leave.

Vinyl and Octavia followed him outside, where they could see small groups of pegasi flying over the city.

“Stay low and keep close to me,” Soulless instructed as they moved towards the edge of where the soldiers were.

“How are we going to lure three of them away?” Octavia whispered.

“Hmm, there are too many here to distract just three. Let’s try and bait one of the flying groups,” Soulless said, turning away from the large group of soldiers.

After watching the flight patterns of the patrolling pegasi, Soulless lured down a group of three with one of his illusionary wet clones.

When the soldiers surrounded the wet clone, they were surprised when their spears just went through it, and even more surprised when they were ambushed.

Soulless took his target down with a swift jab of his hidden blade, while Vinyl knocked her captive out and Octavia choked out the third.

After they were hidden where they wouldn’t be noticed, the three of them striped off the armor and donned it. The helmets had to be adjusted for the two unicorns so that they sat just above their horns.

“It’s a little big,” Octavia complained, cinching the straps as tight as they would go.

“It’ll have to do. My illusions can cover for most of the disguise, but try to stay as incognito as possible,” Soulless said, focusing his remaining magic.

In a flash of a dim red light, all three of them now sported false wings.

“Wow, these look pretty convincing,” Vinyl said.

“Yes, as far as anypony knows, we’re all pegasi,” Soulless said, taking a breath after the spell.

“Are our horns really still there?” Vinyl asked, looking at her reflection in the head of a spear, feeling for the familiar protrusion.

“Yes, your horn is still there, you just can’t see it, but it will still glow if you use magic,” Soulless explained.

“So no magic while we’re around them,” Octavia said, drooping slightly.

“Don’t worry, if we have to, I can get us out of there,” Soulless reassured her.

The three of them grabbed spears and headed out from their hiding place and towards the group of soldiers.
--

I didn’t know how long we were walking, I just knew that it was starting to get dark.

They had chained all of us together, all except Luna, Sombra, and myself, who were bound on carts.

I didn’t bother to look up from the floor of the cart at who was pulling me along, I didn’t care. We had failed to protect Saddle Arabia, all of us who pledged to protect Luna had failed, and worst of all, I had failed to protect anypony that I cared about.

I looked up when I the sun started to shine in my eyes and saw that Trottson was pulling me, and Stat Shine was past him. Behind me was Thunderlane, and Luna’s cart behind him.

Farther down the line I saw Brick pulling two cages in a row, one with Twilight and her friends, the other with Ivy, Rose, Silverwing, and Spitfire.

At the very head of our train was Haakim, pulling Arax and Sophia, who were in another cage.

“You’re awake finally?” Trottson asked.

“I wish I wasn’t,” I groaned.

“Come on, this isn't like you where is the crazy plan to get us out of this?” Thunderlane asked.

“I don’t have one, we lost...” I said dejectedly.

“We’re still alive aren't’ we?” Trottson countered, trying to snap me out of it.

“What’s the point if we can’t do anything. If we try to escape they’ll just kill us. If we just go along with them, we’ll die. We can’t win,” I sighed, laying my head back down on the floor of the cart.

“So you’re just giving up?” Star Shine called back, anger in his voice.

“Quiet prisoners!” a soldier snapped.

“Bite me!” Star Shine spat back.

The soldier growled and smacked Star Shine across the face, making him stumble, and get caught in his shackles.

“Get up!” another soldier ordered when Star began to get dragged through the dust.

Star Shine struggled with the chains but found his footing and started to trudge along again.

After that, nopony talked, we just all traveled along in silence as we headed towards our destination.

Some time later, they decided to stop for the night.

They had us make a half circle and made camp with sentries to watch us, inside the half circle.

I could see that they had two groups of sentries, each sitting around a fire. Each group had two facing us, and one with his back to us.

I looked around the rest of the camp, and saw similar groups sitting around fires, eating, talking, and reveling in a victory well won.

It was an odd sensation, to be on the losing side, to see others celebrating while I lay in chains.

While the others soon turned in for the night, the six sentries continued to watch us, their gaze unwavering.

I could see dimly as three pegasi started to move down the train towards me, checking the other side of us.

When they reached me, one of them moved closer to me, and I saw a familiar pair of eye looking at me.

“Soulless?” I questioned, shaking my head.

“We’re here to free you, he said, looking for the lock to my chains.

“Idiot, don’t bother with me, free Luna and the Element bearers,” I hissed.

“Hey, what’s going on over there?” on of the sentries called, wandering over to us.

“We were checking to make sure the prisoners were still secure, and this one started to give me back talk,” Soulless bluffed.

“Yes, some of them have quite the mouths on them,” he nodded. “But why were you sent? We could have just done it ourselves?”

“We volunteered to do it. Figured we’d give you a rest,” Soulless said.

“Thank you, the battle today was hard, but well won,” he said.

After he turned away and returned to the other sentries, Soulless and the other two, who I noticed were Vinyl and Octavia, went down to Luna and unlocked her bindings, and then broke out the Element bearers, fleeing into the night with them.

“Well, at least this wasn’t a total failure,” I said to myself, laying my head down to attempt to sleep.
~~

When I woke up, we were moving again, but this time, with guards flanking each of us.

I guessed that they decided to keep a tighter watch on us when they found that some of us had escaped.

I also noticed that all the mares that had been in a cage the previous day were now walking as well.

We walked for a few hours, and soon a city came into view.

It was a splendid city, with buildings that were either marble or some other white stone, and wide paved roads.

We traveled along one of these roads towards a large circular building, which looked like some kind of arena.

Once we got there, we were ushered inside and put into cells.

“Listen up meat,” a stallion commanded, walking past the cells, one at a time. “All of you are now combatants in the coliseum. AS such, you are expected to fight, to the death if necessary, to please the emperor and his people.”

“What kind of a sick joke is that?!” Silverwing questioned.

“Ah, there it is,” the stallion smiled.

He walked over to her cell and looked down at her.

“This, “sick joke”, is your new way of life.”

“You expect us to fight for your amusement?” Trottson questioned.

“Yes, or you will die. It’s that simple,” the stallion replied.

There were cheers from the arena as the first of the fights was announced.

“Ah, it appears that the first of you will be going on shortly. You,” he said, pointing to Brick, “Are going to be the first to fight.”

Two other fighters entered the room with bundles, and set them down by the arena master.

“You’re going to be a beast fighter,” he smiled, tossing one of the bundles over to the cell.

“The rest of you aren’t as fortunate. You will all be gladiators, meaning you will fight other ponies,” he explained.

Brick pulled the bundle through the bars and pulled out a short blade and some light armor.

A buff earth pony came into the room and opened the cell.

“Come on, they’re waiting for a show,” he said cheerfully.

Brick picked up the blade and tossed it aside, but he donned the armor and followed the stallion.

“Your friend is foolish, he has just thrown himself to the wolves,” the arena master said.

Brick walked up a sandy ramp and entered into a large circular arena, with high walls and large gates at four points, to allow gladiators and beasts to enter and exit.

Above the walls were rings of stands which were packed with ponies, all waiting eagerly for the show to begin.

“Fillies and gentlecolts! Today we bring you a special surprise!” an announcer boomed once the crowd had settled.

The announcer stood in a booth, with the emperor sitting behind him.

“All of today’s events will involve the recently captured from our grand emperor's recent conquests,” he announced.

The crowd erupted into cheers as Brick just wandered a little farther into the arena, looking it over.

At four locations high in the stands, he could see unicorns projecting a barrier that domed the arena.

“The first event will pit a pack of timberwolves against an earth pony stallion: Brick!”

The crowd gave fewer cheers for Brick than they did for the mention of the timberwolves.

Brick readied himself as four timberwolves emerged from cages at the far end of the arena.

He wasted no time, and charged at them, just as they began to charge at him.

The crowd cheered as Brick tackled one of them to the ground, tumbling a few times before tossing it off.

The other three circled around Brick looking for a place to strike.

One lunged, and Brick brought his hoof up in defence, slamming the timberwolf’s snout into the ground.

Before he could face the other two, one lunged at him and latched onto his back leg.

Brick grunted in pain as it tugged at him, threatening to put him on the ground.

He kicked it in the face three times before he broke part of its jaw with a crack.

After shaking off the attack, Brick faced the two remaining timberwolves, and started to back away from them.

The crowd was giving cheers of encouragement to both Brick and the wolves in equal measure.

The two wolves split up and circled around to both sides of Brick, waiting to strike.

Brick turned his head from one to the other, waiting for one of them to make a move.

They both lunged at the same time, on from each side.

Brick jumped forward, and landed in a position that made it easy for him to buck them when they collided where he had been standing.

The crowed cheered as the two timberwolves whimpered and whined as they skidded across the sand.

Two ponies came out with whips and put the timberwolves back in their cages, while the crowed cheered and applauded for Brick.

When he returned to the cell area, he was taken to have his leg treated.

“Well, it sounds like he put up a good fight. Now, you are up next,” he said, pointing to Sombra who was sitting in the corner of his cell.

Sombra didn’t stir when the arena master addressed him.

“Did you hear me? You’re on next!” The stallion bellowed.

Sombra got up slowly and walked to the arena, head down.

He didn’t look up when he got in the area, but just stood there as his fight was announced.

“Now, we have another new fighter to the arena, pitted against the crystal scourge, Sombra!” the announcer boomed.

Sombra, now looked up at his opponent, a green pegasus stallion, wearing a smug grin and some light armor, and holding a sword and shield.

His grin quickly disappeared when he saw the fire in Sombra’s eyes, as he created a crystal sword.

The stallion rushed at Sombra, but his sword bounced harmlessly off of a crystal when he swung it at Sombra.

He brought up his shield to block Sombra’s swing, but the shield split in two and fell away, leaving him exposed after staggering backwards.

Sombra then lunged at him, swinging his sword in vicious arcs at the green pegasus.

The green stallion’s eyes were wide as he attempted to block each strike with his own sword.

The crowd was oddly quiet as they watched the merciless onslaught.

After deflecting many blows, Sombra brought his sword downwards at his opponent.

The pegasus brought up his blade to block it, but it snapped under the weight of the blow, sending him staggering backwards with only a few inches of blade left.

Sombra moved forward and brought his blade up across the pegasus's chest, causing him to stagger backwards, then fall to his knees.

Sombra did not wait for a verdict from the emperor either to spare the stallion or kill him, he just drove his blade through the defenceless pony and turned away, leaving the sword embedded in the stallion’s chest.

The crowed cheered for the show of force from this new fighter.

Sombra just walked back to the entrance he came from, leaving the arena behind.

“Such brutality. You will do well,” the arena master said as Sombra passed.

Star Shine and Rose were sent in as a duo, and came back slightly beaten, but intact.

Then came a large fight. It was Silverwing and her squad against the Wonderbolts.

The battle went on for some time, but in the end, Silverwing’s squad came out on top, and all of them staggered back in, covered in bruises and cuts.

“Alright, now comes the main event. A free for all,” said the arena master.

He tossed bundles over to Trottson, Phalanx, and Thunderlane.

“You three will be participating in the fight, so make it good,” he said.

Trottson got medium armor, and a sword and shield combo, while Thunderlane got very light armor, and two swords. Phalanx was given a long handled spear, and some light armor.

They all walked out to the arena, and saw that there were five similar gladiators to them entering from the opposite end of the arena, and two large stallions, one earth pony, and one pegasus, at a third gate.

The five gladiators were unremarkable, just regular gladiators of the arena, but the two others were larger, and scarred with countless battles.

One had heavy armor, and a huge club, while the other held a tower shield and a large blade that curved outwards at the end, like a hook.

“Next we have the main event, a free for all including Cleaver and Mattock!” the announcer boomed.

At the mention of the two veteran gladiators, the crowd erupted in cheers.

The five gladiators were reluctant to go head to head against the titans of the arena so they went at it with the Lunar Guard members while the two celebrity fighters engaged each other in a skirmish.

“Let’s work together to cover each other’s weaknesses,” Trottson said.

“Right!” Thunderlane said, flying up above the other two who got ready to meet the attackers.

One of the pegasi gladiators rose to fight Thunderlane, while the other four went towards Phalanx and Trottson.

Phalanx kept the ones with swords at bay, but one of them had a trident and net and tried to get the spear from Phalanx.

Trottson had to compete with another stallion with a shield and sword, as well as a mare wielding two short blades.

The crowded was frothing with excitement. None of the other events in the day had had quite this level of combat, being either because of a lack of talent, or a short battle, but now there was a full blown fight between skilled warriors.

Mattack and Clever were not fighting in earnest, but putting on a show until they were told to break up the rest of them.

Mattock would take a lethargic swing at Clever, only to have it bounce off his shield, and be returned with a swing of his blade.

Thunderlane was parrying the strikes from the pegasus, while taking swipes at his opponent who only had one blade, to his two.

Phalanx was fending off two attackers, using his spear as a staff, while Trottson and the stallion with the shield were pressing their shields together in an attempt to overpower the other.

Phalanx pushed a unicorn with an ax back before retreating backwards towards Thunderlane.

The two met and went back to back, facing the three opponents.

One, anearth pony stallion, rushed at them, but was batted away by a swing from Mattack, who had decided to have a little fun.

The white earth pony smiled as the four turned to face him.

“Time to see what you’ve got,” he said as he brought his club down at the two back to back ponies.

Phalanx and Thunderlane rolled out of the way of the club as it struck the arena floor, kicking up a puff of sand.

Trottson was busy with his opponent, so he didn’t notice when Clever loomed up behind him.

The other pony went pale as he saw the large blade held high in the air, and jumped backward as the blade came down, intentionally missing Trottson.

Trottson rolled to the floor, looking up at the large brown pegasus who had some heavy armor to go with his overly large shield.

“You’re a little slow there buddy,” Cleaver said, pulling his blade from the sand. “You should pay more attention to your surroundings.”

“I’m not intimidated by you,” Trottson said, getting up while the larger pegasus let his blade rest on his shoulder.

“Well you have guts, I like that,” Cleaver laughed.

The mare with twin blades dashed behind Clever and tried to get at him.

“What’s this? A little buzzing fly?” Clever mused as he batted her aside with his shield.

The mare squealed as the wall of steel sent her flying.

“I watched how you and your friends fight,” Clever said, turning back to Trottson.

“Yeah, and?” Trottson questioned, holding his shield at the ready.

“You fight better together. Maybe even better than me,” he laughed.

Trottson was caught off guard by the light mood of his opponent, but was ready to dodge the swing from his blade.

“That’s better, show me what you’ve got,” Clever said, grinning from ear to ear.

Trottson used his wings to give him an extra boost of speed as he dodged the swings from Clever, but each swing clanged against the shield, almost as if he could tell where Trottson was going to attack.

Phalanx and Thunderlane were letting the other gladiators attack Mattock as he swatted at them with his large club.

When he connected with the next pony, there was a crunch as bones broke.

The other backed off as Mattack moved onto Phalanx and Thunderlane.

“He’s got hardly any armor,” Phlanx said.

“So that means he can’t take a hit as well as he can give one,” Thunderlane said, starting to fly above Mattock.

Phalanx jabbed at Mattock while Thunderlane tried to flank around him.

Every time Phalanx jabbed, Mattock would push it aside and turn to stop Thunderlane from striking.

“Stop moving around so much, it makes you harder to hit,” Mattock complained.

Thunderlane moved as Phalanx jabbed, and stabbed hi blades into Mattocks off arm.

“Ow, that hurt,” he complained, knocking Thunderlane away, leaving one of his blades embedded in his muscular arm.

Phalanx jabbed, but Mattock grabbed the shaft, just behind the head, and broke the spear with his club.

Thunderlane flew at him but Mattock, caught him and tossed him to the ground to his right, bringing his club down in his direction, sending up a cloud of sand with the might of the swing.

When the dust settled, the club was just inches away from Thunderlane’s face.

“Stay down kid,” Mattock cautioned the wide eyed pegasus, “This fight’s done.”

Phalanx stood staring at the large stallion while Trottson tried to get around Clever’s shield.

Trottson bashed his shield against Clever’s and tried to get his blade around the shield, but Clever just put his weight behind the shield and forced Trottson to the ground, leveling his blade at the downed pegasus.

He looked up at the booth where the emperor was now standing, scanning the arena.

The emperor nodded, and Clever planted his sword in the ground, helping Trottson up.

“Well done, the crowd loved you guys,” Clever said to the bewildered pegasus.

Mattock pulled the sword from his arm and handed it to Thunderlane, giving him a pat on the back as he lumbered away with his club.

The three pegasi gave each other puzzled glances before walking over to the gate that they had entered from.

“It’s not everyday that you get to fight a legend,” the arena master said.

After that fight, it was my turn to be put in the arena.

I didn’t take any armor or weapons, but walked straight to the arena, searching for Callidus.

When I found him, I walked to the part of the wall beneath him, ignoring the three gladiators that had been sent to fight me.

“Callidus!” I yelled.

He got up and looked over the railing down at me.

“What’s this?” he questioned.

“Release my friends. Now,” I growled.

“You are hardly in a place to be ordering me around,” he scoffed.

One of the gladiators, an earth pony stallion with a sword and shield chose that moment to attack me.

I used the crystal that Sombra left in the arena to cover my hoof and I caught the blade mid swing.

“It’s rude to interrupt others when they are talking,” I said glaring at him.

“I’ll do whatever I wish with you and your friends. Your lives belong to me now,” Callidus said.

“Hey, you’ve got other things to worry about!” The stallion complained pulling his sword out of my grip.

I extended a blade from the crystal gauntlet and slashed across his chest, sending him staggering back, clutching the long gash.

I watched as he dropped to the ground, blood staining his light armor.

I made armor from the gautlet, creating a full arm guard and a half breast plate.

I changed the blade into a small buckler and made a sword for my right hoof, turning to face the others.

One of them was using two swords, another had a trident and net, and another was using a spear.

The one with two swords tried to attack me, but I parried his strikes with the buckler, and countered with my own swipes from my sword.

He fell back under the flurry of blows and was only saved by a jab from the trident.

I brought up my buckler to stop the trident, and slid to the side from the impact.

I shortened my sword, and made a blade come out of the buckler, making it serve as a weapon, and went after the trident bearer, while he tried to catch my legs with his net.

He managed to wrap his net around my sword, but I chopped at it with my blade buckler and tore the sword free, just in time to catch the trident in between the tines.

With a flick of the trident, he sent my sword flying out of my grasp and prepared to strike at me again.

I parried it with my blade buckler and thrust the blade into him while he was open.

HIs eyes went wide, and he coughed up a few splatters of blood as I pulled back, letting him fall to the ground.

I couldn’t take the time to catch my breath, as the sword wielder came after me again, more ferocious than last time.

He kept swinging, not giving me more than enough time to block.

I could barely hold him off, until he went for a double downward strike.

When the twin blades came down, I blocked, but this time, when he drew back, his blades took the shield with them, and became stuck in crystal.

I kicked him away, and brought my sword to me with magic as the pony with the spear came after me, intending to gore me while I was defenceless.

The blade reached my hoof just in time, and I pushed the spear head aside.

I drew back, letting him recover, but separating my blade into parts, held together by a tether of magic.

He look warily at the fivel blade pieces that lay on the ground, a faint blue line connecting each to the next, and the last to the hilt.

I swept the hilt from side to side, making the blade snake through the sand in front of me.

The pony that had lost his swords got back up and took the trident, and joined the one with a spear.

“Are you sure about that?” I questioned, bringing the blade back into one solid piece.

They shared a glance before attacking together.

I separated the blade and sidestepped the trident while wrapping my blade around the spear.

I yanked the spear out of his grasp, and brought the blade back in a wide arc, threatening to cut both of them open.

The one with a trident used his trident to block the blade, which wrapped around the haft.

I smiled as I disarmed him, grabbing the trident with my free hoof, and bringing the blade back to its original shape.

Both of them stared at me, unsure whether to keep fighting.

I spun the trident around and planted it in the ground, and dropped the blade, taking the crystal from it and making a pair of studded gauntlets.

They must have decided then that it was better to die fighting than get killed for not, so they both charged me, ready to do hoof to hoof combat.

The one that had the trident had tougher armor, so I decided to take down the more lightly armored one first.

I caught his hoof, and uppercut him in the gut, before blocking a swing from the other with my forearm.

I decked him across the face, sending him staggering away, while the first started to recover.

He decided to let me take the first swing this time, but couldn't quite block a punch from an armored hoof, and took it to the face, stumbling backwards before falling backwards holding his muzzle.

The second was barely on his hooves, swaying slightly.

I walked over to him and pushed him down.

I looked around, and saw that all of my opponents we either dead, or knew enough not to get up.

I was escorted back towards the gate, but I turned back to see that the next match was already being announced; Ivy and a veteran duelist.

I pushed the guards off of me and watched from the closed gate as Ivy and the duelist, both in light armor and holding rapiers walked towards the center of the arena.

The duelist was a unicorn mare. She looked a little like trixie, with light blue fur, and a silver mane, but she had a much colder look in her eyes.

I could hear her say, “En garde,” as she and Ivy got into fighting positions.

The two of them started by testing each other’s capabilities, using only light swings and slow thrusts.

Two guards tried to pull be back to the cells, but I tossed them off again, sending them back a few feet.

When I turned back to the fighting, they were now both attacking and parrying, trying to out maneuver the other.

Ivy seemed to be getting the upperhoof, until the mare parried and sent the blade flying from Ivy’s hoof.

She leveled her rapier at Ivy’s neck, smiling.

I created a rapier from the crystal shards that were still in the arena and sent it to Ivy, slapping aside the mare’s rapier.

The mare looked furious, and attacked madly, swinging the her rapier in swift little arcs, trying to snake around Ivy’s defence, but the crystal rapier was better than the one she was given before, and was able to keep the mare at bay.

It wasn’t too long before the mare got sloppy, and Ivy was able to disarm her, sending her blade spiraling away.

Ivy leveled her rapier at the mare and smiled, just like the other mare had done.

The mare fell back, looking at the tip of the blade, then at Ivy, then at her blade.

I saw what she was going to do, but I couldn’t warn Ivy because the guards tried to take me again, and the fallen rapier lifted from the sand, encased in a pale blue glow, and flew at Ivy, stabbing right through her.

“IVY!” I cried, held down by two guards.

Ivy dropped to her knees, looking at the rapier that was sticking out of her, blood dripping from it’s tip.

The mare got up and got behind Ivy, pulling the blade out, sending an arc of blood across the sand.

Ivy gasped, holding the wound, as two guards came out to drag her back to the cell area.

I shook off the two that held me down and ran through the inside of the arena to where they had taken Ivy.

I saw that she was bleeding badly, and I used a crystal to block the wound, keeping the blood from spilling out.

Four guards approached me, spears at the ready.

Just then a large stallion got in between us and them.

He was big, and had many scars, telling of his many fights.

“Back off,” he said to the guards, glaring at them.

“Cleaver. How timely,” the arena master said.

Ivy, was having a hard time breathing, but thankfully the blade hadn’t cut her lungs, or her heart.

“Mixer...” she said weakly, looking up at me.

“Hold on,” I said.

I felt a heavy hoof rest on my shoulder and looked up to see Clever.

“Let the medics take a look at her. There’s nothing else you can do,” he said.

I took a step away from Ivy and let a couple of unicorns take her away.

“I’ll kill him,” I growled.

“Who?” Cleaver asked.

“Callidus,” I said.

“You can try, but nopony’s ever gotten out of the arena without winning it,” he said.

“And what about you?” I asked, “You seem to have seen your fair share of combat.

He sighed, “I’m just a gladiator now, I’ve been in the arena too long to do anything else.”

“Well, I’m going to break all of us out of here,” I said.

“Didn’t you hear me? Nopony, and I mean nopony has gotten out, and for good reason. If you can get past all the guards down here, then you have to deal with the soldiers outside, and you can’t get out through the arena because there is a magic dome to keep the fighters in,” he explained.

“I’ll find some way,” I said, and went back to my cell, leaving him standing there.
--

“I want to join the arena,” Soulless said, talking with a pony standing behind a desk.

“We already have enough gladiators already,” the pony said.

“I think you misheard me. I said, I want to join the arena,” Soulless pressed.

“Fine,” the stallion said exasperated, “Go inside to get your armor.”

“Thank you,” Soulless said, entering the arena.

That day, he, Vinyl, and Octavia had watched the fights, and had made a loose plan to free us.

The plan was to have Vinyl and Octavia pose as guards and take down the field, while Soulless starts a riot with the gladiators.

Little did they know that Luna and Celestia were gathering an army to march against Callidus.

The Fall

View Online

The Mixer Chronicles

Book Twenty Nine:
The Fall

It was the third day of our captivity, and some of us had become quite popular with the crowds.

Brick was now known as “The Manticore”, and Sombra was one of the most celebrated fighters in the arena.

I had fought in a free for all the previous day, along with Sophia, against a large group of gladiators, but we came out triumphant.

Star Shine and Rose were probably the weakest team, but “The Gemini Twins” as they had been dubbed, had narrowly won all their fights.

Ivy was healing, but she still couldn’t move much.
the others were doing well also, but today, I was going to be in a three way fight, against Cleaver and a new challenger.

I had become friends with Cleaver the past day, having talked with the stallion for an extended period of time.

I didn’t like the thought that I would have to fight him, but I wouldn’t let that stop me.

“Fillies and gentlecolts, today we have Cleaver, Midnight’s Edge, and the Crystal Chameleon, Mixer!” the announcer bellowed.

I had gotten that moniker from changing my fighting style on the fly, adapting to each opponent.

The other combatant was a unicorn, clad in light armor, with a helmet that covered his face. He had two blades, and looked to be a little smaller than most ponies.

Cleaver was a great contrast to him, clad in heavy armor, carrying a large blade and tower shield.

“Hm, haven’t seen you before,” Cleaver said to the helmeted pony.

He didn’t reply, only readied to fight.

“What’s wrong, can’t talk?” Cleaver questioned.

The helmed unicorn didn't answer, but this time, he took a swing at Cleaver with his twin blades.

Cleaver blocked with his shield, sending the blades clanging off.

“Now that’s not very nice,” he complained bringing his sword down at the foe.

He dodged backwards, easily avoiding the large blade.

I had created a short sword while they started and I took the moment to dash in at the new gladiator.

He was quick though, and brought up one of his blades and parried my attack.

Cleaver took the opportunity to swing at me and swept his blade in a wide arc, hoping to catch at least one of us.

I ducked and rolled, while the helmed unicorn teleported backwards.

“Oh come on, that’s hardly fair,” Cleaver complained.

“All’s fair in love and war,” I retorted, taking a swing at him with a newly elongated blade.

He used his blade to deflect the attack, while the other unicorn came up from behind me.

I let go of my blade and swung it around with magic, causing my other opponent to jump into the air to avoid the swing at his legs.

I had to fall to the ground to avoid Cleaver’s elbow swinging at my head.

I heard the clang of metal on metal as our helmed foe used his aerial momentum to add to the force of his blow.

Cleaver stumbled away from me, giving me a chance to get back on my hooves and make another blade, this one shorter than the first.

The helmed pony was holding his own against Cleaver, but couldn’t quite get a solid hit past that big shield.

I took my two blades and charged at the battling pair, swinging at the helmed pony’s unprotected back.

He heard me coming and sidestepped me, sending me crashing into Cleaver, and sending both of us to the ground.

Cleaver pushed me off of him, and tried to grab his sword, but our opponent used magic to toss the blade out of reach.

He came down on Cleaver, trying to cut at the straps holding the armor together.

He managed to hit one of the straps and Cleaver’s breastplate sagged to the side, only covering a portion of his chest.

I grabbed my blades and swept them upwards at the unicorn, giving Cleaver a chance to throw him off.

“Thanks,” Cleaver said.

“Don’t thank me,” I said, reversing the swing downwards towards him.

He brought his shield up to his chest and my blades bit into it.

He pushed me off of him, using his shield as a ram, and got back up.

I was growing tired of getting in close, so I dropped my short blade and made my longer blade separate.

They had called it a whip blade, and it was a pretty accurate description.

I swung the hilt and the blade pieces followed a wide arc, lashing out a Cleaver.

He brought up his shield and blocked the blade, which slid harmlessly off.

“Princess, how did he remember all this stuff to write it down?” a young filly asked, interrupting Celestia ah she read.

She lowered the book to look at the small group of fillies and colts that sat around her.

“Some ponies have a gift for remembering almost everything, right down to the last detail,” she said.

“Can you remember that much detail?” a colt asked.

“Yes, I can remember things with quite clarity,” she replied.

“Wow... I wish I could remember stuff like that,” a filly piped up.

“Don’t worry, as you get older you’ll remember more,” she said to the little filly.

“Um, can we get back to the story? It was kind of getting exciting,” a colt asked.

Celestia gave a little chuckle, “Yes, we can. Now where were we...”

The other gladiator charged from the other direction as I continued to swipe at Cleaver’s shield.

Cleaver readied to swing his free hoof at the charging opponent, but he went right past Cleaver, and straight at me.

I pulled back on the hilt, and the whip blade came back towards me, wrapping around the charging pony’s neck like a collar.

He almost fell backwards when it pulled him away from me, and I could see his surprise when I lifted him up.

I made the hilt grow a solid blade and readied to pull him towards me.

“Wait!” He said, struggling at the collar of crystal around his neck.

“Wait... that voice...” I said, hesitating.

I noticed that the crowd had gone quiet, and I turned my head to see the Calidus ready to give his verdict.

Apparently he had enjoyed it as much as the crowd had, for he gave the sign for mercy, and I dropped the helmed pony.

I moved over and picked him up off the ground.

“What are you doing here? I hissed.

“Trying to save your sorry flank! I’ve been trying to get into this coliseum for two days to tell you the plan,” he snorted. “And how do I get repaid? You try to kill me!”

“Listen, we don’t have time right now,” I said turning away towards the gate I had come out of, “If we talk too long, they’ll suspect something.”

He left towards his gate, while I returned to mine.

When I returned to my cell, I was restless.

I couldn’t bear to wait to hear what this plan was, but somepony would have to be put in a match with him for him to be able to convey it.

It was another two days before I was put in with him, but this wasn’t any normal match.

It appeared that Calidus was getting tired of our success, so he was pitting two teams, both composed of Equestrians, into the arena.

One team was lead by Sombra, and the other was lead by myself.

Sombra had Soulless, Star Shine and Rose, Cleaver and Mattock, and the Wonderbolts that had been captured. I had Sophia, Trottson, Phalanx, Thunderlane, Haakim, and Silverwing and her squad.

It was “The match of the century” for the crowd, but it would also be many of our last.

As the two teams entered the arena we were met by thunderous applause.

“Today we have for you a very special match!” The announcer began, “For today, we see some of the fiercest gladiators in the arena face off in a battle royal!”

Calidus then stepped up to make his own announcement.

“This fight is one for your lives. Whichever team is left standing will be offered freedom,” he announced. “I think you can already guess what happens to the team that loses...”

He smirked as he signaled for the fight to begin, and the two teams moved to “fight”.

If there was one thing we had learned from the arena fights, it was how to fake a fight.

To the average onlooker, it appeared as if we were trying to kill each other, swords, axes, maces, and other weapons swinging and thrusting at one another, when in reality, all we were doing was stalling for time.

I was locked in combat with Sombra while he told me the plan that Soulless had come up with.

“Vinyl and Octavia are posing as guards,” he said as he blocked a swing.

“So that’s why Soulless was so confident,” I said parrying a thrust.

“Yes, all we need to do is stall until the barrier goes down,” he said, trying to trip me.

“And then it’s time to take some revenge,” I said, jumping over his sweeping hoof and taking a swing at him.

Sophia came from somewhere behind me and blocked both our blades as we were about to lock them together again.

“Mind if I join this dance?” she asked.

“Not at all,” I said, pulling back as one of her back hooves darted out to kick me.

“We were just discussing the plan,” Sombra said, blocking her blade.

“So, what is it?” She asked, whirling around to face me.

“We wait till the barrier goes down, then we strike,” I said, pulling her towards me, away from a swing from Sombra.

“Is that all?” she asked.

“Pretty much,” I said, twirling her behind me so that I could face Sombra again. “Spread the word,” I called over my shoulder.

Sombra and I continued to spar until Cleaver and Trottson came crashing between us, and we looked for others.

I rejoined Sophia close to the wall where She had squared up with Star Shine and Rose.

“How’s it going?” I asked as I shoved Star Shine aside to stand next to Sophia.

“We’ve been better,” Star said, swinging his trident at me.

“Sorry, but we’ve just got to hold out for Vinyl and Octavia,” I said, batting it away.

“What if they get caught?” Rose asked, taking a swing with some odd punching weapon.

“Don’t say that,” Sophia said, catching the slow swing.

Star used his net to wrap both their hooves up and tugged on them.

“Sorry, but we’re not in the best spirits,” he said, bringing the haft of his trident up towards her head.

I noticed it immediately when the barrier went down. It was like a blanket had been lifted off me as I felt the warmth of the sunlight.

The crowd wasn’t as pleased, as they soon began to panic and flee from the stands.

Since Sophia and I were close to the wall, I lifted her and myself up to the top of the wall with a crystal pillar, and was fortunate enough to be right in front of the emperor’s box.

Calidus was already running by the time we stepped off the pillar and into the booth. We were faced with two praetorians.

They brandished their halberds at us, but they didn’t stand a chance against my whip blade.

I wrapped it around the first’s legs and pulled him to the ground for Sophia to finish off while I immobilized the other by wrapping the blade around him and fusing the crystals to his armor.

When Sophia got up off the first one, she was standing next to a crystal statue of a praetorian.

After pushing him over, Sophia gave pursuit to Calidus while below in the arena, the gladiators were either fighting guards or freeing other gladiators.

I followed Sophia through the coliseum, in pursuit of Calidus.

We ran through a few narrow hallways and down a flight of stairs until we saw him fleeing towards the seat of his power, a large building towards the center of the city.

In between us and him were groups of guards fighting gladiators as they tried to get out of the arena.

As we made our way through the I recognized the mare that had stabbed Ivy, fighting with a pair of guards.

“What are you doing?” Sophia asked when I stopped.

I looked between the two of them.

“Go, I’ll catch up,” I said as I moved towards the mare.

I moved in between fighting ponies as I made my way through the crowd.

I reached her just as she had managed to stab one of them.

The second was about to take a stab at her when I wrapped my whip blade around the spear and pulled it from his grasp.

She quickly finished off the unarmed pegasus and turned to me.

“Thank-,” she was cut short by a small crystal stabbing her.

“That was for Ivy...” I growled, before letting go of the crystal and forming it flat to her body.

She gasped as her hoof went to the crystal.

She looked confused when there was no blood.

“I sealed the wound, now get these gladiators together, we need to rally,” I commanded before turning to chase after Sophia.

As I chased after Sophia, I could see an legion at least of soldiers standing outside the building, facing us.

I noticed that behind us, some of the gladiators had broken off and started to follow us.

When we got close to the building, Calidus turned around to face us, with the strength of a legion behind him.

Sophia stood at the front, with me slightly behind her, and Cleaver leading the gladiators that had followed us.

The two lines faced each other, one a slim line of pit fighters, the other a large formation of trained soldiers.

“Sophia, you’re little rebellion is over,” Calidus chuckled.

“I challenge you to a duel!” Sophia called across the intervening space.

“You really think I would be foolish enough to accept a duel?” He scoffed.

“Actually, we think that you’re honorable enough to not reject it,” a voice said from behind the formation of legionnaires.

“Arax?!” Calidus questioned.

The almost crippled stallion hobbled out of the formation.

“You thought this was your pet legion, but this is a legion of soldiers who are loyal to the triumvirate, the old guard if you will. If you were to kill Sophia in a duel they would follow you, but, if you refuse, then you show that you’re not even worthy to command one pony, let alone lead an entire empire,” Arax stored.

“Clever girl...” Calidus said as he turned back to Sophia. “Very well, I accept your challenge.

Sophia stepped forward, wielding her sword.

A legionnaire brought forward Calidus’ greatsword, which he took in shaking arms.

“What’s the matter, afraid to actually fight?” Sophia chided.

“I’m not afraid to fight you!” Calidus snapped.

“You should be,” Sophia said as she went to attack him.

Calidus was slow, but he was able to barely block Sophia’s swing.

From the pegasi’s perspective, it must have been downright shameful to see him fight so poorly.

Before too long it was apparent that it was already over, Calidus just didn’t know it yet.

It was just a matter of time before Sophia was able to land a thrus, which went right through his robes, staining them red.

She leaned in and whispered something to him before pushing him off of her blade and backwards onto the ground.

Sophia turned to us and raised her sword in victory.

Some of the legionaries cheered, but all of the gladiators were shouting her victory to the heavens.

Sophia sheathed her sword and walked up to me.

“Thank you Mixer for helping me. I’ll have your friends released and taken care of until you can return to your homeland. I also plan on giving the Saddle Arabians their cities back,” she said.

Cleaver walked up behind me and addressed her, “What about the gladiators?”

“Those of you who wish to stay may, but you are all free to go when you wish,” she said.

“Thanks for the offer mam, but, somepony’s got to entertain the people,” he said, hefting his blade onto his shoulder.

Sophia gave him a little smile, “I suppose you’re right.”

Arax approached us at that point.

“Well, there aren’t enough of us left, and I’m too old to be emperor so...” he trailed off, letting his eyes convey his meaning.

Sophia nodded, “I think it’s time for a change Arax.”

“As you wish empress,” he said, doing the best he could to bow.

“I never said that I didn’t need an advisor though,” she said.

“Would you like to address your legions now?” he asked, motioning to the soldiers behind him.

“Yes,” she said, and started walking to the top of a set of steps leading to the building.

She turned around and looked over the legionnaires and the gladiators, all warriors who had followed her lead.

“First of all, thank you, all of you who followed me to this point. And also, I send my thanks to all those that didn’t live to see Calidus’ fall. Up until this point, we pegasi have felt superior to the other races, but meeting these other ponies, these Equestrians, has show me that they have their own worth, and that they are no worse than us, some even better. I know it may not sound appealing to all of you, but I’m going to encourage the other pony races to involve themselves in both the military and government,” she paused to let the murmurs that had broken out die down.

“I will also promote peace with the Saddle Arabians and Equestrians. Without their help, this wouldn’t have been possible.”

She stopped when she saw something approaching through the air.

The rest of us turned and saw Celestia and Luna approaching, as well as a pair of chariots.

They were upon the capitol building in no time and landed ready for a fight.

The Elements of Harmony stepped off of the chariots and readied for battle as well.

“Peace,” Sophia said, holding up her hoof towards the two battle ready princesses. “Calidus has been dealt with. You are in no danger anymore.”

Celestia and Luna relaxed slightly.

Sombra pushed his way to the front of the crowd and ran up to Luna and gave her a hug.

“It’s alright, I only wish for us to be at peace,” Sophia said, making her way down the steps.

“You want peace?” Celestia asked.

“Yes,” Sophia said, walking up to her, “I wish our two nation to be friends,” she said, extending her hoof.

Celestia took her hoof and shook it.

“If you wish to make peace, then we would be more than happy to oblige,” she said.

“Princess Celestia, I’m sorry about what happened to you because of my “predecessor”, would you like to discus how I can make it up to you?” Sophia asked.

“You have done more wrong to the Saddle Arabians, it is them who you should talk to,” Celestia said as Haakim came walking up to them.

I left them at that point and went back to the members of the Lunar guard who had gathered together along with Soulless and a couple gladiators, including Cleaver.

“So, happy ending after all,” Soulless said.

“Thanks to you,” I said.

“Don’t thank me, I only helped,” he said.

“Where are Octavia and Vinyl” I asked.

“We’re right here,” a pegasus said off to my right.

Huh?” I said as I turned to see two pegasi mares.

“Oh, yes...” Soulless said, before dropping the illusion surrounding them, revealing them as they should have been.

“Wow, I didn’t even recognize you,” I said.

“Yeah, Soul’s pretty good at illusions,” Vinyl said, pulling her sunglasses out from underneath her helmet before tossing it away.

“I know,” I said.

“So, where is Ivy? I don’t see her,” Soulless asked.

“I... I’m not sure,” I said.

I hadn’t seen her since she’d been injured.

“It’s not polite to talk about somepony like they’re not here,” Ivy said, walking up with Mattock.

“She’s better, but she should still take it easy, that was a pretty bad wound,” Mattock said.

“I’m glad you’re alright,” I said.

“I wouldn’t be if it weren’t for you,” she said.

“I’d rather not think about that...” I said.

“So how are we all supposed to get back?” Brick asked.

“The airship is still in Saddle Arabia, so I’m guessing we hoof it back to there then fly home,” Soulless said.

“No need to worry about that,” Luna said as she walked up to us with Sombra, “The airship is on its way here.”

“So I guess we’re staying here for another night,” I said.

“Yes, I’m sorry,” she apologized.

I gave a sigh, “What’s one more night? I can wait if it means we can all go home.”

“I’d just teleport us all there, but it’s way too far,” Sobra said.

“Don’t worry yourself about it, we’ll just have to wait,” I said.
~~~~

Three days later, we were finally approaching Canterlot.

We had left Sophia in good standing and taken Haakim back to Saddle Arabia.

By the time we could see the castle, everypony was eager to get back.

“When we get back, I want all of you to take some time off to recuperate,” Luna said.

“I won’t argue with that,” I said.

“You’ve all been through alot, maybe perhaps now things will calm down,” Celestia said.

“We can hope,” I said.

Soon that airship was docked in the hangar and we all disembarked and went to our respective beds.

When Silverwing and I got to the door, Crystal came running out and attached herself to our front legs.

“You’re back!” she cried.

“Yes, we’re back,” Silverwing said.

“And this time, hopefully for good,” I added.

The Mixer Chronicles

by Mixer

Arrival

Meetings and Meltdowns

Setting down Roots

Canterlot Wedding: Part 1

Canterlot Wedding: Part 2

Canterlot Wedding: Part 3

New Beginnings

The Talk

Reporting for Duty Part 1

From Beyond the End

Truth and Lies

Resolute

Rmembrance

The Devil's Due

Discovery

Seeing Double

Sentinel

Gathering the Guard

New Problems, Old Solutions

Peaceful

Whirlwind

Shadows of the Past

Shadows of the Past part 2

Shadows of the Past part 3

Rainbow Factory

Extermination

Aftermath

Old Friend

Chasing Rainbows

Moon's Rising

Moon's Zenith

Homecoming

Veni, Vidi, Vici

Unum Omnes

Sands of the Coliseum

The Fall

The End