One Hoof in Front of the Other

Fancy Pants and Iron Heart went through the stable door. Fleur stopped at the threshold.

“What's wrong?” Fancy Pants asked. Iron Heart continued into the first room.

Fleur looked all around the massive doorway. It was shaped like a gear. Massive grooves followed into the entry way. A large metal door was rolled away, leaving the metal sarcophagus unsealed. Iron Heart looked over at Fleur.

“Nothing so far. Some panels, I think they operate something, maybe that door.”

“Come, dear, let's enter,” Fancy Pants cajoled.

Fleur's attention had been elsewhere, but she snapped back to Fancy Pants. “So long. It's been so... long. But not that long ago...” she looked scared.

“My dear, nothing is in there. Nothing except the queen. We all know that none are allowed inside her personal chambers.”

“It's not her, it's the ghosts.”

“Don't be preposterous!”

“You're one of them! I'm sorry, love, oh no, don't harm me. I tried,” Fleur started crying, “I tried, but you didn't see. But then the rest joined you! Now you're back! Please no, CELESTIA NO!” Fleur dropped to her haunches, paralyzed and inconsolable.

Fancy Pants changed into a changeling and smacked Fleur with a hoof. Fleur changed, too. “Get a hold of yourself! You're going to face the queen. I promised you I'd follow you. You even convinced me not to run. And this is how you repay me? With the past? What about my...,” Fancy Pants checked himself, shaking his head. “What about our future. Without your courage, neither of us have one. At least we'd have a chance at one if you didn't go on with this foolishness.”

Fleur looked up at him, still terrified. She seemed to recognize who was speaking to her. “Please. Just this one thing. Stay like that until we leave.”

“On my honor.”

Fancy Pants helped her up as Iron Heart looked on. “Second thoughts?”

Fleur looked at Iron Heart but didn't say anything. She stepped through the door and then took a few minutes to steady herself. Resolve worked its way into her expression, washing away her dry terror.

“Make no mistake,” Fleur added sternly, “This is a place where the dead speak.”

The trio beat an uneven cadence on the metal floor. Fancy Pants and Fleur were silent. Iron Heart gave a small whistle. “I've never been in one of these before.”

“Stable 0 was different. He wanted it to be the best of both worlds. A safety he'd never have to use. Planned extra luxuries for us all.”

“Who?”

Fleur was about to respond but she stopped herself. “Nothing, let's keep moving.”

Some of the dim lighting that still worked flickered while the rest of it was barely adequate to light their way. Breathing and the tink-tonk of their hooves were the only things they heard.

After awhile they came to an office. A faded white placard read “overstallion” the bulb still worked, but barely. Iron Heart did notice an unusual scarring on the metal in the area. A gangplank adjoining the office to an overlook of the room had been torn down.

They went inside, Fleur looked up. “Hello Laureate, it's been a long time.”

Fancy Pants looked up and hissed, Iron Heart's head worked as he stifled a whinny. On the ceiling was a pony. His center was burst open and his muzzle was pulled back in a look of terror. A strange substance encased and suspended him to the ceiling.

“He was a good pony, the best, really.” Fleur looked around, sad. She moved over to the desk. She let out a whinny. “It's not here! The escape is open, too.”

“What's not there?” Iron Heart whispered.

“What we came for, it's gone! We have to get out of here before-” there was a loud bang outside. All three looked at each other. They jumped when another metallic bang rang out. Fleur started to make for the exit. She noticed Iron Heart didn't follow. She tugged his shoulder and motioned to the opened safe and then the emergency exit. Iron Heart brushed her off. A loud, metallic scraping started.

Iron Heart started toward the door silently. Fleur started for the exit. Fancy Pants stood still, confused and trying to do his best to be quiet. “Bang!” rang out again.

“We have to go!” Fleur let out as quietly as she could. Fancy Pants looked over at her, then at Iron Heart, he couldn't make a decision. Iron Heart was transfixed, he needed to know what was making the sound. He got to the door. His body shuddered with the sound of another bang.

He tried not to think of the crystallized pony glued to the ceiling as he left the room. He gave a cautious look up and down the hall, then into an adjoining room. It was fairly large and had a partially collapsed walkway that ran around the room, making a second story. Also on this level was a hallway other than the one they'd come from. The collapsed section of walkway had lead from his current location to that other hallway. With an easy beat of his wings, Iron Heart bobbed up and down initially floating in place. He then made his way carefully across to the other side.

Curiosity tugged at Iron Heart to go through the closed doors he passed in this new hallway, but the sound kept coming from further down the hallway. He forced himself to go on. While the bangs and clangs echoed nicely off the metal hall, he noticed he was getting closer to the source because the sound was becoming more clear. The hallway took a turn to the left. He peeked around the corner before bringing his full body into view. Farther down this section was an opening into another room. As he reached the opening, he found himself in a room almost identical to the one with the collapsed walkway. This walkway was fully in tact, but he carefully looked around it for traps, just the same. Iron Heart continued to bob quietly as the lower floor came into view.

Another piercing screech was followed by a bang. A large collection of jointed plates was on the ground in the center of an open room. Iron Heart couldn't exactly tell what he was looking at, but it was big... and it was moving. A bony clunk rang out as the plates shifted and moved with some unseen force. A section lifted high into the air and slammed back down, causing another metallic bang to echo.

Something caught his eye. He quickly flew to another corner of the room, noting possible escape routes along the way. Even with the new vantage Iron Heart had to strain his eyes in the low light to see... a pair of hind legs, and a wiggling flank. “What in the hell?” The hind end of a pony was sticking out of the head of something, the head of something big, and it looked like it was in trouble. “What in the hell! Hold on, I'm coming!”

Iron Heart swooped down, but circled, waiting for the form to wake up, to try and eat him, but there was nothing. Landing, he heard muffled cries for help. He came close, put an exploratory hoof on the muzzle of this gigantic... thing, and pushed. His body strained but nothing happened. He put his back under the massive head, and lifted with all four legs. He couldn't see much, just the occasional kick of a hind leg. After grunting and straining, however, four hooves bound out. He collapsed, panting. As the jaws slid back into place, there was a squeak that reminded him of a squeaky toy.

“Mighty kind of you to let me out, but I think my friend's gonna need help too!” Iron Heart looked up and whinnied (he was beginning to hate how often that was happening) at the rotting face that was looking down at him. He stood back up and got caught on the skull. “That's okay, I get that a lot. Don't you worry, I'm not gonna eat you. At least I'm not planning to.”

Iron Heart stood there, immobilized and panting. A foreleg was lifted and his head was partially turned in fear, so that only one eye was facing the horror. There he stayed for a few moments, unsure of what to do. The set of hindquarters sticking out of this gigantic thing gave a few more kicks of protest, but then went limp- accepting their fate. “I, you,” Iron Heart started. The rotting form skipped around a few times, stretched, and groaned happily as hidden joints popped and snapped. Between the limber, smiling zombie before him, the gigantic form he was caught on, and the set of limp hindquarters sticking out of it, Iron Heart was at a loss.

“Welcome to Stable Zero! That over there's the bar,” Iron Heart didn't bother to look and see what the zombie was pointing to, “this here's the dancing floor,” the walking, talking dead gave a little dance and a proud shake of his rump, “and this here's the dead queen!” His hoof gestured magnificently at whatever it was Iron Heart was stuck on. The words "dead" and "queen" stuck with him.

The happy, excited, undead pony wasn't making any sense.. Two other thoughts clung to his subconscious. One, comething about the dead pony's exuberance and mannerisms reminded him of something... gray. His subconscious seemed to drown this thought with a sudden furor. Two, and this was the thought that bubbled to the surface, Fleur was bucking right, the dead do talk in here.

“And that there's my stuck friend! He almost died!” Iron Heart slowly looked at where the putrefying pony pointed. It was the limp hindquarters. A whimpering cry came from inside the... whatever it was. “Would you mind opening that up again?”

“How can I be sure you won't... eat... me?"

“Now that's plain rude! Didn't your momma ever tell you not to judge a book by its rotting, fleshy cover? My name's Bray, and I'll do anything to get my friend get out of here okay. Tell you what.” The pony hacked and hawked a few times. The zombie pony's whole body convulsed with effort. He worked up enough spit to fling on his hoof and extend it to Iron Heart. “Shake on it.”

Even from where he was Iron Heart could smell and see that he didn't want to be anywhere near whatever sticky substance the other pony had managed to discharge onto his hoof. “No need.” Iron Heart nickered. He lowered himself and came unstuck. Bracing once more, he lifted again.

“Alright now, just a little higher!”

“Trying,” Iron Heart grunted. He extended his knees fully.

“Good. Umph!” There was some more whimpering and the scratching of hooves, followed by a thud.

“Got it!”

Iron Heart collapsed, sweating.

“IRON HEART!” What the painfully familiar voice lacked in volume it made up for in enthusiasm. “You came back for me! My hero!” Tiny hooves wrapped themselves around Iron Heart, who stayed on the ground. He was exhausted and panting, too tired to brush off the nuisance... even though it was nuzzling him.

“That's enough Grey! What gave you the... huff... bucking bright idea to... oh never mind.”

“You haven't changed a bit Iron Heart! Same old pouty puss!”

“So you two know each other?”

Grey and Iron Heart both looked and nodded. Grey did so excitedly while Iron Heart did so with exasperation.

“Well now, ain't that something? Good thing you came when you did, though. Grey and I had been trying to get him out ever since he asked the queen to eat him. I kinda got stuck, too. Oh yeah, why did you do that, anyway?”

More hooves approached.

“Grey? Grey! You're alive! Is that the queen? Is she... oh no.” Fleur gasped. “Grey what did you use? How did you kill her? Oh goddess! Fancy Pants, stay away! Not a step closer!”

Grey looked up. "Fleur! That's your voice, but you look all weird.” Grey put a hoof to his muzzle. “I guess you could put it like that. C'mon Iron Heart, lazy legs, we're opening this up again.”

Iron Heart looked at Grey like a whipped dog. “You're kidding. You're kidding, right?”

“Heck no! Wait I didn't say it right...” Grey contemplated what went wrong.

“Hell no!”

“That's it!”

“Grey, unless you can convince me that there is any bucking good reason to-”

“It's a surprise!”

Iron Heart dead-panned, failing to see how that was supposed to change his mind. “...And...”

“It'll be easier with all of us working together.”

“... still not doing it Grey.”

“Okay!” Grey flopped on Iron Heart and started hugging and nuzzling him.

Iron Heart let fly a string of cursing as he flung Grey off, grunted and snorted, pawed the ground and threw his back against the plates.

Grey added his tiny magic and Bray pushed. “We need more power, Fleur? Fleur!”

“Grey I don't-”

Grey turned around to her. “Do you trust me?”

“I've lived in a hive that survives by implanting its young in ponies that eat their way out. Grey, how could I ever trust you? How could you ever trust me?” the changeling eyed Grey dubiously. Iron Heart cussed and yelled when Grey let his magic drop. He trotted up to Fleur. As a changeling, her size was still similar to what it was when she looked like a pony, and she was significantly taller than Grey. He went on his hind legs and hugged her.

“Because, Fleur is your real name... and you're gonna want to see this.” Both of them looked at each other. She knew what he saw. It wasn't a changeling, it was her. And she was both.

“Darling?" The Fancy bug asked. "What is this?”

She sighed. “It's alright. He knows.” Fleur moved over to the maw and added her magic. The head glowed green. Fancy Pants came up next to her and added his magic. They fed off each other and their magic surged, bathing the room in jade. The jaws lifted higher than Iron Heart and Bray could reach. Deep within the consuming coffin, two emerald jewels came alive. Fleur whinnied.

Grey moved over, sticking his head into the wicked maw. “It's okay, you can come out now.” There was a hiss, but it sounded wrong. “Fine! Stay in there. See if I care!” Grey stuck out his tongue. He turned his back on them. Grey looked over his shoulder, concerned. “You know, we can't keep this up forever. If you stay in there, I can't help you. You'll die.” Concern and sadness worked their way into Grey's voice. The eyes went from defiant to unsure. They looked around. There was a strange, soft sound. “Want me to help you?” The eyes turned to look away, but they looked up at Grey, too. “Okay, I can do that.” Grey jumped in the jaws of death. None could see what was going on. As something was pushed toward the opening, it started to struggle. “Too late now,” Grey laughed. There was the sound of hooves scratching, trying to get away.

With a final push, the thing was within hoof's reach of Iron Heart and Bray. There was a struggle. A scared voice pleaded in a strange, terrified timbre. Grey came out and added his diminutive weight to the effort. A final tug and all four came free of the cryptic crop. The magic imploded. The dead jaws fell shut with a snap. Every eye had to adjust to the low light.

Slowly, the progeny that had resulted came into Iron Heart's view. At first, he thought he saw the figure from the statue again, he even felt a shiver as he recalled the confident form from the stained glass window he'd crashed through. But this wasn't that form. She had all the features from the statue, but they were all conformed, molded, into a different template. She was a pony. She lay on the ground, trembling, weak, and beautiful.

She looked around the room, terrified. Her head bumbled around, unable to focus on any one thing. Even in the low light and spartan furnishings, she looked like the world threatened to overwhelm her. She struggled to get up and steady herself on newborn hooves. Grey came into her view and she cried out and fell. “It's okay, come here.” Grey lay her down with a gentle hoof. He nuzzled and comforted her, even laying his muzzle across her and giving her a few licks. Iron Heart was astonished. He got the distinct impression of looking at a mother and her newborn. “Fleur?”

Fleur came over, speechless. “I need you to help me with something very important. Say hello, Chryss.” The pony put her muzzle into Grey's side, afraid of Fleur's new form. Grey made a sigh. There was suffering in it. He looked back at Fleur, earnestly. “You see, I have two children to deliver tonight.”

All of them made their way to the med bay. On the way, Grey gave something to Iron Heart to guard “with his life.” After making their way slowly (Grey had to help Chryss along), they arrived in the med bay.

Grey directed Fleur, giving her stern instructions and refusing to allow any other pony or changeling to help. Fleur gathered a body bag. For some reason, Grey broke down when she brought over a dead zebra. He talked to the body and coddled it. Fleur had to get his attention.

“Please,” he cried, “just a little longer.”

Fleur gave him a few minutes and came back. “It's time.” Grey had her seal the zebra and a dead fledgling changeling in the same body bag.

“But you bury or cremate them separately. I won't forgive you if you don't. It killed Xhenora. Okay, this next.” Grey motioned to his side.

Grey had Fleur sanitize the area, himself, herself, and a number of instruments. He made it clear to her to be gentle, otherwise the unborn changeling would kill itself and try to poison him. He had her give him local anesthetic. Carefully, they felt for the area below the skin. Grey told her to take a scalpel and incise the skin around it. He twinged in pain suddenly. “Missed a spot. Okay. Oh,” he cried softly, “oh it hurts. Oh no... Fleur, there's a syringe there. Tell me what color it is.” She did. “Med-X, give it to me, please. On the foreleg facing you. Just above upper arm and elbow you should see the vein. Try to follow it with the needle. I'll guide you.” Fleur gingerly inserted the needle as Grey instructed. He had her activate the injector. “Oh good.” Grey's head came down. “Oh Xhenora. Why couldn't we get to you earlier? Oh my beautiful,” Grey sobbed.

“Grey, what do I do now?”

“Okay. Continue the incision, keep it shallow. The mirror.” Fleur showed him. “More. The blood's normal, wash it out.” She showed him again. “That's good. Now pull the flap back, and carefully, very carefully, lift her or him out and put the child in the tray.” After she was done, she came back. “Sterilize with that light there.” She activated a small magical light, holding it over the area for a minute. “Okay, now put the skin back and hold the mirror and bring me the needle and thread.” Grey carefully sutured himself as Fleur held the mirror in place.

He spoke to her. “Don't you dare breathe a word, just listen. One more chance. You all get one more chance. You're not a pony anymore, there's no way you can go back. You have to lead them now. That's the price you pay. You have to lead them both. Chryss is a pony now. She has to live as one of them. You've allowed your own kind to kill your own kind.” Fleur was having trouble understanding him now. “Fleur, if you mess this one chance up. Well, if I ever hear of what's been going on happening again, I'll consider stopping your population to save the ponies. I wouldn't want to, but I'd be responsible for their lives. You and I are responsible for them both, now. And if you won't be responsible for the ponies' lives...” he moved the needle and thread around Fleur's hoof and quickly levitated the needle very close to her eye. She gasped and wavered, but her senses reminded her that she was now tangled in the thread, and the thread was tied to Grey’s flesh. She stayed steady, continuing to hold the mirror. Her eyes changed focus, meeting Grey's. “I will.” Chryss peered over curiously to see what was happening. Grey used another clean scalpel to cut the thread. He tied off the suture's end.

“Done, oh I'm done. I'm so tired Xhenora. My love I... I'm soo...” Grey fell unconscious. The thread and needle came to rest around Fleur's hoof.

Sun Shower almost knocked Iron Heart over. “Aren't I supposed to be the one sweeping flew obf huf pfuf?” While he'd gotten used to talking without feeling much, forming words with two tongues in his mouth was impossible. Her golden eyes reflected a fire deep within.

Suddenly, she had backed up. “That's for coming back okay. This is for lying” A hoof rapped against his head.

“I haven't lied about anything!”

Another hoof beat on his head. “And for denying it!”

Iron Heart grimaced, rubbing his head. He looked up, confused. “I really don't.”

She went to hit him again, but he checked the blow with a hoof. “All right, now I need you to tell me what's going on.

“Claire talked to me while all of you were gone.”

Iron Heart felt a little proud about that. He’d helped the filly and made sure Sun Shower would be safe. “She’s a cutie, huh? She okay?”

“Fancy Pants picked her up a few minutes before you came in. She’s fine.”

“So the problem’s…”

“I’ve heard you swear up and down, and I’ve even heard you take Celestia’s name in vain. But Claire said you told her something very different.”

“I’m not seeing a problem here.”

“You lied. You told her things you didn’t believe to get her to cooperate.”

“…Seriously? Tell me you’re not serious.” Sun Shower’s expression didn’t change. “Shit, you are serious. The kid’s dad was dead. I wasn’t gonna just do nothing, and I sure as hell wasn’t gonna let her stay like that, she needed something to hang on to.”

“So you thought you’d make up some pretty little story that you heard somewhere that you thought she’d like.”

“No, dammit, it’s not like that!”

“Really? Tell me then, what’s it like, because I can’t see myself falling for somepony who’s different depending on the time of day. Either you believe or you don’t, you don’t get to play both sides for your own-“

“I thought you’d be happy!” Iron Heart was angry and he didn’t care. “Buck! Isn’t that what you and Grey and all the rest want? A pure Celestial bucking confession! I thought I’d give her a chance, I thought that after all the times she failed me, I thought maybe that kid could find some comfort. Maybe you’re right. Maybe I should just tell her that Celestia or whatever the hell else is up there’s just gonna take whatever it can.”

“Are you saying you think that Celestia took something away from you?”

“I’m saying I know it.”

“But that doesn’t make any sense.”

“Wake… the buck… up. I don’t even know who I am, but I know enough ta see that life sucks everything out of you and leaves you to die.”

Sun Shower was shivering. “Iron Heart, that’s so cold.”

“Yeah, well that’s what’s real. Welcome to my world, all just a matter of time before something comes along and kills everything that you love.” Iron Heart was panting and snorting. Sun Shower fixed him with a stare.

“I’ve seen hellfire fall from the sky. It fell on a small settlement and started killing all the ponies there. No reason, no cause that we knew about. No matter how much we wanted to we wouldn’t go in until the fire rain stopped.” Sun Shower’s muzzle turned into a frown. “I pleaded with the Order Mother to let us go in, but she forbade it. We even had to restrain one of our own. After it was all done, we went looking for survivors. One stallion was all we found. He was badly burned and had a broken leg. Without pulling him from the ashes, without us being there, he’d have died. All we could see was the charred and broken bodies of his friends and loved ones. All he saw was us as guardian angels. We didn't do much, just what was right, and that wasn’t nearly enough. But you know what? He never forgot about those he'd lost. He loved them all the same and talked about them, but never once mentioned how they died. They were taken away and he loved them all the same. We became his friends, his new family, too. He went on to be one of the Order’s great healers.”

Sun Shower came close to Iron Heart and raised her head, looking strong and unmovable as she did so. “Fragility and loss doesn’t make life meaningless, it makes it precious. Celestia’s rare and precious gift is why we fight for every moment, that’s why we do all we can to make every bit good, because when it’s gone, we can see each other in what comes next and say how wonderful a gift it was.” Iron Heart didn’t respond, but something was changing inside of him. “That’s why I want to share it with you.” She smiled. “You’re crying again.”

“No I’m…” Iron Heart patted below an eye, “shit.”

Sun Shower kissed him. He kissed her back. The rest night passed much the same way. Iron Heart tried to go further, but Sun Shower stopped him each time and told him something else from her past instead. Each new story revealed to him a piece of her history that was important to her.

“What are you doing?”

“Come on Iron Heart, there’s more than one way to get close to a pony. Do this for me now, please. We’ll both be rewarded later.”

“I don’t get it.”

“Sex is just one step in making love, and it’s one of the later ones. I don’t want us to put the cart before the pony. Trust me, let’s do this first.”

Iron Heart sighed. His body didn’t seem to mind. At least he didn’t feel it if it did. He wasn’t used to this, it was different. His musings were interrupted by another round of deep kissing from Sun Shower. Maybe it was different in a good way.

“I don’t get it,” he volunteered when they took a break, “This isn’t gonna change what I think. How could you still want this?”

Sun Shower looked into Iron Heart’s eyes. He looked angry, as if there was something that he wasn’t letting go of. “I’ll be literally damned if I don’t try.” After all, she thought, maybe whatever it is isn’t letting go of him.

He was semi-conscious. There was no way for him to get comfortable. Every time he’d shift around something would keep him from falling asleep. There were times where he’d gotten some good rest, but something kept ruining it. “Five more hours,” and other excuses provided no defense against the intrusions. His lips moved but what came out was barely a whisper. “But I’ve been a good… deserve it.”

Something pushed him a little. He swatted at it in his sleep. It brushed against him again. This time it nipped at him. His body was awake enough to retaliate, at least. Whatever it was got a sleepy unicorn wrapped around it. It made a good pillow… as long as it didn’t move… which it promptly did.

“Aww.” He gave a loud yawn. Blinking, the world came into a blurry focus. “Where…” Something black moved. A shock of a blue-green color moved along, too. “Come back my blurry pillow.” He stumbled to his hooves, playing a low speed, high stakes game of cat and fuzzy black thing. Wandering this way and that was only going to prolong things, so he picked a direction. The thing seemed to look one way, then the other, and then no matter how fast he pursued it he didn’t catch it. That is, until it stopped moving. “Gotcha!” He hugged the squishy thing and fell over.

“Stupid pony, get off!”

He yawned again, rubbing his eyes with a hoof. The blurry black fuzz focused into a bristling black pony. She was a unicorn with a jet black coat and a dark turquoise mane and tail. Her eyes were a brilliant green. Certain things were odd about her, however. For example, her eyes were pointy ovals, almost like a cat's. Another difference was the fangs... which she was baring at Grey.

“You can talk!” Grey bounded around her. “You can talk, you can talk, you can talk, you can talk, you can taaaaaalk!” She hissed at him, but it sounded more silly than threatening. “And hiss! You're much better at catastrophic biological alterations than Iron Heart.”

“Of course I can! What kind of a queen can't talk?”

“A pony queen! We've never had one of those, I wonder how the others will take it.”

“Not a pony queen you pest, the Changeling Queen.”

“I'm afraid not anymore, but look at you, you're so adorable!” Grey wrapped his forelegs around the belligerent pony, bowling her over once more.

“I order you to get off!” Her svelte frame writhed as Grey hugged and nuzzled her.

“You're so soft and pony, nothing like that awful shell.” His head popped up. He started to smile like an idiot. “Chryss, oh you're gonna love this! You finally came out of your shell! … Get it?”

Utter disgust shocked her limbs into action. She groaned and let out a cry and struggled to get away from the clutches of this evil pun pony. She reached over and bit him. To her amazement, he bit her back. While her fangs broke skin, Grey's teeth gummed at her coat. The effect still took her by surprise, however, and she let go. Not a single creature had ever been able to approach her, let alone gum her, physically. Very few could even stand her presence. Being knocked to the ground and then bitten were two experiences she couldn't remember ever having.

“You look better than you taste, ptooey! I keep trying to tell you that you can't order anypony around anymore.”

“I keep telling you I'm ordering changelings, not ponies!”

“So either way you still don't get to order me.”

“What? No, I... wait. Not fair pony!”

“No, killing off generations of ponies to suit your reproductive lust isn't fair. And if I remember right, some pony wanted to know what love was supposed to look like.”

Chryss' eyes seemed to lose their luster. She looked at the ground. Grey trotted around her, looked away, then looked back wearing a pair of ridiculous glasses with no lenses.

“Rule number one: you have to give what you want to get. You can't claim to love anything if you're not willing to love it first.” Chryss didn't follow the second part. “Rule number two!” Grey swung around and held a hoof near her muzzle. She backed up a little, staring at the point of his hoof. “Put the good of the person you love above your own.” Grey's face fell. “I loved you, even though you killed my friend. That's why I couldn't kill you back. It wouldn't have been good for you to die without at least knowing what love was supposed to be.” Of all the new things she was experiencing, of all the shock of her transformation, the new feeling in her breast was the most radical, it was one thing she couldn't understand.

Without losing a moment, Grey returned to his authoritative stance, wheeling on Chryss once more. “Rule number three, and perhaps the most important!” He pushed the square, lensless glasses up on the bridge of his snout. “Enjoy being with the one you love.”

Deep within Chryss something snapped. She gave another silly hiss, bounded to her hooves, and pinned Grey. He let out a surprised cry, but offered little resistance. Her horn started to glow. She let out a low hiss, and her eyes grew green with lust. Unsure of what to make of his plight, Grey assumed he was pretty well doomed.

Chryss stared at her prey, and she un-fed. As strange as it sounded, she was feeding, or at least it felt the same but different, too. Normally when she fed, she'd magically eat and tear things out of a creature. Now, she couldn't fight the urge to let that feeling out, to pour it into the pony below her new hooves. That feeling, there was so much of it welling up inside that her chest felt tight, like it was about to burst. Passing all that onto Grey did more than relieve the pressure, it felt good... really good.

Green magic locked onto Grey's horn. His body relaxed and gave a spasm. Instinctively, Grey pushed back with his own magic. The two forces fought with each other.

“Chryss, how are you- what-” Grey panted and grimaced with effort. Something twisted in the way he thought about what was going on. Instead of pushing the magic away, instead of fighting it, Grey let her magic hit him directly. Offering no resistance, Grey worked his magic around hers. Both Chryss' and Grey's magic wound their way past and into the other. Chryss and Grey poured raw magic into the other. It wasn't magic wrought to attack, or ward, or deceive. Instead, Chryss and Grey expressed their magic, one to another. As soon as that happened, Grey stopped. He pushed Chryss away, her magic stopped.

“What is wrong?” Chryss put out a fore leg now, reaching out to Grey. Grey liked the sound of her voice. It had a strange, magical timbre that he couldn't put into words. That made him hate it all the more.

“You killed so many ponies. Xhenora's dead because of you... I can't. I couldn't do that to her.” Grey's expression had fallen again, but this time it was outright miserable. Chryss reached out to him again. “NO!” he smacked her away.

“But. I need you. How else can I learn magic like ponies do?”

“I ignored all of them for you. WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT?”

“Love.” Chryss looked at him, scared.

“Love? Love! Rrrgh!” Grey gave a childish little grunt like a colt whose mother wouldn't buy him a new toy. “You took mine away from me! I'm sorry Chryss, loving some pony that treats me like that isn't a trick I think I'll ever learn!” Grey stormed out while Chryss looked on alone, confused.

Grey put each hoof down hard as he moved. Each step was angry. After awhile he got so angry at trotting, at the floor for just being there, that he growled at it. He suddenly started pummeling it. “Stupid floor! Stupid hooves!”

Grey kept it up for a full two minutes. He didn't even know where he was, but he hated it all the same. There he sat, alone, while a flutter of tiny dings and clops echoed down the hall. At the end of the two minutes he stopped. He leaned against the wall, huffing and puffing. He forgot why he was angry. A zebra's smile appeared in his mind. “That's right!” he yelled. Making to hit the floor again, he realized how little an impact his hooves had. They hadn't affected the floor at all. Nothing had changed despite his fury.

“Um... Chryss?” Chryss looked in the doorway. Grey stood there, looking up with his eyes. His ears were flat against his head and his muzzle low to the floor. Two tiny luminescent rivers streamed down Chryss' face. A small puddle of softly glowing green pooled below her head. “I shouldn't... I mean...,” Grey swallowed. “Would you... tell me about you? I'd like to know, even though I don't deserve to.”

Everything was feeling strange, different to Chryss. She couldn't understand what was going on. Even though she was hurt, even though she shivered and sobbed, Chryss couldn't help but smile through the tears. Up until then she'd never felt so wounded, so alone. But now that he was back, while she was still angry at him, she had never felt so happy to see anyone.

There was a knock at the door. Soon after the knock, the door opened. Iron Heart saw Grey and Chryss laying on the floor opposite each other.

“…so that’s what it’s like, eating. But I never thought about feeding another, only being fed by them.”

“That’s why you never had enough food for you, let alone your kingdom,” Grey responded.

“Being a pony- I understand that you can do that, but it’s scary. What if the other one won’t feed me back?”

“You only try and feed those you trust. Reach out in that situation, but never stay with any pony who won’t feed you back. Oh, and by any pony I mean any other individual.”

“I thought so. Still a lot to learn.”

“Me too. But thanks so much for showing me-” Iron Heart gave a throaty cough that interrupted Chryss and Grey’s conversation.

“Gotta go Grey.”

“Awww, but Chryss and I just started learning from each other.” Grey pouted.

“What have you to been doing all night?” Iron Heart meant that to imply something, but he was really curious, too.

“Talking.”

“…Just talking?”

“Uh-huh.”

‘And… this talking, involved….”

“Lots of stuff. I told her all about our adventures to get here, and how I found you on the mountain and we fought some ponies and then found a bomb cart and then flew all the way down to that town that was in trouble …” Grey went on and started adding in more and more detail. Iron Heart tried to speak a couple of times, but Grey wouldn’t stop. Iron Heart started rubbing his head, he was sorry he asked. “…Then when it was her turn, she taught all sorts of stuff, but especially-“

“Dammit Grey, nopony cares! Look we have to go.”

“Come on Chryss.”

Chryss got to her hooves, excited. “I don’t think she’s coming with us, Grey.”

“Why not? Besides, we don’t have any say, she does.”

“If by she, you mean Fleur, then you’re right.”

“But… I, we just became friends!”

“Doesn’t matter. We have to go, and she’s not coming.”

“No!” Grey’s voice cracked. “I won’t accept that! She’s my friend and I won’t let her go!”

Grey stormed out of the door, starting down the hall. After a couple of seconds, he stormed back just as angrily and as not embarrassed as he could. Grey’s muzzle opened, but before he said anything, Iron Heart put his hoof in Grey's muzzle and used his other fore leg to point down the hall in the other direction.

“When you get to the intersection, take a left.”

“Thanks Iron Heart. I’m still angry. And I’m still storming off!”

Chryss looked scared, made to get up, but stopped and lay back down.

“Well, go on,” Iron Heart encouraged. Chryss gasped like she’d forgotten something. She bounded to her hooves and galloped out of the room.

“You can’t make her stay. You can’t make me leave.”

Fleur sighed. She didn’t need this now. The tiny unicorn was giving her a headache. He was also smaller than she remembered. “I’d never make you leave Grey. You know you and Iron Heart are more welcome here than anypony I know.”

“But we have work to do, we have to-“

“Which is exactly why Chryss has to stay here.”

“Don’t you think she should be the one to decide that?”

“No. In case you forgot, you’re the one that made me queen. That means I’m responsible for her now.”

“What is she now, some brainless underling that’ll march to your every pull of the string?”

Fleur bristled, bared her fangs and came nose to nose with Grey, “How dare you! You know I am nothing like that.”

Grey met her, nose to nose. “Oh really? From here all I can see is a tyrantapony rex!”

A small gasp failed to garner their attention. What came after it, however, made them both look over. “Chrysa- Chryss is angry. I’m not even your queen anymore. And you use me like I’m not even a pony. You treat me like I’m nothing! Chryss might as well be dead!” Chryss had entered the room. After she spoke, she pulled her head back proudly and closed her eyes.

Fleur and Grey shared a look, realizing what they were doing. Grey was the first to speak. He trotted up to Chryss softly. “I’m sorry Chryss. I don’t want to be separated from you, ‘cause I’m worried I’ll lose you, too. I don’t know if this is right or not, but you remind me of Xhenora.” Chryss turned up her nose and pointed her head away from Grey, giving a proud little “hmph.”

Fleur looked at them both, then she focused on Grey. She came up too. “It sounds like you care about Chryss a lot, Grey.” Grey pawed the ground, looked up, and nodded. “I know she knows it, too.” Chryss tried to make it look like her eyes were still closed, but she cracked them open a little and looked down at Grey. “That’s why I want to keep her here: she’ll be safe, but more so, I need her help. I don’t know how to lead. She’s done it for years.” Fleur looked directly at Chryss, who opened her eyes in response. “Chryss, would you be my second in command?”

Chryss made a strange sound. Her pupils contracted. “You’d have me?”

“Only if the ponies can be treated as well, too. No more factories, they have to barter or farm.”

“I… yes. I do want to spend time with Grey as soon as my- as soon as our kingdom is settled.”

“Deal. How do you fancy that, Grey?”

“Okay… I guess.” Grey still looked sad.

“What is wrong?” Chryss asked.

“Iron Heart and I… we still have to go. I haven’t even left… and I feel like I’m far away. I don’t know why.”

Chryss strode over, purred, and loomed. “Don’t you sseee?” Chryss’ horn glowed. “We were.” Grey’s horn lit up reflexively. He cried out and jumped to hug Chryss. She continued purring and held him close. “Hurry back to me, that your queen might dominate you... and love you.” She gave his head and horn a number of tender kisses.

After Chryss and Grey said some more longing goodbyes, they all met in the town square. Fleur offered them some supplies, but Grey refused (and Iron Heart grumbled), wanting the settlement to have every supply possible for the transition. Grey also relayed all they knew about Tie Down and punga, establishing him as a possible trade contact.

He stopped short, though, suddenly noticing where they were. He approached the statue and slowly reached out a hoof. He wanted to reach out and touch a ghost. And he felt like he almost could.

“I’m sorry. I-I didn’t stay angry. I could have killed her, but I didn’t. Is that okay? When you were gone… I didn’t want people to keep dying. Are you angry? Please don’t be angry.” Nothing talked back to him, so he kept going. “I want you to know I’ll always love you. That won’t ever change. Please, don’t be angry.” He hugged the statue and stayed there.

Behind Grey, Bray spoke up. “Julia’ll sure be happy to hear this place is taken care of. No more Chrysalis, I bet she’ll be cursing for joy!”

“What’s the safest route outta here, Fleur?” Iron Heart asked.

“Now, I don‘t mean to brag, but the east end of the city is simply stunning! Any proud sightseer will certainly admire all of our historic sites, as well as be able to see the eye of Phovannah!”

“Phovannah has an all-seeing eye?” Grey piped. “I want to see the eye too, Iron Heart, can we? Betcha we could have a staring contest!”

Fleur laughed. “Only if you want to stare down a carnival wheel. That’s what we call the main attraction at our boardwalk play land- Phovannah’s Eye. No need to go in, however; our city’s pride hasn’t operated in years.”

“You mean a stable, a massive concert hall and genetic experiments aren’t your city’s pride? Instead it’s a carnival? We have to go, Iron Heart!”

Bray gave a scratchy nicker. “No way partners. If I understood my Julia, there’s something keeping her from coming out here. I know her, and she’s gonna try to handle it all on her own. I have to get back to the mansion.”

Bray got Sun Shower’s attention on the word “mansion.” “Mansion? You’re from the mansion outside of the city?”

“Sure am. Say, you want to come, too? I’d love to give y’all a tour!”

Sun Shower whinnied, took off and circled the square anxiously. “We need to get there right now.”

Grey came forward a few steps, and followed Sun Shower as she circled. He looked like he was stirring soup with his head, only the imaginary soup was above him. “Why is that? Wait, who is that?”

“I am Sun Shower, sister and knight of Celestia’s Chosen.” Sun Shower swooped down, baring herself proudly. Grey’s head pointed in her direction, but continued to spin slowly, as if she were still circling. “My sister and I were sent here on an important mission, and I must see to it that she’s safe.“

“Celestia’s chosen? That means… and you’re here for the… and there’s two of… and you both know… you know…” Grey turned green and looked like he was going to lose his breakfast. He plugged his muzzle with a hoof. His head continued to circle until Iron Heart came over and stopped it.

“Come on Grey, let’s go.” Grey lay down with a light thud. “Get yourself together, I’ll explain on the way.”

“Fleur? Are the ponies going to be alright?” The two came over to Grey.

“I promise, Grey. I’ve wanted to help the ponies of my city for so long… I just needed somepony to give me the opportunity.”

“But they’re so sick, I’m scared that... well, you know, they’ll die.”

Fancy Pants had followed Fleur. “Set your mind at ease my good gentlecolt. I am the one who perfected the way to turn ponies into digestible food.” Grey looked horrified. “You must realize, sir, the fact of the matter is- none of us would dare contradict our queen. Her order forced me to understand the ponies fully.

“The knowledge of their inner workings and biology was once used to harm them. Now that we have a better queen, this knowledge can be used to make them better. I hope that, in some small way, I have followed in the hoofsteps equal to this mask that I wear.” Fleur looked at Fancy Pants, both surprised and touched.

“Perhaps in some small way I can alleviate the burden of my queen?” Fancy Pants gave Fleur a perfect smile. He looked away, though, and started searching the buildings with his eyes. “It is them I worry about. Now that there is a new queen, they will all be anxious to have their feasts. We are all so hungry for love. None of that fear or anything else was ever enough.” Fleur had wrapped a hoof around him.

“I don’t get it. Why can’t you two love each other?”

Fleur’s eyes shone bright green. Fancy Pants perked his head up, shocked. He looked back as if there was a thought that had never occurred to him before, or if something strange and new had taken hold of him. The two ponies looked at each other. Fancy Pant’s horn started to glow and match the color of Fleur’s eyes. She bowled him over and he kicked her off of him.

He transformed into his regular, non pony form. Fleur did the same. They started to wrestle and attack each other, but neither seemed to get hurt. Grey started hearing all sorts of strange sounds as the two of them landed on each other and didn’t come apart again. Grey’s vision suddenly went dark while strange sucking and squeaking sounds continued.

“We’re leaving, Grey.” It was Iron Heart.

“Iron Heart, I can’t see!”

“Good.” Iron Heart started to drag Grey with the same hoof he was covering his eyes with.

“But this is biology in action! No pony’s seen this in at least two hundred years! Think of all the things we could learn!”

“Shit Grey, you’re the last pony I’d expect that out of. Haven’t you ever heard of privacy?”

“But… who knows when we’ll get to see this again?”

“I’m not even gonna touch that ya sicko.”

Grey pulled and tugged at Iron Heart’s hoof. He wound up actually being able to see something, too. Coy green eyes darted into view from behind the statue and stared at him. The eyes continued to move and the rest of Chryss came into view. Grey happily waved at her. She lifted a hoof and slowly waved back. Soon Iron Heart, Grey, Sun Shower, and Bray disappeared from the square. While the statue’s eyes hadn’t moved in two hundred years, her unrelated cousin saw the city for the first time.

Addendum II:

Field Report- Red "Dead" Eye- Attachment

Council assures me you all managed to survive basic, but I don't know how. We're in a fight for survival and you buckers at 202 are goofing off. Our daughters and sons, friends and neighbors are dying and all you can do is turn in lazy, half-assed reports with vague mentions of "recommendations"?

I'd have courtmartialled all of your worthless flanks personally if the Council hadn't stepped in. Get serious or damn us all to hell. And get me some answers or I swear I'll come down there and shoot every last one of you for aiding and abetting.

Our people are dying. We're all next unless we can turn this ship around. You know damn well that everypony is calling your team's objective impossible, but this team was sold to the Council as miracle workers- now I suggest you all start working your magic. Get me results, get them now, or go home and wait for our fair cities and beloved people to get starved, raped, and murdered by the dragons at our gate. Need I remind you they're sure as hell knocking now, or haven't you been reading your own bucking report?

You know what your pegasi mommies and daddies were doing the last time dragons came knocking? Hell, maybe I'll come down there to give you all a history lesson. I'm calling for daily status updates from here on out.

-WW

LEVEL UP
Kissed by Luna
Can't see? Give it a few moments, all your senses will adjust and become more sensitive. When that happens, you'll realize that you're more aware now than you ever were before.

A pony blessed by Luna gains +2 to both Intelligence and Perception (up to a maximum of 10). This blessing affects the pony directly, remaining active both inside and outside.

Author's Note

-Ch. 10 Done
-It was so he could give her a health pack
-Okay, even I'm a little embarrassed by tyrantapony