Redemption

Chapters

Chapter 1 - Crash Landing
Chapter 3 - The Alpha Site
Chapter 4 - New Allies
Chapter 5 - A New Dawn
Chapter 6 - The Day After
Chapter 7 - Awakenings
Chapter 8 - Enlightenment
Chapter 9 - Living Arrangements
Chapter 10 - Activation
Chapter 11 - A New Path
Chapter 13 - Mental Games
Chapter 14 - Introductions
Chapter 15 - Forging Bonds
Chapter 17 - Why Me?
Chapter 18 - Getting Schooled
Chapter 19 - Fish and Bubble Gum
Prologue
Chapter 2 - Night Ops
Chapter 12 - A Musical Evening
Chapter 16 - Help or Hurt?

Chapter 1 - Crash Landing

6 hours earlier: Redemit

It was a pleasant day in Canterlot, no weather was scheduled, and the skies were a clear blue. Business was brisk with ponies moving about their business, the occasional human speckled in the crowd following after their owners. Suddenly, everypony's attention was brought to the sky by a bright flash shortly followed by a concussive blast high up in the sky, and a magical ripple heralded the appearance of a dragon plummeting to earth.

I shake my head, trying to clear it of the pain and nausea caused by the unstable translation from one reality to another with entirely too much mass involved. This almost certainly explains why I am in the air rather than in the cave the portal was supposed to have sent us to. But then, there are larger matters to deal with, namely the swarm queen currently wearing the guise of a dragon I'm clinging to with such tenacity. A short scream heralds the death of another comrade, but my training kicks in and enables me to block out the sound as I take stock of my situation.

We are fairly high in the air, but at least one of the erstwhile dragon's wings is completely shredded, I behold with a certain vicious sense of satisfaction. The other one is still beating, trying to stabilize the queen's fall. That means the beast is still conscious and functional, which I intend to fix. Releasing a hand from the spine I've been holding onto, and pulling a white sword out of its sheath on my waist, I plunge it into the left shoulder joint, eliciting a spray of fluorescent green blood as well as a scream of rage and pain from the 'dragon'. I pull myself forward to the base of the spine where it merges into the long serpentine neck of the 'dragon' as the creature reaches back with a bloodied claw to grab the offending being on its back. Acting quickly, I focus and pump energy from the crystal reserves built into the spine of my armor into the white blade causing it to brighten slightly as its temperature skyrockets. The dragon screams and convulses from the energy bleeding into its shoulder socket. An audible alarm sounds inside my helmet telling me my energy reserves are getting low. I'm now down to one crystal, or 20%. I briefly consider just putting it all into the dragon, ending it all right here, but I have my orders, so I do something that is definitely on my list of Last Resort - Bad Ideas. I draw my second blade, this one a deep purple, much reminiscent of a thundercloud, out of its sheath on my opposite hip and plunge it directly into the spine of the 'dragon', causing the creature to scream again. The sound seems to drill into my head painfully as it turns from a bestial roar to the trilling death throes of an insect. Focusing on the black blade I repeat my performance with the white one, only in reverse. I leech power FROM the swarm queen, causing the gray empty crystals on my helmet's hud to glow a deep malevolent green, and the convulsions of the creature beneath me start slowing. Eventually, it ceases to move altogether as we fall steadily.

That done, I look down to see what my escape options are, only to see the ground about 50 feet away and coming up fast. “Crud,” is the only word I have time to utter before my jump jets fire automatically, shedding as much velocity as possible before the impending impact. As I am torn off the creature's back, losing my grip on the blades, I have a moment to glimpse cobblestone and a market display full of fruit before rolling into a ball as I've been trained and then . . . nothing.

Past: Frix (pre-sentience)

Somepony was calling me, 'Frix . . .' No, my name is Redemit, changed in honor of when my queen accepted me into her guard . . . wait, this is a memory, am I dreaming? Why is it so hard to think? I shook my head, confusion forgotten as my trained responses came to the fore, and most of my intelligence stopped functioning, looking around I saw more creatures like myself, my pack mates. 'Humans' a voice in my head seemed to whisper, but I didn't respond. My Alpha was calling, 'Handler' the voice whispered, I ignored it. Moving forward I shuffled past my pack mates as their alphas handled them, some fitting them out in armor, others just interacting with them with the occasional compliment or treat to keep them docile as they're readied for combat. “Drop-point in 4 minutes,” a voice called out, the sounds impacting on my consciousness without being understood, as I saw and moved toward my Alpha, a small 4 footed lime green creature that was looking my way with a gentle smile. 'Vine Bloom, Pegasus Mare' the voice whispered. She was dressed in white armor with gold trim consisting of a fitted helm with interlocking plates leading down the back of her head terminating in a cross-link just behind her light blue mane but before her wings with several metallic plates covering her withers and flanks, and wrapping around the chest from just above the point of her shoulder to just under her throat, with shoes on the end of each leg. I somehow knew under the plates on her flanks was a vine circling around itself. “Cutie mark”, I flinched, suppressing the voice.

She waved me over, speaking in a slightly concerned tone, but none of the words were a command, so I ignored them. I simply took comfort in the warm tones as I shuffled forward and went to one knee in front of her, allowing her to move around me, checking the various buckles and cinches on my armor. This consisted of a clam-shell chest plate with pauldrons on my shoulders, an underlying 'shirt' of a woven material closely resembling kevlar, with several layers of padding underneath it to reduce friction. On my legs, additional plates covered the front, with a chain mail layer underneath them protecting the sides and back of my legs. Pads covered the front part of the knee caps and greaves to protect my shins, and another woven under-layer reduced friction from the armor plates and my boots. Covering my arms was more chain-mail, with vambraces and fingerless gloves made from a softer(relatively speaking), more flexible material leaving my hands free to work.

"Ready check," her voice intoned inside my head, triggering a trained response. I flexed my muscles and moved around slightly to ensure that the armor wasn't set improperly. Tilting my head, I gave a small chirp as I waited her verdict. “Very good,” she cooed as she circled back in front of me placing a hoof on my knee to nuzzle my face affectionately, causing me to mew as I nuzzled her in response.

“You sure you want to do that? These humans aren't exactly trained to be pleasant,” A voice states from behind me, causing my Alpha to tense up slightly as she pulls back to look past me.

“Life's a calculated risk. Besides, I've been with him since birth, he's not going to harm me.” My Alpha says as I twist around looking behind me at another alpha 'Ice wind, Unicorn Mare' I don't acknowledge the voice beyond leaning into my Alpha slightly. “Coming up on drop-point, load up.” A voice calls out, at the command 'load up', I reach out behind my Alpha and pull my weapon, a two handed bastard sword, off the rack as the world seems to ripple and come apart, plunging my consciousness back into the present.

6 hours ago: Redemit

I return to consciousness feeling my aching body complain. Taking stock of the situation and finding myself banged up but still alive, I open my eyes to find my helmet covered. I brush a hand across my visor, scraping off plant matter and clearing my vision. I clamber up to find myself in a marketplace, with multiple market stands surrounding me. Most of the immediately surrounding stands are knocked over or otherwise destroyed. Fortunately, it also appears the occupants have fled judging by the various items left lying around. Looking around, I spy the body of the swarm queen laying on its side. I limp over, flexing my arms and wings and finding my flight muscles in working order, albeit with that weird minty feel they have after being healed. I nod as my suit continues to pump energy into me, repairing my damaged muscle tissues. Reaching the creature's corpse, I find the storm blade still lodged in the creature's spinal cord and pull it free with a grunt. Not seeing my other weapon on this side, I circle around, holding off on using my jump jets or wings until my systems have had time to stabilize again.

Reaching the front of the creature, I come to a stop as I see an armored pegasus clutched in one of its claws. Walking forward slowly, I swallow thickly as I kneel down and reach out to the suited figure. Its armor is buckled and rent, and the exterior readouts show no life-signs. I know the power crystals on its back have automatically dumped their loads into the armor and the body inside, theoretically rendering the suit useless and damaging the soft tissues of her body beyond the capability of an infester to utilize. Releasing the seal on my helmet, I take a deep breath as the 'crystal' visor liquefies and flows into the collar of my armor and the 'plates' comprising the crown fold back and slide down into their niches in the back of my armor. The smells of the strange new city assault my nostrils as I breathe in, surprisingly pleasant. Sighing, I rest a hand on the shoulder of the fallen pegasus for a moment, saying a silent prayer before moving on.

I inspect the now chitin-covered body of the swarm queen, portions still hardening as it reverts form after its demise. Taking a moment, I look it over. What was once changeling has grown. The insectoid wings have grown longer, and a second set has been added underneath the first. The abdomen is longer; the tail is no longer composed of hair, but is rather long and leathery, almost skin-like.

Looking around the body for my other blade, I catch sight of a white object to my right underneath the body. I step towards it, crouching down and putting my left shoulder against the body before straightening up slowly. A tingle goes through my limbs as my suit responds to the strain by feeding magic into a strength rune on my armor, increasing my available force and causing the already-damaged cobblestone beneath me to buckle further, till I find solid leverage and rock the body over far enough to reveal my blade. Reaching down carefully, I grab the handle and pull it loose, leaping clear as the body settles back into the crater it punched into the ground.

Hearing something, my reflexes throw me into a roll to my right as something goes through the space where I'd just been standing. Rising to my feet, I snarl silently as the rent and broken body of my comrade pulls her rear legs under her body and shakily stands, turning her 'head' towards me.

Infested. Possibly the worst situation any sentient being can find themselves in, having an infester burrow into your spinal column and start reshaping your body through a combination of dark magic and specific poisons their body naturally produces. Once infested, the host can continue to act as if nothing is out of the ordinary, until such time as the controlling presence decides it's the opportune moment to cause damage. Or, in the case of the recently deceased, the body can be kept 'active' for a short time fueled by said dark magics and used as a weapon of terror, demoralizing the enemy when their own dead rise against them.

“Sorry, old friend,” I whisper softly and ready my blades. Taking a balanced stance, I twist slightly bringing the white blade to the fore as I hold the storm blade back slightly, waiting for it to attack. Without the controlling presence of the queen to provide tactics, the infested simply moves forward to attack, jumping forward and rearing to strike me with its fore-hooves. Narrowing my focus, I move.

Sliding forward and to the right, I dodge the rightmost hoof, and use my fore blade to knock the leftmost hoof away as my other blade slices through the knee joint, shearing armor, muscle, and tendon, and removing the lower half of the infested's forelimb. As it collapses down onto the ground, I bring the storm blade out in a magic powered strike that slices the top of its head off just above the eyes. With a spray of pink matter and semi congealed blood, the liberated portions of its cranium and helmet flip off and roll away. Before the creature can react further, I draw a leg back and kick it in the side, slamming it off the ground and into a market stand. Following quickly I stab into the ex-mare's chest cavity with the white blade, magic pulsing into down the blade and converting to heat inside the body, further destroying both the remains inside and any still-functional portions of the suit.

After a moment I pull my blade up and out of the corpse, pulsing power into both blades, causing the organic material coating the blades to flake and fall off. One problem resolved, I lower the blades and turn to consider the larger corpse still laying nearby, awaiting purification. Stepping forward, I check my power levels, noting their slow rise as my suit draws ambient magic out of the atmosphere. Raising both blades together, I plunge them into the creature's body.

As I'm preparing to dump energy into the foul beast, I hear the sound of multiple creatures entering the square. Looking to my right, I watch as at least a dozen lightly-armored ponies enter the marketplace in a tight group. Triggering the seal on my suit, the helmet reassembles around my head hiding my face from view and bringing up the suit's A.I. After assessing the current situation, the A.I. labels the newcomers as unknowns, possibly hostile, and then informs me there's multiple air-borne unknowns above me as well.

“Well, crud,” I glance around. The helmet's interior surface recreates the exterior view while showing the outside world an opaque surface with a stylized white skull on an orange background. “Time to go.” Turning back to the task at hand I feed power into both blades. The runes on their spines light up briefly before the large corpse starts to cook very quickly from the inside out. 'Probably doesn’t smell too good,' I think with a certain amount of irony. I hold the power flow steady for another couple of seconds until I am confident the corpse is fully cleansed and the site is sterile.

Pulling my blades free and turning around, I face the ponies spreading out to confront me, weapons out and approaching cautiously. “Hold, creature,” One of them called out. Crud.

'Assuming you run into the locals before the contact teams, break contact if at all possible, but try to avoid destruction of any property and at all costs, no killing.' That order sits at the forefront of my mind as I consider the locals spreading out to surround me. First things first: Options and equipment.

Escape: Definitely a viable option. In an urban environment, assuming the jump gears holds up, I should be more mobile even limited to ground or roof level. Air: Not easy, but doable. While not the best flier in my squad, I feel confident that unless I run into their version of the Resurgent Dawn, I have a high probability of breaking contact at or outside the city limits. I recall glimpsing a forest down the base of the cliff the city rested on, so evasion at that point should be possible. Not a high chance of getting away unscathed, so I should probably try to talk it over first.

Attack: No, just no.

Surrender: Primary Objective unsecured. Mission is Alpha Priority. Not an option.

Equipment: Wings are functional. Power Levels 86% and rising, corruption detected; exactly what I expected feeding life energy into a reservoir designed specifically for magical energy was beyond me. Ranged weaponry: Lost, assuming destroyed in the fall. Explosives: Depleted. Close Combat: Two swords - 30 in. blades, baton, tower shield, buckler, Knife - 7 in. blade. Food/Water: Protein tabs – 30, Rations – 7 days, Water – 1 canteen(Full), 1 camel bag(Half) Rope: Never enough, 10 meters, 1/8 in. 1500 weight. Med-kit: Yep, still there. 2 rolls - 3 meter magic laced bandage, 30 pain tabs, 40 water purification tablets.

Lethal is not an option, and no immediate backup, so baton and buckler it is, should suffice for disabling pursuit. Moving slowly, as to avoid provoking the locals, I sheathed my blades and held my hands out at about stomach level, fingers splayed, as I considered the marketplace I was in looking for the best avenue of escape. But first, backup.

Raising my right hand slowly, I press two fingers to my helm just in front of my ear, triggering the communications crystal embedded in my helm, shifting to the command frequency. “ Echo Two-Four to HQ, the swarm queen has been terminated and the site has been sterilized, but I've run into locals, please advise." I wait for a few seconds but receive no response. The armored ponies in front of me continue to slowly advance. "Echo Two-Four to HQ, please respond," Nothing. Shifting to the Night-guard frequency, I try again. "Echo Six to any surviving Night-guard units, please respond." As the range between me and the first of the armored ponies, in this case a pegasus, falls to about 7 meters, I sigh. I'm out of time, and the next communications window isn't scheduled until two hours past the local sundown. "Time to go." I mutter to myself.

Pulling a whisper of magic from the reservoir on my back, I pull a telescopic baton from my belt. The contact and subsequent energy feed from my glove cause it to extend and harden as the 'smart' shield mounted on my left arm expands to its medium extension, projecting protection from chest level to around my knees. I crouch slightly, minimizing my exposure, and turn to put the corpse of the creature at my back, limiting their ability to flank me.

The guard closest to me inevitably regards this as a hostile move and tenses up for the attack. I take a deep breath, and smooth out my respiratory cycle for the coming melee as Vine trained me. Suddenly, an authoritative female voice calls out, "Hold!" Both the pegasus and I pause as the guard ponies continue to stare at me. I glance off to the left behind my opaque visor, carefully not moving the helm to give my focus away. I see an armored unicorn mare with a stylized mane on her helm approaching. 'Officer maybe?' I muse silently as she draws closer.

She moves to stand about even with the first pegasus guard and looks at me as I in turn consider her. She is a white unicorn mare, with a blue mane just visible underneath what I assume is an officer's crest on her golden helm. Her armor seems to consist of several plates down the back of her neck and a blanket-like affair of plates covering from her withers to her flanks. Several strategically-placed pieces of armor cover her sides and wrap down around her chest to provide frontal protection as well. This seems to leave the throat relatively unguarded, but considering the fact they are guards-ponies, I figure the trade-off is worth it.

She stares at me for a short time, probably trying to figure out precisely what I am, as I don't exactly have the horns of a minotaur, and I can hardly be human, with my wings, and such advanced tactics and weaponry. I've used magic as well, not something your average human can do, so she is at a loss to decide just what I am. After a moment of obviously trying to set her thoughts in order, and wrinkling her nose at the smell of burnt flesh and ozone in the air, she looks at my 'face', shivering a bit in spite of her own best efforts as she stares into the 'eyes' of the skull emblazoned on my helmet. She opens her mouth. "Who are you and what are you?"

Upon hearing those words, I can't help but give a dry chuckle, admittedly, a VERY dry chuckle. "Private Frix, ma'am, and as for what I am, I'm afraid that's been classified," I state simply.

She gives a snort at my words but drops the subject for the moment as she looks behind me at the still smoking and admittedly LARGE corpse behind me. "What in Celestia's name is THAT then?!"

Glancing behind myself, I feel my inner jackass trying to come up with a retort, but decide against it, instead simply asking, "Are you familiar with changelings, ma'am?"

Staring at me semi-incredulously, she states, "You mean to tell me that THING is a changeling? I don't know what you are, but you are crazy if you think I'm going to believe that's a changeling!"

I tilt my head to one side considering her quietly for a moment, then respond "It's a changeling alright, or at least, it was, before they experimented with a highly toxic mutagenic poison and dark magic. Now, it's what we've labeled a swarmling, or in this one's case: A swarm queen" I finally state, watching and gauging the surrounding ponies, waiting for the opportune moment to make my move. "Now, they've become little more than beasts, but their population growth is enormous, and . . . well, we lost the war."

As I'm talking the various guards arrayed in front of me react with various degrees of disgust or outright fear, until I make the remark about losing, at which point most of them just look confused. The officer in front of me opens her mouth to respond when one of the guards finally sees the remains of my comrade laying partially obscured in the wreckage of a fruit stand.

"Ma'am, look over there," he calls out, causing her to stop and glance to where the stallion is pointing. Her composure cracks for a moment as she gasps at the sight of the brutalized body.

I take a moment to mourn my comrade before speaking out, "Life is a calculated risk; none of us live forever; her time came up," I state softly, looking around at the surrounding ponies. "I trust you'll treat her remains with respect. I know your command will take her armor for study, but she fought her way across 200 miles and two worlds before she fell, and even then, she died a hero."

Glancing at me in a semi-confused fashion, the officer asks "What do you mean?" Obviously, she's received a few too many mental bucks in quick succession.

I sigh. "I mean I'm asking you to show her body the respect due any soldier that falls in defense of home and country, since I cannot," I explain, watching the ponies share looks as they try to make heads or tails of the situation.

The officer tenses. "Soldier? You're both soldiers?" ...Really? What did you think I was? Many of the guard take their cue from their officer and again focus their attention on the odd creature standing in front of them.

Fighting the urge to face-palm, I shake my head slightly. "Look, I don't have time for this. I've got my orders; there were places I needed to be and important artifacts from my world I was supposed to be securing before I got distracted. Yes, I am a soldier. No, I won't be going around harming anypony. In fact, I'm not even supposed to be talking to you now, but getting my ass dropped into the middle of a frikkin city tends to make doing that hard. Besides, I need to make sure that you know to burn this Swarm Queen. While it SHOULD be sterilized, you don't want to see what happens if it isn't."

At my words, many of the soldiers tense up as the officer's face hardens, her posture steadying into a semi aggressive stance. "You're not going anywhere! You're under arrest for destruction of private property, disturbing the peace, and probably something about being a SOLDIER in ANOTHER COUNTRY!" She practically screams, poor mare, really should have reported in sick today.

Again, resisting the urge to face-palm, I try again. "Look, I understand your point. I'm just afraid I can't afford to not do my duty, and I'm now short another comrade. I have neither the time nor patience to continue arguing it with some poor city guards-pony. I need to go, and you can't exactly keep me."

Opening her mouth with an angry, possibly affronted look upon her muzzle, she starts to retort when a loud crack is heard with a flash of light. When my visor clears, it reveals five ponies in armor more reminiscent of my own than the city guards'. The first, a solid gray unicorn stallion, with a light blue mane, has a cutie mark showing three lightning bolts forming a rough triangle. The second unicorn on his left, a mare, has what looks like a silver cloud of dots, possibly insects of some sort. And on her left is an earth pony, a rather large one too. He looks like he spent too much time around the gym, or possibly had a bad run-in with some engorgement magic, seriously, he looks like a rock golem and a pony got together and had kids, how would that even work? For a cutie mark he has a boulder, classy. On the lightning unicorn's right float two pegusai, one with a stylized breath of wind and the other with a cloud and hail. Obviously, backup has arrived. Crud.

The unicorn at the forefront glances around the market, looking at me, the large corpse, and finally the officer-pony. "That's enough, Sergeant, this just became a Rising Dawn operation. Your orders are to assist the members of the Rising Dawn in whatever manner they require. For now, fan out; we're taking this one in, alive." The stallion barks, watching me with the confident and professional demeanor I'm used to seeing from members of my world's Resurgent Dawn.

'Not good' is my first thought on seeing the new arrivals. Two pegusai, two unicorns, and an earth pony that looks capable of bucking buildings, time to go. Pulling a glow-stick out of one of my pouch, and putting a sharp pulse of magic into it, overloading the crystal, I toss it up and close my eyes. While the visor has a theoretical limit to how much light it will reproduce, theory and reality rarely agree. A sharp crack and the tinkle of small crystal shards peppering the ground as well as various shouts and other exclamations of pain herald the burst detonation of my field-expedient flash-bang.

Bolting right, I sprint down a lane of stalls, using them to obscure my line of sight on the obvious fire-team as I head for the nearest exit, an alleyway in this case. 'Options,' I clamor to myself, trying to think on the fly. The sounds of heavy hooves hitting the cobblestone, as well as the cracks and crunches of something flattening vendors' stalls behind me, cause an additional burst of adrenaline as I tear down the row. Glancing back, I see the earth pony living up to his cutie mark and bowling over everything in his path. What it didn't indicate is just how fast he was, too. At this rate, he would catch up before I could make it to the alleyway. With multiple pegusai already in the air, and with the two spec-ops pegusai now in the playing, this was about to become very touchy, very fast. With a mental groan and the bitter recrimination that 'I'm not trained for this!', I return my attention to the front and start paying close attention to the air above me and just how close the pony shaped wrecking ball is behind me.

Sensing an opportunity to take me down, and possible for revenge, one of the airborne pegasus guards dives at me from my high 8 o'clock position. Unfortunately for him, I'm ready. When he is too close to pull up, I spin and trigger my jump jets, completely killing my forward momentum and pogoing myself above the earth pony as the unfortunate pegasus makes a close acquaintance with the flat face of my shield.

Shrugging off the now-floored pony, I feel myself settle back to the ground. Landing on my feet, I throw myself over a stall as a bolt of magic flies through my prior location. Shooting to my feet, I again start running, angling for the alley and the earth pony standing in the entrance, waiting and ready to block my bid for freedom.

"All right, big guy, lets play," I call out with a vicious smile on my face and magic coursing through my body. Unbeknownst to me, my crystal reserves have burned through the magic they'd absorbed and are now feeding the swarm queen's energy into me. The side effects of which, I can't begin to guess, but I guess I'd add rashness, and a general sense of rage to the list.

"Now!" a voice calls out behind me, reminding me I've forgotten to watch my back. I've spent too long working in a group; I'm too used to playing the same part as the earth pony obviously, and now I'm about to pay for it. That semi-prophetic statement is validated as twin beams of magic impact on my form, coalescing around me, and stopping my forward momentum. I find myself frozen in place as the earth pony in front of me paws the earth, finding optimum traction for his charge.

Forcing the rage down, I take a step back in my mind as the appropriate strategies for breaking magic holds come forward as I have need of them. Unfurling my wings, I channel magic down the front edges, shaping the energy into a 'blade' of magic that severs the flow of external magic. The destabilized energies binding me in place dissipate or funnel into my armor as the specialized channels written into the armor itself leech as much energy as possible into my reservoir. Grunting as I break free, I have an instant to brace myself before I raise my shield up in front of me. The earth pony pauses just more than a pony-length away, spinning on his front hooves and bringing his back hooves around in a massive buck.

In a magical recreation of the immovable object meeting the unstoppable force, the runes on my shield react by drawing deep on my energies and channel them into an opposing force causing a large blast of light and a minor shock wave of air to explode around the two of us as we stand there for an eternal moment in time: the pony standing on his fore-hooves with his back legs held straight out impacting on my shield as I stand slightly crouched, wings rampant towards the heavens, sunlight sparkling through their crystalline structure.

Being the first to recover, I sidestep as the earth pony slowly settles down to the ground, unconscious, or at least stunned. Glancing back I see the two unicorns standing behind me, looking semi-stunned by my performance. Giving them a nod of respect, I turn back around and dash into the alleyway.

Once out of immediate sight of the pursuit, and with sporadic cover making it hard for the airborne ponies to keep track of me, I check my power levels, wincing when I see the readout sitting at 30%. That run-in with the earth pony shaped . . . thing had taken quite a bit of energy, and while I'd won, I'd taken some serious knocks myself including a bone bruise THROUGH the armor that was still healing. Triggering my jump jets, I proceed to skim along the wall, overshooting many of the various pieces of debris and other minutia that make proceeding down the alleyways harder. I swap walls as needed to avoid other things, such as windows, external chimneys, and the occasional weird architecture. 'Seriously? A building that looks like Swiss cheese? Who made the zoning laws here?' I think before I take another turn to further throw off my pursuers.

With no real idea where I'm headed beyond 'out of the city', I need to take my bearings. I start looking for a landmark I can scale without attracting too much attention. Judging by the number of ponies in what I assume is civilian apparel, I've managed to break outside whatever cordon they have set up, which doesn't stop the occasional over-flight of guards-ponies from passing overhead.

Spying a larger building that looks promising, with plenty of exterior architecture to lose myself in, I pause, taking stock of my power levels: 27% and power draw stable. I decide to take the chance and begin making my way towards it. Taking a moment to get a running start any time I have to cross an active street or thoroughfare, I do my level-headed best to just shoot from cover to cover at just under rooftop level. This doesn't stop me from garnering a certain amount of attention, and I hear the occasional shout behind me, but most of the populace seems in relatively high spirits, signs of good morale. Obviously not a country at a war, or if they are, they think they're winning it handily. Not the best sign from my perspective, but it'll be up to the contact teams to get the best deal they can from the situation, not mine.

Proceeding with some caution, I creep as close to the structure as I can get without leaving cover, taking a moment to examine it, trying to tell just what it is. With the city's bastion up the 'hill', so to speak, I'm sure it isn't something military in function. It has a generally round shape with plenty of columns and stylized windows extending around the multileveled exterior giving it rather the odd look. Its placement makes no sense from a tactical standpoint, but then, after the Swiss Cheese Emporium I've just passed, I can't exactly say with certainty it isn't.

Shaking my head to dispel the idle musings, I consider again how to best traverse the open ground between myself and the structure. A busy street measuring at least 30 feet wide starts in front of the buildings I'm sheltering between, followed by at least another 25-30 feet of fanciful topiary design. 'That's not happening,' I think. Taking a moment to take stock, I notice a familiar tension in my limbs. The feelings of exhaustion can be remedied with the right application of magic, but overexposure will put you down for a significant period of time. Going who knows how long without eating isn't helping either, on top of at least 8 hours of active combat, and healing several rather extensive injuries; further excursions will have to wait. I need to eat and get some rest.

Making my way in a direction I decide to call south, away from the bastion towards the north end, I keep an eye out for any warehouses or unoccupied buildings. As luck would have it, I come across a decent sized building that, for whatever reason, looks unused at the moment. Moving forward cautiously, I draw a crystal out of belt a pouch and hold it up, feeding power to it. Looking through it, I scan for any kind of alarm or other charms. Finding nothing, I then proceed to move to a window, rubbing a simple unlock rune to ease the latch open, I slide myself in feet first and fall into a crouch as my eyes scan the room. Coming up empty, I quickly move to re-latch the window. Finding a corner out of easy view, I crouch down, triggering a scan of my surroundings. Plenty of magical creatures nearby(Obviously), and somepony's scrying the city nearby, but apparently, my mad dash across the city's alleyways managed to throw off my pursuers, both physical and magical.

Sitting back, I take a deep breath before popping the seal on my helm. I reach down and pull out a nutrient bar, staring at it with the distaste of soldiers everywhere. I finally break down and start gnawing a piece of it off. I sit back and chew stolidly with the occasional sip of water to help break the dense material down into a digestible state. After finishing the bar I take another swallow of water before laying down along the wall and setting the suit's timer to wake me an hour after nightfall and a proximity alarm to warn me of impending discovery. With that taken care of, my weary body carries me off to sleep quickly.

Chapter 3 - The Alpha Site

After proceeding in far enough that even I can't see my hand in front of my face, I draw a light stick from my belt. Feeding a small amount of magic into it, it emits a soft glow my optical equipment turns into daylight. Looking around, I spot several spikes driven into the walls with similar crystals embedded in the tips. Considering a light stick lasts about 12 hours with a strong charge, whatever has happened, it occurred a fair time ago.

Suppressing my emotions with the familiar ruthlessness borne of long hours training and fighting, I continue in deeper, light stick clasped and held aloft in my left hand, storm blade in my right. After moving several hundred feet further in, I find my first signs of trouble. As the motion of my light stick causes the shadows to dance and sway, I spot discolorations on the floor of the cave between several spikes of rock. Kneeling down, I look over the spatter of what I'm now sure is blood, well-dried.

I stand as the feelings of fear and dread I hold inside build, pushing against my mental barriers as I push ever onward into the tunnel. Reaching a larger cavity, I come across a larger discolored patch on the floor. Stepping over the bloodstains, I walk up to a makeshift map attached to one of the larger rock formations., It points the way I came with the tersely worded note, Surface. From this chamber it seems to split off in three directions, one being labeled surface as well, possible a secondary shaft. The next shaft is labeled 'Mess, Sleeping, Morgue', and some other entries that are too smudged to be legible at this point. The last path reads 'Power, Receiving'.

Taking a moment to consider, I decide checking the power should be my first course of action, maybe bring it back online if possible. With that thought, I head down the leftmost tunnel, watching my surroundings carefully as I go.

Coming to what should have been the first security checkpoint, I step into the site of a massacre. Glancing around at the blood spattered walls, I step over the bodies of what I can only assume was the security station's fire team. Moving forward to their barricades, I stop, appalled by the number of dead swarmling drones laying about in their green blood, covering the fire zone and even further back into the tunnel, with bodies laying as far back as my light will reach.

The main power forgotten, I press forward, stepping over or in swarmling bodies as I navigate my way deeper into the tunnels, toward the entry receiving point from my world. Reaching the portal room, I look around seeing it almost pristine but for a few swarmling bodies and several armored security ponies, probably taken completely by surprise, poor bastards.

Checking the gate circle itself, I'm semi-relieved and at the same time saddened to see the anchor crystals embedded in the floor around it to be dark, with many of them cracked. Nothing else should come through this gate, for better or worse. Walking back to the two armored figures, I kneel down, checking them for any usable supplies. Aside from a few light sticks laying nearby, most of their equipment lays broken around them, and while their swords are serviceable, my own are custom-made for me and also far superior both in quality and enchants.

Glancing around the room, I see several crates laying nearby in various states of being unpacked. Obviously, they hadn't been here much longer than it took to secure the layout, they hadn't even had time to set up defenses beyond the already established interior checkpoint. "Poor, poor bastards." I whisper with a sigh, resting my palm lightly on the shoulder of one of the heavily mutilated bodies.

Standing, I head out of the gate receiving room, back to the checkpoint. From there, I take the other branching tunnel to the power room. Reaching the 'room' in question, more a naturally formed chamber where they set up, I take a moment to assess the damage. Along one side of the room sits a bank of crystals composed of a lighter element, cheaper to produce in large scale than diamond. Normally, they sit in individual cradles broadcasting power to objects in the area specifically attuned to them, such as armor, and weapons, as well as lighting and heating elements.

Sadly, most of the crystals in the room are shattered, surrounded by the charred remains of a number of swarmlings. Probably suicide rushed the crystals to knock them out of their cradles, many of which are damaged or destroyed as well. Moving towards the back of the cave, I find one of the crystals in relatively good shape; in this case, it's merely got a large crack down the front facet. Resting a hand on it, I focus and draw its energy in, feeding it through my gear and pooling as much as possible inside myself.

Taking my hand off the crystal as I stand, I walk out of the chamber. Putting my light stick away, I pulse energy into the area around me, causing the light spikes on the wall to flicker and glow. This lights my path as I draw both blades and continue back to the blood splattered checkpoint. Returning to the tunnel, I note the slight scratch marks on the floor and walls I'd missed earlier on my way in.

Coming to the crossroads, I draw a shuddering breath as I turn and start slowly walking down the tunnel towards the rest of the base. Spots along the floors and walls indicate combat along the length of it, the occasional swarmling corpse appears from the darkness, surrounded by a puddle of its own blood. Coming to another security checkpoint, I find that the defenders had enough warning to try to barricade themselves in using a collection of unsecured wall panels and various crates and metal canisters. The swarmling bodies are piled deeply here, reaching almost to the ceiling at points along the barricade. On the left end, a 7 foot section of the barricade had given way, allowing them in to storm the defenders.

Swallowing thickly, I step into the breach, staring around at the various swarmling corpses and pieces of the defenders laying scattered about haphazardly. Taking a moment, I close my eyes, and swallow a few times, thankful for my pressure suit keeping out the smells.

Turning back to the task at hand, I head for the armory first, or as the running joke went, the morgue.

Walking down the corridor, I marvel at the signs of combat scarring the walls. Bodies are piled 2-3 deep in places, giving me some difficulty in maneuvering down the tunnel. As I continue forward, I check any swarmlings that don't appear obviously dead for signs of life. Reaching what should have been the gate to the armory itself, I can only stand in shock as I stare at the spheroid hole in the ground before me. NOTHING is left of the room. I can't be sure what would do that, but I'd heard of experimental weapons being transported through, and obviously, something had a safeguard or the defenders set up a dead man's switch. Either way, I'm not getting anymore supplies or gear here.

Stopping a moment to give a nod of respect to the de facto grave of the armory's defenders, I turn and start retracing my steps back down the tunnel to the security station. Next stop should probably be the mess. It would have been the next logical holding location.

Grasping any shred of hope I can, I start down the tunnel towards the mess hall. Tears run down my face silently as my eyes ceaselessly track back and forth over my path looking for any living threats, but the cave is still, stubbornly silent. Coming to the entrance to what looked to be the mess hall, I found several splintered tables levered up against the entrance. Several holes punched through them tell me the story of how they'd failed to stem the flow.

I can only pause as I imagine what must have gone through the defender's minds as they held out as long as possible, hearing and feeling the creatures eat and tear at the all-too-flimsy barricade before finally forcing their way in so the ensuing bloodbath could commence. And bloodbath it was, because it felt more like an abattoir than a mess-hall the moment I stepped in, with bodies heaped everywhere and several abortive barricades situated about the room as the defenders were pushed back and massacred, their bodies torn beyond all recognition.

A chocked sob pushes itself past my lips as I stand there looking around, but even in my pain there is a silent snarl on my face. Pushing on, I enter the doorway in the back, finding what looks like a kitchen from Tartarus with bodies and parts of bodies laying everywhere and a coat of red and green blood covering EVERYTHING. Running to the back, praying desperately, I come across something that gives me hope. A circular rune has been carved into the floor, with storage crystals spaced around it. I don't know what the rune does beyond the fact that most of the conduits seem to channel power from the crystals inwards. Reaching out, I try to feed a flicker of power into it, with the aim of tracing the activation sequence, when my suit gives an audible alarm and I hear several crystalline snaps echo behind me.

Spinning around in a combat crouch, storm sword in hand and a tear streaked snarl on my face, I confront an empty room. Relaxing slightly, I bring up the diagnostics readout on my suit; most of the errors make no sense to me, but certain lines pop out at me.

Power system Error - Corruption detected.
Power Crystal #2 - Offline
Power Crystal #3 - Offline
Power Crystal #4 - Offline
Power Crystal #5 - Offline
Power Crystals reading no connection, please replace.

Well . . . buck. I certainly am not capable of replacing the crystals myself, that normally takes an experienced armorer to remove the damaged ones and to graft the new ones into the armor without risking serious losses in power capacity and efficiency.

I regard the rune on the floor again before I turn to head out. As I do, a small blue crystal on the floor catches my attention.

Striding over, I reach down and lift a recording crystal to my face, examining it silently. Moving to where I can watch the door, I feed a trickle of magic into it, causing it to glow softly. As it starts playing, I can only bow my head in relief as I hear Vine's voice issue from the crystal, but I quickly perk up as I hear the contents of her message.

"Redemit, I don't have much time. You said you were right behind us, but then the rear guard told us about the Swarmling Queen. They didn't think you'd make it, but I don't think you'd let that stop you from fulfilling a promise. However, a few minutes ago, there was an incident in the receiving room, the next thing we know they're screaming for backup at the receiving checkpoint. Then they tell us to run and barricade the secondary checkpoint, they're doing that now, but we're trapped down here, and they said there were a lot of them. We're going to try something very foolish, you'd certainly approve. Wind Scythe is feeding a number of power crystals into a blind teleport, we had reports of an abandoned structure about 2 days east of here, some kind of ancient fortress. We're going to try to make it to the surface and make our way there with his squad. If you're hearing this, we have the elements, and we're heading for that structure."

Bowing my head, I give a silent sigh of relief. Vine might be still alive, just unable to communicate. But then the message continues.

"Your gear was brought through the portal, but never stored in the armory. We tried to get it, but it was in the barracks, and the secondary checkpoint just went quiet. They're coming, and the major's going to buy us as much time as possible, but we need to start if it's going to work in time. Catch up quickly, big guy." With that, the message stops, the crystal blinking once as it returns to its ready status.

Closing my eyes tightly, I give a quiet whine of relief before opening them again and moving back into the cafeteria. I should have my scout gear in my supplies, and then I can go find her. While I doubt she's out of the woods yet, by any means, I have hope. Moving forward into the cafeteria area, I glance around, but find nothing of use.

Continuing down the corridor, I come to the security station, and turn down the third tunnel, but pause as I hear several whispers just on the edge of hearing, buck. Continuing down the corridor, I keep my blades up and ready. I continue igniting the wall mounted glow sticks as I proceed down the corridor. Coming to the end of the corridor, I come upon what looks like an improvised barricade where somepony had bolted a metal plate to the doorway. The plate itself is covered in scratch marks, bearing mute testimony to the stress it'd borne up under before an unknown force had forcibly bent the top right corner in, popping one of the corner bolts loose and giving the swarm access to the room beyond.

Still hearing the whispers, I decide against subtlety, and instead spend a bit of my remaining power, feeding it into the strength rune. Rocking back and drawing a leg up, I straighten it out explosively, wrenching the remaining bolts out of the rock with a scream of tortured metal and stone. The barricade obligingly flies across the room, clearing the way for my entrance.

Striding into the room, swords ablaze, I glance around. There isn't much in the room, almost everything still seems to be crated. Several crates bearing the Night Guard emblem catch my eye, but I continue scanning the room, eventually finding what I seek. There is a dark hole in the back wall, hidden behind several crates.

Striding forward, I ignite a light stick and toss it forward into the darkness. Several shapes scuttle back into the darkness, not good. Noting a general lack of bodies in the main room, I can only come to a rather nasty conclusion. There is a nest inside that tunnel, and unless I want to watch this world burn like mine, that nest must die.

Moving over to the marked crates, and keeping an eye on the tunnel, I crack the first one open, whistling through my teeth as I pull out a string of grenades and a satchel of incendiaries. Checking the next crate, I give a silent cheer when I find my scout suit is indeed here, and seems intact. Starting a self diagnostic on it, I crack the last crate, finding some of my clothes and other toiletries, my blade care kit, and also . . . my eyes light up as I see it, my force bow. Giving it a tender stroke, I leave it where it is, instead opting to go back to the explosives crate.

I pull two frags and two incendiaries out and clip them to my armor. Better armed, I stand and advance on the tunnel in the back wall. Crouching down slightly, I continue my slow march inwards. Using the glow of my white blade to light my path, I wave it around, discouraging anything from trying to jump out at me.

Coming up to a bend in the tunnel, I slowly move forward, keeping my guard up as I come around the natural blind spot. Seeing nothing, I proceed forward only to have something slam into my right side, knocking me into a wall and banging my head around inside the helm.

Shaking off the stars before my eyes, I slam my elbow to the right impacting into something that gives a dry crack and a squeal of pain. Before I can take advantage of this, something tears through a weak point between two of the plates on my leg and into the leg underneath.

Staggering I feel magic flowing through me weakly as it seals the wound and starts healing the tissue underneath the skin once the blood loss has been staunched.

Turning to face my attacker, I see a lone drone favoring its left foreleg as it stands there hissing at me. I feel my eyes narrow as my world dissolves in rage. Shooting forward I knock its attempted bite aside and grab it by the throat, holding it up at arms length as I stare at it through slit eyes. Tightening my grasp, I start to choke it as I also proceed to forcibly suck its life out. The swarmling's energy collects inside my body, accelerating the healing process and feeding my rage.

Tossing the lifeless body aside, I turn back to the tunnel. I kneel down to pick up my other blade and then proceed to stride down the tunnel, still slightly hunched due to the low ceiling. Coming around another bend, I see something that sets my eyes ablaze: scattered along the wall are the corpses of various creatures, mostly ponies with the occasional gryphon. All are refugees from my world, many known personally to me, now to be used as nurseries for more swarmlings.

Striding forward to the first corpse, I thrust my white blade into its chest cavity and push energy through it, causing the body to twitch and balloon slightly as the flesh around the sword starts blackening and the material inside boils, killing the eggs implanted inside.

Pulling my blade out I turn to the next set of corpses as a pair of swarmlings finally rush me in defense of the eggs. Watching them come, I grin ferally as magic condenses on my wings. I sweep them out before me and grasp the two swarmlings by the base of their necks. While I hold them up in the air immobile, I stab another two corpses with my blades and rip the swarmlings' life out and channel it into the blades. The corpses ignite in green flames collapsing in upon themselves as they turn to ash.

Moving on to the next two corpses, I repeat the process as the two creatures in my grasp shriek in agony, their every scream only feeding my vicious pleasure. I continue down the tunnel, burning the corpses, destroying the eggs inside. After 4-5 cycles, the swarmlings finally stop moving and are unceremoniously dumped aside as I continue down the tunnel purging the rest. After the last body in sight is reduced to ash, I fall to a knee panting from the exertion.

My power's running low, but then, that's what incendiaries are for. Pushing myself to my feet, I continue down the tunnel towards a slight glow ahead. Coming into a natural cavity in the rock, I stop and stare in silent horror at the sight before me.

In a shallow depression in the floor lies another couple of bodies, with readily apparent signs of infestation, but skittering all over the room are more swarmlings. Much of the walls' surface is covered in a glowing material, much like the mud mix some insects use to build their hives. The swarm is building a new hive, and where there's a swarm hive, there's a swarm queen... Buck.

At my appearance, the drones closest to me turn and hiss, but keep their distance. The queen knows I'm here, and it is planning something. They haven't been here long, judging by the fact I am standing in the egg chamber, so I can assume that I am a day behind Vine, which makes cleaning this nest up quickly of utmost importance.

Glancing around, I decide I've got nothing to lose, and a better opportunity won't be presenting itself. "You really shouldn't have waited," I state conversationally as I start backing up into the tunnel's mouth. "Now, it's time to pay the price," I quip as I pop the releases on an incendiary, and a fragmentation grenade, tossing the incendiary towards the center of the room, followed by the first fragmentary towards the left as I quickly toss the other fragmentary to the right.

Stepping back into the tunnel another couple feet, I deploy my tower shield and brace my feet as the chamber erupts in activity. This changes abruptly as the world turns white and a wave of heat impacts my shield shortly followed by twin thuds and a wave of pings on my shield heralding the fragmentation grenades going off.

Opening my eyes and raising my head, I look into a scene from Tartarus. Swarmlings lay everywhere, most charred to one degree or another, while others lay twisted and mangled from the concussive shock and wave of fragments thrown up by the fragmentation grenades.

Even through all that, three successive explosions in the tight confines of the room, some of the swarmlings turn out relatively unscathed, which they demonstrate by rushing my position in the tunnel.

Readying my shield, I pull my storm blade, and ready myself in the natural choke-point the tunnel offers. The first wave, in this case a single changeling, is dispatched quickly with an economical thrust to the face with my blade. Wrenching my blade loose, I ready myself again.

As successive waves continue to charge me, my focus narrows down to the 5 feet of space in front of me. Stab, Recover, Shield Bash, Stab. Retreating as necessary, I slowly whittle their numbers down. I take the occasional bite and buck, but my armor absorbs and stops most of it.

Eventually, the numbers and health of the swarmlings begin to diminish, as I end up facing swarmlings that show signs of damage before they come into my engagement envelope.

Then, as I'm tiring and the swarmlings seem to be dwindling, the queen strikes. My proximity sensors give me only an instant's warning before the queen is upon me from behind, almost taking me, then and there. On instinct alone, I spin to my left my right arm slashing out with my blade, inflicting only minor damage on the swarmling before me but forcing it back as my tower shield moves to cover my vulnerable flank as the queen charges me from behind.

The impact of the queen impacting my shield tosses me into the swarmlings to my right. The tunnel is already rather choked with bodies, which serves to hinder their follow up attacks, and also to cushion my fall as I land in a drift of bodies I don't consciously remember killing.

I have an instant to know fear, and then the queen is upon me, charging forward in the tight confines of the tunnel. The still vaguely-horse-shaped creature charges me. While the confines of the tunnel thankfully prevent it from doing serious damage, it still manages to rear up slightly to bring its front claws down on my shield, knocking the air from my body and stunning me.

I try to roll aside, but the pile of bodies I fell into entraps me, slowing me down, stopping my escape. The queen rears up again, tunnel permitting, and slams down onto my shield once more. This knocks me dang near unconscious when the top edge of my shield impacts on my helmet, translating its momentum through to my head. The interior padding does its utmost, but can't stop it all as I see stars.

The last thing I see is the queen rearing above me as its surviving drones stand by watching impassively. Then the queen's hooves impact on my helmet, and I know nothing.

Redemit

I find myself standing in the middle of what looks like somepony's oddly familiar bed chambers. Glancing around, I note a bed with dark blue sheets. The wall hangings are all likewise somber, consisting of darker hues all oriented on a dark and stormy night. I also note my armor is missing, instead I'm wearing a simple shirt and pants, with a cloth belt about my waist.

On the walls rest several book cases with various books inside them, and on another wall is a line of windows. A double doorway in their midst leads onto what looks like a balcony. In the corner is a couch and several seats in a circle providing a comfortable atmosphere. Resting on an easel nearby is a painting showing a white alicorn, much like my Queen, only instead of a rich and dark blue, this one's coat is a pure brilliant white. She's portrayed standing with wings unfurled, staring straight out at me from large purple irises. A golden collar with a purple gem adorns her chest and golden shoes adorn her fore hooves, wafting in a breeze is a mane that seems more energy than hair composed of four different shades: Pink, Green, Blue, and what looked like a grayish purple to me. But then, I wasn't very good with colors, everything always looked black and white to me ever since my Queen granted me her boon.

Thoughts of my Queen, dead on a world that was even now being bathed in fire and destruction, sadden me, causing my attention to wander. Idly, I shuffle towards the balcony doors, my curiosity getting the better of me as I try to figure out where I am.

"Redemit," a voice calls. A voice I thought I'd never hear again, a voice that was to me as water was to a pony three days gone in the desert. My eyes widen and my heart seems to freeze inside my chest. Turning slowly, I look at the couch, and the being that now resides upon it.

Lounging on her side, is another alicorn, but where the one in the painting was bright as the sun, this one is dark as the deepest night, where the other carried an aura of majesty and the colors of the sky graced her mane, this one carries an aura of raw power, her tail and mane are the night sky itself, and lightning occasionally travels across the 'stars' therein. A form fitting dark blue helm rests upon her head, complementing the spiraling shape of her horn, with a chest guard bearing the sign of a storm cloud wreathed crescent moon. Upon each of her feet rest dark blue shoes. On her flank, proudly displayed, was a mirror image of the mark upon her chest plate.

I fall to my knees as I bow myself to the floor. "My Queen," I state simply, not knowing if this is death, or a dream. Either way, I am loathe for it to end.

"Redemit, why art thou here?" She asks. I'm not sure where 'here' is, but the why is all too easy to ascertain.

"I failed, my Queen." I state simply, closing my eyes in shame as I ponder the probable fate of my body and the actions the fledgling hive will take. In the massive forest, no dwellings nearby, they will build and grow, and by the time the world outside receives their first taste of their impending extinction, it will already be too late.

"Oh? Why dost thou say that?" She asks calmly, still considering me from her position upon the couch.

"Because I wasn't there to keep you safe, and then I wasn't there when the Elements came under threat. Instead, I was stuck in a city playing tag with the locals," I reply, rising to look Her in the eyes as I admit my failures.

"So, because thou weren't there, We and our 500 other very capable, very devoted, guards were struck down, but if thou had been there, the thousands of swarmlings would have stood nary a chance?" She asks in a mildly amused tone.

Gritting my teeth at the familiar pain, I continue to meet her eyes as I reply, "At your side, till the end, is where I belonged, my Queen. I lived, and you did not. This was unacceptable," I reply, my mental anguish hardening my tone towards the end.

Rather than taking offense, she simply closes her eyes and shakes her head with a soft sigh. "We all serve at the behest of fate, my faithful human," She remarks, not unkindly.

"It was Our fate to perish with Our world, where it's your fate to safeguard the remaining survivors. So then, why art thou here?" she asks again.

"They followed us. The alpha site was overrun, and only a few escaped before I made it there. I hunted down the remaining swarmlings and found them building another hive. I moved in immediately to cleanse the site, but their numbers were too great. I wiped out what eggs I could find and drastically thinned their numbers, but I was eventually cornered, and they wore me down before the Swarm Queen flanked me, my last memory is a blow to my helmet, then I found myself here," I report with a small sigh.

"And is that all? Art thou ready to die now?" She replies with a slight smirk.

"For my failure, I deserve death, but I cannot rest, not until my oath is fulfilled. I failed once, I will not fail again," is my immediate reply.

"Very good, that is the spirit we came to admire," She replies with a bright laugh. "But now that thou hast chosen thy path, how wilt thou achieve it?" She queries with a languid smile.

"I do not know, my Queen, I was hoping you might be able to help with that?" I reply, a fire crackling within me as my will solidifies.

Shifting off the couch and to her feet, she walks over to me. Stopping before me, she stops, and tilts her head as she considers me.

Slightly confused, I look to her questioningly as I watch her eyes start to glow and a purple mist begin rising from the edges of her eyes and trailing up above her head before dissipating. Opening her mouth, revealing two rows of sharp teeth in a weirdly cute smile, she giggles. "We thought thou wouldst never ask," Her eyes flash and my world dissolves.

Redemit

My eyes pop open as warmth fills my body. Looking up, I spy several drones standing over me, reaching up I grab two of them by the throat and squeeze as I drain them. The crack of their cartilage feeds the monster inside me as I veritably explode to my feet. Feeling a new power within me, and without really understanding, I feed power out of myself and watch it coalesce as it flows out of me, condensing several feet away from me into a familiar shadowy shape. Spreading wings the color of a thunderhead, and looking at me out of eyes the color of lightning dancing amongst the clouds, with the night sky flowing from her neck and tail, She opens her mouth and speaks with the voice of a thunder blast. "Kill the drones, the queen is mine." I reply with a simple nod and turn away, feeling the familiar weight of my storm sword settle into my grasp as it ignites, lightning dancing up and down the length.

Looking around, I find myself standing in the middle of the same room, the carbonized husks of the previous occupants surrounding me. The hissing of multiple swarmlings draws my attention to see them standing over a pile of their own dead, obviously the swarm queen wasn't wasting time or materials, but I'd deal with her eggs later, the living called me, and I intended to answer their call.

Triggering my shield, I extend it to mid-range before the second stage extension runes fail. I charge forward, a battle cry upon my lips. "For Nightmare Storm!" I scream, my Queen beside me, a primal scream issuing forth from her razor-filled maw as we charge forth.

Reaching the first changeling, I simply slam it with my shield, feeling it go down with a gurgling cry as I trod it underfoot, crushing its exoskeleton and organs with equal ease. Slashing out to my right, I truncate another at the middle of its forelegs as Nightmare snatches one on my left up in her maw and flips her head up and down with a sickening crunch of vertebrae, signaling its demise.

The fight for survival forces my focus to narrow, and I concentrate simply upon the space around me, hacking and slashing at the creatures about me. My armor suffices to shrug off or blunt most of the blows I receive as swarmling life surges through me, healing my wounds and empowering my strikes.

As the tide of battle quickly turns in our favor, the swarm queen makes her appearance, charging out of one of the holes. A small group of swarmlings comes with her, all undamaged, unwearied, and crying for blood.

Turning to face the new threat, I withdraw my blade from the thorax of a dying swarmling and charge the new arrivals. My jump jets firing, I throw myself forward, leaving a path of fire behind myself as the jump jets react with my corrupted energy, over-charging and leaving a burning residue in their wake.

Slamming the swarmlings in front of the swarm queen aside, I roar, spittle flying as I force her reinforcements to focus their attention on me as my Queen breezes past me to confront the swarm queen herself. What happens after that is lost to me as I find myself under assault from all sides. In the fighting, I lose my shield, the supporting structure on my arm finally cracking under the pressure. Tossing it aside, I draw my combat knife from the sheath on my chest and spread my wings, condensing magic into the crystalline feathers, causing them to harden like knives.

I feel the familiar rage overtake me, and instead of fighting it, I master it with the cool reserve of a soldier, I embrace it to me like a lover long lost, as my eyes take on a greenish glow and I start laughing, my blades and wings flitting and dancing all about myself. The whispers in my head turn to knives, stabbing at my consciousness, but with so much adrenaline in my system, I ignore them as I continue to sow death all about myself. Every strike only serves to drain and weaken my opponents as I dance with death himself as my weapon.

Eventually, the rush of new power abates, and my rage escapes me, leaving me gasping for breath and aching in every limb. My wings give me a particularly loud signal that I am going pay for this. I slowly turn, examining the room. Swarmlings, well, swarmling parts, lay everywhere; the floor and most of the walls are painted in the green fluorescence of their blood. My armor has seen better days: nearly every plate has chips taken out of it, with a few that are outright buckled, and the chain-mail underneath is still drawing magic in as it repairs itself.

Seeking my queen I look to my left, and freeze. She stands, wings outstretched, a hoof resting on the swarm queen's weakly struggling chest, a hungry smile upon her lips. Glancing at me, she smiles. "Well done! Now, hold this one, but do not harm it further, I have plans for it," She orders.

Moving to her side, and sheathing my knife, I kneel on the swarm queen's chest, with one of my wings pinning its back legs to the ground. I place my sword to the side and grasp its front legs in my hands, holding them still, yet holding back so I don't crack the obviously-weakened exoskeletal structures.

Nightmare steps off of it as I hold it down, then slowly walks around to where she can look down at its head from above. The swarm queen stares up with rage-filled orbs, some measure of intelligence flickering behind their surface. "Now, my human tells me thy drones doth press my little ponies most grievously. I will have knowledge of where they are, and after that, I will have you, body and soul. I do not much care for your form, but in this task, it will serve," At her words, the swarm queen's eyes widen, and her struggles increase as it begins to toss its head and the rest of its body around, thrashing in my grip, threatening to damage itself.

"Oh, that's quite enough of that!" Nightmare growls hungrily, almost sensuously, as she reaches out and grasps the swarm queen's head in her hooves, bringing her head down as lightning arcs up from her forehead, forming the shape of a spectral horn with a spark of energy upon the tip. The queen struggles hysterically until the horn makes contact with its own twisted and malformed horn and its body goes limp.

"Gather your gear, and prepare to cleanse this place. We shall be with you shortly, my human," She states, her form starting to waver and flow down the point of contact between them.

Standing up, I grasp my sword and glance around the room. I start taking stock: one more incendiary, and my armor is in shambles. I'm not even sure where my other blade is, or the sheathes I had attached to my armor to hold them. Acting on impulse, I bring up the diagnostic module, most everything not relating to my chest plate reads as offline, including most of my jump gear's jet nozzles. Acting to save my remaining power capacity, I order a power purge, flat-lining my power supply, but removing the corrupted life energy from my remaining power crystal, allowing it to start drawing a clean charge from the local ley lines.

I figure the first place to start would be to retrace my steps to where I reawakened. Stepping over and around various pieces of debris and gore, I look around, finally spotting one of my scabbards laying on the floor. I reach down and grasp it, pulling it from the floor with a slight sucking noise. Shaking off the worst of the gore, I sheath my storm blade and hold the scabbard in my off hand as I move towards the entrance, looking for my other blade.

Coming back to the mouth of the tunnel where I'd first started my assault. I finally stumble across my other blade, the scabbard laying on the ground nearby, knocked off at some point as I fought the swarmlings. Picking it up, I again shake off as much debris as possible, then sheathe my other blade in it and head back in towards Nightmare and the swarm queen.

Glancing over at them, I see the swarm queen laying on the ground, apparently comatose. Nightmare is nowhere to be seen. Kind of curious at this point, I walk over and examine it. It lies on its back, fore limbs folded across its chest, appearing to simply be asleep, but as I watch, its eyes open, revealing aquamarine eyes with slit irises. I start to tense for a moment before I realize who's eyes I'm looking into, my Queen has claimed this body.

Looking at me, She smiles, and slowly rolls over. "This form shan't last long, but for our purpose, it will last long enough. Come, we must make haste, thy former handler is in dire straights,"

Saluting, I move to her side. "I'm down to one incendiary, and torching the bodies by hand will take more power than I have. We may need to return to cleanse this place," I state.

Looking around and grimacing, she replies. "Nay, time is of the essence, but this place cannot be spared, hand us thy last incendiary," She orders.

Grasping the grenade, I pull it off, careful to not prime it, and hold it out to her. She considers it a moment before the grenade and Her horn start to glow a soft blue. After a moment, the grenade stops glowing, and She nods.

"We shan't need to stick around, as we leave, drop this behind, it shall suffice," She states with a satisfied smile.

Taking a moment to look around, and then down at herself, She frowns. "This form is displeasing to Us, We shall remedy it, one moment." Taking a deep breath, she closes her eyes and concentrates. Her form dissolves in a rush of green flame and reforms as an alicorn. Horrifyingly, She drops to the floor gasping for breath.

Instantly, I'm at my Queen's side, hands outstretched, my meager magic supply already gathering at my command as I reach out to heal her.

"Nay, stay thy hand and conserve thy power. We did not know that their mutations made changing quite so . . . painful," She states as her breathing slows. I relax as She slowly stands.

"I have some pain killers, if you wish them, My Queen?" I offer as I remain at her side, my magic flowing back into the storage crystal on my spine with a faint tingle to mark its passing.

"Again, Nay, We shall need out faculties unimpaired in the coming fight, let us proceed," She responds, moving towards the tunnel I entered through.

"Yes, my Queen," I say as I move in front of Her, sweeping for targets as I go. Stopping at the doorway, I step aside to let Her pass. Holding up the incendiary grenade, I look at it a second before priming it and tossing it into the center of the room. Turning, I run down the tunnel to the first bend where Nightmare is standing, waiting for me.

As I pass, She erects a barrier on the tunnel. A few moments later, the space beyond goes white and the ground shakes beneath us. Flames curl their way down the tunnel as the rocks themselves seem to catch fire for an instant before dying out. Turning, we proceed down the tunnel, the room behind us continuing to glow as the heat within sanitizes the area and attached tunnels, ensuring a clean sweep.

Chapter 4 - New Allies

Walking down the tunnel, I begin to think. While not the safest occupation in my experience, it's generally saved me a great deal of trouble. And certain things about this entire bucked-up situation don't make sense. How is my Queen here? I watched Her die. It's one experience I don't think I'll ever be able to forget, and the pain will probably never fully go away, yet here She is, kinda. Sadly, I need to find out what's going on: living in a dream is a good way to die, and if this is a trick, well, after this long in a charmed dream, I'm probably dead.

"Your Highness?" I finally ask, as I'm moving down the tunnel, my last light stick held up to light the path.

"Yes, my human?" is Her response, causing me a moment of indecision as I desperately try to ask this question without upsetting Her.

"Forgive this one's impertinence, but how are you here?" is all my addled mind can summon, smooth.

"We're not sure, we have some thoughts, but, there's no real way to be sure," is Her semi-hesitant response. I nod understandingly, content to drop the subject, even if I still don't understand, but she continues after a moment. "When you found us, on the battlefield, as we lay . . . well, when you found us, and we channeled our power into you, to pull the moon down, we may have bonded a fragment of our soul to you as well, and when your body was at its limits, you found the piece of our magic you bear already, bonded it with the soul fragment, and called us back," She responds, causing me to pause, reflexively making sure the tunnel is clear, before I turn back to Her.

"Wait, you think you put a piece of your essence in this one?" I ask, blinking as I try to wrap my head around this, some very useful possibilities springing to mind as a result. "So, if you were to die again, This one could serve as an anchor to pull you back?" I ask, with a certain amount of giddiness at the thought. I'm not worthy, but I would do anything she asked of me.

"Nay, it's not like we attached our full soul to yours, it is merely a fragment, most of our current power probably comes from your willing sacrifice on our behalf, using it too much, or even repeating the summoning process, would probably ultimately drain and kill you, and while there are many sacrifices I've had to make through the years, that is not one I will contemplate, we will save your friend, and then, I . . . will rest."

I freeze, instantly feeling my stomach drop and a deep sense of foreboding rising up. "You're going to leave us?" I stare at Her, dread burrowing through my conscience.

She sighs, and steps up to me pulling me close with one of Her wings. This startles me and I freeze in place: She NEVER shows affection, or touches anypony for that matter. Sitting on Her haunches, She rests Her fore hooves on my bent and buckled chest plate to look me in the eyes through my visor. "We all serve at the behest of fate. I cannot remain here, there is already one who fulfills my role in this reality. I shouldn't even be here for this long, but I cannot just let my last two little ponies die if I can help it."

My eyes widen. "There's only two of them left? She had a squad with her! Six Night Guard, and they're already down 5?" I ask, my mind frantically trying to consider plans and options.

"Redemit!" Her royal voice rings out from right in front of me, instantly stopping my train of thought and focusing my attention on Her. "We have some time, she managed to break away, but we need to get set up. There's things we must needs prepare for, and you need to find armor, your plate is not going to cut it for this fight. What of the armory?"

I blink as my tired mind struggles to catch up, thankfully my mouth responds without me. "Destroyed, looked like a suicide move, something scraped out a ball of matter. This one has some scout gear, but if it's that bad . . ." I reply, my breath slowing as I calm down and get my thoughts in order.

She shakes Her head. "Nay, it's not that bad, we ripped many facts and pictures from the adolescent swarm queen's memories. The bastion they seek should serve to harbor them, for a time. We should prepare." She drops back to the ground, folding Her wing back to Her side and moves down the tunnel, forcing me to catch up as I again begin scanning the tunnel ahead for traps or other threats.

Moving into the barracks, I move over to the crates of supplies as Nightmare Storm starts wandering herself, occasionally poking through the other crates in the room. First things first, my rent armor has to go. Setting my sheathed blades down atop one of the crates, I turn my attention to the metal covering my body. Popping various releases and cutting buckles and straps as needed with my knife, I slowly strip most of the heavier plates off myself, leaving my chain-mail under-layer and helmet on, eventually the heavier chain-mail joins the rent and broken heavy armor in a rather untidy pile in a crate to the side, time is of the essence after all..

Pulling the second crate out, and popping the seals, I take stock. I grab my first piece, a pair of pants blotched various shades of green comprised of a finer meshed mail, less effective than my previous set, but lighter and more flexible, I follow it with a simple full-sleeved shirt of the same mesh. Once that's assembled, I pull out a hardened vest and slip it on. Checking the spinally mounted crystals, I note their full charge, and make a note to scrap the remaining crystal from my heavy plate, without the runes and lines built into the armor it won't recharge naturally, but you never know when a little bit more storage can come in handy, plus Night-Guard crystals are just plain special. Following these pieces, I finally pull out some snugly fitted gloves, slip them on, and start strapping various pieces of gear on, starting with my knife going in a scabbard on my right thigh. I move on to a belt covered in various pouches and a small jump charge pack on the back to aid my maneuverability much like my heavier armor did. After applying knee and shoulder pads, and shifting many of my various tools to my pouches, I grab my scabbards and hold them back behind myself to either side of my spine. The sheathes 'lock' into place as the runes on the scabbards reacts with runes on the spine of my armor, held comfortably between my wings, getting them off my waist where they'd interfere with my thrusters, but close to hand without impairing my wings.

As a last step, I strap two vambraces on, giving a quick twist of my wrists, causing the spring-loaded blades to extend and lock in place. Nodding, I twist again, retracting them, and turn to my Queen. She, having grown bored with investigating the various pieces of debris filling the room, has turned to stare at me.

Tilting my head inquisitively, I ask, "Something wrong, your Highness?"

"Nay, my human, we are not troubled. But we do wonder, what of the treasury?" She asks.

Frowning, I ask. "What treasury, your Highness?"

"We ordered the transfer of certain valuable materials, as well as the transfer of certain documents. They would prove useful to our subjects as they attempted to reintegrate with this reality's locals. With the current circumstances, there are some things we feel should be dealt with, before there are any . . . misunderstandings," She responds in a thoughtful tone.

I find myself raising a brow. "What exactly did we bring through? I thought it was primarily foodstuffs, with enough weaponry to make a token show of force?"

She grimaces. "Nowhere near all of our tomes of knowledge were purged. We sent quite a few along, just in case our subjects were not allowed into this world peacefully. Now . . . with our failure to secure the rear, that is no longer an option, and some of these texts are too terrible to leave in existence. If they still exist, they must be purged. Now." she states with a certain amount of distaste and what sounds like . . . sadness?

I nod, and sling the two grenade satchels over my shoulders and hang them from handy clips. Turning to my heavy armor for a moment, I grab the back plate. Looking at the remaining crystal, I pulse power into several spots on the armor, causing it to deform, allowing me to liberate the crystal. Pocketing it, I turn around and say, "There were several other rooms down here, but this one didn't catch any names. So this one guesses we try them all until we find the correct one?"

Her only response is a slight nod before She starts off towards the tunnel. I move forward to join her. We move down the tunnel, back to the security station, but about three quarters of the way there, I notice a split in the tunnel I'd missed on my earlier trip in. Taking this side path, we are soon met with the sight of what would have been a rather formidable vault gate, if it hadn't been only halfway finished.

Glancing at Nightmare, I move forward and sweep the room, storm sword in one hand, light crystal in the other. Finding nothing besides a number of boxes, I call out. "It's clear, your Highness."

Nightmare steps into the room rolling Her eyes. "It's just the two of us, you may dispense with the formality, my human," She says with a hint of exasperation in Her voice. She sighs."It was a mistake letting the royal instructor at you," She states, causing me to blink in confusion before I shake my head and focus on my task..

"What is this o... what am I looking for, Ma'am?" I query, looking around at the various boxes and crates stacked throughout the room.

"Three red tears, when you find it, grab it and bring it out," is her ready response, causing me to do a double take.

"The order of the bloody tears really existed? I thought they were just a rumor!" I exclaim, kind of stupidly considering She just as good as told me they existed.

"Yes, yes they did," She responds, staring at the wall. I blink, doing a double take, is . . . is She crying? "Ma'am?" I ask, taking a step towards Her.

"We don't have time, find the crate," is her brusque response. I turn around and head for the various stacks with a nod, but not without glancing back to see Her wiping her face with a hoof. Glancing around at the various objects of interest in front of me, I see a lot of papers, and other items of interest, until I shift a tarp aside on one particular pile, and uncover a 4 foot by 2 foot crate, three red tears proudly displayed upon the top. "Ma'am, tears here." I state, looking up.

She walks over, staring at the box with a great deal of sadness, causing me a certain degree of sympathetic pain. "What did they do, Ma'am?" I ask, as I look at the pain clearly visible on her face.

"When our sister died, the way she did, we found we could not maintain the solar cycle. We should have been able. She'd shown us her own ability to move both sun and moon. But we found ourselves unable to move the sun, and night fell upon the land. In response, I started the Order of the Bloody Tears. They specialized in solar research, trying to move the sun via other means, namely concerted actions by unicorns. They also developed many terrible weapons. Sadly they would only have served where sunlight was available, and with the sun stuck on the far side of the planet from Equestria, well, their research was largely for naught, and the other side burned while we struggled not to freeze, and to face the swarm as well," is her surprisingly lengthy response.

I nod my head. "Your sister handled the sun, while you handled the moon?" I ask, my curiosity getting the better of me, prompting Her to stare at me incredulously.

"You did not know about our sister, Celestia?" She asks, looking very confused.

I shake my head rubbing the back of my neck. "No, the subject was considered off limits in the Night Guard, and I wasn't exactly allowed out to ask. Plus, I can't read, so the library was kind of closed to me."

She pauses, obviously thinking deeply, then sighs as Her head droops. "When she died, we were hurt deeply, we forbade the mention of her name in our presence, obviously our guards sought to spare us the pain of hearing anything related to her name. Not the best solution, but we are grateful none the less." She states with a sigh. "We ruled together, she during the day, and we during the night. Certain problems had been popping up, we were rather jealous of our subjects' affection towards our sister, while they treated our night as naught but a time to rest, we felt alone, and ignored. It is our great shame to this day that the last conversation we had with our sister was an argument."

I blink, rather taken back by this information. "I'm sorry Ma'am. This must be hard for you," I respond, glancing down at the crate. If only Vine were here, she'd be able to help more, she was always the more empathic one.

Her face hardens as Her head comes up and She stares at the box with a look of utter disgust. "Nay, we were foolish to pervert our sister's role in this way. These . . . abominations need to be purged."

"At once, my Queen," I state. Reaching down and grasping an end of the crate, I drag it out to a clear space on the floor. Switching to the white blade I glance at her one last time. At her nod I raise the blade up, point down and stab it into the box, splintering a small section of the top and thudding into what sounds like a book inside. I feed energy into the blade, the box starting to smolder and then burn. I step back and turn to Nightmare. "We should finish up quickly, that fire will render this room uninhabitable for a time, Ma'am," I advise, stepping back.

Nightmare nods and moves towards the doorway. "We're done here, the rest will be fine until such time as they're needed."

Glancing back to make sure the fire won't spread, I follow her out, and we make our way out to the security station. Nightmare stops, staring at the remains of the defenders. I stand back for a moment, to give her some time, but after a couple minutes I step forward and clear my throat to get her attention. "Ma'am, we need to go."

She glances at me, Her eyes full of pain, but nods and moves forward again. "We had hoped they would be able to find safety here, but our world's legacy is not so easily dismissed, it would seem." She states in a level voice, causing me to wince.

"You did what you could, Ma'am, nopony can say otherwise, and if they did, I'd show them the error of their ways." I state with an edge of finality to my voice.

She smiles at me, again causing me more than a little surprise at Her display of affection, before turning back to the tunnel and heading out. When we're about to reach the entrance to the tunnels, I kill my light as my hackles rise. I stare out at the silent forest, something causing my instincts to kick in. Holding up a hand to stop Nightmare, I consider the forest, trying to figure out what's wrong, then I realize. The silent forest, no birds, no bugs, and the darkness is more complete than it'd been previously, something is wrong.

Stepping to Nightmare's side, ready to move in front of Her as needed, I keep my eyes on the entrance up ahead and whisper to Nightmare, "Ma'am, something is off, I think there's an ambush ahead." My muscles tense and adrenaline flows into my system.

She looks at me and smiles. "We know, they've been watching us since we awoke, probably before, there's not much the two of us can do, so lets go meet them, shall we?" With that, She moves forward again towards the entrance. I stand there dazed and confused before I shake myself and move to catch up to Her, taking point and preceding Her out into the clearing.

Once we're a few feet from the cave's mouth, the forest on all sides erupts, dark shapes rushing forward, screaming out for us to stand down and other calls for our surrender. Stepping back, closer to my Queen, my wings spread out shielding her as power floods my body and I trigger the wrist knives.

Stopping about 10 feet from us, the dark shapes are soon revealed as ponies in plate armor with a darker under-layer festooned with pockets. Glancing at their armor, I notice the symbol of a black sun rising from the horizon. "Special forces, Ma'am," I state, tersely glancing around at the various ponies confronting us, weapons held ready and horns charged. Buck.

"Stand down, Redemit" She commands softly, causing me to pause.

"Ma'am?" I ask, denoting priority targets that I just don't have enough weapons to engage in time.

"Stand down, we can't win, and we'll need their help," She repeats, and then in a soft voice, asks. "When did your wings change form?"

"Huh?" I have time to ask as I slowly raise my hands and retract my wings shortly before various unicorns lock their magic on and around me, locking down my movement and stunting the flow of magic around me, mitigating much of my combat effectiveness. I feel myself take a blow to the back of my knees knocking me down into a kneeling position as their magical grasp forces my hands up to the back of my head.

"There is no need for this, we have surrendered honorably, we request a meeting with your leaders," I hear Nightmare speak out behind me as the ponies move forward towards me, locking manacles around my wrists in front of the wrist assemblies effectively blocking them. I feel my blades taken from their scabbards and then I'm pressed forward to the forest floor, watching the loam flatten against my visor.

"You'll request nothing. You'll either come quietly or in chains as befits a monster like you." I hear one say, rage fills my body as my fists clench. I instantly feel several sharp objects press into my armor on the back of my chest and base of my spine.

"Nay, Redemit, do not." Nightmare soothes.

I stop moving and simply settle for turning my helm to watch the ponies approaching Nightmare as She tries again to reason with them.

"We must ask to speak with your leaders there is another of our party in danger right-" She starts but is cut off once more by one of the ponies, I'm unable to ascertain who, but whoever they are just earned themselves a foot of tempered steel in a sensitive location first chance I get.

"You'll do no such thing. Now, will you come quietly, or will it be the hard way?" He asks, a certain tone to his voice indicating his 'preferred' method.

This proves too much for Nightmare. She rears up and spreads her wings, and the very air around us becomes charged with electricity as the temperature drops at least ten degrees in less than a second. "We shall not be left to deal with this simpleton! We shall speak to your leaders, or we shall teach you the meaning of respect!" Her voice thrums through the air, crackling with power, I practically purr with pleasure at the feel of her essence flowing through me. "We know you are there! We can feel you, we do not mean harm but we shall not be dissuaded. Let us speak like civilized beings-” she utters in a reasonable tone of voice. “-or prepare your souls!" She booms, the second part comes out practically hissed, Her eyes narrowed and lightning crackling along Her wings as the stars in Her mane and tail fly along at breakneck speeds, winking in and out of existence.

"She's resisting, hit her with the Elements!" a new voice calls, this one too thrums with power, cold and crackling yet filled with the heat of the sun. I shake my head confusedly, I haven't even seen the sun in a very long time, I don't remember much about it, but that is what it makes me think, just before a rainbow-hued beam shoots out of the surrounding darkness and impacts on my Queen.

When it hits Her, my world goes white and pain erupts throughout my body. I think I feel my throat screaming, but I can't hear, can't feel, all I'm aware of is the power coursing through me. It's familiar enough, I've been trained with our own Elements as part of their experiments, but not for long. As their fire courses through me, the pain burns deeper and deeper, filling my entire being, and loosing my rage.

They DARED attack my Queen. They DARED stop me from fulfilling my promise. They DARED ignore our pleading. This would end. This must end. The world returns to me in a rush. I'm vaguely aware of Nightmare standing braced against the beam as the visible portions of my anatomy glow brightly.

I feel my hands, bound together upon the back of my head, then their bonds loose with a pop. I feel straps, holding my wings closed, and they too snap, the blades held against my body are there, then they are gone, and several ponies around me collapse. I put my hands to the dirt, and push myself up slowly, feeling the various unicorns in the surrounding area trying to hold me down. I concentrate on the energies flowing through me, much the same way I utilized the synthetic magic flow from the crystals on my armor, and feed it into their magics surrounding me. Their hold upon me ripples shortly before they too disappear with a snap.

Standing, I turn to stare at the source of the beam, seeing six ponies, mares I think, standing in a rough circle, all focused on Nightmare intently. Standing to one side, is a brilliant white alicorn. Her mane flows out behind her rippling in a non-existent breeze. She is stunning, and a threat, but the Elements are my first problem.

Staggering to my Queen, I step in front of her, wings spread, and accept the energy into myself. I take a hard-fought step forward into the beam as I feel their powers flowing through me, trying to purge Nightmare from me with claws of fire. I cling stubbornly, and reach out to the powers, following them back to the individuals harnessing them.

Concentrating on the Element easiest to me, I focus on the Element of Loyalty. Why do I do this? Because I made an oath to a friend, my Alpha, I will not stray, I will not fail. I won't break my loyalty, and like that, I feel the beam's matrix falter and its impact lessen, giving me much needed stability as I try to balance the mindset for multiple elements at once, this is hardly something I've ever done before and I'm feeling my way into blindly.

The most important, is Magic, the lynch pin of the meta, but I'm far from versed in it, having never handled it beyond runes and crystals, so sadly its properties are beyond me, and I have to move on quickly as the pain threatens to destabilize my resistance.

The next one I focus on is Honesty. I've been nothing BUT honest with everypony, I hadn't had much reason for lying, even when my 'allies' reviled me for my very existence, I wouldn't start now. I feel the first spark of hope as that Element begins flowing through me painlessly.

Generosity, not something I've ever had that much experience with, but everything I was, belonged to my Queen, and I could understand the concept. That realization causes another Element to falter and the matrix starts popping and fluctuating, prompting the six channeling it to cry out, but I can't understand the words.

Laughter . . . I haven't had a reason to laugh in a very long time. I've never mastered the Element, so I move on.

Kindness, kindness is like a warmth, it spreads through you, warming every part of your being, and nothing is quite as beautiful as the sensation of sharing it with others, even if they should prove too starved to realize the gift they receive. My Alpha had it, it was beautiful, and I weeped the for her when I realized it had died somewhere upon the battlefield, but it is my hope that it should live again.

Behind my visor, I feel a small smile blossom, and a tear run down my cheek. Stepping forward, hands held out to my sides, I scream. "Stop!...just stop" The already-faltering beam gives out, and I feel myself slump to my knees, my body crying out as I slowly take stock.

Around me, the various militarized ponies stand, stunned I'm sure, staring at us . . . no. They are staring at me. Before me stands the white alicorn, an expression of shock adorning her face, a small part of me can't help comparing her to the painting in my Queen's room, maybe she's the equivalent to . . . Queen Celestia was it? Beside her, the six mares, I'm sure of that now, stand staring at me with a variety of emotions that range from shock, to fear on one poor pegasus mare's face, to determination on an orange colored earth pony.

Looking forward, I stare at them silently, considering. I slowly rise to my feet, swaying slightly and causing the soldiers nearest me to tense up. I ignore them, continuing to stare at what I can only assume is the alicorn of the Sun. The double of Nightmare's dead sister, Queen Celestia. Inhaling, I turn my focus to her, and start speaking. "Please. Don't do this. We're not your enemy. We just need help."

Looking at me, her face hardens and her power visibly throbs within her. I stand my ground stolidly, my purpose solid. "We know nothing of you. You simply appear in our city, scare our citizens and assault our guards when given the lawful order to stand down. Then you lead our forces on a wild chase through the city and end up destroying parts of my fair city in your escape. Then I find out there are MORE of you? Some unknown group, within the boundaries of my country, bringing some manner of Tartarus-spawned abomination with you! What manner of proof do I have that you and your dark queen will not harm my little ponies?" She asks, power whispering in every syllable.

Bowing my head, I sigh as I rub the back of my neck. "None that I can give you now, Ma'am. After I save my friend... I'm yours to do with as you deem fit. But my friend needs my help, and I can't save her by myself. I need your help, you've got the ponies and expertise, and the threat that hunts my friend is a threat to you as well." I raise my head, staring at her, until a coughing sound behind me draws my attention back behind me.

Spinning around, I look with horror at the sight of Nightmare Storm laying upon the ground, Her fur singed from the bombardment we'd faced. Ignoring the soldiers standing a tense guard all around us, I rush to Her side, falling to my knees as I run my hands over her side, a small trickle of magic flowing from my depleted magical reservoir. While not much, it's enough to bring some life back to Her fur and lessens most of the pain She's in.

Turning back to the soldiers standing around me, I see several take a step forward, reading the hostile intent in their stances I spread a wing out, blocking their advance on Her. "Back off! Haven't you caused . . . enough..." Reaching out a trembling hand, I place it on a wing, feeling the familiar give of its crystalline structure as I stare into deepest night with stars sparkling within. But not in the sky, in my wing. Turning my head and spreading the other side slightly, I stare at my other wing, seeing it similarly affected. I find myself continuing to stare, semi-confused, until I hear a throat clear itself behind me.

Gritting my teeth and turning on my knees, I stare behind me, only to recoil slightly as I find the white alicorn entirely too close for comfort. Admitted, she was about 5 feet away, but you pack the heat of the sun into an alicorn sized body, and then YOU feel comfortable being on the same continent.

Looking past me, she shows some slight concern as she stares at Nightmare. "Is she okay?" She asks, causing me to consider a moment before responding.

"She should be fine, her body was damaged slightly, but most of the harmonic energy was fed into me, so the damage is probably very minimal," I reply, prompting the group of mares to give a collective gasp and who I assume to be Celestia herself to stare at me with a mixture of confusion and concern.

"What?" She asks, probably unsure how to go about figuring that one out.

"This . . . isn't my Queen, not truly. Near as we can figure, she's a fade, a spirit. The 'body' she's in right now is actually a young swarm queen's." At my words, she recoils slightly, disgust evident on her face. "I'm actually channeling her spirit or something, I don't understand it entirely, but what attacks her soul, attacks me. And don't judge us too harshly, Ma'am.” I state evenly, how dare she judge my Queen at all! “We were trapped in a helpless situation, there are many things we did we're not proud of, but not even you can say you wouldn't go to some lengths to protect your own," I continue, keeping my tone guarded, conflicting emotions raging within me.

She stares at me coldly, as she considers, before giving a slight nod, causing me to relax slightly. "Again, you make it hard to believe your statement that you're not a threat, but I'm willing to listen. What 'threat' do we face, and how do we know she won't simply take possession of other bodies, such as one of my little ponies?"

I open my mouth to respond, then close it, unsure of how to respond, but I'm saved by the timely intervention of my Queen, Nightmare Storm. Choosing that moment to return to consciousness, she opens her eyes to see Celestia staring at me, and gasps. "...Tia?" She asks in a voice so laden with pain I can feel it in my bones, I can't help a sympathetic shudder at the feeling.

Queen Celestia is apparently no less moved, although she's still wary. She looks at Nightmare for a second before responding. "Yes... Luna?" She pauses before saying the name, causing me to tilt my head to the side, that's not a name I'd ever heard before either. maybe there was a duplicate for this realm as well that went by that name?

My Queen just stares up at her, tears rolling down her cheeks silently, her mouth open, but no sound coming forth. Then, finally, She finds Her voice. "Tia... you're alive? But . . . I felt you die, how . . . Oh, I'm... I'm sorry, you're not...Tia, my Tia, died," She states, staring up at Celestia, tears running down her cheeks.

Queen Celestia gives me and the surrounding soldiers a glance, I may not know her, but I understand a dismissal when I get one. I'm not happy about it, but this situation just turned into a contest between gods, and mortals have no place here. I raise my hands slowly and start backing away, the soldiers keep an eye on me, but I'm otherwise unmolested as I back away, moving to a tree. I sit down, watching them as several soldiers watch me.

I lay my head back and relax as much as possible, given the situation, I can feel the guards around me still, but they're keeping their distance, so I'm willing to work with that. Suddenly and with no warning whatsoever, the top of my field of view is taken up by a pink blob, which totally didn't make me scream like a little filly, and if anyone says differently, I'd invite them to come talk to me in a dark alleyway.

Anyway, my initial reaction, and the guards reactions to my reaction, was quite the funny situation, I'm sure. I turn to confront said pink blob, who turns out to be an earth pony that is entirely too happy for my state of mind.

"Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie! Who are you?" She continues this general spiel, talking about the weather, angry muffins, and something about cupcakes. I simply sit there staring at her for the longest time as she continues to talk, then my curiosity gets the best of me.

"Do you breath at all anywhere in that?" is my question, very scientific, I know. But it does manage to make her stop.

"Of course I do, silly!" she responds. Sadly, I find myself at a loss for explaining where exactly, but then she demonstrates by taking a long shuddering inhalation.

"Ummm, Ma'am, aren't you like, supposed to be by the other elements? Away from the unknown soldier?" I ask with a sigh. This day has been one bombshell after another and I'm kind of preoccupied worrying about Vine.

"Oh I am!" She says happily pointing to my side. "They're right there!" I freeze, slowly turning my head, I do indeed spy the other Elements of Harmony sitting there, staring at me kind of apprehensively, probably because of the helmet.

Kind of at a loss for things to say. Polite things, anyway. The question: 'Why are you allowing part of your most powerful weapon anywhere near the unknown soldier?' is a big one, but I decide NOT to make any more 'friends' than I have to. "Umm, hello? Please don't hit me with the Elements again?" is the best I can come up with, deciding on a less sure approach, hopefully so they don't use said Elements on me again. That experience was incredibly painful, and my Queen would expect me to get on their good side, and I don't intend to fail Her again.

"You better believe we will if you so much as twitch wrong!" counters a mouthy and rather flamboyantly colored pegasus. Under different circumstances, I could probably admire her completely cocksure attitude. As it is, I settle for smiling slightly behind my visor, and throttling the urge to smack a filly.

"Well, I can't make promises, my friend's in trouble, and I intend to help her. If I can get backup, I'd be very grateful. But if I have to do it by myself, well, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it." I state evenly, glancing back at the two alicorns. Tensing up as I see Queen Celestia leaning over my Queen.

"Who is she?" a voice asks, I assume they mean my Queen.

"She's my Queen." I respond, semi-preoccupied as I watch the two of them converse. My Queen nods at something Queen Celestia says and then Queen Celestia's horn lights up as she gathers magic and then it just goes downhill from there. I launch myself forward only to find a rope from nowhere wrapping around my chest and wings, and my superbly trained reflexes totally fail to disengage or otherwise sever the hold as I find myself pulled backwards as my legs move forward. The result? I face plant, only with my wings, while I don't BREAK anything, it still feels wonderful. Given a choice between that experience and getting body-slammed by the Elements again... I'd still take the wing plant. But it still hurt!

As I lay there, gasping and writhing, I bite back a scream as I feel a pair of hooves land on my chest, crushing my wings underneath me even further. I'm vaguely aware of two warm bodies pinning my arms to the ground. Opening my eyes again, even in my pained state, I find myself freezing in not quite terror. Two soldiers stand above me blades resting across my throat, and standing above me, eyes glowing white as her fur seems to burn with magical power, is the Element of Magic.

Forcing my way through the terror, I find my voice again. "What are you doing to her?" I ask, my voice cold and remote, power condensing in my body and armor. I'm in an impossible situation, but I'll make it work if I have to drown them in my blood to do so.

Looking down at me, the Element of Magic replies in a voice that I would find entirely awesome at any other time. "It's just a memory spell, now stop, or you'll regret it,"

Nodding my head curtly, I have no reason to doubt her word, plus I sincerely doubt an Element Bearer would lie that easily, I lift it up slightly to find the Element of Honesty sitting on my chest, staring at me with a determined cast to her face, and a rope held in her mouth that I can only assume was the instrument of my capture. Sensing a moment of nothing better to do, I take the time to examine her. Orange-colored fur with a blonde mane, complemented by a stetson hat resting on her head(How I know what that is, I'm not sure, probably Vine's doing.). Muscles ripple beneath her skin as she breathes, hinting at not quite an athlete's body, probably used to a lot of manual labor.

Looking to my left, I see the blue pegasus with the crazy rainbow mane resting her left shoulder on my upper arm with her right arm outstretched, pinning my hand down. Pretty smart move on her part, keeps her away from all the pointy bits. Examining her, I'm stuck by a physique that just screams athletically inclined.

Glancing to my right, I find the pink blob from before just lounging on her back on my arm, calm as can be, seriously, is she on something? Or just seriously mentally impaired? Glancing at her, I'm struck by a body that, while it has the trademark muscles of an earth pony, is otherwise unfilled out, the build of a city dweller rather than manual labor.

Laying my head back, I'm again confronted by the, thankfully not white, but purple eyes of the Element of Magic as she sits there . . . just staring at me. Even the pink one's less creepy right now. Looking at her as she stares at me unblinking, I finally find myself forced to say something. "Seriously, what are you looking at? It's enough you've got me tied down, do you have to do whatever the heck it is you're doing too?" I ask, fighting the urge to fidget.

She blinks at me before opening her mouth with a slight blush. "Sorry! It's just, I can sense magic flowing through you and your armor, but it's not coming from inside you. But rather from the back of your armor, like an artificial horn!"

Shaking my head slightly, mindful of the blades still resting on my throat region, albeit lightly, I sigh. "The armor uses specifics crystals, made through magic, that act as vessels. With the right runes and interfacing scroll-work on the object in question, you can strengthen or manipulate various aspects of the bearer. I know a few runes, but the actual principles of construction and manipulation are beyond me, I'm afraid," My answer seems to satisfy her for the moment, but I'm honestly pretty sure she'll be back with more questions eventually, the Element of Magic seems to be voraciously curious.

I hear a choked sob shortly before Queen Celestia's voice rings out. "Let him up." The various ponies laying on top of me get off, the Element of Loyalty continuing to stare daggers at me as the Element of Honesty just backs up, watching me with the cool reserve of an animal handler, definitely a farmer of some sort. The pink Element of Laughter groans a bit before rolling over and standing. I find myself unable to resist chuckling and scratching her ear lightly as I get up, eliciting a squeak from her as I stand myself up.

Looking over to my Queen, I'm confronted with sight of the both of them, standing there with tears rolling down their faces, I immediately move towards my Queen, the soldiers between me and her tensing before Queen Celestia speaks out again.

"He is no threat, let him through," She states, looking at me with a warm look, almost motherly.

Shrugging off the weirdness of her gaze, I move to my Queen's side and kneel. "Are you alright, my Queen?" I ask.

She smiles weakly and nods. "We are fine, Redemit."

I nod, and turn my head to look up at Queen Celestia. "Will we have your aid?"

She looks down at me, a thoughtful look in her eyes, staying that way a few seconds, she nods, a cold light entering her eyes. "Yes, yes you will." Turning to the surrounding soldiers, she starts calling out orders, pulling in the surrounding patrols, getting ready to move out.

Turning back to my Queen, I ask. "Are you okay, my Queen?"

Looking at me, She smiles sadly. "Redemit, I'm afraid to say, that here, I'm not your queen any more."

Tilting my head, I stare at her a moment, considering. "Ma'am, it's been my experience that the title of 'Queen' can only take one so far. In the end, it's only through the love and respect of one's people, that you can truly lead. You may bear no titles, but to me, you will always be my Queen. The one who showed me compassion and mercy when no one else would, myself included. You gave me the tools and training to make my way forward in life, You... believed in me, the least I can do, is try my best to maintain the same standards You've applied to your life in mine. Though at the end of this road, we may part ways, I will never forget." I state, a snarl trying to get out causing a nervous tic in my cheek, I don't want to lose her again, and nothing I can do will stop it.

"Now that, is the sign of true devotion," a warm voice states beside me. Turning my head, I see Queen Celestia standing there, a guarded smile on her face. Turning to Nightmare, she chuckles. "Any doubts I might have held before, I do not now, you have my word that I will do my best to look after the refugees from your world," With that, she turns to the now assembled soldiers.

Behind me, Nightmare taps me on the shoulder. I turn to Her and She smiles with a tear stained muzzle. "Redemit, we have one more thing to ask, I... have one more thing to ask, not as your queen, not as your commander, but as your friend. Show Princess Celestia and Princess Luna the same respect you showed me, I promise you, they'll be worthy of it."

I stare at her a moment, then bow my head. "It shall be as you say, Nightmare Storm, may you always call the thunder on your foes."

She smiles at me, giggling, you heard me, giggling, causing my mind to blow once again. "And may you always be there to reap the whirlwind." Huh, catchy.

A throat clearing itself nearby draws my attention, to show me a unicorn offering me my various weapons of bodily deconstruction. Nodding my head, I start grabbing and sorting items to their proper location, once fitted, I turn to my Que-Nightmare Storm. "Is there anything else we need here?" I ask.

She shakes her head mutely, and turns to Que-Princess Celestia, who in turn nods. Raising her head, her horn lights up to a blinding level. A crack of thunder, a massive flash, and the once-crowded clearing now lays dark and lonely.

Chapter 5 - A New Dawn

Shaking off the nausea and disorientation, I take in my surroundings: another forest clearing, similar to the one I just left. Glancing around, I don't immediately spot the structure nearby. After a moment, I see some partially demolished towers sticking up through the trees. Guessing them to be about half a mile away, I glance at Nightmare. "What's the plan of attack, Ma'am?"

"Find the remaining swarmlings, entrap them, and kill them." A voice nearby states. Turning, I get a rather mixed feeling upon seeing a familiar gray unicorn stallion. Thankfully, we should be allies. Should . . . yeah, probably want to be careful around this one.

"Yeah, sounds good. Any idea on enemy numbers?" I turn back to Nightmare Storm questioningly. She just stares at me with a deadpan expression. "About a hundred then?" She sighs and shakes her head turning to look at the structure through the trees. "Less than a thousand at least?" I ask, kind of plaintively.

"Should be less than a thousand." She states, making me perk up. "We think . . ." she mumbles, almost too softly for me to hear.

I sigh and shake my head. "Any idea where Vine's holding at, then? Maybe I can perform a hit and run, snap her out, Her Majesty can fry the area, boom, done." I query, not really looking forward to the ensuing fight.

Nightmare chuckles at my weak joke, but shakes her head again. "Nay, we do not think you'll get to her easily, she seems to have taken cover behind some kind of heavy door. And Tia doesn't condone the use of our powers in that way. Sadly, it will be a hard melee, but with their queens gone, shan't be impossible."

I stare at her uncomprehendingly. She doesn't CONDONE the use of such methods? Nodding my head, because I'm just not touching that subject, I toss her a salute before going looking for the command group. Spotting Celestia's telltale shape in a group of otherwise unremarkable armored ponies, I head over.

She seems busy, directing various units around using jargon I neither comprehend nor really understand half the time, so I hang back. When she has a less-busy moment, I step forward. "Your Highness?" I query, trying to get her attention.

She sees me and smiles. "Yes, Redemit?" she asks, cocking an ear in my direction as she turns to survey the troops moving about as they exit the clearing.

I step forward. "I'm not experienced with any of your tactics or various groups, on the battlefield, I'd be more hindrance than help, which is why I'm requesting permission to make a foray in, see if I can locate Vine, and manage an extraction if possible. Otherwise I'll just tie up the swarms while you get in place."

She turns her head, I'm semi-surprised by the lack of surprise on her face, obviously she knows quite a bit about me to NOT be surprised. Joy. "Are you sure of this, Redemit? Your Queen puts a fair amount of faith in you, but I hardly think going alone into the heart of a swarm is going to allow you to get anything done excepting your demise."

I shake my head. "No, Your Highness, I made a promise, and I mean to fulfill it, so dying is not an option. Besides, I'm in scout gear now, it's not very heavy, and the protection it offers is fairly minimal, but if you thought I was fast before, wait till you see this stuff in action." I state with a grin. "Although, I'm going to be out of commission for awhile afterwards, which is why it's imperative we take out this swarm, right now, right here. We don't have time to train trackers for them, and while we didn't think their drones could mutate into queens, with the current situation, I'd rather not find out," I state reasonably.

She stares at me with narrowed eyes for a second, obviously deep in thought.

"You shall not be going in there alone, Redemit. If you mean to find your dear friend. It's only meet that we accompany you to see to the safety of our two little ponies." I turn to see Nightmare behind me, my satchels of grenades now strapped to her sides, drawing an appreciative whistle from my lips.

"My Queen, your choice of accessory for this event is most dashing, I must say." I snark, shaking my head. She only laughs as I feel the force bow pulled from my chest sheath. As She pulls it to her, I watch the crystal object morph from an ergonomic shape as befitting the human hand to a shape more simplistic, barely more than a simple curved shape. Two glowing blue 'arms' composed of magic drawn from Her essence appear, and, lastly, a glimmering blue string appears, crackling for a second before it stabilizes and connects the two arms. An amorphous arrow appears, already set to string, simply waiting to be pulled back and released. Turning back to Celestia, I toss a thumb over my shoulder at Nightmare. "Well, gee, now there's two of us, I'd say we got them handled, Your Majesty."

Celestia just laughs. "Very well, since you seem intent upon rescuing your friend, I shall agree, just stay out of the advance element's way." She chuckles, then, growing more serious, she turns to Nightmare Storm. "And bring him back, I'd hate to see him end in such a manner," she commands gently, staring at Nightmare who in turn stares back at her solemnly, tear tracks still visible in the hair of Her muzzle. Nightmare storm nods, and we turn and trot towards the structure.

"What did she mean by that last part, Ma'am?" I ask, curious about what end Celestia had been referring to.

Glaring at me, Nightmare tosses Her head. "Do not worry about that, and our name is Nightmare Storm, we bear no rank here,"

Chuckling at the familiar treatment, I nod my head. "As you wish, Nightmare Storm," I state. Grinning at Her I chuckle "Even without most of your magic, I think we'll be sowing a bit of thunder after all," I say with a glance at the grenade satchels, causing Her to grin ferally with a mouth full of sharp teeth, a predator's smile.

"Thy jokes aside, it is time for us to be getting in position, enough of this farce, let us truly move," She snarls, eyes turned forward.

I nod my assent and trigger my jets, felling a familiar hand reach out and pluck me from the ground. Bouncing off a tree with a familiar bend of my legs, I bounce from tree to tree, catching up to and passing the pony teams as they move forward into position. Nightmare punches a small hole in the canopy and takes flight behind me; I feel Her take position over me, watching the path ahead.

We continue in this method, clearing the half mile to the structure in record time. Drawing close, I start to see movement ahead of me. As I cross a clearing, I catch my first clear sight of the enemy. In this case, it's just two drones, but where there are two, there's a dozen in the surrounding area, waiting to respond. Thankfully, I'm saved from having to respond by the timely intervention of two magical arrows, which thud into said drones almost simultaneously, killing them instantly and clearing my path forward.

Moving forward into the dark forest, I'm once again confronted with more swarmlings. Triggering my jump jets, I shoot forward and over them, bouncing from tree to tree in a very real game of cat-and-mouse as I hear various insect calls from all around me. Leaping forward, tightening my actions, increasing my risk of an accident, I eek out as much speed as possible without breaking the canopy and having to rely on my damaged wing muscles.

Seeing the wall coming up fast, I draw my storm sword in my right hand, keeping my left free to assist in mobility. I shift my course to the right, aiming to meet up with the wall at a gentler angle. This saves my life as several dark shapes erupt from the nearby trees, most missing me narrowly as I shift my course, the two that would have still had me end up getting eviscerated in passing; their blood sprays my armor for an instant and then I'm through.

As I meet up with the wall, I time my jumps carefully then divert to the top of the wall, bunny hopping from one point to another, surveying the area. The remains of a once-impressive bastion are spread out before me, with numerous half-destroyed houses filling a walled-in enclosure with a large keep resting towards the center of the old city, enclosed in its own secondary walls. Everywhere I look throughout the city, swarmlings mill about, obviously looking for prey. Most of them seem centered on the keep, which is good, since my best place to find Vine is the center of their activity.

"Watch the skies!" Nightmare screams out.

Glancing up I have time to watch Her perform a dance of death with several locust swarmlings. Locusts are their own version of the pegasus, thankfully lighter and weaker, but still deadly en masse. A glance is all I end up having time for before I find myself with a following of several locusts and numerous swarmling drones following me on the ground. Unable to match my speed and agility, they make up for it by coating much of the surrounding ground and walls, charging at wherever it looks like I'll be touching down for longer than an instant.

"Right!" She calls out, instantly I dodge right, ducking around a small structure. I hear a string of thuds, denoting the detonation of a number of grenades, dealing horrendous damage to a number of swarmlings, possibly taking down a locust or two if I'm really lucky. But judging by the amount of buzzing I'm hearing as I bounce from spot to spot, I'd say there's plenty more of those.

Abandoning the area near the walls, I head inwards into the old city, shooting for the central keep. Slashing out as I go, I inflict frequent minor wounds and the occasional kill on swarmlings as I pass, insuring their unerring attention on me. Nightmare Storm flying over-watch seems to pull most of the locusts up and out of my way, for which I can only be thankful. Because so much of the city lies in ruin, it's hard to stay on the move.

Glancing up, I have an instant to admire Her pulling off a sharp midair turn in Her continuous aerial ballet, the occasional arrow launching from her bow to skewer one or two locusts from the air. Doing a quick count, I'm heartened to note that the number of locusts actually in our area is reasonably low, only being several dozen in number.

My attention crashes back down to the ground, literally. I ran out of houses to bounce off of and now I'm in a causeway, with several leaps between myself and any usable structures. I reach out and grab a leaping swarmling by the throat as my right arm lashes out, the sword in my hand lopping off important bits of other swarmlings, resulting in several shrill screams.

Trying to ignore the ear bleed situation, I throw my meat shield forward, disrupting the swarmlings to my fore as my wings snap out behind me, catching and repelling several behind me. Taking a short running start, I throw myself forward, shooting over the pile of swarmlings to my front, and crushing another beneath my feet as I create a temporary pocket in the surrounding swarm.

Charging my sword, I swing it around, keeping them at bay as I draw my second blade, bringing it alight with energy and heat. Diving forward, I slash both blades down and curve outward at the bottom of the arc in front of myself, searing and shocking the creatures in front of me as my wings sweep out behind me, their powerful sweeps knocking many of the swarmlings back with blasts of air.

Unfortunately, either from my weakened muscles, or just lack of focus, one makes it through. The first warning I have of this is when something lands on my back, staggering me, and I feel the crunch of teeth biting into my left wing. Screaming, I bring my white sword back in a sheathing maneuver along my spine, feeling it punch into the swarmling's body, causing the jaws holding my wing to relax and the body to fall off. Launching myself forward, I body slam a swarmling in front of me as I hurtle forward. That last lunge carries me into the ruins of the buildings and I make my way up and along various pieces of debris. Staying off the ground as much as possible, I wait for my wing to finish healing.

The flapping of feathered wings heralds the appearance of Nightmare flying past me, spinning around as She shoots by me. I take the opportunity to decapitate and maim several locusts that are dumb enough to fly near me. Laughing at the absurdity, I turn and continue my rush through the ruins, watching as the inner walls grow steadily closer.

Then, something I thought I'd never hear again happens, my communications crystal lights up on the unsecured setting and I hear a voice say, "Redemit, can you hear this?"

Narrowing my eyes, and punching a swarmling out of my way, I key my crystal. "This is Echo Two-Four, Please identify yourself, over." Bouncing down an alley like a runaway foal on a caffeine binge, I can only watch in slight amusement as every swarmling in front of me takes an arrow to the face. Raising a fist and pumping it towards Nightmare, I continue on my way.

"Is that you, Redemit? This is Captain Pahnzer, of the Rising Sun. We're at 85% containment, whatever it is you're doing, keep it up, expect us to start moving in about 15 minutes." Shaking my head at the horrid communications discipline, I can only wonder how they even have access to a communications crystal, but I digress. More face-stabbing, less idle curiosity.

Dashing around a corner, I'm met with a large wall. Glancing up, I notice I've arrived at the keep, and oh hey, the swarmlings are here to welcome me, Joy. Turning right back around, I start running the other way, totally not screaming like a little girl as about a hundred frikkin swarmlings bear down on me.

Nightmare swoops over, dropping care packages and screaming something about holes. Not really understanding, I simply settle for hiding behind a handy wall. Big mistake. Apparently, she felt more was needed, and super charged the bucking things. After a few seconds, I'm conscious enough to take stock of my surroundings, and start feeding my dwindling supply of magic into healing.

Staggering along, I drunkenly stab a few swarmlings that aren't dead somehow, before turning my stagger toward the wall. My gait steadies out and accelerates as my body comes back from the shock. Coming up to the wall, I fight the urge to admire the now-pockmarked surface before I pick a direction and start following it. Finding a natural breach, I turn and follow it in.

Entering what I assume was a secondary courtyard, I find the standard swarm waiting for me and wonder why I'm so surprised in a surreal sort of way. I start bouncing all over the place trying to avoid getting myself torn limb from limb. Boosting through what kind of looks like a stable, I take a quick turn and manage to throw most of them off for a short period. I take this opportunity to begin looking for natural bottlenecks so I can signal Nightmare for some more fire support.

Heading for the keep itself, I figure I might as well check it out as nothing out here seems in good enough shape to be feasible. Reaching the front door which proves to be a rather substantial portal to my delight, I check out two partially rotted doors with metallic reinforcements that have seen better days. While the doors won't hold for any length of time, they should serve for about 30 seconds, which is all I should need.

Bouncing up to a rooftop, I take a moment to catch my breath while the swarmlings start climbing up after me. I look up in the sky trying to find Nightmare. Surprisingly, the air seems clear of locusts and Nightmare seems content to be just flying around taking random shots as She goes. Waving my arms, I catch Her attention and point at the door to the keep. She looks over there semi-confused, before nodding and circling around for an approach.

I take my leave, after burying a blade in the first swarmling to get on the roof. (Good boy, nice job and all that, I'm a mean bastard.) I take a short hop off the building and head for the doors. The apparently tireless swarm follows after me doggedly. I start running, slashing side to side as necessary to cut down any swarmlings that get in my way.

Reaching the door, I watch Nightmare swoop in, dropping a couple grenades as she goes. Grabbing the remains of the doors, I pull them to a closed position(And just about off their hinges, was this really a good idea?).Holding them there, I see Nightmare's horn light up and some kind of barrier joins me at the door, holding it closed as swarmlings start pounding and biting at it. For an endless second, I hold the door, feeling it shake and vibrate against me, wondering if it'll hold or if I judged wrong, then I hear the very satisfying thumps of several fragmentation grenades, and then as icing on the cake, I hear incendiary grenades start popping.

Stepping back from the door, I watch it start to smolder and turn away, glancing at the surprisingly empty hallway. Glancing at the few swarmlings that were in there, I can't help but cock an eyebrow at Nightmare, standing there with her muzzle dyed green with swarmling blood. She in turn glances at me, standing still, my visor pointed at her and gives me a odd look. "What?" She asks. I just shake my head and sheath my white sword electing for wrist blades in the close confines.

Coming up to the exit to the hallway or whatever you call the vaulted monstrosity we were in, I glance into the next room. A large room, raised platform at one end, lots of what were once tables, possibly chairs, and about 7 swarmlings, easy. I pull my head back and hand my storm blade to Nightmare as she hands my bow back to me. Putting the bow away, I trigger my wrist blades and charge in screaming a war cry. Reaching the first cluster, I punch a swarmling in the cranium, the blade punching through the skull with a sickening crunch. On my left, Nightmare swings my storm blade end over end like some demented boomerang, slicing wholesale through swarmlings with a minimum of finesse and a maximum of carnage, as several shrill screams soon attest.

Ignoring the mortally wounded ones for the moment, I move on to one of the few stragglers, grabbing it mid leap, and staggering a bit as I absorb its forward momentum without the heavy armor's weight and strength rune to back me up. I wrap one hand around the base of its muzzle and the other goes on the back of its head. One sharp twist, the kind of sounds you come to expect at the chiropractor's office, and the now limp body drops from my grasp. Taking a moment to catch my breath and look around, I see another doorway on my left. This one, though, looks like there USED to be a door, until something big came through.

Stepping closer, I start praying it's just natural wear and tear from the centuries. Moving through, I glance at the corridor I've entered. A small room, barely a broom closet, sits on the right, empty, and the hallway takes a sharp left. Glancing around the corner, I see lots of debris, but only a few swarmlings. Stepping around the corner, I let them charge at me. I punch the first one in the throat region with a swift upper cut from my wrist blade, puncturing the neck and severing some veins. I backhand the second one, letting it stumble past me where a *shlick* and gurgling assures me it's been dealt with.

Moving forward, I continue to sweep the hallway as I go. Along the way, I pay close attention to the places where the roofs collapsed, allowing moonlight, and the trilling of angry insects, to invade the dim interior halls. Coming to what looked like it'd been a T-junction at one time, I examine the collapsed right-hand hallway. Not seeing an easy way through, either over or under, I opt to simply keep heading straight, where I soon come up to a right and left hand turn. I sweep the corridors, finding them apparently empty for the moment. Glancing left, I decide to head right, deeper into the structure.

Moving down the hallway, I assume a defensive stance as several swarmlings pop in through some window frames that at one time may have had colored glass in them. It takes but a moment to punch one in the chest and spartan-kick another into the wall before bringing a boot down on its head. I glance over at Nightmare, only to shake my head as She stares at me with her blood-covered muzzle. "Umm, Nightmare, next time, please don't use your teeth, that's kind of unsettling."

"We cannot help the fact that they choose to bleed upon our person. We make do with the tools at our disposal . . . and this body's instincts are pretty strong . . . " She replies, a slight blush adorning her face. It'd be cute, if She wasn't, you know, drooling green.

Shaking my head, I chuckle. "We'll see about finding something to clean that off with later, okay?"

"We'd appreciate that." She replies demurely. I roll my eyes as I continue on.

"Redemit, you still there?" The same voice, Pahnzer, speaks out over my communicator.

Motioning to Nightmare to take a breather, I glance around and lean against a handy wall, taking deep breaths, ignoring my body's exhaustion for the moment. Keying my crystal, I reply, "Yeah, still here, we've severed contact for the moment, we're somewhere in the central keep, business is pretty slow, you?"

"We've started moving in, you seem to have cut down most of their fliers, so it's been pretty easy, casualties are still light, and we're bagging and tagging as we go, full 'decon' I believe it's called? Assume another 10 minutes and we should be in there," He replies, stumbling over the word for a process they've probably never had to undertake before, lucky bastards.

"We'll be here, still trying to ascertain the location of survivors." I reply. Glancing around, I rub a particularly sore spot on one of my wings absentmindedly, before glancing over to ensure the structures preened properly, and blink as I recall the odd transformation they'd undergone. I'd forgotten in the mad rush to get set up and rescue Vine, but a few moments shouldn't hurt.

"Hey, Nightmare." I call out softly, catching Her attention.

She turns to me and gives me a small smile. After suppressing another shudder, and starting to paw through my pockets for ANYTHING absorbent and cloth-like. "I'm not complaining, but any idea why my wings are like this?" I ask, slightly extending one of my star speckled pitch-black wings.

She shakes her head. "Nay, we are not really sure, but we think it may have to do with the fact that you called us from wherever we were. In essence, you are channeling us, and with your . . . unique physiology, some physical differences to match your inner turmoil is only to be expected."

"My wha-huh now?" is my totally smart response.

She face-hooves, causing me to chuckle nervously rubbing the back of my head, well, okay, the back of my helmet. "Your body, it's different, with the swarmling hybridization forced upon thee, it only makes sense that your subconscious would modify your physical features to mirror the powers moving inside you." She further iterates, causing me to nod.

"Oh . . . joy, will it be a problem?" I ask, giving my still totally awesome wing a fearful glance. Giving up on my search for a cloth-like object, I do my best to just ignore the green ichor coating her muzzle.

"Nay, the visual aspects shouldn't harm thee, we think anyway. But my presence is draining thee, your armor is pushing magic in continuously to replenish thy body, but you will pay for this after we're done. Probably sleep for a week or so." She muses, causing me to nod again.

"Alright, so I'm going to crash hard after this, not much to be done but to do it and get on with stuff then." I say brusquely, shuffling the current situation into my mental safe, right beside the death of my entire planet, where I'll consider it when I'm not fighting for my friend's life. Pushing off the wall, I head further in, Nightmare on my heels.

Just then Pahnzer hops back on the communicator "We have some information that you'll find useful. We've been informed there's a vault in the old throne room, you should know it when you see it. If they're lucky, they took shelter in there. The wards are old, but should suffice for a time, it'd be their best bet for survival, and it matches the description from what you got from the swarm queen," He states, causing me to pause as I look back at Nightmare, silently questioning Her.

"We aren't sure. We don't know much about this place, only that it is where they left items of great power at some point until they were needed again, we think that would be the Elements for this reality, but she didn't exactly trust us when we shared memories." She states with a rueful smile.

Nodding my head, I look forward again and move off, following the corridor down past more ruined empty rooms, the occasional swarmling mob being the only note of interest as we move along. Coming to a right turn, I glance around the corner, to see something that makes my heart stop. The hallway up ahead is absolutely trashed, half the walls are damaged, most of their inner lining being spread across the ground with only the hardened exterior brick still standing. Several doorways look to have been punched out in a uniform shape about 9 feet high and 6 feet wide.

Turning back to Nightmare, I stare at Her incredulously. "They had a BRUTE?!" She only stares at me, irises shrinking to pin-points as Her mouth works soundlessly for a second.

"We did not see, we thought the queen might have been hiding something . . . but we did not think . . . how could they have gotten those through the tunnels of the alpha site? Those tunnels would have crushed them!" She babbles, not exactly taking the situation any better than I was.

Stepping closer to her, I reach out and wrap an arm around her, on further consideration, that was probably a bad thing, I'm absolutely coated in gore. Yuck. "It's fine, we'll deal with that as we have to, any more grenades?"

She shakes Her head. "We have 2 fragmentation and 1 incendiary," She replies, making me grimace.

"Okay, hopefully they only have one. And I think it's the mass involved, I got tossed into one of their major cities taking the transit atop a swarm queen. Probably the same thing with the brute, too bad it didn't end up in the middle of the sky like me," Stepping back, I nod and turn, moving around the corner and creeping forward, Nightmare following after me.

Moving down the hallway, I continue inspecting the various offshoots as we go. Coming across a 4-way intersection, I consider the right hand tunnel. Noting that it is completely caved in, I can only assume it was a shortcut for the roundabout way we just took. Glancing left, I look back at Nightmare. "Any idea which way?" I ask, all out of ideas.

She considers my words for a moment before replying. "We think we haven't gone far enough, straight is our recommendation," She states softly, considering the tunnel ahead.

Nodding my head, I move across the intersection quickly, and move farther in, noting another room on the left that seems to have been a show room, or maybe a dining room, with a large table in the center and small displays collapsed along the walls. Either way, there is nothing in there of interest to me, but it gives the impression of getting close to the ceremonial areas. Crossing another T-junction, we come up to a double-door portal leading into a large chamber stretching out at least 250 feet long, with fluted columns supporting an arching ceiling and stained-glass windows, or the remains of them anyway.

In the darkness, most of their colors are washed out shades of gray, but I can't help but admire what remains for a second before I glance down toward the other end of the room, seeing a raised section and a pile of rubble atop it. After considering the pile carefully, I finally figure out it USED to be two thrones.

Leaning back and nodding to Nightmare, I whisper. "Looks like we found the throne room, good call," to which she nods and we proceed into the room, trying to avoid the rubble on the floor and make as little noise as possible.

About half-way down the room, we hear a dull thudding noise as dust settles from the ceiling. Looking at Nightmare semi-accusingly, to which she simply shrugs sheepishly, I creep forward and pass behind the dais and its destroyed thrones. This gives me a view of a gated passageway, but the gate itself lies twisted and broken, the reinforcing bars torn forcibly from their mountings.

Grimacing, I sidle up to one side of the gate glancing inside. A corridor stretches another 35 feet before splitting around a minor wall, obviously a charge break point, the only problem is the mass of drones in front, meandering around the floor and walls, obviously waiting on something further inside, as if to underline that last thought, we hear another boom, stronger this time, and more dust settles from the ceiling, small stones and bricks in some cases.

Glancing back at Nightmare, I back up and let her glance around as well. Pulling my force bow out, and checking my magic levels, thankfully much restored from our meandering trek through the halls, I once again consider our options. Taking on the swarmlings en masse is sure to invite their larger brother into the fray at which point I'm probably solidly bucked. No way around it, we need to deal with them now.

Tapping Nightmare on the shoulder, I whisper quietly. "Think you can overcharge another one of the frags? We need these cleared out quickly, no telling how many more there are behind the break." I query, continuing to watch the gateway for any signs of movement.

She nods, silently pulling out one of the fragmentation grenades, focusing on it for a moment, then handing it to me.

I push myself up against the wall to one side preparing to pull the pin and toss it around the corner, then my mind catches up to what I'm about to do, and I just stare at Nightmare a second in consideration. Picking my way over to the raised and hopefully solid structure of the dais, I conceal myself behind it. Powering up my armor, and feeling my coordination increase, I touch the priming rune, give a twist to activate it, and then I lob the grenade down the hall. I hear some momentary screeching before the world dissolves in thunder and a shock wave of air and shrapnel.

Peeking over the now-reduced pile of rubble atop the dais, I take a moment to admire the now open-to-air corridor before me. Glancing at the corner that I'd been about to take cover behind, I shake my head, that corner is GONE. "Dang Nightmare, you don't do things by half. I can respect that, ready?" I ask as I glance over at her.

She looks back at me, and raises my blade in a mock salute. Yeah, She's ready.

Standing up, I rocket over my shield of rubble and advance forward into the corridor, bow extended and held ready in my hands. A short bellow is all the warning I have as the wall at the end of the corridor shatters and out comes a brute swarmling. They usually stand about 8 feet at the shoulders, massing somewhere between one and two tons, depending on the desires of the queen and purpose to which its been put. Brutes are readily discernible as being different from other swarmlings due to the bulbous plating covering much of their body, with sharp spines trailing down its neck in three parallel rows, and legs with muscles the size of some ponies. Possibly the most extreme transformation from the original changelings, they're more beetle than equine anymore. Sadly, this one appears to be a siege model, as it's easily pushing two tons, and is headed right for me. Seems mad too. I'll have to do something about that.

Diving to one side, frantically triggering my jump jets to give me as much clearance as possible, I watch him go thundering by. Nightmare gives a war cry shortly before I hear the horrendous noise of my sword scraping along his carapace. Standing, I rush back out into the melee shouting, "Back off, don't try to take it up close, we need to buckle its armor first, then go for the kill!"

Matching actions to words, I stand back and raise my bow in a smooth arc, releasing a shaft at the creature's flank. The arrow impacts, doing minimal damage, but serves to draw its attention away from Nightmare and onto me. Focusing more power into my bow, and shaping the energy to as much of a needle as possible, I release again, this time aiming for one of its shoulders, rather than making the mistake of shooting its thick head armor(It's a living battering ram, duh.). That done, I don't bother watching the results; instead, I spend the next couple of seconds running for my life as the creature decides I'd make a nice puddle and does its best to see that through.

"Run it by the columns!" Nightmare yells out from somewhere in the room. I nod my head and trigger my jump jets, shooting for the side of the room, closer to the fluted spires. While mainly ornamental, a few lucky hits and we should have a chance. Bouncing forward, I glance back and watch the brute charging forward. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice my storm sword lick out and slice a chunk of a column out. Almost imperceptibly at first, but then with growing speed, I watch it tip and fall. Slamming into the creature's shoulders, it does mostly superficial damage, but still manages to bend and break several of its spines.

Noting the damaged area, I loose another shaft at it, watching it shrug the hit off. I roll right, bringing myself away from the columns, out into the open floor. I then start hopping over and around various piles of debris as the brute lives up to its name and just barrels through, lowering its head to take any of the serious piles, and just stomping smaller ones into submission.

I keep this performance up for what feels like an hour, barely dodging every time it charges or attempts to crush me with one of its ridiculously oversize hooves. Finally, I hear Nightmare call out that She's ready, and start scooting towards the columns again. My ginormous attacker continues its efforts to convert me to the belief that I'd look better in only 2 dimensions.

"Bring him here!" Nightmare commands from the darkness between two pillars. For some reason She's not visible, but I'm not about worrying that right now.

Altering my course, I dash between two of the columns, my body fitting between them easily. Unfortunately for the brute, it doesn't fit as easily, and while it does have the mass and brute strength to punch out the two said columns, doing so slows it down long enough for Nightmare to pick up a handy chunk of a pillar, and slam it into the back of the brute's hind legs, eliciting a squeal of pain and the crunch of chitin breaking.

Bringing my bow up, I loose several shafts at its front shoulder, causing the armor there to buckle slightly and turning its attention back to the only visible target. My objective accomplished, I turn tail and start fleeing down the wall bouncing from it to a column or two as the now slower(Thank the moon for small blessings.) and more than a little angry(Buck.) brute chases after me, occasionally taking further hits from objects launched by Nightmare's telekinesis. Sadly, none of them are large enough to cause much damage and simply bounce off its ridiculously tough armor.

Reaching the end of the row of columns, I bring myself to a halt and turn to face the brute as it charges at me. Tensing up, I watch it approach, and begin to count down. Upon reaching critical distance, I throw myself forward, not the best idea, but I'm getting tired, my magic is almost spent, and I need to end this quickly. Making it through its pumping legs with minimal jarring (and a couple of bruises) I roll and find myself staring at its flanks as it tries to stop so fast it ends up dragging its hindquarters on the ground.

I bring my bow up and flood much of my remaining power into my bow, waiting for my opening. Seeing my chance as the creature stands back up and tries to turn in the tight confines, I let loose. The bolt tears from my bow and impacts on the shattered armor of its left hock, piercing and shattering its hock joint with a minor explosion of green gore, the brute collapses on its side with another trilling scream of pain.

Pulling out my sword and tossing the bow aside, I charge forward. Heading for its back, looking for the damaged area on its withers. I reach the creature as it's starting to try to work its way back onto its remaining legs. Wanting this over, I slash down on the damaged withers region, severing most of the spines that remain. As it rises back up to its feet, I grab a hold and find myself sitting astride two tons of angry brute.

Grasping a spine with my off hand, and clenching my knees to hold on, I raise my white blade above my head and bring it down on the buckled armor, sawing into the spine. This causes the creature to start bucking and bouncing, taking out a few columns and making my world go crazy as I feel every bone in my body creaking from the kinetic transfer of the bucking beast.

Pulling my sword out with a spray of green blood, I leap off the brute, bouncing away as it turns to chase me, opening its mouth to scream, it manages to inhale the last incendiary grenade, causing it to start choking shortly before its chest ripples and gore explodes out its mouth. With one final scream, flames erupting from its mouth, the brute slumps to the ground, leaving me not much better, gasping for breath as I collapse to one knee and put a fist on the ground to support myself.

Sensing the approach of something, I tense, but then relax as I hear Nightmare speak out. "Well done, Redemit, well done, indeed." She states, staring at me. I nod, finally bringing myself to my feet, my bow appearing from the rubble, held in Nightmare's magic. "We believe you dropped this." She states in a disapproving voice, smiling at me.

I just shake my head. "You're in a weirdly good mood right now, you know that?" I ask semi-exasperated

She just chuckles. "We haven't had much reason to feel good in a very long time. Seeing our sister again, even one from another reality . . . has made us remember what we gave up in the name of survival. And we hope to see our own sister eventually, so yes, we are in high spirits. Now, let us rescue Vine Bloom so I can take my rest, and you can move on with your lives."

I nod my head. "Yes Ma'am." Turning towards the approach, we give astart, hearing the sound of charging hooves. Turning to face the door, blade at the ready, I await the onrush of bodies. Much to my relief, and delight, instead of swarmling reinforcements, it's a squad of Rising Dawn ponies, slightly worse for the wear, but otherwise in good shape.

As they slowly advance into the room, they stare at the body of the brute with reactions varying from fear to disgust to a few looks of awe directed our way.

Chuckling, I shake my head and turn to head for the vault, advancing cautiously, but receiving no more resistance. Approaching what is obviously the vault door, I grimace as I consider the warped and buckled structure. The doors have taken a severe pounding, and while still holding, it's obviously not going to open again. We're going to have to punch through it somehow.

Turning back to the squad that followed us, I wave them over. "Who's in charge?" I ask, rubbing my sore ribs.

One of them steps forward. "I am. Staff Sergeant Dark Star, Rising Dawn."

I nod. "We need to get into that vault, you got anything capable of breaching it without killing anything inside?"

He turns to consider the door a moment before shaking his head. "No, sir, not a chance, we're going to need a demo squad for that. They should be here in about ten," He responds.

I shake my head. "Not good enough. Alright, may I borrow one of your unicorns, then? My magic is just about spent, but with their help I should be able to force it." I grimace as I turn to consider the doorway in question.

He nods his head. "That I can do." Motioning one of his squad-mates my way, he spreads the others out to maintain a perimeter around us as I work.

Turning to the unicorn in question, I point to my sword. "Just feed magic into this blade, it's got a heat rune, so it should serve to cut the weakened door, probably going to destroy the blade, but we need in there, now."

She nods, and focuses on my blade. Her horn lights up with a light blue aura and my blade starts glowing shortly before I ram it into the weakened door, pushing hard as I feel it slowly start sinking in. The metal around it hisses and spits, magical sparks erupting as the ancient protective wards try to resist my blade's intrusion.

Once I feel it penetrate the door, I start forcing it down, feeling it twitch as it shears through the warped and weakened metal. Once my first vertical cut is judged long enough, I start twisting it into a curving horizontal path before bringing it back up, the blade starting to shudder and twist, its edge probably just about gone at this point.

Once I bring it back up far enough, I start pulling it back into a horizontal path, until, with a snap, the blade breaks just above the pommel, causing me to fall back slightly and curse. Fortunately, the hole is almost complete, and the remaining material linking the plate to the rest of the door is heated to the point I can bend it by applying the base of my boot to the plate repeatedly.

Turning for a moment to thank the panting unicorn, I turn to the door and call out, "Friendlies coming in!" Receiving no response, I step through the jagged hole carefully avoiding the still glowing edges. Glancing around the vault, I see a lime-green Pegasus in a set of Night Guard scout armor laying collapsed on the floor.

Without consciously moving, I find myself at her side, falling to my knees. Cradling her head on my lap, I pull a glove off and rest my bare hand on the cloth armor between the chest plate and helmet, feeling for a pulse. Feeling one faintly trough the insulating fabric, I relax slightly and watch her chest rise and fall evenly.

"Medic!" I cry out. One of the Rising Dawn, another unicorn, is unceremoniously pushed through the opening in a dark blue aura, I can only assume Nightmare Storm's. Staggering a bit on her landing, she nonetheless makes her way over to me as I work the outer release on Vine's armor, popping the helmet off, and working on the clasp of her chest plate.

The unicorn's horn lights up briefly as she looks Vine over before the glow fades. "She's fine, but her body seems to be in a coma, I'm not sure what's causing it," she states, moving closer and examining her body for obvious signs of trauma.

I nod jerkily. "Magic exhaustion. She probably used quite a bit of it on her way here. She'll be fine with some rest and sustenance," I say.

Standing, I sway a bit but steady myself. Looking around the room, I see a small chest with the Night Guard insignia on it, but no other bodies. Moving to the doorway, and stepping out, I glance about, looking for Nightmare. "Nightmare, I'm not seeing the other member of Vine's group, do you think they took cover somewhere else?"

She comes up to me with a hint of sadness on her face. "Nay, they all perished in a rearguard action to give Vine Bloom time to pull away."

I blink my eyes a few times stupidly, my tired mind struggling to assimilate and correlate facts. "But you said there were two of your ponies remaining."

She smiles a bittersweet smile as She draws me close in a hug. "Dear, dear Redemit, there are two of our little ponies left."

Blinking some more, I struggle to stay conscious and make sense of the situation. "But you said . . ."

She squeezes me, stopping my sentence as She lays her head on my shoulder, a tear making its way slowly down Her cheek as her body starts glowing. "You are one of my little ponies, and I shall miss you greatly. But take heart, your life lays before you and the paths open to you are boundless. Take care of Vine, little one. Goodbye." With that, She says no more, Her body glowing brighter and brighter, Her substance breaking up into motes of light that slowly rise towards the sky above me.

Reaching out quickly I grasp Her in turn, my body quaking as I feel Her soul breaking from mine. I hold Her tight as the stress from the last three days and the prospect of losing Her once again fills my mind, and my soul quakes. Sobbing, I can only stand there holding Her as She slowly, oh so slowly, breaks up and melts away.

Falling to my knees, I can only sit there, staring at the spot She'd just been, sobs shaking my body. Finally, the stress proves too much, and I feel myself collapse, the world slowly going black as I feel myself gently lifted up, then I know no more.

Chapter 6 - The Day After

Dream – present

I sit amidst the darkness, soothed by the tranquil nothingness. Glancing around, I frown slightly as I see a small circle of marble flooring, a light seeming to shine down upon it from nowhere, as dreams are apt to do. I look and on a whim I am standing on the edge of the flooring without bothering to take all the steps between here and there. Looking it over, I silently contemplate my surroundings.

This space does not belong. Something's changed. Focusing, I step forward, my world spinning and reshaping. Trees surround me now, representing some form or part of my psyche and body. I walk down a dirt path for what seems like hours, or minutes. Time still has no meaning, I must be weaker than I thought if I can't keep time moving steadily.

I come to a particular tree, this one seems gnarled and twisted. In place of the branches and leaves you would expect on a tree, it's branches are all vines, going out and wrapping back forming a cocoon of thorns and vines. My mental barriers, erected with Nightmare Storm's help to fight my connection to the Swarm's hive mind.

Walking around it aimlessly, I stop, noticing a sizable gap in the vines where something pushed its way in. Blood still drips from some of the vines, signifying the price the intruder paid for entry. Narrowing my eyes, I reach out to my world, causing the ground to rumble and collapse, great vines erupt from the ground as I focus my thoughts into finding and capturing any intruders. This is my mind, and here, I rule.

Then, I feel it, the imprint of another, and then their struggles. My world shakes before their power, but I persevere, this fight is purely mental, their power has no meaning here. I simply reach out and picture myself and whoever they are ripped out and placed in my sanctuary.

I find myself in the cool embrace of my nothingness, and open my eyes. Looking to the small circle of marble, I see the intruder for the first time. I feel my mouth drop open and almost fall to my knees until I stop, my eyes narrowing and rage curling inside me.

Before me, standing within a prison of light, stands a cruel imitation of my Queen. From the proud spire of a horn, to the beautiful folded wings, with the swirling stars of her mane and tail to complement it all. But where my Queen radiated power and the fury of a torrential storm, this one radiated a muted power, a cold, austere, touch on the cheek. Where my Queen's form was jet black, this one's form was a dark deep blue. Where fangs resided, this one had the flat, even teeth of an herbivore.

I find myself shaking, and rich purple strands of power take form in the darkness, causing it to glow and pulse as I stare at the creature watching me back semi-warily. "How. Dare. You." I snarl, enunciating each word with cold hatred.

"How dare you. I lost my Queen, I will not bear her memory twisted and mocked by some pale imitation drawn up by some errant dream-walker. Lose that form and explain yourself, or get out before I show you the true meaning of pain." I snarl and practically scream at the end.

The creature flinches at first but stands her ground, earning my grudging respect as I reach deep, pulling memories forth, ones bad enough even I don't touch them if I can help it, to 'gift' to the intruder's consciousness. I am confident they will not appreciate the experience. "Nay, hold thy wrath. We are sorry for our presence, but we had to be sure thou would be alright. You've been unconscious for a week now."

I stop, staring at the creature, rage still curling through the darkness around us. "Drop the form, show me your true self," I command coldly.

She shakes her head. "This is our true form, Redemit. We ... I am Princess Luna, Sister of Princess Celestia. I raise the moon, and she raises the Sun," She explains. My rage snaps and disappears as I sense the truth she feels. Instantly, I find us standing in the middle of my glade, trees surrounding us and the moon standing overhead.

I kneel. "Forgive my trespass, Your Majesty, I did not know. I only knew there was another who fulfilled Her functions in this reality, but beyond that, I did not know you would be physically similar." I apologize, wind whispering through the normally still glade at my unease.

I feel a hoof touch my shoulder and glance up to see her sitting next to me with a small smile on her face. "It's alright, I cannot blame you for reacting the way you did. We simply needed to ensure your mental fortitude."

I nod my head, turning my head as I find us both standing at the entrance to a path through my glade. "Indeed, then let us begin?" I turn to her and ask.

She considers the surrounding trees and the underlying concepts behind them and turns to me, her eyes going wide. "How...how did you make this place? I've only seen one other who could do this besides myself," she questions softly.

I sigh softly. "I had a good teacher, Ma'am. She taught me a great many things, including the barriers you had to force your way through to get in here."

She chuckles mirthlessly. "Felt like a thousand spines all tearing my flesh from me," she remarks, staring at me with a certain amount of venom.

I simply grin unrepentantly. "It is my mind, Ma'am. And that's hardly the worst thing you'll find here if you wander without my attention."

She stares at me a moment, her eyes seeming to bore into my soul. Seriously, I feel her lightly touching some of those highly unpleasant memories I conjured ever so slightly with my words. She stops, shaking her head and shedding a solitary tear. "Indeed, we shall not pry further, though we would like to hear more of this 'Nightmare Storm'," she remarks.

I nod. "I assumed as much. I expect once I do wake there will be a debriefing. But in the mean time, lets see how I'm doing." With that, I turn and start striding down the path, watching the trees around me for any signs of wilting or damage. And see some signs I do. Everywhere I look, there's little bits of damage or scars on normally pristine wooden constructs. Taking the time to focus on a few, I feel the damage, but can also clearly feel it slowly rebuilding and repairing itself.

I continue this throughout the grove, Luna at my side, checking many of the trees, and finding most of the 'scars' well on their way to healing. Coming to the last part of the 'forest', I simply ignore the sickly half-collapsed trees in this portion and move on until I notice Luna standing completely still, staring at the underlying concepts, a look of unadulterated horror upon her face.

I sigh and shake my head. Walking back to her, I rest a hand on her shoulder, and send a mental push, breaking her focus and causing her gaze to lock on mine. "Don't dwell on it, I lived, as so many others did not, I'm thankful for what I do have, and the rest . . . well, I survive," I state lightly, continuing to ignore the trees we stand amongst.

She follows me in a daze as I walk out and come back to the center of the glade. "Such darkness," she whispers with a shudder, causing me to spin and step up to her.

"Never fear the darkness inside yourself. Step into it without fear, the only thing you'll find is yourself. And while what you see in there may not make you very proud, in the end, it is part of you, and you should accept it. Embrace it if you can, but accept it if you cannot. Deny it, and you lock away a part of your power, no matter how small. And you may at some point need that power to protect the things you care most about, and that . . . is unacceptable," I declare, my eyes boring into her own.

She stares into my eyes for an endless instant, eyes sparkling in the quiet darkness. I raise a brow at her, causing her to shake her head and cough lightly. Shaking my head, I turn back to the glade, finding myself laid out on my back, arms pillowing my head as I stare up at the night sky.

I hear a shift and glance, seeing her emulating my position, on her back, wings slightly unfurled to her sides as she stares up at the sky, arms crossed over her chest. "You do seem to appreciate the night," she remarks, then starts examining the moon more closely with a confused look.

Glancing up, I see why, and close my eyes for a time, a tear rolling down my cheek. Opening them again, I banish the tear and focus on the moon, removing the shadowy cracks from its surface. Turning my head back to Luna, I look at her questioningly. "You seem very calm with my form. The last time I entertained a dream walker, they spent the first couple of hours demanding I drop the disguise," I remark before she can bring the subject up.

She glances at me with a small chuckle. "We were informed of your 'peculiarities" by our sister, Tia," she remarks, lapsing into a more formal tone of voice with the mention of her co-ruler.

I smile, nodding my head. The sight of which causes her a moment's disquiet, which in turn causes me to snicker. She glares at me, causing me to bite back a laugh. "Alright, before this snowballs too far, we should get going," I state, glancing away as I fight back the feelings of mirth and examine my emotional barriers. They're weakened, I'll have to deal with these problems, but now just isn't the time. Reinforcing them, I turn back to her.

She looks at me a moment. "Just like that? That's all it takes for you?" She asks, in an unfamiliar tone of voice, is that . . . pity?

I look back at her evenly, both of us on our feet and staring at one another as my mood shifts. "I felt nothing for a very long time, while they're nice, I won't let them interfere with my purpose." I state evenly, looking her in the eye.

She tilts her head a moment, then nods in understanding. "Alright, we shall inform our sister of your mental state. Can we expect to see you soon, then?"

I chuckle and shake my head. "Try now, Ma'am. I've already started the process, I'm going to need food, lots of it. Also some protein, my body's pretty beat up, but it'll repair with the right parts."

She nods her head, then tilts it to the side. "Ahhh, any peculiarities to your diet?" to which I sigh, and shake my head.

"No, I don't require emotions to survive. It's not pleasant without them, and most of my reaction times take a hit when I'm low, but I'm not addicted to survive, and I'll be damned before I turn into some kind of soul sucker. I never have reason to use... that part of my abilities. So I should be good for several months with my current levels." I state, curling my lips in disgust as I turn to stare sightlessly through the trees to the corrupted portions of the glade.

She nods solemnly. "That's good. We shall let your caretakers know to get you fed. I cannot promise meat I'm afraid."

I shake my head. "I haven't had much meat in my time, protein tabs, or nuts will suffice in the appropriate amounts." I state with reassuring smile, causing her to shiver slightly, and me to facepalm. "Oookay then, time to go, Your Majesty." I state evenly.

She opens her mouth with an affronted look on her face before she pops out of existence with a slight ripple in the air and I feel the darkness around me reach out to grab me.

Redemit

Coming back to a conscious state, I silently vow to murder whoever turned all the bucking lights on as I feel the light attempting to burn through my eyelids to burrow down my optic nerves in a bright ribbon of pain and general hate. Raising my right hand, I pause and set it back down very gently as I feel something taped to my wrist.

Focusing on the sensation, I ascertain what I think is an I.V. of some sort. This is probably why I don't feel like absolute crud, they must have kept me hydrated and fed to a certain extent. Raising my left hand, I find it unobstructed and use it to cover my face-plate, blocking out much of the painful light. Cracking my eyes open, I feel my retinas narrowing down as I keep my lids mostly shut to reduce the pain. Taking stock, I can still feel myself wrapped in most of my armor, excepting the chest piece, my belt, and most of the other reinforcing plates. Additionally, most of my pouches feel conspicuously empty.

After half a minute, I feel my sensitivity stabilize and open my eyes fully. Pulling my hand off my helmet, I stare around the room. Most of the cursed light seems to be coming from a window in the wall, sunlight, obviously. You'd think I'd be happy to see sunlight after so long without, but this doesn't appear to be the case. Odd.

I look down, assessing my person. Most of my armor has been removed. This was probably done by Celestia, since most of my gear was rather dangerous, not to mention the outright explosive components. I'll have to ask about it later. For the moment though, I seem to be in my under armor and helm. With the chest piece removed, most of my helmet's functions are unresponsive.

Patting various parts of my body, I feel my pulse accelerate as I start taking shallow rapid breaths. My weapons are gone. They took my bucking weapons. Knife – gone, Wire spool – still there, probably never heard of a garrote? What else do I have? No punch-knife, I took that off earlier, I didn't expect this, a failure that may end up costing me.

Casting my eyes about for my weapons, or a decent substitute, I take in the sight of a machine on my right. After I calm down, slightly, I realize it's a heart monitor, several wires lead down under the collar of my shirt to glowing patches stuck on my chest. Fighting the panic attack, I tear the I.V. out, the entry barely bleeding before my hyperactive regeneratives kick in and seal the wound. Reaching a hand down my collar, I rip the patches off and pull them up out of my armor. My chest stings, but I ignore it as I settle my helm's neck mesh more firmly onto the chain-mail under-layer.

The door opens and a white coated earth-pony nurse with a pink mane and tail with a red cross for a cutie mark step in scanning the room with practiced speed, probably because my heart monitor stopped feeding. Seeing me turn my head to look at her, she stops in place and stares at me with more than a little fear. Realizing the situation I'm in, specifically, at the mercy of these ponies, I ruthlessly suppress my combat instincts. After all, the only living human is one that doesn't harm its betters. Taking a moment, I carefully craft a peaceful mask for my facial features and slowly reach up to remove my helmet, suppressing another spike of adrenaline as I put myself in an open position. Deciding to keep my ability to speak hidden for the time being, I pull the helmet off and set it in my lap, then proceed to look at her with a blank expression and my head tilted slightly to one side.

She continues to stand there a moment before moving again, this time back to the door and returning with a cart. Perking up, I stare at the cart as she brings it in, seeing several covered dishes on it. "You hungry, boy?" I hear her ask, turning my gaze back to her, I give a deadpan expression like 'Are you kidding me?'. To which all she does is chuckle, much of her earlier nervousness gone as she pulls a lap table out and sets it in my lap. I pull myself up to a sitting position on the bed, causing her to start and stare at me some more as I give her a blank stare in return. Seriously mare, give me my darn food.

Giving a small huff, I look at the plates on the cart and lick my lips, causing her to shake herself and move towards the cart. "Sorry about that, boy." She states in a tone of voice you use with your slightly rabid pet. I have to hold back an ironic chuckle, if only you knew. Grabbing a plate in her teeth, she transfers it to my lap table. Reaching out, I lift the lid and feel my mouth water at the sight of mixed greens sitting on the plate, thankfully there are no flowers present in this salad. To the side sits a small bowl of pre-shelled nuts and a fork.

Glancing up at her as she pauses in transferring another plate over. I decide to let her move at her own pace for the moment. Grabbing a handful of nuts, I pop a few of them in my mouth, their crunchy dry texture causing a mild grimace as I reach out and grab the fork. Pulling the salad closer, I stab a few leaves of something or other and bring the laden fork to my mouth. Looking back at the nurse in question, I sigh as she sits there, plate sagging slightly as she watches me eat.

I wave a hand at her, causing her to outright boggle at me. I roll my eyes and point at the plate in her mouth, causing her to realize what she's holding and to bring it over slowly. Setting it down tentatively, she continues to stare at me as I focus REALLY hard on not grinning at her. My inner snark is begging for the chance to really blow her mental circuits, but sadly, I suppress the urge. I still remember the last beating I got for 'startling' a pony.

No way about it, I'll have to persuade her to relax. It's not like I don't remember a few tricks I learned out of simple self-preservation, and from experimenting on my handler . . . good times. Continuing to eat with my left hand, I reach out with my right and rub the side of her head and up one ear, causing her to relax and coo a little bit before closing her mouth with a click, a blush adorning her face as she shakes herself. "I'm so sorry, I was only told you were a combat trained human with peculiarities that wouldn't attack any ponies. I wasn't told you were . . . uhhh, intelligent?" She states, continuing to stare at me.

I snicker before I can catch myself, my momentary smile causing a shiver to go down her spine. "Right, yes, okay, let me know if you need anything else," she mutters abashedly, barely sparing a glance at the now dead heart monitor and I.V. no longer in my arm, causing me a minor daww moment at her adorable embarrassment, and a slight nod to my head that she didn't fuss about the medical equipment. I go back to eating my salad with the occasional legume. I think I could get to like this nurse. These nuts on the other hand . . .

She moves to the next patient in the room, pushing the curtain back. I'm met with the sight of Vine laid out on her side. Pausing with my fork halfway to my mouth, I sit up slightly more, muscles telling me in no uncertain terms I'm going to be laying back down soon, and no matter how I might wish it, I am NOT getting up except for direct threats. Glancing at the heart monitor, I watch her heartbeat cycle evenly and relax back into the head of the bed, focusing back onto my food, but keeping one eye on Vine.

Finishing off the first batch of food, I pull the second one forward and remove the lid. I hum happily at the sight of more food in front of me, including a weird wobbly substance that seems to just melt in my mouth. Grabbing a cup, I bring it to my mouth, sipping. I taste water, and drain half the glass, sighing as my body replies to the influx of liquids favorably.

Glancing over at the other bed, I watch as the nurse checks Vine over professionally. I watch her work for awhile as I eat until I try to take another bite of food and realize my utensil is empty. Looking at my plate, I'm rather disappointed to find it empty. I stack the two plates with the garbage on top, and place the lids back on top. I push them to one side and yawn, scooting back down into the bed as my body relaxes, taking me back down to deal with the food appropriately.

Closing my eyes, I drift off to sleep again.

I'm sitting in the space between dreams and consciousness, doing neither one, when I hear a quiet gasp, and open my eyes. Looking at the door, I see the purple Element of Magic. Tensing, I watch her, moving my limbs quietly, preparing for whatever is about to happen.

She's gazing at my helmet, sitting beside my stomach. Her eyes move from there, following my body up until we make eye contact, and she backs up seeing my cat-like irises watching her. Her initial reaction is surprise, quickly followed by curiosity, causing me to groan internally. She's living up to her Element alright, I prepare myself to be bombarded by questions.

She steps further into the room, watching me curiously as I stay still on my back staring at her. "What happened to your eyes?" is her first question.

I shrug, simple enough. "My Queen gave me her blessing when I joined her Night Guard," I reply.

She nods at this statement. Her horn then lights up causing me to raise myself to a seated position hands automatically going for weapons that aren't there right now, my wings unfurling enough to wrap forward around me slightly, ready to shoot out as secondary weapons as needed.

She jumps at my reaction, then starts talking rapidly. "Oh! I'm sorry! Don't worry, I'm just grabbing my quills and a scroll, I'm just taking notes, see?" she asks very quickly, holding up the items in question, and causing me to pause, watching her warily.

I nod, then settle back to the bed with a stifled groan, my muscles are still really sore. All that magic use wasn't doing them any favors. "Alright," I state tersely.

She smiles at me, and pulls a chair over with a leg, probably out of respect to my skittishness, and sits in it as she starts asking questions. Who I am, where I'm from, what it was like.

I answer most of the questions with one or two words, but refuse to divulge further information beyond my name and rank, that I came from my world. And no, I won't tell her about it, in fact, she should drop that subject right now. Seeing the pain in my eyes, she wisely does so, and we move to slightly safer topics. I spend nearly an hour giving her all the tactical information I can on swarmlings, figuring she'd see it put to good use, assuming we missed any.

After awhile I turn and look over at Vine. I smile, just watching her sleep peacefully. Turning back to Twilight, I find my jaw cracking as I yawn. Opening my eyes back up, I look at the clock, seeing the time I shake my head. "Okay Ma'am, I'm afraid I'm going to have to call it a day," I state, laying my head back down on the pillow.

"Oh. Okay," she responds, I can hear the disappointment in her voice, and find myself chuckling at her.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be back tomorrow," I chuckle in a conciliatory tone.

She smiles and nods. "Mind if I bring some friends?" she asks as she's packing her stuff back into her saddle bags.

I nod. "Sure, but not too many, please," I add.

"Okay, I'll only bring a couple," she replies, and then she's gone.

I turn my head back to the ceiling as another yawn racks my body. Closing my eyes, I feel sleep rising up to welcome me back to its depths. With one last glance to assure myself that Vine is alright, I surrender.

Coming up from a deep slumber that left me warm and cozy and never wanting to move again, I open my eyes to again see the same nurse with a cart of food entering the room. Instantly my stomach growls and I sit up, slowly scooting up to a sitting position on the bed as she brings the first tray over. Uncovering it, I find another salad with another helping of nuts, and also what I recognize as one of my protein tabs. Popping it in my mouth, I swallow it and turn my attention to the salad. While it's not meat, I'll make do. I always do . . . forget that, I'm getting meat at some point.

As I'm munching away mock-happily on my salad, I hear a throat clear itself nearby. Glancing up at the nurse, I see her staring at me . . . again. I thought she was over this. I raise an eyebrow as I stare at her. She clears her throat a second time before opening her mouth. "Sooo, uhh, you can talk?"

I snort a couple times suppressing a laugh. "Yes, Ma'am," I reply. She twitches, but otherwise doesn't move. Tough mare, I could really get to like this one.

She nods then pulls an envelope off the cart and carries it to me. I reach out and take it inquisitively. Looking at the envelope, I see a fancy seal, and guess it to be Celestia's as it closely resembles her own cutie mark. Glancing back at the nurse, I furrow my brow. "What is this?" I ask her inquisitively.

She shrugs. "I was told to deliver it to you. Also, I'm not to talk about your . . . uniqueness to anyone else." she replies.

I nod my head. "That makes sense, I guess." I flip the letter over some more before setting it on a side counter near the bed.

She stares at me kinda boggle-eyed. "It's a letter from Princess Celestia! Aren't you going to read it?" she asks in a semi-strangled voice.

I purse my lips and nod my head. "It'd be a really good idea, yes." I reply sensibly.

She stares at me a moment. "Why aren't you then?" she finally breaks down and asks.

I shrug. "Simple, really, I can't read," I snarkily reply.

She sits there a second, then nods. "That's a very good reason," she says. Either she's just as much a snark as I am, or she's serious, either way, I think I like this mare.

I shake my head. "I'm sorry, I don't even know your name, miss?" I say.

She grimaces slightly. "Oh! I'm so sorry, I completely forgot, my name is Redheart, Nurse Redheart." She replies, a cheerful bounce to her speech.

I nod my head. "Redemit, Ma'am. I don't know what title, I'm afraid, so that's all I can give you right now. How's Vine doing, by the way?" I change the subject, looking over at Vine as she continues to sleep peacefully.

She smiles at me. "She's just fine. Her body was very taxed from the magic overload, and we judged it best to keep her in a coma until the magic could work its way out of her soft tissues," she replies.

I tilt my head to the side. "Soft tissues?" I ask, to which she nods her head.

"It basically refers to anything that isn't bone, skin, or organ," she iterates further.

I nod my head, I've seen enough insides I can catch the general gist of what she's saying. "So she's being kept asleep?" I ask, to be sure.

She nods her head, and brings the other plate in. I suppress my aggression, this one's given me no reason to doubt her sincerity, plus they wouldn't harm a pony, would they? I'll just have to wait and see.

I finish eating the salad, and take the cover off the other plate, only to reveal a massive slice of cake. I instantly freeze, my mouth watering as I feel the early onset of a sugar coma just from looking at it.

I hear some giggling, so I glance over at Nurse Redheart, and watch her stare at me with a hoof covering her mouth as she giggles some more. My only response is to shrug, and to spear that cake like its a rowdy swarmling in need of purification. Breaking off a piece and bringing it up on my fork, I examine it a moment before bringing it to my mouth. As I slowly masticate the so-very-sugary confection, I feel my pulse skyrocket as my body prematurely shuts down from the sugar overload I can feel hitting my system.

Finishing my first bite, and moving on to my second, I can't help but hum in pleasure. Nurse Redheart just stands there awhile watching me eat with a smile on her face until I glance over. "You okay there, Ma'am?" I finally break down and ask. She shakes her head and moves to check on Vine Bloom as I finish off the glorious sugar-coma-inducing confection that is cake.

Glancing at her as well, and deciding I want to check her over myself, I sit up, and swing my legs over the edge of the bed. My eyes close as I stretch my arms out to the sides, muscles quivering as I stretch them out fully and pull against myself. Relaxing my arms, I spread my wings next, feeling them expand smoothly, joints popping from the long period at rest beneath my body. Folding them back in, I open my eyes.

To see Nurse Redheart staring at me, mouth hanging open. I blink a few times, then follow her gaze to my wings. Extending one slightly, I feel more than a little saddened to see them colored their natural crystalline brown. Glancing back at her, I chuckle softly. I extend and retract the wing as her gaze follows it a few seconds before she shakes herself and gazes at me, eyes narrowed.

I can only grin impudently, as I bring myself to a standing position, muscles responding slowly, but without a hint of stress or pain. I'm not back up to operational capacity, but my body seems to be over its bout of magical exhaustion. Moving slowly as I assess my situation, I move over to Vine's bed, noting now that I'm up close that it actually looks like a hospital gurney.

"You really shouldn't be out of bed right now, you know," is Nurse Redheart's only response.

"I know, I'll be back in it shortly, but I want to be sure she's okay." I respond, gazing down at Vine as I rest a hand on her shoulder softly. Leaving it there a moment, I give a soft smile. "Glad to see you're okay, Alpha" I whisper, then slowly move backwards, sitting on my bed. I don't feel particularly weak, but I figure taking it easy right at first is warranted as I feel my way into the situation.

Turning to Nurse Redheart, I smile and bow my head. "Thank you for the food and care, Ma'am," I state. She just chuckles.

"I'd do the same for anypony," is her response, causing me to chuckle.

"Ah, but I'm not a pony. So you see, it's ever so much more generous," is my witty retort, I really need to work on that.

She raises a brow at me before shaking her head at my horrid joke and collecting the dishes as she heads out the door.

Putting my legs back onto the bed, I lay back and reach out, grabbing the letter. Bringing it to my face, I consider it awhile, before putting it back on the table beside me. I'll deal with that later. I look around the room, but seeing nothing of immediate interest, I find myself with naught to distract myself.

Sighing, I focus inwards. I picture in my mind solid bulwarks. These massive walls hold back all the things I refuse to contemplate, things that are baying for my attention all the same. I understand the problems with bottling things up, my trainers had screamed it at me enough times, but the pain I feel boiling behind that wall scares me, and there are few things that cause me more than a passing moment's fear. I can die, yes. I am mortal like any other. But this pain won't end, it'll never stop. I could stand in a moonlit field, my queen's energy flowing through my being, and still be able to see nothing but shadows, as my broken heart grows colder and colder.

Feeling like a scared and lost colt, yet I refuse to run. Instead, I lay back, closing my eyes and focusing my will, stepping back from my surroundings as I enter a trance-like state. Standing in my grove, I kneel and raise my head, staring up at the heavens as tears stream down my face. I remember, I love, and I move on. But, oh, does it hurt to leave them behind.

I lose track of time as I retrieve and deal with the memories. Sorting, mourning, and celebrating the achievements of so many that would be forever forgotten on a world now bathed in fire and brimstone.

I feel something happening around me, and rise to the surface of my consciousness. I feel the path the tears I'd shed had taken down my face, and open my eyes with a sigh. I turn my head slightly, seeing a concerned Twilight Sparkle standing by my bed, as well as the Elements of Honesty and Loyalty, both staring at me with expressions of surprise on their faces.

"He's a human!" the blue pegasus exclaims. While I resist the urge to face-palm, Twilight's not quite so restrained.

"Well ah'll be darned. He is." is the orange-maned Element of Honesty's take on the situation. I can only stare at Twilight in bewilderment.

"Didn't you tell them?" is my first question, prompting the other two to freeze up like deer in front of an angry hydra.

She stares at me a moment, a blush darkening her cheeks. "No, we've been told not to discuss you outside this room, or in Celestia or Luna's presence." She's practically mumbling towards the end. I sigh and shake my head.

"Alright, let me get the ball rolling then. Hello, I'm Redemit, I AM a human, yes, but my circumstances are rather unique. If you want more information on that, feel free to ask Celestia or Luna, they'll know what you're cleared for." I say, watching the two Element Bearers relax as time goes by.

"I'm Rainbow Dash! Fastest Pegasus in Equestria!" is Rainbow Dash's way of introduction.

"Ah'm Applejack, ah'm pleased ta meet yah," the Element of Honesty, Applejack, replies.

After that, the three of them seem to be unsure of what to say, fidgeting and glancing around, finally the blue one opens her mouth. "So, how did you move so fast without using your wings?"

"I'm sorry, but that's probably classified, you'll need to ask your Princesses," I give the rote response, rolling my eyes. I had this out with Twilight dang it.

"Why are you here?" is her next question, simple.

"We're refugees," is my response. "We were fighting a war, and we lost."

"Who were y'all fighting?" Applejack pops in.

"When you were out there in the forest, did you see any of the black critters?" I ask, keeping my question as vague as possible.

"Nah, afteh we let you go, Princess Celestia sent us back ta Canterlot." is her response, obviously, they're not being told about the swarmlings, or the killing, buck. How peaceful was this place, anyway? They had some very good special ops ponies, that was for sure. So they did have SOMETHING to fight. But if the Elements were being coddled instead of being hardened soldiers, this world was definitely peaceful.

I sighed, laying back. Peaceful, not having to kill anything, not living in a fortress of storm clouds and stone. I could ... live with that to be honest. Maybe I could find a job somewhere, build a house out in the middle of nowhere, not have to deal with odd neighbors, screaming foals. Yeah, that'd be nice.

"I'm sorry, but I'm still waiting on a debrief, and until such time as I have my orders, I'm really not sure what I can or cannot discuss this with you," I apologize. Twilight looks disappointed, Applejack looks miffed, but they seem willing to accept my response. Dash on the other hand . . .

"Oh come on! You appear out of nowhere with awesome stuff and Nightmare Moon and you expect us to just walk away without any answers?!" She practically screams. In an attempt to not reach out and slap the mare in question (I really think we're gonna get along great), my brain chooses to latch onto one of the things she just said.

"Wait, who's Nightmare Moon?" I ask, the name is similar to my Queen's, yet not.

This causes Twilight to regale me with the story of Luna's jealousy for her sister's veneration, and the resulting war. I find myself sitting back with a silent look of horror and pain on my face as I compare chains of events and realize something. It's the same damn thing! There're variations, yes. My . . . Luna, she manipulated storms as well as the moon, and I'm sure my reality's Celestia had her differences as well, I'm not sure as I never heard much about her.

But Nightmare Storm had been having issues with her sister, and they'd just had an argument. This means she'd been on the path to the same sort of event as Luna. Which means the last encounter she'd ever had with her sister had been laced with jealousy and hatred. And then, by some twisted act of fate, she got her wish. Our Celestia was out of the picture, leaving 'Luna' to rule, alone, with her people so desperately looking to her for protection and guidance. Oh dear, dear, Nightmare Storm, words alone cannot describe my pain on your behalf.

The sudden silence in the room draws my attention. Glancing around, I see the three of them staring at me worriedly. Taking stock, I feel tears streaming down my face, my mental barricades are broken, and I feel painful memories surging forward. All the comrades I'd lost, even the ones who frankly hated my guts for what I was. All the others we'd fought and bled to save, all for naught.

Raising my hands ever so slowly to my face, I did the only thing I could do. I buried my face in my hands, and wept.

I don't know how much time passed, I'm not really sure what exactly happened during that time period. All I can really remember is all the pain and sorrow, the three Elements stayed with me awhile, before Applejack had to get back to her farm to take care of a younger sibling. This caused Twilight to remember somepony by the name of 'Spike'. Interesting name by the way, I'd just like to point that out in a land of sunshine and smiles, that name really doesn't seem appropriate, but I digress.

This eventually left me alone with the Blue Wonder. After my tears had stopped, and my stressed muscles had unclenched from the crying I'd done, we ended up just laying back on my bed, just talking. I knew I was breaking rules and probably protocol, but I didn't care. I was hurting, and I needed something to take the edge off the pain.

She'd just explained finished telling me about her juvenile years in school, where she'd picked up the very justified nickname of Rainbow Crash. Admittedly, I liked the implications, anyone tough enough to take that many hits but still stand back up and prove him or herself worthy was definitely alright in my experience.

After I explained this to her, she seemed rather taken by the thought, but ended up asking me about my foal-hood, to which I could only reply. "I don't remember much, I know a few places and people, but I don't remember much until I was about 9 years old, when I was out with my pack doing some recon in force while our handlers waited at the drop point."

She stared at me funny after that. I just shook my head. "No, I wasn't always . . . like this. I was your regular garden variety human for the first three quarters of my life." I state calmly. Watching her bemused expression.

"So something happened to you that turned you into . . . whatever it is you are?" is her next question.

"That's right, but as for what did it, I'm still waiting for word from your princesses on what I'm allowed to tell you. Oh! Speaking of word from your Princesses, can I trust you to hold a secret?" I ask her as I start looking around for the letter.

Dash grins at me, thinking I'm about to tell her something about my life she'll find really interesting, I assume. "Course I can!" she boasts.

I just grin at her, to her credit, she doesn't even flinch at the sight of my teeth anymore. "That's great, because I apparently forgot to share a little secret with my superiors. You see, I can't read."

Dash just stares at me, open-mouthed, until I gently chuck her chin with a loose fist, causing her mouth to close with a click. "You can't read? How can you not read? How can somepony that single-hoofedly kills hundreds of nasty insects not possible know how to read?" she sputters.

I open my mouth, then close it, looking to the side as an all too familiar burn starts on my own cheeks. Finally, after an agonizing period of time, I finally find my voice again. "Well, it might have something to do with the fact that I'm about three to four and a half years old subjectively? I was trained to break things, Ma'am. You need something destroyed, possibly in as brutal and messy a manner as possible, I can do it. But we were a little strapped for time to spend sitting down to teach the freak his A.B.C.s," I retort with a familiar hint of venom in my tone.

Rainbow Dash closes her mouth again with another click, prompting me to smile at her, which she thankfully returns, dispelling the mood. I reach out and grab the envelope from the Princess. Pulling it over, I hand it to Rainbow. "I received this, but I have no way to understand it, I'd appreciate it if you'd aid me in this endeavor, and I'd trust you not to make my . . . predicament common knowledge. You know how this could harm my pride and all." I state softly but firmly, looking her in the eyes.

She squirms uncomfortably at the emotionally charged moment, causing me to bust out laughing, which felt REALLY good by the way after all that crying, this in turn causes her to cringe. So she's not really used to my laugh, I can deal with that. I wave my hand at her apologetically. Glancing over at Vine to assure myself she's still breathing and wasn't disturbed, I return my attention to Dash as she uses her hooves to hold the letter and tear it open at the same time, still not sure how they do that.

Opening the letter up, Dash starts reading it, at least, I assume she does, her eyes are tracing something on the paper.

I cough lightly to get her attention. "Care to share, Miss Dash?" I ask in a pleasant tone.

To her credit, Dash blushes lightly before clearing her throat, and starting to read.

Dear Redemit,

First off, let me start by telling you that a 'debriefing' will not be happening in the immediate future. I received quite a bit of information from your Queen, and as such, I've decided I'll spare you the trauma such a process would entail until such time as you've adjusted to the changes taking place in your life. However, I will give a you a few guidelines for your actions here.

First guideline, no killing: I know why you do the things you do. But those reasons don't apply here, and you should be relatively safe. Or as your companion is wont to say: Life is a calculated risk. I believe you know which risks are worth taking.

Second: I haven't discussed what happened in the forest with the Element Bearers yet. You may feel free to, but anything you discuss must happen in a secure location such as your hospital room until you're discharged. After that, Twilight's abode will serve as well.

Third: Your identity, for the moment, we believe it would be best to keep your unique physiology a secret. Most of the population isn't even away of what happened in the forest, and the incident in the city has been passed off as a rogue dragon being dealt with by a mercenary team. So, any time you're not in your room, dealing with Nurse Redheart or the Element Bearers, your helmet needs to stay on. Most of your armor will be returned to you when you've returned for evaluation and placement.

Fourth: Your mobility gear and weapons have been confiscated for now, the underlying theories and enchants are several years ahead of our own, and for the moment, I must insist they remain in a controlled environment. They'll be issued back to you on an as-needed basis.

Fifth: Your rank. We're instating you to the Night Guard after Luna evaluated you, and found you to her liking. Your rank is Private, and we'll discuss your responsibilities when next we meet.

Six: For the moment, you may consider yourself under probation. Your queen trusted you, so I shall as well, but as your monarch, trust is something I cannot afford. So for the time, expect your actions to be under constant surveillance, which brings us to the concepts and artifacts from your world.

Seven: The supplies in your Alpha Site. Most of them have been confiscated and will be analyzed for the aforementioned reasons. We did however catalog some items that were obviously designed for your use, as such, we'll be transferring those article we deem safe to your possession. As an added reward, and to help you get yourself situated, both you and the other survivor, Vine Bloom, will be receiving a salvage bonus on the items we've recovered. It goes without saying that possessing these items is of great worth, but you'll have to make do with the sum of 5000 bits, your half of the salvage reward.

Until we meet again,

Celestia, Princess of the Sun.

At the mention of the monetary reward, Dash's eyes bug out so hard I have to bite back a laugh. She reads the rest of the letter in a breathy tone of voice as I hold my stomach, body shaking with my repressed mirth. "Dude! 5000 Bits!" is her take on the situation.

I shrug. "Not sure what it'll buy in your world, but I'll take your enthusiastic word that it's a lot." I respond, smiling at her.

She shakes her head a moment, doing some math, if I had to guess. "5000 bits is just over a year and a half's pay for a weather manager." She squeaks out, I nod my head thoughtfully.

"Great, so, first things first, don't you DARE tell a soul about this." I wave a finger at her, my eyes narrowed, a grin on my face as I admonish her.

She grins back. "You got it!" She enthusiastically responds, then checks the time, wincing when she sees the lateness of the hour. "Hate to break it off here, dude. But I need my sleep, I got a busy day tomorrow. But you better not go telling your story without me," she warns, handing the latter back to me. She then stands and stretches her wings out.

"Understood, take care, Ma'am." I respond, folding the letter up and placing it under my pillow for safe keeping. I watch her throw herself out the window and fly off. Yawning, I settle further into the bed. Pulling a sheet over myself, I roll onto my stomach to reduce the weight on my wings as I start thinking.

While I wasn't happy with losing all my weaponry, I could see WHY she did it. I wasn't exactly safe to be around, but that was because of my environment. And if I needed time to adapt, then I could . . . grudgingly accept that. But I wasn't happy, to say the least.

The rank kind of rankled if the forces I'd encountered were any indication, but then, I was used to speciesism. Then again . . . it might be more a way to get me on the payroll, than an actual indication of my responsibilities, I'd have to ask, but I knew what I wanted. Freedom, no more chains, no more bars. And if I get to kill something along the way, well, I can live with that.

As for the money, great, it was a pretty pocketful, I'm sure. I didn't know what a weather manager was, but I could guess. From what I could figure though, while it was a decent sum, considering the level of advancement they would acquire from the trove of tomes and other artifacts I'd seen in the treasury. It felt more like a backhand combined with a bone and the promise of more as long as they had my 'cooperation'. I didn't like it (obviously), but I couldn't change it, so I'd just have to swallow my pride, and bow my head, as I'd done so many times before.

Chapter 7 - Awakenings

The next couple of days seemed to pass in a blur. I woke, I ate, I even started using the bathroom again; it was nice, I'd recommend it. Sadly, cabin fever had started rearing its ugly head, I found myself more often then not sitting at my Alpha's bedside or finding some form of physical exertion suited to the cramped quarters. By the morning of my fifth day of recovery, I was on the floor, pushing myself up with my arms repeatedly, trying to kill some time.

After a brief knock on the door, Nurse Redheart comes in with breakfast. Wait, make that two breakfasts. I see a second pair of covered plates sitting on the cart. I bring my knees up underneath my chest and rock back onto them as I straighten out, rising to my full stature. Stretching my slightly sore arms out, I toss the nurse a small wave and a smile. Nurse Redheart smiles back and sets my plates down on the table by my bed, but then moves over to Vine's side.

"It's time to wake her up?" I ask, moving closer.

"Uh-huh," Redheart replies as she lays with her ear on her chest, listening to her heartbeat. Why she has to listen to her heart with a heart monitor right there, I don't know. But I know better than to interfere with a doctor, nurse, whatever. Seriously, they have needles, and knives, DON'T tick them off.

Moving over to my bed, I snag my helmet, considering the front of it, I consider once again getting the design changed, and once again remember I don't really know anypony with the know-how on how exactly to alter it without breaking it. Sighing, I set it on my head, and run the webbing back around my chin and neck, securing it. I then put my gloves on, I bounce a few times to make sure my suits settled well enough, then I sit on my bed to wait.

Only a few minutes later, the doors opened again by a unicorn doctor, with what looks like chest paddles for a cutie mark. He ignores me, and moves to the bed with Vine resting in it. I simply sit in place, moving as little as possible. The less I have to deal with any doctor, the better.

"How is she?" He asks in a semi-bored tone.

"She's doing fine. We should be ready to go any time now, doctor." Nurse Redheart replies.

"Alright then, lets get started." the doctor replies, his boredom lessening as his tone turns more professional. I maintain a relaxed pose, and watch intently. He moves up to stand by her head, his horn glows slightly, and then he touches it to her head. After a couple seconds of this, he raises his head, the glow around his horn dissipates, and he proceeds to file right back out of the room. I can't help but feel that's a little weird, but I figure he may be under orders not to interact or something.

"Well, that was fast," I state, looking at the door the doctor had just disappeared through.

"He's under orders not to talk to you," Nurse Redheart states casually as she continues to watch Vine closely, called it.

I remove my helmet and move to kneel beside the gurney Vine is resting on, staring at her face intently. Her breathing still seems steady, but I figure the doctor just removed the spell, letting her body decide on its own how it wanted to wake up, at least, that's how I'd handle it. Either way, I'm kind of giddy, Vine should be waking up soon, and then we'll be together, and everything . . . well, it won't all magically go away unless I want to play with certain rare herbs I'm not sure even exist here. But it'll be a darn sight better once I have the one I've shed a lot of my blood for conscious to be thankful for it.

It stays this way for a couple of minutes, me staring intently at her, waiting for her to wake, and Nurse Redheart shuffling from one set of hooves to the other. Then, her eyes start twitching, and her legs shift a little, it isn't much movement, but after she's spent more than two weeks as a practical vegetable it's like a shot to the heart. I can't help grinning as I watch her start to wake.

Finally, Vine Bloom's eyes flutter open, cat-like yellow irises meet my own, and she freezes for a moment before a small smile breaks out on her face. "You made it," is all she has to say. I can work with that.

"Yeah, you know me. I keep my promises," I reply as I continue to sit there grinning like an idiot at her.

Vine considers me a moment, then her eyes widen and she tries to rise, at which point I rise and gently rest a hand on her shoulder. "No, stay down, you've been out for two weeks."

Vine looks at me semi-frantically. "Where's my weapons? What happened to Win-" The rest is muffled by my hand pressing to her mouth as I shake my head solemnly.

"No names, Ma'am," Is all I say, continuing to watch her, my own eyes telling her what my mouth cannot.

Vine just sits there, staring at me as her eyes grow wider and wider before she closes them and pulls my hand down weakly. "How many survived?" She finally asks, her tone dead.

I reach down and pull her into my arms, hugging her close as my own tears threaten to stream down my cheeks. "I'm sorry, by the time I made it out of the city, it was done. Your squad was the only one to make it out, and they gave their lives to give you and your cargo the chance to escape," I state softly, causing her body to shudder as she otherwise stays quiet and still in my arms.

I glance up at Redheart, and motion my eyes towards the door. Ever a quick one, she nods, pushes the cart out of the way, and heads out, closing the door softly behind herself as I continue to hold Vine close as she slowly starts to cry. My own tears join hers as we sit there, sharing, remembering, and mourning.

After about half an hour of sitting on Vine's bed, soothing her with calming words, and stroking her mane, she finally lies back on her bed, tear streaked muzzle staring at the ceiling.

"We're it?"

"Yes. By the time I made it to the Alpha Site, most swarmlings and all personnel remaining in the base were dead. I ended up hunting down a secondary queen in her nest." I report, my hand still stroking the side of her neck soothingly.

"Wait, you took on a queen, in her nest? By yourself?" Vine asks, staring at me with a deadpan expression, somewhat ruined by her watery eyes.

I grin sheepishly and shrug my shoulders. "I had my heavy armor, and there was no one else to back me up, it was either that or watch this world burn. I knew which one you'd choose," I reply, she's going to be mad when she finds out what I did in the city.

Vine shakes her head. "I know you're tough, big guy. But I have troubles believing you killed a swarm queen, even an adolescent, on your own."

I shake my head solemnly. "I didn't, it beat me." I reply, prompting her to stare at me a second.

"It what now?" is all Vine can think of to say, I share the sentiment.

"It beat me, I got pinned down by its drones and it circled around through a side tunnel to flank me. It worked, I tried to engage both ways, but you know how that always works out. Anyway, it managed to knock me down, and started pounding the tartarus out of my shield, after it just about broke my arm, it managed to force my shield down long enough to clock me on the helm. My helmet held, but I was knocked out, or I may have been close to dead, not sure which. Either way, I met our Queen's shade, and she came to my aid, we managed to subdue the swarmlings, and she took the swarm queen's body for her own while we came to get you." I explain, causing her to pull back to stare at me incredulously.

"You saw our Queen?" Vine asks, causing me to nod my head solemnly.

"And she came back from the dead to aid you?" is her second question, causing me to chuckle mirthlessly.

" I believe it's more appropriate to say I used a fragment of her soul to manifest her shade," I reply thoughtfully.

Vine stares at me oddly for a moment, then she finally asks, "When did you start using fancy words?"

I chuckle, a grin on my face. "You talk to the Element of Magic and see if you don't pick up some odd words along the way," I flippantly reply.

Vine just shakes her head. "Okay, not bringing that subject up just yet. How did you . . . manifest her shade? And how did you end up with a fragment of her soul, anyway?"

I stare forward unblinking for a moment, images flooding my head. Dead everywhere, Nightguard and Swarmlings alike. My queen, coughing blood, her broken horn laying several feet away. The scream of the Moon's spirit as I pulled it from the sky, the scream she uttered as she used me like a surrogate horn. The unbearable pain, that from a changling hybrid that went through enormous amounts of pain every time he used his . . . abilities. I shook my head. "I'm afraid that's one story I'm not telling anyone except the Princesses, I'm sorry," I bow my head as I apologize.

Vine tilts her head, ears perking up at my tone, but thankfully doesn't pry further. "Okay, but how did you cause her to manifest, anyway?"

I laugh. "I haven't the foggiest clue, you know me, I break things, I only build them in my spare time," I reply, making a crack about my nonexistent free time in a fight for my adoptive race's survival.

"Uh-huh, so where is she now?" Vine asks, glancing around the room as if even now she was there.

I close my eyes and sigh. "Nightmare . . . she had to go back home. Her...purpose, was finished. Once we had you and the Elements..." I trail off, unable to finish the statement for all the mental agony I was experiencing.

Oddly enough, I feel no tears, but I think that may have to do with all the crying I've been doing, speaking of which. I reach out to the food cart, and pull the cup of water off it. Bringing it over, I hand it to Vine. Giving me a tired smile, she accepts the cup and brings it to her mouth, drinking it down, slowly at first, but faster as her throat muscles get used to the act of swallowing again.

Figuring it is time to take a break from the catching up, I bring out a lap table, and help her shift to a sitting position. Even with the disparity in body size, her muscle mass isn't anything to sneeze at. Placing her food in front of her I pop off the first lid with a bit of flair, prompting her to giggle at my display before she dives into her food, consuming it ravenously.

I pull my own food towards me, and taking the lid off, I begin to consume it as well. Seeing Vine finishing up her second plate as I'm barely halfway through my first, I chuckle, and after checking to ensure it's compatible, hand my other plate of food off to her.

"Thank you!" Vine mutters through a mouthful of food, causing me to grin as I shake my head and go back to my own plate.

Finishing it off, I put the plate on the cart, and look around. Seeing my pillow I walk over to my bed. I reach under my pillow and pull out the letter I'd received. Considering it a moment, I shrug, and pass it to Vine.

"This arrived about a week ago, it's got some interesting info you should probably be aware of," I state, as Vine looks it over, swallowing the food she's chewing.

Vine starts to open it to read it, then glances up at me bemusedly. "You can read?" She asks suddenly, I roll my eyes.

"No, I didn't magically pick up the ability to read on my mad rush to save you, I had a friend read it for me," I reply, shaking my head.

Vine simply shakes her head. "Yeah, well, you learned how to speak the last time you made a 'mad dash to save me' as I recall, and look how that turned out!" she retorts, huh, didn't think of that.

I shake my head. "Okay, okay, no, I don't know how to read, no. But, I did meet a rather interesting pegasus, you'll probably hate her, complete tom-colt," I chuckle.

Vine rolls her eyes. "Of course you did, can't you make a regular friend one of these days? Like a nice young proper mare, huh?" she asks in a mock-plaintive tone.

I throw my head back and laugh, which feels awesome, after all the pain and loss. Vine laughs too, albeit with a hollow echo that causes me a pang of sadness. Shaking my head, I look up at the clock. "Oh hey! Twilight, the Element of Magic I mentioned just now? She should be coming to visit shortly, plus she's bringing a couple friends! You'll get to meet them this time, should be fun!"

"I look forward to it," Vine responds offhandedly, eyes scanning the letter in her hooves.

I nod my head. "Apparently, 5000 bits is a year and a half's pay for a weather manager," I state knowingly, then scrunch up my brow. "What's a weather manager, anyway?" I ask. Vine just closes her eyes and sighs.

I open my mouth to rephrase the question, but I end up getting distracted by a knock on the door. Tossing my helmet on, I sit on my bed, and watch as the doors open shortly thereafter, and in walks Twilight Sparkle, Applejack and another one of the Elements, Generosity, I believe.

Waiting until they close the door, I take my helmet off and give a small wave, keeping my face blank for the introductions. While funny, making ponies uncomfortable by smiling at them is counter-productive. Sadly, it appears Twilight didn't give them the full explanation, so I end up sitting there glaring at a blushing Twilight as Applejack and the other element gape at me.

"Now that the uncomfortable silence has been held, I do believe introductions are in order. My name is Redemit, I'm a private in the Nightguard, I don't bite, I'm not contagious, nor do I seek world domination, although I do have an odd hankering for cake now, and I really can't say why." I pause after this statement, wondering where the last part came from, until I hear a giggling noise, and sigh, facepalming.

"Vine, don't hurt her, please," I warn. Vine stares at me a moment in confusion, until a reality-defying pink blob pops out from under my bed, prompting my own fight or flight reflexes, even with my foreknowledge of her insanity. Sadly, Vine wasn't so prepared, and even half starved and probably weak as a newborn, she's off her gurney and across the room(Tearing the I.V. out en route I might add.) in a instant and body slams the Element of Laughter, forcing her down and rearing up for more, until I grasp her by the shoulders and yank her up into my chest as I reach out with a hand and staunch the small blood-flow from her foreleg. "Vine!" I yell holding her close as she tries to disengage, planting a rather sharp hoof in my face, snapping my head around.

At this point, she freezes, staring up at me as her instincts finally surrender to her intellect. I pull her close as she collapses into herself, and me, and proceeds to start shivering as she works the adrenaline out of her system, with the occasional sniffle. I hold her close, wrapping my wings around her and nuzzling the top of her head. Grinning sheepishly at the Elements and Twilight, most of whom seem to be staring at the Element of Laughter I open my mouth as I look down.

Blinking, I consider the Element of Laughter again, seeing an absolute change overtake her, once poofy, her mane now rests in straight lines down her back, and eyes that are normally sparkling with insan... lets call it mirth, are now clouded and murky, somehow retaining their color at the same time. Raising my brow, and feeling my hackles try to rise, I stare at the complete makeover that has occurred in the Element of Harmony.

Figuring I'd do my best to set the ground rules while still defusing the situation, I clear my throat, catching everypony's attention with the exception of Vine, who was still huddling into my chest as I rub her shoulder and back, avoiding her wings and the muscles anywhere near them like the plague, remembering what she'd done to me the last time I rubbed them. Admittedly at the time I wasn't being too bright, but I'd had a bruise on my face for few hours after. Needless to say, I avoided them and that subject about as much as I avoided asking about Nightmare Moon's life prior to the swarmling wars.

Shaking my head to dispel the distracting thoughts, I look down at the Element of Laughter. "Ma'am, I don't blame you for this, but if you want to stay in the same room, you're going to keep your antics to a minimum. And if you cause Vine any harm, it'll be the last thing I do, I'm sure, but I WILL drag your screaming soul with me down to Tartarus." This causes her to freeze in place, staring up at my face as if I was a hydra and she a hapless deer.

Glancing up at Twilight and the other two elements, all of whom looked too stunned to take offense yet, I tried to nip that in the bud as effectively as possible. "I'm sorry Ma'am, I was hoping to conduct civil introductions, but in the interim, allow me to introduce my handler, the one who raised me, Vine Blossom." I smile down at Vine as I say this, stroking her head softly as her shivers slow as she starts regaining her emotional equilibrium.

The four Element Bearers gather around me at the side of the bed, staying silent for the moment, whether out of respect or just from a lack of words, I cannot say. I just sit there, hugging Vine close as I rub her shoulders with my free hand and nuzzle the top of her head as she calms down. Once she seems steady, I slowly pull my wings back, allowing her to see the ponies around us.

Feeling her tense up, I tighten my arms about her briefly, to let her know I'm here, before slowly letting them fall, allowing her to move off me and onto the bed beside me, where she decides to sit, leaning against me for comfort as she smiles at them. "Hello," she says, her voice kind of scratchy after the crazy-pony-induced panic attack.

Glancing up, I see her cup by her bed. Patting her one last time, I stand and shuffle a few steps over. Grabbing the cup and finding it empty, I grab the handy pitcher of water, refill her glass, and hand it to her Grabbing my own cup and filling it as well, I take a couple swallows as I sit down by her, wrapping her in an arm and a wing to keep her comfortable, and to help support her. I can feel the muscle spasms, but I won't admit that to anyone.

"Hi! I'm Twilight Sparkle!" the lavender unicorn reintroduces herself.

"Howdy, Ah'm Applejack," The orange-and-blond pony says with a smile on her face.

"Hello, my dear, terribly sorry for the brash intrusion, my name is Rarity," The white unicorn with a well-managed purple mane speaks in a refined accent, causing me to wince internally as it reminds me of the 'royal' instructor who taught me most of the social nuances I needed to perform for the nobility, or as I liked to call him, the 'royal' pain.

"Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie," The little pink bundle of terror introduces herself in a remarkably composed tone, causing me to blink at her a second before I facepalm at the residue of fear hiding in her eyes.

Sighing, I reach down and pat the pink menace on the head, causing a small squeak, suppressing a smile, I try to speak soothingly. "I'm sorry for the threat, Ma'am, while I can't say I didn't mean it, I won't harm you without good reason, so please, try not to let my tough exterior get to you, I just care for her, seeing as she's all I've got anymore," I state, my voice growing softer towards the end as I nestle my cheek atop Vine's head, causing her to giggle as she rubs against me before sitting up straight.

Pinkie stares up at me with her head tilted for a moment, the look of in her eyes giving me a weird feeling reminiscent of the feeling I had when I observed her earlier 'transformation' before nodding solemnly and then putting on a weird grin and bouncing in place slightly, causing me to shudder.

"So, what did I miss?" Vine finally asks, staring up at me before swiveling her head to face the others. "Obviously you've met before, if you saw... Pinkie's antics coming. How'd she get under the bed anyway?"

In response to her question, I just shake my head. "I don't know, and the other Elements don't seem to pay it any mind, personally, I'm thinking she's part chaos being or something, part of being the Element of Laughter and the Balance," I respond, causing Vine to stare up at me. "What? I'm not dumb! Just naive," I retort.

"What do ya mean?" Applejack pipes up.

"That's classifi... I can tell you actually, I forgot. Hey Twilight, your glorious Princess Celestia gave me permission to tell you stuff!" I smirk as I say it, expecting and being rewarded with the sight of a squeeing lavender unicorn. Laughing and shaking my head, I open my mouth again. "But I'm not repeating this story a couple times, if you want to hear it, you're going to have to bring the rest of the Elements, since I assume they all live in the surrounding area?" I query.

Twilight very happily nods her head. "Yep! Lets go get the rest, girls! Oh I can't wait to hear about other worlds!" She ends up dragging the other three with her, leaving Vine and me looking at a closed door shortly before I fall over laughing and Vine starts hitting me.

"When are you going to stop playing mind games?" She asks while slapping me in the ribs, thankfully my chainmail is stopping most of the force behind the blows, and I sit up looking at her.

"Hey, your mistake for all the snarkiness you used around me! I learned from the -oomph-" Anything I was going to say after that ended up joining me in folding up over her hoof as she rather expertly planted it in my sternum, our combat instructors would have been so proud.

"Uh-huh, as long as we're on the subject of things we're supposed to have learned, how much trouble have you been up to since you got here?" she asks, crud.

"Uhhh, yeah, about that. Ugh, okay, whatever. I guess I'll just start at the beginning. Destruction of public and private property, resisting arrest, assaulting a military officer, evading capture, breaking and entering, loitering, trespassing, oh hey there's a place I need to show you in that city, ow okay okay, resisting arrest, assaulting a peacekeeper, destruction of public or maybe military property depending on who that gate belonged too. After that, yeaaah, I was out of the city, came and checked out the Alpha Site, everything past that was on lawful order of my superior." Finishing my recitation of the various antics I'd been up too, I finally wind down and glance at Vine, who's sitting there staring up at me wide eyed, anger brewing in her eyes. "What? I've been busy dang it, I didn't even mean to slam that poor pegasus into the wall. And nobody died, so it's all good, huh? Please? Oh whatever, just make my death quick."

...

Yeaaaah, needless to say, she wasn't happy, so when the Elements showed back up, I was huddled in a corner, and Vine Bloom was sitting on the bed staring at me, wings slightly unfurled as she just sat there . . . staring.

"What's going on?" Twilight finally asks, causing Vine to jump into the air and spin around, her mouth opening as a blush literally explodes across her face.

"Uhhh, nothing! Yes, that's right, nothing at all!" Vine replies, I facepalm.

"Okay," Twilight states happily, wait, she fell for it?

I shake my head and stand rather shakily, tossing Vine a grin as her head snaps around to stare at me some more. Moving to my bed, I nudge her aside, with a little hissing on her part, and sit myself down, waving at the ponies entering the room.

Rainbow Dash buzzes over and gives me a hoof bump before slowly orbiting the room. Applejack and Pinkie both seem calm enough, Applejack finding a handy spot to sit and Pinkie . . . well, being herself, she seems all over the place, but her earlier reticence is gone, and she seems to be tame enough right now, so okay. Rarity seems to be examining my gloves I left on the table, the material more than the overall construct, further reinforcing my opinion she does something with cloth, probably a seamstress or something. And in the flank position comes the Element of Shyness . . . okay it's Kindness, but if there was an Element of Shyness, she'd fit the bill. She practically screams 'dawwww'.

Nudging Vine, I swivel my eyes at the Element of Kindness, she takes the hint and puts a kind smile on her face as she tilts her head to the side slightly. "Hello! Come on in, he's perfectly harmless unless you're a swarmling or harm me!" She says in a slightly overly cheery voice, causing me to roll my eyes and give the seemingly terrified pegasus a small wave.

I decide to toss my own opinion into the mix, because this pot doesn't have enough ponies stirring it already. "Hi, I'm Redemit, I'd like to say I'm harmless, but if you'd seen my world, you'd probably die of fright, so we won't discuss that! Instead, lets be civil, and have a nice discussion on what I am and what I did for . . . you know what, she may not want to be here," I facepalm as I realize the topic further discussions may impact upon.

Surprisingly, the timid Pegasus speaks up. "I...I'd like to hear it," she speaks out.

I stand solemnly, pat Vine reassuringly, and slowly walk over to her. She squeaks(So cute!) as I get closer, but I go to one knee, and hold out a hand, palm upward in a peaceful gesture. "Okay Miss, but first, I'll just say this now, I have done many things I'm not proud of, many of them have made me physically sick, and I still did them, again and again. Because it was either that, or watch my friends die, and for all the good we did, it didn't make us right. So all I ask, is that you not judge us too harshly,"

She continues to shudder slightly, staring at me from behind her mane(Daawwww) but nods her head, and I return her nod before slowly standing back up and moving to Vine's side. Pausing a moment, I look back at the yellow pegasus. "I'm sorry, what's your name, Ma'am?"

She mumbles something. I just shake my head and sigh. Sitting on the bed I look over the surrounding ponies. "You're going to want a cushion or a chair, this . . . will take awhile," I state evenly, glancing down at Vine, seeing her smile weakly in return, pulling her close again, I wrap a wing around her, letting her snuggle up against me as I slowly stroke her mane. I'll have to talk to the princesses about getting her some help. I don't know how to fix her mind, and the pain she feels is . . . extreme.

Looking back up as everyone finds their favored accommodations, I chuckle at Twilight with several scrolls laying before her with one unrolled and ready for use. Grabbing my glass and taking a small sip, I consider how to begin. "I'm not sure how to go about telling my story, so I guess I'll start as far back as I remember accurately,"

"Hello, my name is Redemit, but that's not always been my name, I used to be known by the name 'Frix', and I was a combat trained human, with the use of certain . . . arts, specific ponies could be trained to mentally link with a human. The ponies were trained to dominate the human in question, so the human would treat them as its alpha, and would be pliant to direction, even while being trained for violence. At this point the entire theory is still under experiment, and we were sent out on a proving mission. Given the objective to find a missing patrol in some badlands, my Alpha and her team was sent out with my 15-human pack. Our orders were to locate the patrol and evacuate them if at all possible, or to provide info on what happened without putting Pony lives at risk. They'd set up a small camp, little more than a couple tents and a small perimeter, but it sufficed for our needs, we weren't there long, and we didn't think we'd be attacked, it was just a missing patrol, they thought maybe a hydra or other rogue animal had gotten them. Sadly, it was no 'wild animal' that got them, it was much, much worse.”

Gore here. Continued from first part of chapter 2
Redemit - Past

Slamming into the shadow, I grabbed it by the first thing I could get a hold of, in this case a limb, and swung it into a tree. A dull splatter and the sound of crunching shell heralded the first trilling scream of the changeling in front of me. Tossing it into the air in front of me, I brought my bastard sword around in a one-handed horizontal arc, shearing most of the way through the body and tossing the rest to the side.

The immediate threat dealt with I settled back into the pack, looking to the beta for orders. "Pull them back, quietly. We got what we came for, lets pull out." The beta turned and started retracing his steps as his alpha gave him the commands associated with home and stalking.

I tried to follow, however I was having difficulty. Where my world was nothing but instinct and urges, I was . . . feeling, hearing . . . things. Voices that cried out. 'Hunt! Hunt! Prey Found!' I didn't know how I knew, but I knew without a doubt they'd found my Alpha's location, and the time for silence was at an end. At the same time, I'm having a contest of wills, my side was all elemental stubbornness, and the other, was hot and searing, a lust for blood and flesh, it would have had me kill everything, including my pack.

I sit back a moment, leaving my audience still hanging on every word. “Needless to say, I was moving in a haze, my body running on the trained responses that'd been drilled into me by my trainers, while portions of my brain that are generally NOT used by humans were being . . . stimulated. I'm not sure why it needed them, but the voices weren't strong enough to operate my body on their own, they needed to borrow parts of me. So, instead of being just a passenger in my body, I was actually fighting a contest of will.” I say, shaking my head as I consider the memory once again and continue.

'Something is wrong with my charge! He's freaking out and seems to be hearing things, I'm having troubles staying in contact!' My Alpha called out to the others near her. Her words . . . stirred my mind, but I didn't understand, not yet, but what I did know, was that she was in danger, and somehow, I . . . I reached out, and I informed her. 'Alpha, they hunt you.'

Stunned silence was my only response, before I heard her speak out again, this time to the others around her. 'Umm, you're not going to believe this. My charge just . . . talked,' this was met by silence, before I heard another voice respond.

'You mean to tell me your human just TALKED to you? Unless I'm mistaken, Humans don't talk! Get the wax out of your brain and straighten him out, NOW! Me need to be ready to move in 2 hours, as soon as the humans get back' The voice responded.

I chuckle mirthlessly. “I don't know where exactly in that sentence I started understanding, but I did know they'd ignored my warning, and this put my Alpha under direct threat. I think that's probably the point where my protective instincts kicked in and overrode the mental struggle going on in my head, helping me fight a battle I didn't even know I was fighting, kind of like being so sick you can't even tell you're nauseous.” I state with a grimace. Several of the Element bearers nod, Pinkie just maintains her weird grin.

'Alpha, they come, hide, I come,' At this point, I stopped following the beta's careful creep forward, and started forward more vigorously, but then stopped as I get a new feeling . . . an idea. I couldn't take them on by myself. At this point I wasn't even sure who 'they' were, much less how to weigh the odds. I just suddenly knew I needed the pack, and I needed them NOW.

Just like that, I turned to the beta, eyes narrowing as he started to react to my break from the pack. Stepping forward, instead of exchanging growls and yips, like you'd expect from two humans fighting for pack supremacy, I lashed out, the sword still clutched in my hands struck him in between the shoulder and neck, instantly pulping his upper ribcage, and killing him almost as an afterthought.

Turning to the pack, I stared at them quietly, no growls, no yips, just . . . stood there, seeing things for the first time, like the fact our armor was a dull green, colored to blend into the forest. It took me a few seconds to deal with the sensory overload at this point.

My Alpha wasn't having a field day either, I'd just randomly lashed out and decapitated the Beta with no warning whatsoever. There was a lot of yelling, most of which was too garbled for me to understand, but one thing I did know. 'Alpha, I come. Survive!'

'What? Frix! Down! Down Frix! Bad! Stop! He's not listening to me, I don't know why!' Her voice was semi-frantic. This in turn amped up my tension, which didn't help as I was trying to get the entire pack in line, which can be rather the bloodbath, considering we were all armed, combat-trained young males.

As they all stared at me wearing a variety of snarls and growling faces, I simply stood there, impassive, immobile, waiting.

The first one to try sidling up to me to attack ended up getting a punch to his face, before I swept his legs out from under him and planted the tip of my sword on his chest plate, forcing him into a display of submission. I don't know how I knew, but I was suddenly understanding some of the things I'd seen the pony guard doing when they sparred, and I was mimicking it, and using it to disarm and subjugate the other pack members.

I wasn't snarling or growling so I ended up having to knock another couple competing pack members down before the rest started crouching down, showing their submission, even with their alphas screaming for them to attack, I'm sure. After that, I turned, and started trotting for my Alpha, my pack following at my heels. 'Alpha! They come! Defend yourself!Die. Feed on their flesh,'

'Ummm, commander, I think we may be in trouble. I didn't pay much attention after that, I was too busy leading my pack back to my Alpha's location. My base instincts screamed for me to run full out, but the newly awakened portions of my mind said to take it slow, I'd need my energy when I got there.

We managed to get most of the way back before the attack happened by moving openly, and taking a straight path, shaving the two hour return to half an hour. The first warning I had was my Alpha hearing several shouts and a scream, then chaos erupted on her end. I start running full out.

About this point I think the voice inside my head started reaching new levels, again fighting me for control of my body. As I'm running, my body's shaking, pain erupting from all over, centering on my upper back. I shake the pain off, moving as fast as physically possible, my newly awakened tactical sense telling me I need to get to my Alpha's side NOW.

Clearing the forest, I'm met with the sight of the camp . . . only it's been surrounded by a swarm of black bodies, I don't know it at this point, but they're the first generation of swarmlings, not that different from changelings. The sentries were all dead, scattered around where they were surprised and slaughtered, and the clash of weapons further inside the camp could be heard.

Raising my blade, I gave a full throated roar, echoed by my pack. We charged into the camp, impacting on the swarmlings nearest us like a rock slide. The first four or five ranks of swarmlings just disappeared under our feet. As we carved our way into the encampment, I started angling for the controller's tent, something I wouldn't have thought to do before.

Fortunately, my Alpha's warning was enough, even being rather incredulous that her HUMAN had warned her, her superior nonetheless checked the perimeter, managed to blow the trap early, and rallied the remaining units to their fallback position.

Reaching the beleaguered guards, my pack hit the backs of the swarmlings like a hammer, turning in place, I faced the swarmlings charging at us and roared my defiance, my pack added their own screams and roars to the mix. We sounded rather intimidating, I must say, but that did little to discourage the swarmlings.

I sigh shaking my head with remembered regret. “I don't remember much of what happened after that, I just focused on the space just in front of myself, anything that entered that space died, I remember my pack slowly dwindling one by one, until I was eventually pushed back into the ranks of ponies. We held that stalemate for either a few minutes or a few hours, I can't really say, but when I next got a moment to look around, the camp was COVERED in bodies.” I state with a snort. “I'm still unsure how I survived that engagement where my pack did not, I hardly had extra training.”

My lungs burning for air, and my muscles shaking from exhaustion, the voice in the back of my head was still screaming for control, but easily silenced at this point. Everypony froze when a horrendously loud screech rang out across the field. That's when a swarm queen made its first appearance. Stepping forth from the tree line, it advanced into the camp, treading bodies and swarmlings not fast enough to move underfoot with equal disinterest.

Standing about 8 feet high at the shoulder, it . . . looked pretty bad, it had the characteristic frill of a changeling running down it's back, but other than that and the black carapace, it was completely different. Its face was pockmarked and misshapen, like a wax model that got too close to the fire, its eyes were burning pits of green, hunger staring out at the world.

Turning its attention to us, it roared again, the very ground seeming the shake in sympathy, the swarmlings in front of us melted back, hissing at us from a distance as they waited for their queen. I stared up at the beast, every instinct in my body screaming for me to flee, while the voice just laughed and crowed.

Opening my mouth, I didn't know what I planned on doing, whether to whimper or scream, what came out was a primal scream of rage. Shoring up the failing morale all about me, I screamed my defiance in its face, and it responded in kind, staring at me and trilling back. Clutching my sword, I stumbled forward, then started running, building momentum as I charged, roaring every step of the way.

The swarm queen watched me approach almost with an air of disinterested challenge, then when I was almost upon it, its horn glowed and my world dissolved in madness and pain. Voices screamed and chanted. Hungers surged and flared, my consciousness quaked and shook before the onslaught of a thousand voices, all screaming for blood . . . human blood, pony blood, my blood, any blood.

I felt my will crack under the pressure as the bones in my body seemed the shudder and crack, pain lancing through my body. Falling to my knees, and dropping my sword from nerveless fingers, I could only stare up at the swarm queen before another surge of pain forced me forward as I arched my back and screamed. I felt the flesh on my back tear as my bones shattered and reknit, something spearing forth. I didn't know it, but two blood-soaked gossamer wings erupted from my back.

As if from a great distance, I felt myself stop shaking, then slowly rise, and turn to confront the beleaguered defenders as a voice rang out in my mind. 'You. Are. MINE!' Stepping forward, I saw the world turn green as my eyes started glowing to match the swarm queen behind me.

Stepping forward, one lurching footstep at a time, I smiled at the defenders, more of a silent snarl really. The looks of utter fear on their faces made my twisted soul sing. Just another few nudges, and they'd break, then I could find Vine Blossom, and look deep into her eyes as I ripped her . . . NO! I felt my mind shake once more as the swarm queen touched the memories of my Alpha. Feelings I'd never experienced before nor truly understood flared up like a raging wild-fire. Throwing back my head, I screamed out. "NOOOOOOO!"

Lowering my head and turning back around, I stared at the swarm queen, rage crackling through every limb, powers I didn't understand surging through me, screaming for my obedience, whispering sweet promises of pleasures I'd never feel anywhere else, calling for blood.

I didn't know how I knew, but I knew without a doubt that I was infested, a term I suddenly knew the definition to. I suddenly knew what words were, how to say them, how to move my throat in a new way, to shape them, to use them. And without a single doubt, I knew the infester was latched into my spine, I could feel its dark pulsing, just between my shoulder blades, where my twisted wings had sprouted from my back.

If I was to die, I'd die myself, something else I didn't understand, an identity. But I knew I was a threat, so I dealt with it. Reaching back over my shoulders, I grasped the wings at their base, the thin edges cutting into my hands through the gloves. Ignoring the pain, I grasped them with all my might, and with a surge, I pulled.

I felt a scream erupt from my throat, both my animalistic scream of pain, and a trilling undercurrent as the muscles tied to the infester stretched, tearing it out of my spine ever so slowly. My muscles tensed and screamed as they stretched and started snapping, until with a final burst of power, I ripped them free, and something based against my spine let go with a world shattering burst of light and pain. I collapsed, my body felt as if everything above my shoulders was on fire, while everything below was icy cold.

After an indeterminate amount of time in my personal hell, I think it was only a few seconds, feeling returned to my whole body. The pain subsided, and I flexed my arms, only to find my flesh whole and unmarred. Raising my head, I stared up at the swarm queen seeing its confident demeanor shaken badly as it stared down at me.

Struggling to my feet, I grabbed a fallen guard pony's sword. I turned to stare up at the queen, and, opening my mouth to roar, instead yelled, "I will not bow! I will not give in! You will die for threatening my Alpha!" With that impromptu challenge, I leaped forward. The swarm queen reared, trying to get some distance from me as I charged, only to scream in fear and pain as I leaped onto a front leg, using the momentum in a way I didn't understand to launch myself to its face. Grasping a misshapen ear and planting both feet into its throat crushing muscles and probably its larynx, I raised my sword, point down, in one hand, and then stabbed it down into the creature's face, flesh tearing and bone crumpling as the blade sunk in further and further, eventually piercing the brain. With a final gurgle, the monstrous creature slowly fell backward.

Releasing my hold upon it, I let go and landed just beyond it, rolling as I hit the ground. Turning to the swarmlings all about us, I stared out at them with a face of stone. Looking them over, I opened my mouth again, and more strange words suddenly rang out. "Run! You will not win this fight! I will kill you all!" I scream, fury already crackling in every syllable. They threatened my Alpha, I would rend them all.

They simply stood there impassively, then without a sound they turned and melted back into the woods. Staring out after them, I simply stood there for a time. Then, I turned towards the remaining pony defenders, and started slowly making my way back. As I reached the front ranks, they stared up at me, some with fear and revulsion, others with a little bit of awe and terror, but none dared face me, so they gave way simply letting me walk past. Walking through their ranks, I looked around for my Alpha . . . for a lime green pegasus mare by the name of Vine Bloom.

Words and concepts rushed through my mind, it was a battlefield of ideas, and I was trapped in the middle of it, a scared little foal, searching for its mother, hoping she could make it all just go away. I just wanted to go back to my nest, to sleep, to eat food and follow my Alpha, I didn't want to understand the concept of why leaves grow and fall off trees, I didn't want to know that defenestration meant to be tossed out a window, I didn't even want to know what a window was, much less the words to describe each and every item in question.

As I ducked into the tent where the alphas were, or the Controller's Tent as my newly acquired vocabulary informed me, a single voice called out timidly, almost afraid.

"Frix?" Vine Bloom, my Alpha, asked, staring up at me with a mixture of fear and other emotions I couldn't discern.

I turned to see her, along with the rest of the controllers, standing by a makeshift barricade of boxes and tables, which I suddenly knew would have been a bad idea once the tent's supports were cut, turning the whole place into a slaughter. Shaking from all the new concepts and ideas flowing through my mind, I stumbled over to her, and collapsed to my knees, reaching out imploringly.

She stared at me a second, seeing my normally brown irises that have turned a solid green, with no pupil or white. Then, taking a deep a breath and steeling herself, she walked forward into my arms.

Gathering her close, I buried my face in her mane as I tried to ignore the world, ignore the thoughts running rampant through my head. I tried to utter a whine to express my distress, but ended up talking instead. "Vine . . . please . . . help," I said, each word coming out rough and strangled as I used an implement I didn't know I had and fought the very understanding that let me use it. "What...am...I?" I finally asked before I buried my face in her mane again and started sobbing, the tent deathly quiet around us.

Chapter 8 - Enlightenment

Present:Redemit

I sit there, my throat feeling rough, my eyes burning, and Vine held close to my chest as we both give each other what comfort we can. "At that point, we took samples of the swarm queen, then pulled back. I was quarantined for awhile as they tried to figure out what happened. I think they finally decided that the infester I got hit with was an early one that was supposed to just use the existing brain to enact its will and thoughts, while the body of the infester would serve as ready fuel for the initial infection. Either that, or I just got one that was really weak and it had to make do," I state, my eyes closed as I rub my face against the top of Vines head, tears running down my cheeks silently.

"After they figured out I was a stable source of information, meaning I wasn't trying to kill everypony in sight, they started trying to learn as much as possible, attacks had started happening everywhere, and ponies were getting desperate, the next couple of weeks were . . . not pleasant, although they learned not to threaten Vine after I tore through some 2 inch steel bars to nail one idiot guard up by his pauldrons. In my defense, I was really angry, and even his buddies thought it was funny several weeks later," I say, chuckling towards the end.

"Wow," Dash says, most of the Elements sit in place either too stunned to speak or otherwise incapacitated, their eyes the size of dinner plates right now.

"That's . . . I'm really sorry you had to go through something like that, nobody should have to experience those things!" Twilight states, her own eyes doing a decent job of bugging out at me. Several scrolls lay beside her that she filled out as I recounted my experiences.

I open my mouth to reply, and feel myself glomped by something yellow and fluffy with a hint of pink thrown in. "You poor guy!" A sobbing Element of Kindness hugs my neck as she hangs onto me from behind(I'd later come to learn her name was Fluttershy.) I smile slightly at the warm contact before leaning my head back to rub against the side of her own as she cries. "Hey now, I survived, not many can claim the same, what I lived through was tough, yes, but I'd do it again to appreciate a laugh, to smile, to know and share love with those around me, it was worth every moment," I say as I'm rubbing against her, my arms and wings still wrapped around a quietly sobbing Vine, the recollection probably getting to her.

"Okay, that just ain't natural," is Applejack's take on the situation, prompting me to start laughing so hard it hurts, even though I'm not really sure what she's calling unnatural. Whether it be me, my history, or even the normally shy pony just hanging off a human/changeling/whatever hybrid.

After I'm done laughing my head off, I look at the Elements around me, reaching up to wipe a tear off my eye, only to see them staring at me goggle eyed from my laughing. I have to suppress another bout of laughing, managing a loud snicker in its place. Raising a hand, I wave it at them apologetically before I scratch behind Fluttershy's ears for a bit so she calms down enough to where I can pull her around and set her near me, hugging her lightly before I let her go and loose my hold on Vine allowing the two of them to meet and greet as it were.

"So, you're a hybrid between a changeling, known as a swarmling on your world, and a human?" Twilight opens the ball.

"Actually, my genetics are even more wildly divergent than that, my 'pack' for lack of a better term was designed as a test, they were all bred for intelligence, combat capability, as well as obedience, as if that's somehow not a contradiction in terms, and even had some aspects 'enhanced' in the womb. We were then paired off with random families to be observed as we grew up in said environment, it's why my teeth are more pronounced, designed to actually rend and tear meat rather than the rather flat equivalent you find most humans with. I was supposed to be left with my 'family' and genetic samples taken for a second generation, but they ended up having to move the experiment forward with the first generation, never found out why. Given the choice between handing me to a government handler, or signing up in the Guard, Vine here chose to sign up as a 'dangerous animal handler', apparently, the pay was alright, and as she put it, I was always her little wolf, I still want one of those by the way, so yeah," is my long winded reply. I watch as she continues to scribble on her parchment.

"How many swarmlings have you killed?" Dash asks from the ceiling.

Glancing up at her with a wry chuckle, I reply, "Before I stopped counting, I was over 4,000 swarmlings, I assisted with the termination of at least 20 brutes, and I hadn't ever had an opportunity to face a swarm queen after that day until I made a rather abrupt entry into your capital city." Grimacing, I continue, "And as for the subject of infested, I will not speak of it out of respect for the good ponies, humans, and other species they were," I say.

"Why did ya decide to crash inta the capital?" Applejack pipes up.

"The gateway was designed to send us to this world, we'd set up an 'anchor point' that was supposed to attract anypony or anything using the portal like iron to a lodestone. The only problem arises if you send too much mass at once, such as a fully grown swarm queen masquerading as a dragon, at which point we phase in in the same general vicinity, namely the same continent, but where exactly is a game of dragon baiting, where you run the chance of finding an underground cavity with no exit, or end up in a volcano, I want to go see one of those at some point too, by the way," I answer, then look up at the clock. "When's lunch, anyway? I'm getting kinda hungry," I ask. As if on cue, there's a knock on the door, which leaves me scrambling to throw my helmet on before the door opens and in walks Nurse Redheart.

Standing up and dropping Vine in my place with a squawk and a punch to the shoulder on her part, I move over to Redheart as she stares at all the various ponies in the room.

"Nurse Redheart! My favorite pony in the general vicinity at this point in time!" I cheer, causing a round of chuckles and her to grin back at me, being used to my odd humor at this point. "So, what's for lunch?" I ask, eyeing the cart.

"Get back in your bed like a good patient and you'll find out," She ripostes, causing me to hold my hand over my heart and wince. "Awww, come on Nurse, I'm huuuungry," I whine, moving back towards my bed, sitting down on the opposite side from the two pegusai, one of whom is still giving me an evil look, to which I can only grin.

Bringing the cart over, and avoiding Twilight and Applejack in the process of navigating the now rather crowded room, she sets the cart by my bed and points out which plates belong to whom, before leaving the rather crowded room. I thank her with a smile as she leaves and then I grab my table, passing it to Vine, I pass over her dishes first, then turn to my own food. Lifting the lid, I find another mixed salad of green things that I generally try to ignore as I shovel them in and on the side sits something that causes me to freeze as I stare at it in wonder, my mouth starting to water already.

"Vine?" I ask in a strangled voice, causing her to turn and look at me, following my gaze, she sees it as well and gasps.

Everypony else in the room stares at my plate in a mild state of confusion.

"What? Something wrong with your salad? Or the apple?" A confused Twilight asks.

I slowly reach out and pick up the beautifully red object, examining to be sure its real, and not some kind of joke, which honestly I'd find really funny, but Vine would probably hurt somepony. Turning the apple over in my hands, I can only shake my head. "Right, no swarm, they've got all the farm land they need," I say in a bemused tone, still turning the apple over, before I grasp it in both hands and break it in roughly equal pieces, passing one over to Vine as I raise the other to my mouth, taking a small bite and smiling as I taste the sugary goodness.

"Huh? What do ya mean?" Applejack asks, scratching her head.

"We were losing, it's why we tried to run to your world. By the end we lost most of the land excepting a mountain range's peaks and Cloudsdale. We surrounded the city with a storm so violent not even ground travel was possible. With a mountain beneath us, we were relatively safe from below, but all our food had to be grown in a garden setting, with magical lighting to boot, so we didn't have enough ground or energy to 'waste' on fruit bearing trees," I reply, continuing to savor the red treat one nibble at a time.

"Well shoot, we got acres of apple trees, you should come by some time and try some of our fin-" Applejack starts but stops as both Vine and I swivel to lock onto her with both our eyes doing a decent job of bugging out.

"Acres?" Vine asks in a strangled voice, I'm too busy hanging my mouth open to throw in my own question.

"You poor thing," Fluttershy says, grasping Vine close in a tear streaked hug, prompting Vine to pat her back uncomfortably and look at me pleadingly. I just grin before popping the last bit of apple in my mouth and reaching out to wrap my arms and wings about the two of them. So cute!

"We're going to take you up on that, Applejack, I'd dearly love to get some more of these, most of the ones we saw were half dried, even with preservation spells. Hey, with that much room available, I bet we could start you another garden, Vine!" I grin down at her, prompting her to grin right back.

"Wait, a pegasus that likes to grow things?" Applejack pops in, seeming to catch sight of Vine's cutie mark for the first time. I just release the two pegusai and lie back on my bed, watching Vine stumble her way through this one.

"Hey! Just because I have wings doesn't mean I can't enjoy things from the ground too," she responds. Surprisingly, Fluttershy gives a quiet sound of agreement, causing me to sit up and look at her more closely, her cutie mark consists of three butterflies, but doesn't really tell me much about her.

"Hey Fluttershy?" I ask, causing her to make an adorable eep sound as she turns to look at me.

I resist dawing at her adorable shyness and instead ask. "Hey, what do you do for a living if you don't mind me asking?"

"Oh. I uh . . . I work with animals. Patching them up and making sure they're doing okay," she replies in a super quiet voice, I resist the urge to squee again and settle for rubbing her ear real quick before I decide to sate my curiosity more fully. Looking over at Rarity, who's been quietly chatting with Applejack and Twilight.”Miss Rarity, what's you job, if you don't mind me asking?”

She perks up and gives me a smile before espousing upon her job. Apparently, she's a fashionista that loves to make clothing, she makes an abortive foray about fashion from my world, but I just smile and shake my head. "Ma'am, I barely got out of the barracks when not on duty. My idea of fashion is to throw whatever clothes-like objects I was issued for non-duty use on and walk around either training or talking with other off-duty guards, with the occasional bout of being shown off to one powerful individual or another."

This causes Rarity to pout and then brighten up as she speaks about bringing me up to speed on fashion, something that fills me with a certain amount of dread, but hey, I'll give it a try. "Okay, but if ribbons become involved," I give Vine a dirty look. "I'm gone," I state, causing Rarity to cover her mouth with a hoof and giggle, staring at Vine curiously.

Glancing up at Rainbow Dash, I open my mouth. "Hey, Wonderwings, what's your job?" I ask, causing her to facehoof at the terrible name as everypony in the room snickers.

"I'm a weather manager," She replies, I just stare up at her blankly until she elaborates. "I handle the weather setup for Ponyville?" I nod my head at her response, then scrunch up my face.

"What's Ponyville?" I ask.

Twilight pipes up. "It's the town you're in right now," She states. "We're about 8 hours from Canterlot by train," She elaborates in a manner very similar to some of my old instructors. I think I may ask her about my literacy problem later, she'd probably be able to help.

"Alright, I take it you teach then, ma'am?" I ask Twilight, this causes everypony to bust out laughing, except myself, Vine and Fluttershy. Although, in Fluttershy's, case, she was wearing a small smile. So cute!

"No, I'm the town librarian, and Princess Celestia's protege," She states with a justified amount of pride.

I nod my head, turning to see Pinkie Pie making odd faces but otherwise being completely silent, which I think is VERY out of character for her, if our first encounter in the woods was any indication. I make a mental note to apologize to her later, and ask her the same question. "So what do you do Pinkie?" I ask.

She looks at me and just grins reaaaally big. I feel a slight sweat break out as she opens her mouth. My feelings of dread are warranted when she starts in on a long spiel about parties, and a house of confectioneries.

"Wait, what? You work at a business that makes sugary treats?" I ask, mouth already starting to water.

She nods her head enthusiastically, bouncing in place.

"I really want to visit your business now," I state raising my helmet to stare at it some more. Darn visual effects. "I need to find somepony that can alter this, or maybe make some other armor to hide my identity or . . ." I trail off as I start to think, I then turn to Twilight, a plan taking hold in my mind.

"Hey Twilight, what's the current laws on humans being in inhabited areas?" I ask, she just blinks at me. I open my mouth and try to rephrase the question. "Are humans allowed in town?" I try again.

She nods. "Sure, plenty of ponies keep them and use them for menial labor or keep them as pets," She replies, tilting her head. "But you won't exactly blend in with them with those wings," She says after a slight pause.

I nod my head. "Well, if I can get a hold of some local anesthetics, I can remedy that. It'll be more effective than walking around in my armor all the time, although, I'd need to talk to whomever my superiors are to get permission first," I pause for a second as I consider the possible repercussions, and decide on a course of action. "Hey Twilight, you're going to be sending a copy of our conversation to the princess, right?" I ask.

Twilight nods her head enthusiastically. "Yes, I'm sure they'll be so interested in hearing about you, imagine how they'll react to all this!" She's practically bouncing in place, prompting me too look at Pinkie for a second, Pinkie to her credit just giggles.

Shaking my head for a second. I look at Twilight again. "Alright, think you could send a letter at the same time, give her my idea? It's not the most pleasant experience, but if I just take the wings off, it should be easily managed, and it'd allow me to blend back in," I state, then smirk. "Heck, Vine here could be my handler, not like she hasn't been before, huh?" I flippantly state, nudging Vine who just rolls her eyes before going back to talking quietly with Fluttershy.

Twilight nods her head and starts writing furiously. Rainbow Dash asks the obvious questions. "Why would you need a local anesthetic to transform? I thought changelings just needed love to transform," She asks, reasonable question.

I nod my head. "Regular changelings, yes. But the ones we ended up dealing with had experimented with dark magic and certain mutagenic plants, or so we think, Whatever they did, they twisted their biology up ALOT. Most of them no longer seemed to even require love by the end, as indicated by their massive population and the fact they stopped taking prisoners. But, they also traded away most of their intelligence and individuality to do it, another sign was their transformative magics. Depending on the power of the swarmling in question, they didn't even exhibit the standard green fire when they shifted, but instead their form just liquidated and shifted as needed, but it also involved massive amounts of pain, as I can attest," I reply

"Most humans won't tolerate being close ta changelings, even in disguise, how will they react ta your presence?" Applejack pipes up, causing me to cock my head to the side.

"As long as I'm not doing anything too overt, like using any of...my abilities, I won't attract their attention or ire, Most of the time though, I have to deal with any betas taking my mere presence as a threat to their power," I state in reply.

Applejack tilts her head in confusion. "Don't ya mean alphas?" She asks, to which I shake my head.

"If their owners handle them right, the pony they follow is the alpha. The human that leads the group is the beta, at least, in my experience it is so," I reply.

Rarity looks a little pale, and is staring at me with a certain amount of nervousness, prompting me to look at her and tilt me head to the side. "You okay, Ma'am?"

She twitches but responds, "Perfectly fine, darling."

I give her a deadpan look. "Would you like to try that again, Ma'am?" I ask.

She nods her head sheepishly. "Do you have to consume emotions, like a changeling?" She asks, the room going still and quiet as everypony hangs on my words.

Vine Bloom shifts over to me, and I reciprocate by gladly wrapping my arms around her as I consider the ceiling for a moment.

"I'm afraid I do, Ma'am. It's not something I'm proud of, but I also don't 'require' them for survival. If I run low, I get a semi-constant stomach ache, and I move a lot slower. But that being said, unless I'm using my abilities on a regular basis, the love Vine holds for me naturally keeps me running just fine. So nobody here has to worry about me taking something you won't willingly give, plus it doesn't harm Vine so long as I just let her naturally feed me, rather than sucking on it like some kind of vampony," I finally state, watching them with an even expression, my eyes shuttered and cold as I await the reaction.

I'm sadly not disappointed, as the room dissolves in a fracas at that point. Rarity indulges in an over-enthusiastic fainting spell. Applejack is more undecided, I feel a growing sense of respect for the stolid farmer pony. Rainbow Dash is looking at me with an odd look in her eyes, kind of creeping me out. Twilight is writing so fast I'm not sure how her parchment isn't on fire. Fluttershy seems torn between hiding under the bed or trying to comfort me, which is somehow still so darn cute. Surprisingly, Pinkie is sitting there bouncing and staring up at me with her signature smile.

"Enough!" Vine finally shouts out. Everypony in the room quickly stops whatever they are doing, with the exception of Rarity, who is weakly blinking at the ceiling as she comes back to consciousness. "He's told you he doesn't take anything you don't freely give, and he meant it. Stop acting like a bunch of immature fillies! I can keep him well fed, and what gives you the right to judge him, huh? Do you know what he's done, what we've both had to do to survive?!" I tighten my arms around her as she slowly rises, wings unfurling.

"Enough Vine," I say, pulling her into my chest.

"No! They don't have the ri-" She starts, but I cut her off.

"They have every right!" I retort. "We live upon the goodwill of this reality's residents. We know the thing we've done, can you honestly say we deserve respect after doing those things?" I ask, staring down at her.

She stares up at me, tears running down her cheeks, her mouth opening and closing but no sound issuing forth. Finally she lays her head on my chest and start quietly crying. I sigh and enfold her in my wings, glancing up at the assembled elements, most of whom look either ashamed or confused.

"Your princess is aware of my . . . traits. She saw fit to entrust me and Vine to your care, I assume her trust was not misplaced?" I ask solemnly. To their credit, most everypony in the room immediately relaxes, with the exception of Rarity and Fluttershy. Rarity I think because she just loves a good drama fest, and Fluttershy because anything more active than a light conversation is going to drive her nuts anyway.

"Anypony the Princess sees fit to trust is alright in ma' book," Applejack speaks out, earning a nod of thanks from me.

"Of course we don't think you'll do anything unpleasant, darling," A still slightly flustered Rarity adds, I resist the urge to roll my eyes.

"Dude! That. Is. AWESOME!" Rainbow Dash finally pipes up, everypony in the room looks at her in confusion, myself and Vine included.

"I think he's okay, too" Fluttershy mumbles, I can only nod as I continue to stare up at Rainbow Dash bemusedly.

Sensing all eyes upon her, Rainbow Dash fidgets a bit before elaborating. "Oh come on! He can use magic and fly, can absorb emotions to change his form, admittedly that hurts, a lot, but he's also really skilled with weapons and has enough loyalty to use the Element of Loyalty, how can he NOT be awesome?" She finally speaks out. I find myself humming happily.

...

After discussing the subject a bit more, and my solemn promise to not go soul sucker on anypony without their express consent, and then maybe not even then, the subject gets onto my possible disguises.

"So, could you take the form of a pony?" Twilight asks, I nod my head.

"Sure, at least, theoretically" I reply, she furrow her brow.

"Why? Haven't you tried before?" She asks, her quill poised to record my answer.

"No, not really, even adding wings and the supporting muscles was excruciatingly painful, a full body transformation would probably kill me, pain killers or no," is my response, causing everypony to give simultaneous shudders. I should probably avoid the K-word from now on. Discussing creatures they never saw that were dangerous animals is apparently one thing, but the death of a sentient is another. Oh, how I envy them their world outlook.

"How bad did growing those wings hurt?" Rainbow Dash pops up.

"Have you ever pulled a muscle or broken a bone?" I ask her, she nods to both. "Imagine that in every part of the new appendages, and most of your back as well, there is no quiet place in your mind to hide from the pain, it fills every part of you," I reply, causing her to grimace and nod. "To a certain extent, rage or the high you experience in battle can help you power through the pain, and it stops the moment you stop transforming, but it's not easy, and you have to deal with a subconscious aversion to the transformation the more pain and times you undergo a change," I elaborate thoughtfully.

"Can you do magic?" Twilight asked.

"Yes and no. I don't seem to gather magic on my own, so I require a thaumatic storage device of some sort, such as the crystals embedded in my armor. But once I have something like that, where most ponies rely on runes or other props to direct the energy, I can pull and shape it to a certain extent. Now, outright enchants are beyond me without the use of specific runes, and I can't project my power, however, combining magic with my hyperactive scar tissues means I can heal ridiculously fast even under battlefield conditions," I reply, my long-winded reply leaving her writing furiously for a few moments.

"How strong are you?" Applejack pops in, making me pause and consider a moment.

"Well, endurance wise, as long as I have a steady supply of magic, I'm good for about a days time under constant combat conditions. Now, straight out power? Ummm, I can use a five foot sword with one hand, and I found very few ponies that could compete in a straight contest of strength, my vertical build alters my center of balance though," I answer, not having a good way to properly answer her. My response, while rather vague, leaves her looking suitably impressed nonetheless.

"Do you like cake?" Pinkie pie suddenly pops up, this time thankfully from a position that doesn't totally disregard physics.

"Umm, heck yes?" I respond, mouth already watering.

"Ooooo, do you like parties?" She asks again, her grin getting bigger.

I shrug. "Not sure, never been to one," I reply, causing her jaw to drop as she undergoes that weird transformation again, right in front of me. Her hair loses its puffiness and her entire body just seems to turn a little greyer. "Okay, I have no idea how you do that, but you should consider keeping the hair style, it's got a definite scary vibe going on," I state, my brow furrowed slightly as I consider her.

"....never?" She asks in a small voice, causing me to shake my head solemnly.

"We didn't really have much reason to celebrate something, I was rather a freak, and while I had comrades, friends were few and far between. While I would congratulate Vine here on her birthday, she eventually told me to stop doing it. Something about reminding her I was getting rather old," I reply, causing everyone in the room to stop and stare at me.

"Oh, oh dear. How old are you?" Fluttershy suddenly asks.

"Biologically, I'm about 12 years old, subjectively, three to four and a half. I got most of my social skills from the infester, it's the reason I can talk so fluently," I reply, causing the room to turn silent as I roll my eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I know, I may only live another two years tops. But then, I'm part CHANGELING, or swarmling depending, those suckers don't have a set lifetime as I recall, I'm waiting to see how stuff turns out before I turn all mopey about it. Besides, I always feel at the top of my game, no joint pain, no dizzy spells, none of the standard sign of aging," I interject, trying to raise the mood.

"How divergent is your biology?" Twilight breaks in, her curiosity provoked.

"Well, for a start, I doubt I could have kids with another human, even assuming the thought didn't fill me with a certain amount of revulsion," I reply, causing her to blink a few times. I roll my eyes, she's a smart mare, she can figure that one out.

"What about other changelings?" Rainbow asks, I just stare up at her incredulously a moment before shrugging.

"Not a clue, no, I won't be testing ANYTHING, in fact, lets discuss something else!" I reply, this subject making me INTENSELY uncomfortable.

Glancing around the room, I remember another thing I'd been meaning to ask. "Say, Twilight, any idea how soon I can leave this place? I'm okay with staying here as long as necessary, but I'm starting to get a little bit of cabin fever here, I'd like to visit a track or something, I can feel my muscles atrophying here!" I say in a slightly whiny voice, causing her to giggle at my antics.

"Well, you can get out at any time, but it might be a good idea to find out if you can do your idea for a disguise, at which point finding you lodging would be a lot simpler," She states reasonably, causing me to nod my head appreciatively.

"Makes sense, but when we get out, Vine and I have a date with a track, I feel the very powerful urge to stretch my legs," I quip, poking Vine in the ribs playfully as she rests comfortably in my wing cocoon, earning myself a squeak and a hoof to the face. Laughing, I rub my cheek. Glancing around, I blink as everyone stares at us in surprise. "What?" I ask, looking around.

"Dude, she just clocked you so hard I think they heard that next door, and you barely flinched," Rainbow finally splutters.

I shrug. "We play fight all the time. I'm not a 'gentle' human, I was bred for harsher environments, and trained to fight, no offense, but she hits much harder on the training mat, heck, she's one of the only ones willing to spar with me. Most of the Night Guard was afraid I'd hurt them or something," Glancing around, I smile slightly as most everyone nods and relaxes, turning back to Rainbow, I find myself involuntarily flinching as she ends up RIGHT IN MY FACE!

"Duuude, you know to fight hoof to hoof?" she asks Vine who's currently nestled into my wings, with just her head popping out over them. To her credit Vine didn't even flinch at her close proximity.

"Yep, mandatory training for all Night Guard, and having the big guy to spar with really helps build muscle," she responds, planting an elbow in my stomach playfully, causing me to whoof as my breath is forcibly expelled.

Glaring down at her, I chuckle breathlessly, before I pin her forelegs to her chest with one hand and start poking her under her wing with my other hand, causing her to start squirming and twitching as I continue my assault, eventually forcing a giggle out of her. "Uh-huh, and you're not too much of a slouch yourself, Alpha. Although, I still know your weak points," I snark as she starts to squeal with laughter. Most of the ponies in the room snicker or smile. Glancing up at Rainbow Dash, I raise an eyebrow at her, causing her to start, before she returns to her slow orbit of the room.

Eventually, Vine grows tired of laughing and starts nodding her head rapidly, I stop poking her, and just wrap her in my arms as she sits there panting, before rolling her head up at me to give me a big grin that promises retribution later, causing me to chuckle. "You win this time, big guy," She states, holding up a hoof for me to brohoof. Chuckling, I bring my own fist up and tap her hoof, before I feel a massive yawn cracking my jaws wide open.

As soon as I can open my eyes, I find most everyone else in the room following my example. "Well dang, how long have we been at this, anyway?" I ask, glancing up at the clock. "Huh, 7:00, I assume some of you have siblings or other responsibilities to take care of?" I ask the assembled ponies as they take stock as well.

"Hate ta cut this short, but ah need ta check on Applebloom,"Applejack states, rising and stretching.

"I need to get home, before Sweetie Belle worries for me," Rarity adds doing a slightly more ladylike stretch.

"Oh, oh dear, I need to go check on Angel, he probably needs my help right now," Fluttershy adds as she does her own dastardly cute version of a yawn, I can't help but smirk slightly.

"I'll go ahead and take this home to draw up my report for the princesses, oh this is so exciting!" Twilight gushes as she packs her stuff away. I just shake my head.

"I should go check on the preparations for tonight's rainstorm, then I might as well get to bed myself," Dash states with a big yawn of her own.

"I don't really have anywhere to be so I could stick around and we could totally talk about cakes and cupcakes and pastries and sugar and hyper kittens!" A bouncing Pinkie Pie finally busts out, poor mare, all that time NOT being hyperactive probably has her rather bent out of shape. I can only shake my head and laugh.

"Alright, alright, but first things first. Cherries or bananas?" I ask, deciding I like the thought of a little chaos.

"Oooo, that's a tough one! Cherries are good in cakes! But bananas make the best bread!" She responds, tapping a hoof to her chin thoughtfully, never ceasing in her continuous stationary bouncing.

"Eh, I liked bananas by themselves, it was hard enough to get them without diluting their awesomeness," I retort, causing her to tear up.

"You poor guy! I am totally bringing a triple decker cake loaded with EVERYTHING by here some time!" She spouts, her grin reaching epic proportions of creepy.

"Eh, save it for the party I know you're gonna throw me," I sigh as I shake my head. She just stares at me in awe.

"How'd you know?" She finally sputters. Hah!

"I didn't, but hey, I wanted one either way, they sound fun!" I reply, causing her to giggle in return before she says her goodbyes and bounces out the door after everypony else.

After the room clears out finally, I yawn again before rocking backwards. Vine still grasped to my chest, I lay back on my bed. "Well, what'd I tell you, lots of fun."

She nods sleepily before laying her head down on my chest and quickly falling asleep. I contemplate shifting her to her bed, but decide it's just not worth the added effort. Rolling onto my side and shifting my bottom-most wing out of the way behind me, I drape my other wing across her as a sheet, close my own eyes, and drift off to sleep.

Chapter 9 - Living Arrangements

The familiar mild burn of the sun's light impacting my face brings me up from the ever-so-comfortable depths of unconsciousness. Giving a mild groan and a yawn, I slowly work my eyes open, giving them time to adjust for the ambient light levels. Yawning, I take stock of my situation.

Laying on my side. Yep. Pleasant warmth present. Yep. Vine Bloom? Yep. Need a shower? Yep. Nodding my head, start-up complete, I start working muscles while staying in a lounging position, not really wanting to move. Sadly, all good things must come to an end.

Retracting my wing, and replacing Vine's covering with a sheet. I swing my legs off the side of the bed and rock to my feet. Checking the time, and finding I have about an hour before breakfast is scheduled to arrive, I move to the door and engage the little lock on the door. I then pull my wire out of a pocket and lace it through the hinges, making opening the door an interesting experience at best. The room is now more or less secured, and I choose to ignore the window, because what else am I going to do about it?

Moving to the bathroom, I open the door and walk in, heading for the admittedly tiny shower. I start removing my armor, noting its condition. Most of it has the standard enchant to keep it relatively free of dirt and grime, but I should see about getting my armorall kit from the princesses so I can maintenance my gear properly. Once free of my gear, I move into the shower and enjoy the buck out of getting clean. Once that's finished, I move to the sink and inspect my face in the mirror. Still ugly as buck? Yep. Great! Facial hair? Nope. Great! Glad to know SOME good can come of being part bug!

Once satisfied with my personal grooming, namely making sure my mane isn't running rampant and there's no annoying facial facial hair growing, I reassemble my attire and exit the bathroom. Moving to the door, I disengage the lock and my own field expedient doorstop.

Moving to the bed, I tap Vine lightly on the shoulder, catching her punch out of habit, I wait until she's a little more conscious, then point her towards the bathroom. Nodding, and yawning, she stands up, shaking herself and stretching before heading into the bathroom for her own cleanliness cycle.

With her out of the way, I take the time to straighten both beds up, rearrange the various unused pieces of medical equipment, and then collapse into a chair to wait. Fortunately, I don't wait long before breakfast arrives, and I commence to murder the heck out of a bowl of oats, passing Vine hers as she comes out of the bathroom.

Breakfast finished, we start passing the time by tossing our eating utensils back and forth. While this is ridiculously easy for me, it is excellent hand-hoof coordination training for ponies, and also serves to kill time while we wait for something, ANYTHING to happen.

After awhile spent doing that, we call it quits on throwing stuff at each other and end up laying out on my over-sized bed talking about random stuff, or to be more exact, complaining about the lack of activity.

"So, think Princess Celestia would mind if we like went out for a run? Or maybe just wandered the hospital?" Vine asks, on her back with her fore-hooves held out at full extension as she just stares up at the ceiling between them.

I'm laying on my stomach, face laying in the pillow, idly flapping my wings for no reason other than to do something. "I'm afraid they would, and while I like Princess Celestia and her sister Princess Luna well enough, you should totally meet Princess Luna by the way, I think their reactions would be counter to our health and wellbeing. I've spent enough time in cages both simple and fancy, I'd rather not experience any more if I can help it," I reply, my voice muffled by the pillow.

Vine groans and rolls over, crawling onto my lower back and resting her muzzle up between my slowly flapping wings. "I like R&R as much as the next pony, but at this point, I'd kill for ... well, something to kill!" she whines. I laugh, earning a well placed hoof in my kidney, causing my laugh to turn pained but continue nonetheless.

"Sadly Vine, I don't think we'll have to kill too much, this place seems pretty calm. Likely the worst you can look forward to is some thieves and possibly smugglers," I state, lifting my head and spitting out pillow, earning a solemn nod from her.

"It's going to be weird for awhile, isn't it?" She asks quietly, I can only hum my agreement.

"Yeah, it's pretty strange here, no stormwalls, no bunkers, heck, you should see the city! Oh! I totally forgot! There was a big building there where musicians went to perform! We need to see that place first chance we get, it was awesome!" I enthuse, she only smiles, shaking her head.

"It's called an amphitheater, assuming I'm thinking of the right type of building, but yes, they are very awesome. I wonder if this place has bars, I can't wait to see you in one," She snickers.

"Ugh, is that one of those places they serve heavily-salted drinks?" I groan. "I like salt just as much as the next human, but the things you do to some good drinks should be illegal," I reply, laying my head down sideways, and drooping my wings off the sides of the bed.

Suddenly, the door blows open, resulting in myself and Vine both exploding off the opposite side of the bed from the door. Planting my shoulder against the bed's frame, I lift it up onto its side as a makeshift shield while Vine producess a handy length of metal from somewhere, probably part of one of the I.V. stands, and braces herself against the bed beside me, waiting for the rush.

"Hey! . . . oh, ummm, I'm sorry, I . . . I really messed up, didn't I?" I collapse to the ground with a shuddering breath of relief at the sound of Twilight's voice talking.

Vine on the other hand . . . yeah, she's angry. "Are you bucking STUPID? You don't just bust in like that! Give a pony some buckin' warning! Arrrrgh!" She covers her head and growls in frustration at the end.

I slowly stand, gathering Vine, I pull her up and deposit her on her gurney, and walk back to my bed, slowly lowering it back down into its appropriate position, before I confront a deeply ashamed Twilight standing in the door. Shaking my head, I give her a weak smile, which only seems to make her wilt further. "Come on, Ma'am. We don't blame you, but it'd really be best if you warned all your friends to avoid making any sudden entrances around us. I promise we'll work on our reactions, but in the meantime, old survival habits die hard," I soothe, while grabbing the bedding that was now on the floor and tossing it back on the bed for the time being.

The bed more or less taken care of, I move to the door. Pushing it closed, I pull Twilight close, eliciting a squeak from her as I wrap her in a hug. "It's okay, Ma'am. Why don't you come and tell us what made you so excited?" I soothe as I rub her just below an ear, helping her relax.

Twilight slowly steps away from me, a blush adorning her cheeks, but still manages to give me a weak smile as some enthusiasm returns to her expression. "I just received a reply from Celestia! She said it was okay with her for you to pose as a human, just, don't do anything too terribly stupid, is what she said," she says with a smile, looking kind of confused at the end, earning a giggle from Vine's direction.

Looking over at Vine, Twilight continues to frown in confusion. "What?" She asks, glancing up at me to see me shaking my head with an amused smile on my face.

"She knows me too well, eh Vine Bloom?" I snark. Vine just laughs. "Alright, I'm going to need some local anesthetic, or failing that something to dull the pain," I state, making mental preparations. "And can you ask your Princess about expediting the delivery of my clothes? I'll need something to wear that WON'T have the local ponies running around like crazy, lets save that for next Tuesday, huh?" I make another bad joke, and find myself the only one laughing at it, whatever, I thought it was funny.

Twilight blinks up at me a few times before another blush literally EXPLODES across her face. "Oh my gosh! I forgot your gear! I got a crate of it delivered and totally forgot about it because of Celestia's letter! I'm so sorry, let me go get it!" With that, her horn lights up, and with a mild crack she teleports, right then, right there. This is one smart Mare.

Sighing, I turn around and move to comfort a now very wired Vine, wrapping my arms around her, I roll my eyes and start doing a mental count. About the 20 mark, there's another crack, a flash of light, Vine shudders in my arms, eyes shut tight as she silently cries. And I stare at Twilight, murder on my mind.

To her credit, Twilight doesn't run screaming. But catching the mood, and realizing her further blunder, she only flounders for a second before bowing her head and slowly making her way OUT of the room, leaving a small crate behind.

Holding Vine close, I rock back and forth for awhile, until she calms down a bit, then I set her down on my bed, and move to lift the crate up onto the bed beside her. Finding and popping the release, I open it up, to find most of my clothes, as well as my toiletries kit inside. Lifting those up, I find my pack of protein tabs, but everything else is still being held, including my blades, my sparring gear, and my medical kit, buck.

Sighing, I set aside a pair of pants and a simple shirt, closing the crate back up, I move to Vine's side and sit on the edge of the bed, letting her lean against me, wrapping my wing around her in turn. We hold this pose for awhile, just watching the door in a companionable silence.

A few minutes later, there's a soft knock on the door, shortly followed by a very apologetic Twilight entering the room with a slightly bemused Nurse Redheart balancing a tray on her back containing a small bottle and a hypodermic needle ready for use.

Shuddering slightly, I turn around and lay out on the bed. "Alright, Vine, can you?" I ask, she nods and moves over to Nurse Redheart, she takes the needle, with a silent glare at said nurse's insistence that she administer the medication. "Nurse, please, just let her? She knows enough medicine to do this properly, plus she's one of the only ponies I'll tolerate near me with anything sharp and pointy," I ask, silently suppressing a number of unpleasant emotions.

She's not happy, but relents, and Vine hops up on the bed beside me, moving to sit on my lower back. She proceeds to put the needle in at multiple points, squeezing out the anesthetic slowly. She starts at the top of each wing where it joins my back and works her way down. Nurse Redheart blanches a little at the amount of narcotics she's putting into me, but I shake my head, stopping her from protesting, though she does NOT look happy. I think I'll owe her an explanation after this.

"Alright, you should be ready," Vine finally says. I tense my wings slightly, but don't feel anything. Nodding my head, I start focusing inwards. "Are you sure you don't want something to brace your teeth on?" Vine asks in a worried tone of voice, I just shake my head slightly.

Finding the spark inside myself, I poke it mentally, and feel it grow. Picturing the changes I wish, I push that mental image into the spark, then start feeding emotion into it. As I do, even with the narcotics dulling the nerves, I feel a slow burn start forming in my back. Pushing more power into the change, I feel the burn slowly increase into a racking pain. Forcing my jaws to release their gritting pressure, I push more energy in, accelerating the transformation, and causing my back to ignite in greenish flames.

Biting back a scream, I sit there in agony for an endless instant, and then the pain thankfully stops, and my world seems to resolidify. Resting my head on my pillow, I sit there panting, before gingerly rolling over and sitting up, the absence of wings now conspicuous to my still tender nerve endings.

Glancing at my impromptu audience, I look from Twilight's absolutely entranced face, to Nurse Readheart's semi-horrified face, and feel a weak chuckle try to make a bid for freedom. Squashing the urge, I'm too darn tired, I smile weakly instead at Nurse Redheart. "Sorry Ma'am. I have a rather unique condition that allows me to change my physical form, but involves rather massive amounts of pain as well. I've had narcotics put into me so many times, I'm all but immune to anything but massive doses, and even then, the anesthetics you saw put into me have already been neutralized," I explain, stretching my thankfully pain-free back muscles, acclimating myself to the absence of wings.

Standing up, I grab the clothes I'd laid out, walking towards the bathroom, I give Twilight a warning glance as I go, to which she ducks her head and weakly nods, prompting me to smile before I shut the door and start doffing my armor. Once I'm in some less militaristic apparel, I duck back out of the bathroom, and pop open my crate, remembering something I forgot. Finding a small bag left in my pile of clothing, I pull it open and fish out two collars. Checking them both over, I find neither one is enchanted, buck.

"Hey Twilight?" I call out, and she twitches before finding her voice.

"Yes, Redemit?" She says hesitantly, part of me goes out to the young academic, the other part still wants to smack some sense into her for scaring Vine.

"You're an experienced mage, think you could put an illusion on my eyes? It shouldn't have to last too long, just until I can get one of my specialized collars, or make another," I ask, causing her to tilt her head at me in confusion, until she remembers the yellow-irised slits I have currently, at which point she nods.

"I can do that, mind kneeling down?" she asks. I nod and go to a knee, allowing her to walk up and examine my eyes closely. Raising a hoof, she turns my head side to side, her earlier reticence buried under her professionalism making sure she does a good job, something I can respect. “What color?” she asks.

I shrug. “Eh, dull green should work. A common color, less chance of being remembered,” I state thoughtfully.

Placing her horn against my forehead, she closes her eyes as her horn lights up softly. My vision ripples, like I'm standing inside a heat wave, then after a few moments, the ripples stop and she steps back opening her eyes. Looking at me a moment, inspecting her work, she nods her head.

Standing up, I move to my crate again, folding up my under apparel, I pack it in. Glancing at Vine, I stop for a moment at the odd smile on her face. Raising a brow, I look at her questioningly.

Vine giggles. "Not your usual color, but you look good nonetheless, very scary," she giggles, and I roll my eyes. "Just one last thing . . ." she says with a smirk, twirling my collar around a hoof.

Sighing, I facepalm. "That's mine, no, I won't put it on you, now give it back," I state, somehow keeping a straight face as I reach out and grab my collar from her unresisting hoof, her face a deep crimson. Okay, yeah, can't hold it back. I bust out laughing collapsing my upper body onto the bed as I pound it lightly a few times with a fist.

Vine sits there, her mouth opening and closing without sound coming out for a second, before she wakes up and narrows her eyes at me. "Ohhhh, you're going to pay for that one!" she hisses at me, fuming. Twilight muffles a giggle behind Vine's back, her own face flushed. I can only collapse to the floor, still laughing. Vine just sighs. "Alright, you won that one. Now come oooon," she says in a slight whine with big soulful eyes, glistening with unshed tears.

I chuckle at her display, but relent. Handing her the collar, I turn around and allow her to buckle it on, making sure it's setting properly. After that, she climbs onto my shoulders and rests her head atop my own. "Alright, ready to go Alpha?" I ask in a playful voice, her only response in a happy giggle.

Looking at Twilight, I nod my head, careful not to give myself and Vine a good conk to the cranium. "Have y'all got some kind of housing arrangements set up, or do we need to figure something out?" I ask, snapping my crate closed and tucking it under an arm.

Twilight giggles a bit more, but sobers quickly at my serious tone. "Yeah, we were going to stick you out at Applejack's place, but if you can't be around other humans without having a contest of wills, we decided my place would be best," She states, turning to the door.

I nod, giving Nurse Redheart a last smile, I turn and head out after Twilight. Blanking my face, I let Vine direct me around. We get to the front desk, and surprisingly don't have to fill out any paperwork, we just head straight out . . . into a wide open stretch of terrain, little to no cover, and no weapons on us, unless Vine still has the short bar from earlier. I feel my muscles tense up, but manage to fight the mild panic attack of being outside with no protection.

Vine on the other hand, is absolutely freaking out, guess she didn't keep the makeshift weapon then. Dropping my crate and reaching up, I grab her shivering form and wrap it in my arms. Looking down at Twilight, I give a small toss of my head, telling her to move it along.

Twilight nods, grabbing my luggage with her magic, she sets off briskly down the street with me in tow.

I focus most of my attention on the shivering pegasus in my arms and making a second note to talk to the princess about some kind of counseling. Taking the occasional glance around, I'm rather surprised by the . . . varied architecture. I see everything from a gingerbread house to a regular thatched hut.

Ponies move out about all around us, the occasional human being led around on a leash or just following their owners. Most are carrying heavy materials of one sort or another. I glance around, watching them all move around without a care in the world, nopony's watching the sky nervously, no guards on the corner ready to raise the alarm. No shaken vagrants or ex-soldiers sitting on the corner, staring ahead with eyes that speak of death of the soul. I look down, keeping my eyes on the ground in front of me to suppress the jealousy of these happy, unscarred ponies.

I almost missed our destination. Glancing up at an approaching doorway, I look up, and up, and up. I stand there a second looking up at the tree, before I glance down at Twilight and raise an eyebrow. She just smiles and moves to the door, opening it up.

I step inside and admire the sheer number of books on the walls. Shelves reaching up past my head, which means anypony but a unicorn is going to need a ladder. And not a few shelves, but ranks of them. There may be more books here than I've seen swarmlings. "Huh, I figured you were an academic, I didn't think you were quite this . . . driven though."

Twilight blinks at me before staring at all the books, then laughs. "This is a library, these aren't all mine, they're here for anypony to come and read," she says in a happy tone. I nod my head as she moves to the door and flips a sign on it to show 'closed' to the outside world.

Moving in I see a handy reading nook with a couple chairs and cushions. Moving to it, I place Vine on a seat and rest beside her, stroking her mane as she looks around, already calming down. "We're not under threat of attack here. I know it's bad being outside without weaponry, but lets face it, we're not exactly safe to be around when we're armed," I state soothingly, earning a small smile.

Vine eventually stands and moves to start looking over the books in the shelves while I go to find Twilight at a desk I assume is hers, setting out a number of papers and scrolls, arranging them and then putting them away in various places and drawers.

"Question, where are we bunking down?" I ask, Twilight glances up at me obviously thinking hard.

"Well, I was going to put you in the guest room, but after that trip through town, I think you'd be more comfortable in the basement?" she questions.

I tilt my head to the side a second, then nod my head. "That'd probably be best. Who would I talk to about finding out who owns the land near the forest we were just in? I'd like to see about setting up a house at some point, preferably close to town, but with easy access to the forest. How far is the forest from here, anyway?"

She looks at me a second, then obviously realizes I have no idea what the surrounding area looks like. Nodding her head, she opens her mouth. “It's about a 45 minute walk from the library to the edge of the Everfree Forest,” She states, causing me to nod my head.

I chuckle. "Oh, wow, okay, that'll make life easy then. Still, is there any land bordering the forest that could be purchased by a private entity?" I ask, causing her to give me an odd look for a moment. "What? I can use big words too, heck, you spend long enough staring at a busy court with nothing better to do and try NOT picking them up," I quip, Twilight just shakes her head.

"Although . . . there is another problem I could use your help with," I say in a softer tone, sidling closer to Twilight, who stares at me with a confused look on her face. "It's rather personal," I add, looking around to see if Vine's nearby, because having her make more quips about it just isn't fun. Glancing back at Twilight, I find myself confused to see her looking semi-frantic. "I could use your help learning to read," I finish, causing her mouth to drop open as she does a double take.

"Wait . . . what? You can't read?" She squeaks out in a relieved tone of voice.

I raise an eyebrow. "Yeah, I didn't have time to learn before, and I'd really like to," I respond.

She holds a hoof to her chest as she takes a deep breath. I find myself growing concerned.

"Are you okay?" I ask, tilting my head to the side.

"Just fine!" She replies in an overly cheerful tone, causing me to give her a deadpan look which she studiously ignores. "I can help get you started, but there's another mare by the name of Cheerilee you'll probably want to talk to," she says reasonably. I nod my head until I think of a rather delicate point.

"Ummm, wouldn't that blow my cover?" I ask, and she facehooves.

"Right, didn't think of that," Twilight says. "Anyway, it'll have to wait today, I have some things I need to catch up on," She states in an apologetic tone of voice. I nod my head happily.

"That's not a problem, anyway, back to my original question, who would I talk to about land rights for the area near the forest?" I ask again.

Twilight stares up the ceiling a second before shrugging. "I'd say ask Mayor Mare about it," she replies, the pronunciation of those two words is so close together I'd almost think she just said the same word twice, so I find myself staring at her baffled. She just waves her hooves around in the air. "I know! Don't ask, I didn't. It's like trying to explain Pinkie Pie," She retorts to my unspoken question. I shrug my shoulders.

"Alright, where would I find the basement?" I ask. In response, Twilight points to a door by the stairs, moving to it, I open it up and shuffle down the stairs, finding the room musty, and rather cluttered, it nonetheless proves defensible, with enough room for us to sleep, and even train in. It will do just fine.

Moving back up the stairs, I start making a mental list of materials we'll need to acquire. The first item on the list being access to monetary funds. After that, bedding was a good place to start, I could sleep just about anywhere, but having something to cover the floor would be nice. And I sure as heck wasn't letting Vine Bloom sleep on the floor. She needed safety and security while she adapted into a safer environment. Heck, I did too, but I think I'm going to try it in an environment not quite so crowded. And the nearby forest sounded like an excellent place to explore, compared to my world anyway.

Shrugging off the wayward thoughts, I returned to my mental list. Adding things on as I considered the day ahead. Returning to the library proper to find Vine with her nose stuck in a book. Chuckling, I walk over and look over her shoulder. Yep, still can't read. Rubbing her shoulder by way of greeting, I ask. "Enjoying it?"

Vine Bloom looks up at me with a smile. "Yep! It's about some archaeologist by the name of Daring Do. It's rather fun to read," She replies. I nod my head and sit down beside her chair, reaching up with an arm to lay it across her shoulders, giving her a tactile sensation of security.

Watching her, I'm saddened to see that even while reading the book, her ears still constantly swivel, checking her surroundings. I find myself doing the same thing, but then, I was always a predator, and paranoia is a guard's best friend. But to see this in someone as sweet as Vine Bloom... after walking through the town today, I can truly see the damage that was caused to her spirit. And I can only weep for all the pain she's suffered. Sitting down beside her and laying my head on her side, I find myself feeling content, ready to just sit here, and listen to her heart beat as she breathes steadily, and enjoys a good book. Buck it, need to learn to read, now I'm jealous.

After about half an hour, I excuse myself, and move back to the basement. I grab Twilight along the way, much to her chagrin. Examining the room, I start planning the layout, and begin packing up the various items under her direction so I don't end up breaking something or unleashing whatever the heck it is she stores down here. This including a disturbing number of odd machines that she uses for various experiments, some of which she has planned for me, crud.

Feeling like some teenager's science experiment, I continue cleaning the room, eventually breaking out a broom and rag to start dealing with the copious amounts of dust and grime built up in the various corners of the room.

Several hours later, I shuffle out of a much neater, and definitely cleaner, basement. I see Vine talking to a juvenile dragon. Said dragon, upon seeing me, decides that he has some important business upstairs, and lights off like he actually had wings, which is interesting, because he doesn't have any. This town is weird sometimes.

Watching him disappear, and hearing a door close, one might even say slam, upstairs, I turn to Vine with a raised brow. "They have dragons in town?" I ask.

Vine Bloom shakes her head. "Apparently, he's Twilight's assistant, something about high resistance to magic and stupidity," She says, with a smirk at the last part.

"I heard that!" Twilight calls out from her desk. We both bust out laughing.

"Alright, I seriously need a shower now, the basement's ready for habitation as soon as we can find bedding," I state, heading for Twilight's desk.

"Hey Twilight, may I use your shower?" I ask. She nods and directs me upstairs to the proper location.

Nodding, and grabbing a second set of clothes, I head up. Feeling myself being watched, I glance around to see a bedroom door cracked open. While it's dark inside, I can see the little dragon peeking out. Sighing, I decide I'll just warn him now. "I'm no threat little one, but don't sneak around too much, I'm kind of paranoid right now. If you don't want to be around me fine, but if you must observe me, do it openly," After my long winded statement, the door closes, and I shake my head, poor little dragon.

Moving into the bathroom, I strip off my dirty clothes and jump into the shower. While still small, cleanliness outweighs the cramped quarters. After I'm finished, I put the clean pair of pants and shirt on before heading back down, leaving my hair as it is to dry on its own.
Coming out of the steam wreathed bathroom, I glance downstairs to see Vine and Twilight chatting, what little I hear appears to be the standard conversation I'm used to from large numbers of females, or in other words, a bunch of social nuances I neither understand nor desire too.

Coming down the stairs, I notice a few books laid out on a table, glancing at them curiously, I recognize some foal books, the sort you give to someone who's just learning to . . . oh, right, guess I should thank Twilight. Tossing her a small wave, I grab the small pile and head down the stairs into the basement.

Finding a handy crate, I sit down at a table, clearing it off, I spread the books out. Opening the first one, I find a list of the letters with pictures depicting various objects that evidently start with said letter. I lose a couple more hours as I read and compare various books together until my stomach lets me know in no uncertain terms I need food.

Coming up the stairs, I almost run into Vine who just waves at me. "Food's up!" she states happily, turning around and heading for the kitchen. I follow her and find Twilight sitting at a table set with a wide variety of foods, from flower sandwiches to a simple salad, including, I felt my eyes widen and my mouth water, a bowl of apples and oranges. Grabbing an orange, I shuck the skin with an experienced touch, passing half to Vine automatically, much to her delight. Popping a wedge into my mouth, I can't help but grin at the semi-tart watery taste.

Hearing someone approaching, both Vine and I end up watching the door. In walks the poor little dragon, upon seeing me he stops, gulping. I just shake my head and toss him a little wave, and then do my best to ignore him. He shuffles past, doing his best to stay as far away from me as possible. Moving to the table, he takes a seat by Twilight, putting her and Vine between us, I just shake my head.

"Hey Spike," Twilight says, giving him a nuzzle, he smiles, but doesn't say anything, probably still terrified of me for some reason. Eh, I'm sure he'll be fine given enough time to acclimate, otherwise, we'll be out of here just as soon as I can get alternate housing set up.

After I finish massacring the orange, I grab an apple, looking at Vine, I see her already with one in her hooves, steadily devouring it, so I don't bother halving mine and simply settle for taking a big bite and enjoying the sweet sugary taste.

While Vine and I enjoy the normally-rare fruits, Twilight just sits there, giggling into a hoof. "I thought you'd enjoy those, plus I owed you an apology from this morning, so I went and grabbed some," She states.

Wiping my face off, I grin back at her. "And I certainly appreciate the thought, thank you," I reply.

Vine nods her own agreement, mouth still full of apple as she devours the core, leaving only the stem and seeds behind.

The meal goes smoothly after that, we talk, even joke around a little bit, given a chance to unwind, Spike even gets over most of his fear at my presence. Twilight persuades Vine to go with her and the girls on some kind of get together at the bakery Pinkie works at in a week or so. I just sit there and listen, smiling as Vine talks and laughs, pretending for a time all is well with the world. Only that night will tell.

After the meal is finished, poor little Spike gets stuck with KP duty. I'm tempted to offer to help, but he still seems reticent about my presence. Instead, I retreat to the basement to study the books some more. Twilight drags Vine off to discuss something or other that involves looking at me and giggling. I find myself making another mental note to warn people about anything involving me and ribbons.

After another couple of hours, I have what I believe to be the phonetic sounds down for most of the letters involved, but I'm not particularly close to figuring out how to string them together. I'll have to get some help for this part. But it's getting late, and I'm not particularly worried about moving as fast as possible with my literacy.

Moving back up to the main floor of the library, and placing the books neatly back on the table where I got them from, I look around, trying to find Vine and/or Twilight to sort out bedding arrangements. Hearing some more giggling coming from upstairs, I make the grievous error of climbing them to investigate the noise.

Coming to what I can only assume is the doorway to Twilight's room, I poke my head in slowly, only to find a big grin on my face as I see Vine Bloom wearing a rather frilly pink dress that nonetheless accentuates her lime green coloration. Suppressing a snicker, I just continue to watch as Twilight starts applying odd highlights to her light blue mane. "Dang Alpha, I don't know who the stallion is, but you got him in the bag, and if he doesn't go willingly, let me know and I can stuff him in for you," I snark with a small smile on my face.

Twilight jumps and gives me a rather angry stare, but Vine just looks back at me and rolls her eyes. "Uh-huh, as if I needed to go this far to land a stallion. You should know better by this point, I just decided I wanted to see what regular people did for fun, you know, that doesn't involve getting drunk," she replies, obviously pointing fun at the favorite past time of soldiers everywhere. I can only shrug my general agreement with her sentiment, I don't like the feeling of inebriation, nothing feels right for hours the next day.

"Yeah, just figured I'd stop by to find out what the sleeping arrangements are, I'm feeling about ready to get some sleep, figure we can get an early morning run in without the crowds," I give Vine a significant look, causing her to hang her head, but she nods nonetheless.

"Yeah, I see your point," Vine replies, a grimace still on her face.

"Hey now, don't be like that! You look positively gorgeous, at least take off the pretty stuffs before you get so sour," I make a rather bad even by my standards joke to try lightening the mood, Vine just throws a brush at me. Twilight makes a shooing motion at me, I take the hint and duck out of the room with a smile.

Heading back downstairs, I find myself wondering where Spike's at, but I shrug it off and find a handy cushion to sit on as I wait. A couple minutes later Vine comes back down, minus the dress and assorted cosmetics. I however notice she still has the highlights in her mane, but I don't mention it. If she's finding something to unwind with, I'm sure as heck not complaining.

Twilight pulls out a pony-sized bed from what I assume is her guest room, and brings it down to the basement with her magic. Turning to me apologetically she states, "I'm sorry, I don't have a matress your size, but I do have some blankets that should serve." I wave off her apology.

"I'm fine with a little padding Ma'am. I don't mind the floor, at this point, I'd probably prefer it to a bed," I state with a grimace at the last part. Yawning, I take the bedding she hands me and gladly shuffle my way down. Laying out a simple pallet, I move to Vine's bed, making it up as well, since hands are awesome.

Moving back to my own pallet, I empty the various odds and ends out of my pockets, finding no weapons, but I still have my spool of wire, a compass, a key that doesn't fit anything anymore, heck even a few bits I had left somewhere. My pockets now empty, I lay myself out on my pallet and prepare to enjoy the buck out of a good nights sleep, yeah right, I'm betting I wake up screaming at some point.

About ten minutes later, after Twilight has headed off to bed, I feel somepony snuggle up against me, opening my eyes in the darkness, I see Vine Bloom. Shrugging, I pull her close and pull the sheets over us. Laying my head down, I let sleep take me away swiftly.

Chapter 10 - Activation

The first warning I had that something was wrong was a hoof impacting on my chest. While not the worst hit I've taken. Without my armor blunting the impact, I felt my ribs creak, however I don't think anything broke. Waking up VERY quickly thanks to a handy burst of adrenaline redlining all system tolerances to get me moving now. I shoot up into the air for a moment before coming down, feet planted apart for stability, and survey the room, air compressing in my chest in preparation for one hell of a cranky bear roar.

Staring around semi-frantically, I don't see anything, no attackers, no shadows flitting around. Glancing down, I find Vine tangled in the bed sheets, thrashing and moaning. Shaking my head to clear some of the mental cobwebs out, I reach down and grab her none to gently by the scruff of her neck. Pulling her up and unwrapping the sheet at the same time, I put my mouth to her ear and yell. "Up and at 'em, recruit!" This managed to derail whatever the tartarus was happening in her head and brings her to full consciousness.

Staring around frantically, she surveys the room, then relaxes slightly before realizing I'm holding her up by her mane for all intents and purposes and starts thrashing. "Hey! Ow! Let me go!" She yells right back, I drop her, sadly she's awake now and lands rather solidly on all four hooves.

Rubbing my face, I glance around the room, checking my internal clock, I determine it's still somewhere between bedtime and wake the flip up time. With that decided, I grab Vine, ignoring her still semi-befuddled complaints, and plant my sleepy butt right back on my pallet. "Next time you want to have a nightmare, at least invite me over, huh? I'd love to meet and beat your subconscious fears." I ask, causing her to freeze as she obviously remembers what was going on before I so rudely awakened her.

Relaxing, I nuzzle the top of her head. "Hey, it's okay, I'm here, and nothings going to hurt you,"

She shakily nods her head. "I know, but I still see their faces, screaming at me, no matter what I do, they won't stop!" she turns her head into my chest, earning a hiss of pain from me, and proceeds to commence sobbing, it's going to be a long night.

I hum deep in my chest as I stroke her mane and neck, just laying like that for awhile, before I judge her sufficiently calm to move on to the next step. "Bloom," I state, rubbing my chin into the top of her head, she raises it slowly to look up at me. "You still remember how to utilize our link, yes?" I ask, staring at the wall.

She goes still for a moment. "I . . . I thought we weren't to use that again, not once we got here," She replies.

I shrug, still staring at the wall as if it's the most interesting object in the buckin universe. "That was to be a gesture of good will, it is dark magic after all, the ability to access and even influence another's mind. But I don't care, I don't have the time or the ability with words to help you, but I am a very good dreamer," I look down at her, feeling my eyes glisten with tears. "If I fail at everything else, I will stop these nightmares, we're not safe Bloom, we're just not safe. I'm tough, I can keep you safe from enemies, but I can't promise to protect you from myself, I feel your pain, and its eating away at me. Maybe together, we can share our strength, and build a better world. A better us. Someponies that can walk down the street without constantly scanning the sky. That can have someone walk up behind us without doing our best to put them down on the floor in as painful a method as possible. Someponies that don't wake up screaming in the middle of the night from the memories of those we left behind." I state, tears running sideways on my face to soak into the bedding beside Vine's own tears. "I don't want to hurt anymore, I want to live, I want to see the beauty in the world without assessing it for tactical survivability. I want to enjoy a good life without always looking over my shoulder. I don't want to be a monster, I . . . I just don't," I pull her closer, ignoring the complaints from my chest, and rub my head on her own. "Lets see if we can build something better by letting our pasts go?" I ask finally.

She looks up at me a second, then lowers her head back down and nods it lightly. "Alright," She says, choking back a sob.

I rub her mane once more, then I wrap her in my arms and pull her close, reaching out with my mind along the channel forged long ago between Alpha and Human. Feeling her reach back, making contact. Connection made, I take a step back in my mind, my body entering what is for all intents and purposes a state of sleep.

Standing in my glade, I glance around, checking my ribs, while strained, and possibly cracked, my natural healings repaired the bone, but without a magic reservoir, I won't be able to repair the bruises. They'll fade in time, but may cause questions to be asked. Shaking my head, I dismiss the wayward thoughts.

Reaching out, I call, and Vine answers, bringing her into my dreamscape is simple enough with the mental connection already established. Accessing and building a metaphorical representation of her own emotional hazards, is not, but I'm persistent, so I persevere. Once its made, I focus, and our surrounding shift. By some fluke of the subconscious, we end up in the midst of a graveyard. The light seems dim without really being dark, and mist roils throughout the area, limiting vision beyond a few feet.

Looking at the tombstones that lay in neat rows stretching out into the mist, I glance down at Vine as she looks up at me. "Well, we're here, and I'll just be the first to say I'm not looking forward to this," I state, reaching out to Vine for emotional and physical support.

Rubbing her cheek against my palm, Vine smiles with no small amount of her own trepidation. "I hear you, but we have to do this if we've any hope of normalcy," She states sadly, I can only nod.

Shaking my body, and steeling my resolve, I step up to the first tombstone to read the inscription, Vine right beside me.

As befitting our traditions, there is no name, that their shame might be forgotten. It simply lists the date of this pony's birth, as well as the time of death. Resting at the base of the Tombstone, is a flower. Sighing, I look at Vine. "Ready?" I ask, she nods, tears already running down her face. Reaching out together, we touch the flower, instantly, memories of the individual come to us. A chance passing, seeing them in a briefing, at lunch, words exchanged, both good and bad, and worst of all, a life unfulfilled, thrown away in a stopgap measure to insure the safety of an ever decreasing population. Shame, Anger, Depression, years of combat, only to be driven back, one bloody step at a time.

After a time, I step back, sobs wracking my body, turning to Vine, I reach out wordlessly and we collapse into one another's embrace. After a time spent recovering, we moved to the next tombstone, I can't say how long this went on, but after a time, the pain grew to be too much, and we had to retreat from the realm of memory, our mental barriers hopefully strengthened to last a little bit longer.

Cracking my eyes open with a groan, I look around the basement, seeing the same old stuff still sitting where I'd placed it yesterday. Checking my internal clock, I find it's time to get up and go time. Rising, I inspect the rather magnificent tear stains all over the sheets. I shake my head. Snarky mental defenses? Check. Yawning, I make my way up the stairs into the library proper, glancing around I find it's still dark outside, and everyone still appears to be asleep, or in other words, the perfect time.

Nodding my head, I immediately head back down, grabbing a change of clothes, I head back up to the bathroom, hopping in for a quick shower. A quarter of an hour later, I'm out, feeling rather conscious, if not particularly chipper.

Making my way back downstairs, I grab a couple glasses of water, downing one, I carry the other with me as I check on a still sleeping Vine, admiring her also rather magnificent tear stains.

Setting the cup down on a table out of easy reach, I move to Vine's side, place my hand on her shoulder, and softly shake her. Surprisingly, I don't end up catching a punch, she simply opens her eyes, blinking a few times, then yawns and slowly stands. I stand as well and grab the cup of water, holding it out to her. She gives me a small nod of thanks, taking it in her hooves and slowly drinking the entire thing.

Once she's finished rehydrating, and freshly showered, I raid the kitchen for a simple breakfast of some boiled oats with some sugar, and a couple small slices of cheese because cheese is awesome. Popping a protein tab into my mouth and swallowing it, I glance at Vine. "Ready?" I ask, she huffs, but nods her head nonetheless.

I chuckle. "Oh it's not that bad!" I state with a smirk.

"Says you," She retorts. "You're built to run on the ground for days on end, I'm designed to fly, not rumble along like some demented earth pony," She complains, I resist the urge to facepalm.

"Then why don't you fly this morning?" I ask, causing her to open her mouth, then close it a few seconds later with a sheepish expression, it was awesome.

"Oh," Is all she says, a slight blush adorning her cheeks.

"Silly Vine," I quip. "No tracks here, we get our workout any way we darn well please. Plus, I'm going to be so jealous, you'll get to appreciate the friendly skies. I was too busy trying to evade capture and get to you to really enjoy the freedom." I say. She grins up at me.

"Then I'll just have to enjoy it for the both of us," She states with a soft smile replacing her grin.

I nod my head. "Don't forget to give your legs a workout too, now. Don't want you going soft on me," I say with a smirk, she just shakes her head.

"Any time, big guy, any time," And with that last warning, we're out the door.

Picking a random direction, she sets off in a gentle lope, I follow along behind her, schooling my expression into the stolid mask the guard is trained to show the outside world, and also helps to fulfill the role of showing no emotion, since everyone knows humans don't have those.

Looking around as we run, I take the time to admire some of the buildings around us. The lack of light in the predawn hours results in most everything being black and white, and while I appreciate the lack of visual assault, I know I'll have to get used to the riot of different colors and hues eventually.

Reaching the edge of town, Vine turns right, following the border. "How big do you think this town is?" She asks. I just shrug my shoulders.

"Big enough for just one lap," Is my flippant reply, prompting a groan from her, before she adopts a big smile.

"One lap for you maybe," She replies playfully, opening her wings and starting to gain altitude.

"Just don't go too far, if I get taken to the pound, I'm blaming you," I warn, before waving her off to enjoy her newfound freedom as I stolidly trot along.

And enjoy it she does, flitting around in the air like a hyperactive bird. Jumping from cloud to cloud, occasionally doing tricks because why not. I just watch her as I go, continuously suppressing the urge to smile. The run passes quickly, as I watch her fly around.

We pause for a time, staring in wonder as the sun rises over the horizon, intellectually, I know it's at Princess Celestia's behest, but all the same, there was just something elemental about that big orb rising from the ground, some . . . essence of poetic euphoria that I felt the urge to express, but lacked the skills and tongue to profess properly.

Chuckling at my odd emotions, I turned back to my run, continuing to follow Vine's form as she flitted from one place to another. About halfway around the town, she finally rejoined me on the ground, her form positively glowing after her rather rambunctious escapade through the air. Positively bouncing in place like a cute little kitten, her exuberance hits me so hard, I'm hard pressed not to bust out laughing.

Shaking my head, I ruffle her hair and scratch behind an ear, causing her to snap her teeth at me playfully before rubbing herself against me. Again, I'm struck by the antics of a playful kitten, but shake them off as I find my pace staggering, this town is surprisingly large, and unless I meter myself carefully, I may not make it at a full out jog.

By the time we make it back around to the street we entered town by, I'm covered in sweat, and Vine's not doing too hot herself, but it's the good kind of exhaustion. The sort you get after you know you've been places and done things, that lets you know you're alive, the day is beautiful, and the world lays at your feet, ready to be experienced.

On our way back into town, walking so we cool down from the run, the people of the town start their own morning rituals, and while it's not crowded, I still feel Vine shivering beside me as she walks closer as we go. While not a SMALL town, the unknown Pegasus in a predominately earth pony farming town attracts its fair share of curious looks. My presence only exacerbates the problem.

Ignoring the looks, curious or otherwise, I rest a hand on Vine's shoulder unobtrusively, guiding her to the library as quickly as possible without making a scene. Coming to the front door, I sweep the area behind us, my hands clenching at my sides. While no ones looking at us anymore, my paranoia isn't letting up. Opening the door, we shuffle inside quickly and shut it, breathing twin sighs of relief.

Twilight is standing in the entrance to the kitchen, head tilted to the side in confusion, looking from me, covered in sweat from my exertions, to Vine, also sweaty, with her hair in disarray and some of her feathers in dire need a preening. "What happened to you two?" She finally asks, confused. "And why did you get up before me?" She asks.

I shrug. "I wanted to go for a run, figured the morning was our best bet, less people. Sadly, I underestimated the size of your town, by the time we made a lap around the borders, people were waking up," I state, shooting Vine a nod, to which she returns her own nod before heading up the stairs for another shower.

Twilight gives me an odd look. "You ran around the ENTIRE town?" She asks in an incredulous tone.

Suppressing my inner jackass, I nod my head. "Yeah, standard training for a Nightguard," I can tell from her face she's torn between more questions about my world and actually eating something. Thankfully, food won. While she troops off to eat something, I find a handy corner and collapse in it.

Sadly, the smells emanating from the kitchen catch my attention, and my stomach chooses that moment to let me know I just burned through my earlier breakfast. Shuffling to the door, I look into the kitchen. Spike stands at the stove, cooking in a skillet, and Twilights sitting at the table munching on pancakes, you heard me, frikkin pancakes, sugary confections of breaded awesomeness.

Shaking my head, I contemplate the pros and cons of trying to snag a few or just walking in and asking, which is sure to result in the small fry staring at me for awhile. Waiting for me to snap and suddenly start eating everyone in sight or something.

I'm saved from this mental dilemma by Vine coming out of the bathroom. Climbing the stairs quickly, I step into the bathroom and enjoy the shower to its fullest. Coming out of the bathroom, I leave my shirt laying over a shoulder as I wipe my hair down with a handy towel.

Coming down the stairs, I head into the kitchen, the smell causing my mouth to water already. Thankfully, I don't end up having to bother the poor dragon, he seems to have anticipated me, and there's a stack of fluffy pancakes already sitting on a plate.

Tossing him a wave of thanks, I take a seat and proceed to inhale them. Closing my eyes, I savor the taste.

"See? I told you he wouldn't use syrup," Vine's voice snaps me back to reality, blinking around owlishly, I glance between a smirking Vine and a giggling Twilight.

"What?" I ask, Vine just shakes her head while Twilight levitates a bottle of liquidized sugar. My eyes grow wide as I consider it, Vine just about falls out of her chair from laughing. Glaring at her, I take the bottle from Twilight's magic and spread the syrup over my remaining pancakes. Taking a bite, I masticate it for a second, giving a hum of pleasure at the interesting taste.

"Hey Re . . .Frix?" Twilight asks, I glance at her, finding her gaze, I notice my shirt had rocked to the side revealing the bruise I'd completely forgotten about, crud.

"Don't worry about it, Ma'am." I state quietly. "Just another one of life's misadventures" I reason.

She looks at me funny, but doesn't say any more on the subject, which I'm entirely happy with as I go back to munching down on my food.

Once I've finished my breakfast, I turn to Spike, as he's consuming his own breakfast with the occasional giggle at my antics. "Thanks for the excellent culinary demonstration, Spike," I state, he gives me a timid smile and a wave, yay! Turning to Twilight, I cock my head to the side. "Any chance I could get your assistance with the phonetic sounds of letters, Ma'am? I recognize the symbols now, I just don't know how to say them."

Twilight nods her head agreeably as she finishes up her own breakfast, I spend the next couple of hours receiving a very through rundown on the interactions of various letters. Twilight seems surprised that I wasn't bored to tears by her explanations, I can only shrug. "Sounded fine to me, Ma'am." She seemed rather taken by that statement, earning me a soft and fluffy hug, love em.

The next couple of weeks seemed to pass in a veritable storm of activity. My reading skills improved steadily, after several letters were sent, we managed to get our financial affairs in order, I transferred my bits to Vine's name for simplicity's sake. And we found out that there were indeed banks in town, and that our bits were deposited in one of them. My eye enchants ended up getting redone in a slightly more permanent form until I could get ahold of one of my enchanted collars. After a couple early morning visits to the Boutique, I managed to get more changes of clothing, including one shirt that Rarity really didn't want to make that read: 'Caution: Combat trained human' she finally relented after I promised not to wear it anywhere near ponyville. Grinning evilly, with the occasional maniacal giggle. I showed it off to the girls, and dragon, back at the library. Twilight thought I was being immature, Spike thought it was funny, Vine just shook her head.

Every couple of days, Vine and I would have join one another in my head, and we'd spent a good portion of the night dealing with memories, greatly accelerating the healing process. After each session, the morning runs became easier and easier, our paranoia abated, and Vine started to enjoy her trips with the various Elements, ranging from watching them play with their pets to a chow down at sugarcube corner, weird name for a weird bakery, and an even weirder element bearer.

Sadly, my thoughts on building a house in the forest were shot down, I ended up deciding on a site just outside the town limits, near another house that belonged to Fluttershy. I almost squeed at the thought of being near her, so cute! Breaking out some draft paper, I ended up making several drafts, ranging from a simple two story cottage much like Fluttershy's to a several story underground bunker, looking them over, I planned to take them to a legitimate contractor to get a professional's opinion to see what would actually work, while I know a few things about field expedient bunkers, making something to last wasn't on my list of qualifications.

Then, about a month after we'd begun our assimilation, a royal summons came through, I was finally being called to active duty. I wasn't sure how to take it, Vine was doing ALOT better, but she still had the occasional panic attack, plus I couldn't guarantee her mental stability when asleep if I wasn't nearby. After consulting with Twilight on the subject, we decided that she'd be fine tagging along.

The next morning found myself, Vine, and an entirely overenthusiastic Twilight sparkle waiting at the train depot.

"Oh, I can't wait to show you around Canterlot!" Twilight practically gushed. I just rolled my eyes behind my helmet, giving my recently regrown wings a small twitch under their covering to get used to their presence again. Vine just grinned right back.

"Thank you for agreeing to escort me in, I may have the royal summons on me, but I still wouldn't put it past the guards there to freak out a little. Which reminds me, I need to ask Celestia for some reference materials, if possible, I want you to modify my helm for me," I say idly, watching the tracks and depot.

Twilight's eyes light up at the mention of technical manuals from my world, by the end she's practically bouncing in place. I just chuckle and give her ear a good rub, earning me a mock affronted look and a hoof to the thigh, which actually hurt, huh, getting soft here. A whistle rings out through the early morning air, and I shake my head.

"About time." I snark, Vine just rolls her eyes.

"Shush you, just wait until you're trapped on that train for 8 hours," She ripostes, I grimace.

"Well, I can always get more information on this world white we wait," I respond, Vine covers her face with her hooves, Twilight laughs, used to our back and forth banter at this point, she barely responds to being used as ammunition in our continuous verbal sparring matches.

Now, our PHYSICAL sparring matches on the other hand. She screamed the first time she came into the basement to find me latched onto a bucking Vine Bloom as I choked her into submission, admittedly not the best timing, and she was afraid for Vine's safety against the big human until the first time she watched me sail across the room leaving her mouth hanging. When she found out, Rainbow Dash also expressed her own curiosity in our fighting method, but I declined actually teaching her until such time as I could be more sure of her safety around us.

Shaking off my reminiscing, I move forward for the train, finding a cabin, we file in and take our seats, Twilight grabbing one bench while Vine and I grab the other. Vine laying out with her head in my lap and going to sleep quickly.

Yawning slightly, I consider following her example, but decide that more information would be more useful, I spent the next couple of hours asking Twilight about the kingdom of Equestria and the surrounding areas. After finding out the gryphons liked to hunt humans for food, I made a mental note to avoid that area if at all possible.

"So, you have Las Pegasus to the West, the site of the old Crystal Empire to the north, on a side note, I didn't know my wings looked like that, I just kind of liked the translucent look, and it made me easily identifiable on the battlefield." I state with a ruthful grin before continuing my recap "To the east you have Fillydelphia, and finally to the south is Appleloosa?" I ask, rubbing my forehead as I note all the locations.

"Yes!" Twilight replies happily, her teacher mode in full swing. "You also have the White Tail Woods to the east, just south of the mountain range. Oh! There's also Cloudsdale up to the Northwest!" She elaborate further, I just shake my head.

"I'll wait until I can find a map of this mess, keeping it straight in my head isn't easy right now," I chuckle. Twilight just grins.

"Wait till we get to Canterlot, if you thought my library was big, theirs is MASSIVE!" She states happily.

Yawning, I lay back. "Alright, geography lessons aside, I'm going to try and get some sleep, you should probably do the same," I say as I finish my yawn.

Twilight nods, laying out on her bench as I lay my head back and close my eyes.

The next time I open my eyes, its to absorb a painfully bright eyeful of sunlight, groaning and covering the front of my visor, I rock back into a upright sitting position, glancing around, I see Vine quietly reading a book, glancing over her shoulder, I can tell its another Daring Do book, but that's about all I can tell before she turns the page. Looking up, I smile slightly at the sight of Twilight sleeping peacefully.

"Dawww, ow!" I wince as Vine punches me in the arm lightly, chuckling, I look over at her, seeing her glowering at me.

"Don't make fun of her!" She commands, I shake my head.

"But she's so adorable! I mean, come on! She's like a big fluffy bag of intelligence wrapped around more magical potential then you'd find in the magic research department back home." I quip, Vine just shakes her head.

"Yeah yeah, she's awesome, we know this, stop making fun of her, read a book or something," She says, going back to her own book.

Grinning, I pull a book from my pocket and open it up, rather than walk around with a child's book, I decided I'd try reading one of the adventure novels Vine seems so taken by. While entertaining, the strain of figuring out some of the words tends to give me headaches if I'm not careful. Hmmm, speaking of headaches, It'd be a good idea to change my wing colorations.

Sitting back, and propping the book open before me, I start to read slowly, figuring out each word as needed, while picturing my wings, only instead of a translucent brown, I go with a solid brown with white highlights, I always rather liked gryphon colorations. Several minutes and several minor aches later, I feel my wings settle down and turn my full attention back to my book.

Suddenly, the light from outside dims, causing me to look up, seeing Canterlot up close, this time without having to break something. Taking a moment, I just admire the city, okay admiration done. Rocking forward slightly, I tap Twilight on the shoulder, she twitches but doesn't respond. Resting my hand more comfortably on her shoulder, I shake her lightly, this has the desired affect of causing her to open her eyes and raise her head blinking around the compartment.

"We're almost there, Ma'am," I state, she smiles her thanks and sits up, gathering her stuff. I emulate her as well, getting my duffel bag that I'd had Rarity create for me since carting a crate around was annoying. Making sure the closure was secure, I propped it by my feet and sat back to watch the show.

As the train inters the station, I'm met with the sight of what I can only assume from the coloration of their armor is several of Celestia's Royal Guard in golden armor. Upon disembarking the train they see us, and head over. "Private Redemit?" The officer in charge asks, I nod my head. "We're to escort you to the castle, this way, please." With that, he turns and walks off.

Falling into step behind him, I rest a hand on Vine's shoulder as we make our way through the city. Twilight provides a calming dialogue, pointing out various points of interest as we go. I keep my visor pointed forward and watch the surrounding ponies ahead of us for any threats, thankfully none are presented, and we make it to the castle without mishap, aside from the occasional curious glance that avoids me like the plague, yeah, need to get that skull removed.

Once inside the Castle, Twilight sets off ahead saying something about meeting her family. Vine stays by my side as we're led to a small meeting room with a table and chairs. The guards troop off once we're inside, two taking position by the doors, the rest returning to wherever they came from.

I take a seat with Vine right beside me, my duffel at my feet, and sit back to wait.

Chapter 11 - A New Path

Annnd I'm bored, nice to have that familiar feeling back. Odd as it may sound, I actually did spend a lot of my time being bored in between bouts of fearing for my life and killing hordes of mutated changelings. I figured it was never too early to start getting back in the groove, so I stayed completely still, hands folded in front of me on the table. The only part of me that moved was my eyes behind my helmet as I watched the doors.

Thankfully the tediousness of our wait is broken by the delivery of lunch, consisting of more salad. Vine digs into hers with a happy abandon as I stolidly consume mine, visions of protein laden substances flowing through my mind.

A couple minutes later, and the meal is finished, once cleaned up, I again sit back to wait.

Shortly thereafter, the doors open, revealing Princess Celestia herself, as well as Twilight who's happily chatting about the various things she'd learned, I would know about that, she likes to have me practice my reading on her 'friendship reports'. I find the concept kind of weird, not sure why, to be honest. But considering how scary she can be when angry, and me without weaponry, I chose to keep that little fact to myself.

Both Vine and I rise to our feet automatically as the Princess enters the room, Vine to her front knees in a bow as I raise a hand to my brow, fingers held straight out in a flat plane, a salute adapted to my physiology.

Princess Celestia nods her head to us both with a smile. Vine rises back to her feet with an answering smile that at any other time would bring tears of joy to my face, but I simply settle for dropping my hand from my brow and continuing to stand at attention, awaiting further direction.

Celestia looks at me and rolls her eyes. "There's time for that later, for now, sit," She states in a motherly voice, I nod my head and take a seat as Vine settles down as well, watching the Princess curiously. Celestia returns her gaze with warm smile. "And how are you, Vine Bloom?" She asks.

Vine nods her head. "I am well, Milady. It's been a bit rough, but with good friends, anything's possible, as I'm sure you were aware when you put me there," She states, head tilted to the side in a questioning way.

Celestia glances back at me, before turning to Vine, in that moment, the shutters in her eyes drop for a moment, and I feel my very being quake at the AGE I feel behind those shutters.

Suddenly, various bits and pieces of emotions and thoughts arrange into complete concepts in my mind, clicking into place like the pieces of a child's puzzle. Celestia KNEW, she knew Vine would be in need of help. But she was prepared, rather than waste time with a trained professional to help us adapt, she sent us to the ELEMENTS of HARMONY. I didn't look at it that way before, I saw the elements of harmony as a weapon, not as a powerful force all its own. She saw the troubles and possibilities from the start, standing in a dark glade. While I was still trying to figure out how I would save Vine's physical body, she was planning how to save Vine's mind.

They continued to idly chat while I sat there frozen, considering everything. Her eyes, they felt... old, yes. But also tired. She'd seen the best and the worst the universe had to offer, but she wasn't dead on the inside. She still stepped forward, one hoof in front of another, year after year, century after century. Looking at the being sitting before me, I can only imagine how the war back on my world would have turned out with two such powerhouses leading our forces.

Shaking my head, I steered myself from my internal deliberations. I knew one thing now, I'd do whatever she asked, because she was worth it. And if I could take even a thousandth of her load off her back, it would be enough. It might one day cost me what little life I may or may not have before me, but I was okay with that. Whatever may come, Vine was safe, she'd said so, and darkness harbor me, I believed her.

A soft chuckle drew my attention. Glancing at the source of the noise. I found Celestia staring at me, or rather, at the front of my helmet, a small smile on her face. "Something wrong, Redemit? Or should I say, Private?" She asks with the same small smile never leaving her face. Obviously more than a simple question about my presumed identity.

I reply. "Whichever you ask, Princess." Causing her smile to grow slightly before she gives an infinitesimal nod. Twilight and Vine are staring between the two of us curiously, Vine with a knowing glint in her eye.

Turning back to Vine, Celestia tilts her head slightly, before opening her mouth again. "And now we're left with what to do with you, Vine Bloom. What do you wish to do with your new-found freedom? Be forewarned, you shall not find a position in the armed components of the Guard. While I shall not interfere if you choose to seek a violent occupation elsewhere, your queen asked that I give you the best chance possible to return to a lifestyle more suited to such a kindhearted individual, while repairable, I shall not be directly party to making your 'situation' any worse," She warns, causing Vine to blink a few times, before turning her gaze to me.

I grimace, obviously she's not quite ready to be far from me just yet, which gives me an idea. "What about a dangerous animals handler?" I ask in a deadpan voice.

Celestia looks at me a second, an awesome face of confusion upon her glorious white muzzle, before she suddenly grins and starts laughing. Vine just facehooves.

"What's so funny? I thought she wasn't going to be put in any more violent situations?" A VERY confused Twilight Sparkle asks plaintatively. I can't help but grin.

"It was her job description when she signed up with me, remember?" I ask, causing Twilight to tilt her head, obviously reviewing our previous discussions, before nodding with a smile of her own.

Celestia just nods a few times. "That idea has merit. But what exactly would it entail, per se?" She asks.

I shrug. "I won't condone putting Vine in the field, but still, she can certainly act as my handler, giving me your orders in the field. Since I assume my active rank of private was more of a way of getting me on the payroll, than actually needing me to ensure a hallway doesn't wander." I state with a smirk, Vine just rolls her eyes. "Or thinking you had somepony that could earn my loyalty, present company excluded," I continue, with a hint of challenge in my voice, causing Vine to facehoof and Twilight to scowl at me.

Celestia just stares at me a second, ears perked forward, looking at me. She then proceeds to shake her head and chuckle. "Oh well played, Redemit, well played. No, Private will not be your acting rank, but that can wait until we finish analyzing your gear, speaking of which, we've hit an impasse of sorts. You see, to move forward, we need operational test data, and for that, we need somepony, or someone, that can actually use the gear. This is where you and Vine come in, while we have enough salvaged equipment to analyze and reproduce it, we can't actually fine tune it without knowing the tolerances needed," She states reasonably, causing both myself and Vine to nod our heads.

"I don't know about Vine's gear, but mine's almost certainly half fried, I'm seriously surprised I didn't blow anything, considering what I used it to do," I state thoughtfully before perking up. "On a side note, I have a request," I state, causing Celestia to nod for me to continue. "I'd like for Twilight here to get some of the technical manuals pertaining to the modification of my optical interface, namely my helmet. I need the surface decal changed so I can stop creeping everypony I meet out." I state reasonably.

Celestia nods a moment. "I'm sure there's several researchers already qualified enough to perform the necessary modifications," She retorts, to which I respond.

"None of whom I trust, I can live without powered armor, but if something happened to my helm, I'd have to adopt a local variant, and considering my identity, it'd have to be a full helm. I'd rather not have to deal with a clunky metal helm obscuring my vision or having to play the idiot human on the battlefield, seriously, that crud gets you killed," My voice conveying my smile towards the end, causing Vine and Twilight to chuckle.

I turn to look at Twilight for a second. "You just found that funny? What happened to the K word making you freeze up?" I ask in an curious voice.

Twilight opens her mouth, then pauses a moment, and shrugs. "I don't know, it just doesn't bother me as much now," She says.

I close my eyes a second and sigh. I'm almost sad to see her mindset corrupted in that way. Then I shrug, and turn back to the conversation at hand. "Either way, I really hope to not have to spend my time in this city, no offense to you city-goers. From what I saw, it's a really nice place, but the number of ponies around . . ." I trail off, not sure how to word the rest, Celestia comes to the rescue by nodding.

"I understand your current situation, and can agree to staging you off-site as much as possible, your idea of building a house near ponyville has a lot of merit to it. The exact points, you will have to discuss with Captain Pahnzer," Celestia states, and I nod my head respectively.

"Understood, Ma'am. When shall I begin?" I ask, and Celestia gives me a small smirk.

"Not until tomorrow, in the meantime, feel free to get settled in. I hear you were interested in visiting the Canterlot Theater, and experiencing some of our fine music. As luck would have it, the Canterlot Orchestra is giving a performance tonight, and my sister will be attending. She thought it would be a good idea to let you both attend as well, give you a less . . . traumatic, introduction to some parts of our society." Celestia states, I just nod my head happily.

"I'm in! What about you Vine?" I ask, practically bouncing in my seat for a moment before I settle back down.

"Of course I am, silly human! I can't let you out of my site for a moment, you might hurt somepony," Vine States, rolling her eyes. Twilight giggles and Celestia gives a small chuckle.

"Alright, I shall leave you to it. I'm afraid I've taken as much time as I can spare visiting with my Protégé here," She says giving Twilight a nuzzle, causing Twilight to blush as she returned it happily. I just dawwed on the inside.

"Yes Ma'am, thank you Ma'am," I state coming to attention again and saluting. She nods in response and moves out the door, her guards following, leaving us standing there.

Turning to Vine, I give her a grin. "I told you you'd like her." She just shakes her head with a smile.

"I'm just looking forward to meeting Princess Luna, she handles the night after all," Vine retorts with a smile, causing me to nod as well.

"Indeed, is it true that our queens name was the same . . . before?" I ask curiously, Vine pauses a moment, an old remembered pain flashing across her face. I feel a moment confusion, we've been sharing and dealing with memories for nearly a month, and I can't remember seeing anything prior to my induction into the armed forces, after my time in the . . . research department . . . bloody animals.

"Yes, yes it was," She finally says in a small voice, I nod my head and drop the subject, turning to Twilight.

"Hey Twilight, how long do we have to prepare?" I ask, tilting my head.

She smiles. "We've got a few hours yet, it's an hour or two after nightfall, so you have plenty of time to get settled in first. Here, let me show you to your quarters!" She states happily, I'm more than happy to nod my head in acceptance, slipping my helmet back on as we go. "Thanks for trusting me, I've been really curious about some of your tech, but Princess Celestia didn't think I should be distracted from my studies. But now, I'll get to learn more about you! If only a little," She states happily at first, then mournfully towards the end.

I just chuckle. "Don't be greedy young mare, your thaumaturgical expertise will eventually be called in I'm sure." I state with a serious face, which is totally wasted considering my helmets still on, oh well.

Twilight looks up at me with a hopeful smile that warms my heart. "You think?" She asks, I shrug.

I think for a moment weighing the various factors I'm aware of before responding. "You're not ready for some of my tools, Ma'am. I'm a cold blooded killer, and my tools reflect that. But yes, some of our creations are beautiful in their design and purpose, I think they'll have a need for your innate understanding at some point," I state. Causing Twilight to fall silent for a moment as she stares up at me with that face... I really dislike pity sometimes.

Kneeling down, I rest a hand on her shoulder. "Don't stare at me like that, please. I may not have had a choice in the beginning, but I've learned to enjoy myself, and while I won't argue whether it's a good thing that I like my job. I do, and I don't kill anything, only what I'm told to. Come on, I want to get changed for that music . . . thing." I state, unsure of what to call the coming event, I turn to Vine. "Concert, right Vine?" I ask, she nods.

Twilight just shakes her head, tears starting to slide down her cheeks, making me wince, I don't like seeing her like this. "You . . . you... argh! You don't even know what a concert is, but you know 6 different ways to kill with a darn butter knife! How can you say your alright?! That entire situation is so . . . so bucked up! You're like a little foal with a penchant for killing, and you don't even know better!" She practically screams at me before she throws herself on me in a hug as she starts sobbing into my chest.

Fighting back the reflex to disengage and throw the attacker off, I slowly bring my arms up and hold her to my chest, patting her head hesitantly. Glancing at Vine for help, I'm met with the sight of her sitting morosely, staring at the ground, tears of her own streaming from her eyes and landing on the floor.

Groaning, I take a moment to wonder how I'm getting out of this. "Come on Twilight, I'm fine, really, I'm getting better, I haven't killed anything in a month. Please stop crying. Come on Vine, everything's alright. Please, Vine, just . . . just stop crying." I start begging, tears of my own streaming down my face as I stand there in a state of confusion. I am who I am, I change as needed, and I don't regret doing what I had to do, why can't they just accept that and move on?

Vine shakes her head. "No Frix, it's not alright, it'll never be alright. The things we did to you . . . we're all monsters. None of us made it off that planet, we all died there, all that's left . . . is a couple of monsters trying to be a semblance of regular ponies." She says in a broken voice. I sigh as several weeks worth of work teeters on the edge of ruin.

"You had. No. Choice. We were losing, and everypony was scared. You couldn't have stopped the experiments if you'd tried, don't think I don't remember the nights you spent sobbing after their . . . tests. They hurt me, you didn't, never think otherwise. I did what I had to, to survive, and to keep you safe. Don't ever doubt I'll do whatever it takes to give you a stable home. I'm a human, violence is part of my life, you . . . you liked to watch plants grow, you liked to coax life from the smallest of seeds and watch it bloom. I . . . I like to build, but life . . . life is beyond me. I can't understand it enough to help create it." I say, resting my head on Twilights as she continues hugging my chest, silent as she listens to us talk. "You were such a kind pony, you hated killing the insects that ate your plants. I remember the first time you killed a swarmling, it would have killed you without a seconds remorse, but you? You broke down, I held your screaming body as your soul cried for that mindless insect. You. Cared. And now? Now we kill, there's no hesitation, because we wanted to live. We sacrificed our best parts to live, and still the universe took everything from us, but it couldn't take us from each other." I cry out with a sob, closing my eyes and reaching up with a hand to tear my helmet off, needing free of the reminder. "And now, we have a chance, just one glorious chance. We have this entire world in front of us. With good friends there for the making." I rub Twilight's head with a tear streaked smile. "We can rebuild ourselves. We don't have to be a couple of monsters, we can be Vine Bloom, the pegasus mare that likes to grow things, and Frix, your friend, your protector. I . . . I don't want to see you reveling in death anymore Vine, I want to see you grow, I want life, not more death." I sob into Twilight's mane.

Feeling Vine come up beside me, I reach out and pull her close, just taking the time to . . . savor the company, the friendship, the love. I give them a few minutes to stabilize, then I reassemble my mental barriers, there's work to be done.

"Alright, that's enough of that, you two need to clean up, and I need to get dressed more appropriately." I say, holding them both firmly for a moment before releasing Vine and setting Twilight down on her hooves.

Twilight looks up at me with a small smile. "Thanks, Redemit. Or is it Frix now?" I blink a few times as I think.

What is my name? It's not something I ever really thought about, but was I right to be thankful for my new name? I will never doubt my Queen did what she had too. But Redemit, a word from an ancient language that meant redeemed in common equestrian . . . such a beautiful concept, was buried in blood, under that name I killed countless creatures. Both swarmling and infested, the reanimated or hijacked bodies of my own adopted people, I can say it was a release from a living nightmare all I like, and it was, but it was still murder. But here, this world . . . it still requires my services I think. Celestia wouldn't have kept me in the armed forces if she didn't think so. But what name would I prefer . . . I don't know. "I don't know Twilight, I just don't know. But for now, if I'm in my armor, call me Redemit, but anytime I'm not, I'd like to be called Frix." I say, feeling truth behind the words as they come out my mouth.

Reaching down, I grab my helmet and put it back on. Resting a hand on Vine's shoulder, I give twilight another nod which she returns before we head out the door. Walking through the hallways, I admire the various paintings along the way. Glancing out windows as we go, I start trying to set up a mental map of the palace in relation to the outside as well as various destinations. "Hey Twilight, where am I being bunked at anyway? I assume it's not the barracks?" I ask.

Twilight nods. "Yeah, not the barracks, that'd hardly keep you a secret." She chuckles. "No, you'll be staying in a guest room near the Magical Research Facility" She states in an eager tone. "It's where most new spells and techniques are developed, and where they keep magical artifacts until they can determine if they're dangerous or not." She then goes on to tell us more about the various projects the MRF does, most of which go way over my head.

"Ummm, hey Twilight, you DO realize you're talking to a pegasus and a human right? I don't know about Vine, but I got the first two sentences, and then the rest you need to dumb down, at least until I'm brought up to speed, huh?" I chuckle.

Twilight grins as well before nodding. "I look forward to it." She says in a tone, I repress a groan.

"I'm as curious about life in general as everypony else Twilight, but don't expect me to have much reason to focus on magical research," I warn, Twilight just giggles.

"I don't mind, I like learning about your job too, a lot of what you do sounds like dancing!" Twilight says with a big grin on her face, probably trying to poke fun at me, but I just shake my head with a smile of my own.

"It is, you have to read your opponent and put yourself several moves ahead mentally before you engage in combat, otherwise you've probably already lost." I respond, Twilight considers my words before nodding.

"Sounds more like chess, honestly," She replies.

"Ah, but chess is strictly mental, combat is also physical, and if you think dance doesn't require a lot of mental to go with the physical, you try doing it some time, just, not around anypony you know," I riposte, Twilight giggles in response before stopping at a door.

"This is it! Your guest room, where you'll be staying for the duration of the experimentation!" Twilight says. "Sadly, I won't be around for any of it," She adds with a small pout, I can't help reaching down and rubbing her on the ear.

"Don't worry Twilight, I'm sure we'll meet again at some point and I'll get to show off some of what I can do," I respond, ruffling her mane before I step up to the door.(Surprisingly well sized) Turning the handle, I step into my new room, glancing around I take it all in. No window, that's nice, less approaches to worry about, less escape routes, but I don't retreat very often. Solid walls, wooden floor I'll have to check for weak points later on. Book case that's currently completely empty but still sparkly clean. BIG bed, seriously, you could stick 2-3 humans on it with room to spare! Yay! Armor rack on the wall, designed for pony armor, but I can make it work. Dresser by the bed, useful. Chest at the base of said bed, key sitting in the lock, probably duplicate, will stop most opportunists, but not professionals.

Nodding my head, I duck back out of my room to see Twilight's hindquarters disappear down a corridor, leaving me and Vine sitting in front of my door. Shrugging, I look down at Vine. "Well, guess you'll be staying with me for the duration then?" I ask, tilting my head at her, she just smiles. "Whatever, come on in. I'm not going in my armor, too much fear factor." I say with a frown as I open my duffel and start pulling various items out as I reenter my room and move to the dresser. Pulling drawers open, I start putting stuff away, setting aside a complete suit of higher quality civilian gear as well as an overcoat to hide my wings, no way in tartarus I'm going through the pain of removing my wings more than I have too.

While I'm setting up, Vine makes her way to the bathroom, closing the door. I hear the water turn on and nod my head. Stripping my gear off, I start inspecting each piece as I go, looking for any signs of wear or strain on the various clasps and straps. After all, when you have rockets strapped to key parts of your body, the last thing you want is for something to let go causing all that extra 'kick' to start tossing you in random directions, and if I was getting my gear back, I wanted to be ready.

Noting several spots that will require some repairs, I make a mental list and set it aside as I start throwing on various pieces of clothing. I still don't have any of my weapons and let me tell you, that is not a good feeling. Add in paranoia, and it's probably a good thing I'll be part of a royal escort, less chance of them getting hurt, weapons or no weapons.

Folding my wings down firmly, I tie several strips of fabric I have for occasions like this across my chest and wings to keep them in place, preferably with as little strain as possible. That finished, I slip on the rather simple jacket. Taking a moment to sort out the hair atop my head while insuring my face still has none, I find myself with nothing to do, so I lay down on the bed, laying on my chest to avoid stressing my now-restrained wings, as I wait.

A few minutes later, a much refreshed Vine Bloom makes her debut from the bathroom, and hops onto the bed with me. Laying down at my side, she cushions her head on my back. We don't bother speaking, we just enjoy the peace after the rather stressful occurrences earlier.

"Looking pretty good there, big guy." She finally say, I just raise my hand idly before I let it fall back onto the bed.

"You're not half bad yourself, I'm sure, Alpha," I reply, she just giggles before laying herself out more fully and tossing a wing over me and the bed on her other side.

"So, any idea how we're getting to this concert?" She asks after a couple minutes.

"Not a clue, I guess we wait, huh?" I ask in return.

"Yeah," She murmurs sleepily. I find myself yawning as well, and with nothing else to do, I let myself drift off to sleep.

I'm in my glade. While not an unpleasant location, it's not somewhere I go most times I fall asleep, most of the time I just dream about the regular things, like flying mushrooms, and murderous spoons(Fear the spoons.). Being here has some significance, like the fact I feel a familiar presence pushing on my mental barriers. Opening my mind, I feel Luna come into being in my dreamscape behind me.

"Hi," I chirp, turning around to face her. She just smiles back at me. "So, not that I mind in the least, but what brings you to my humble little mind this fine whatever-time-it-is?" I ask, tilting my head comically, she chuckles at my antics, success!

"We . . . I was just passing through, I shall be waking up soon, but I saw your mind enter the realm of dreams and thought I would stop by. It's not often I encounter such interesting mental landscapes. Plus, I am rather curious about you, and your past." Luna says, glancing around my world as she speaks.

I nod my head, my earlier antics forgotten. "I will tell you what you wish, but I ask that we wait until after the concert, and if Twilight is available, that she be present for the telling. I think she wants to write a book or something," I state, looking up at the moon, lightly touching the memories I don't want to deal with right now.

Luna stares at me a moment, then nods her head. "I will honor your wishes in this matter, we do not have much time, after all." I nod my head in thanks at her words.

We then both stand there a moment, shuffling in my case, as we awkwardly try to come up with something to discuss. Finally, throwing up my mental hands in defeat, I fall back on a rather cliché question. "So, how's life?" I ask.

Luna takes pity on me with a smile. "I am doing rather well, after the little 'event' you had in South Market, I had my hooves full with some of our guard. Seems a certain two legged monster rather traumatized a couple of them," She said with a smirk upon her muzzle and a glare in her eyes, it was all I could do to not laugh.

"Yeah, sorry about that, but in my defense, I wasn't the most dangerous solo operative where I come from, they just seemed rather . . . half trained? I don't know, but I'm used to city guards being a whole lot tougher, I even overestimated your communications technology when I disassembled one of your gates, sorry about that by the way, I'd expected I would be greeted by more forces when I got out, but then when I got away easily, I had to re-examine my tactics, and I did them entirely wrong. I should have realized that the moment I broke your initial cordon in less than a minute. For that, I am truly sorry," I say, bowing my head. Luna just chuckles.

"Ah, but you didn't kill a single one of our subjects, there were a litany of bruises, scrapes, and at least one damaged tooth, but they were all fit for duty within the day. So I think I will not be amiss in saying that your actions can be forgiven. But remember, you owe us now." She states in a teasing voice.

I raise my eyes to hers. "More than you know, your Highness." I state, continuing to look her in the eyes. She just smiles and shakes her head.

"There will be time for that later . . . okay, is your name Redemit? Or Frix?" She asks after a pause, I smile.

"You can call me what you wish, but I've asked my friends to refer to me as Redemit in my . . . mercenary guise. And Frix in my 'human' guise. My human guise is very limited in what I can do without breaking character, but my armor is rather visually striking, lots of intimidation factor which limits my capabilities as well. In time, I hope to come to a better balance, but I don't see many alternatives at this time," I state with a rueful smile.

Luna tilts her head as she examines me once more. "I . . . see your situation. Will it be okay to bring 'Redemit' out then? Will your human guise be appropriate either? I did not think on that subject, I just assumed you could accompany me to the royal box and observe from there. I did not think about the in between enough, I see." She states ruefully, I find myself blinking at her.

Luna's sister is a master ruler, every action weighed, every though carefully metered before it even comes into existence. The years have used her HARD, but Luna . . . She's . . . younger, less worn. The years have not had their chance to weigh her down. How? They're almost the same age . . . no. Luna's spent a significant portion of her life trapped on the moon.

Almost against my will, I feel my glade darken, my eyes are drawn to the moon. I can only feel pain . . . mental, physical, soul wrenching pain. Mine . . . and Luna's.

Trapped for a thousand years, pain, anger.

Experiments . . . knives . . . pain

Loneliness. Hate.

My blood spraying across my vision as my body convulsed. Magic thrumming through my veins, healing me even as the knives cut through me, hurting me, taking pieces only to come back for more after a few seconds.

Years flowing by in a haze of pain and suffering, the magic in the moon sustaining my life, even as my mind suffered. Thoughts splintering and fragmenting, seeing things and ponies that weren't there just to alleviate the endless cycle of loneliness and pain.

Holding Vine close as she sobbed into my now whole and unblemished chest.

Celestia's tear streaked muzzle as a bright light enveloped my world.

'Scientists', animals in white labcoats. Implements and saws, bars and guards. All looking upon me as if I were the animal. All so afraid, so very afraid.

My subjects . . . who could not even appreciate my glorious night sky. My masterpiece that was borne anew each night. With glorious stars to show endless new constellations and arrangements.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Two voices spoke as one. Two events, different time scales, but the same pain.

"It . . . it wasn't her fault," I cry, tears running down my face. Distantly, I can feel Luna crying as well. Without thinking, I move. The world twists, and then we're side by side. I wrap my arms around Luna's neck and hold her close as she sits there weeping. "It. Wasn't. Her. Fault." I repeat myself, to whom I'm speaking I don't know. Whether to Vine as she cried over me after one of the many 'sessions' as I lay there giving the magic time to work its way out of my system so they could begin again. Or to Luna, after being ripped from her world and imprisoned in a dead ball of rock and dust. Never to see a friendly face again for a thousand years. Only to come back and have part of her very essence torn from her by the elements of harmony . . . at the behest of her own sister.

I felt rage explode across my consciousness. I felt my killing instinct rise to the fore. I drew maps forth from Luna's mind and I knew without a doubt where to go, what to do. A guard here, dead. A maid most likely there, slit the throat, there was a broom closet nearby. Only two guards on the door, they'd be easy, assuming I didn't opt for the balcony instead. Let her come in, and go to sleep, creep forth and thru . . . "NO!" Luna screamed.

We stood there, everything frozen for a sliver of time. Then slowly, my mind started functioning again, my thoughts resumed, my beast curled up until I had need of it again. I stood there, my arms about Luna's imaginary neck in the middle of a dream, and cried. Cried for dreams torn, days lost, for the kinder parts of our souls, forever tarnished and twisted. For friends forever gone through the veil of death. Never to be seen again until reality began anew and put them forth, to live, to love, and in the end, to die.

With my concentration broken, time took on no meaning as we stood there, silent now, just holding one another. Until I realized just WHO I was hugging . . . and crying on . . . and plotting murder for . . . yeah, it's been one heck of a day. Stepping back, I wrenched the world back to the way it should be, changing the glade up, placing several cushions upon the ground and seating myself and Luna on separate cushions. That done, I sat back to wait as she worked her way through her own internal nightmares.

After several minutes, Luna raises her head and opens her eyes. A her eye lock onto me, I feel my body instinctively lowering itself to the ground in a submissive gesture as her eyes start to glow and her power condenses within my mind. "Never. Again." She states in a voice as cold as the sky up where the air is so thin you either have enchanted armor or you black out, assuming you don't freeze first.

I weakly nod my head, fighting the urge to curl into a ball before her. I suppress a whimper as she steps closer, her eyes not glowing any more, but power still thrumming through her essence.

"I did not hear you, human." She states coldly, I can't stop the whimper this time as I abase myself before her.

"Yes, Alpha, this one hears and will obey. Please don't hurt this one, Alpha, this one will be obey . . ." I hear myself begging, part of me feels shame and anger as I surrender so completely, the rest of me just quakes in terror, the urge to please overwhelming.

I freeze up when I feel a soft muzzle brush against the side of my head. "No, it is I who should be sorry. You carry a great many scars, young one, I should have taken that into account, but I did not know about the . . . experiments. Why? Why would they do that?" Luna asks, almost in tears herself.

"This . . . this one was part swarmling, Alpha. This one could hear the swarm singing in his head, this one was part of the swarm, yet not. They were losing, many cities fell within a few weeks, our weapons were ineffective at large scale extermination, so they simply overwhelmed the defenses. For every city that fell, the bodies . . . were used either as fuel for the war machine, or infested and turned on the survivors. The gryphons were the first to fall, we think they were the most dangerous, so the swarm hit them first, the other countries quickly fell as well, only our Queen prevented the complete destruction of the pony nation, but three quarters of our land was desolate or destroyed within the first six months of the war. They needed to know what they faced, and this one was . . . resilient. This one . . . I refused to die, so they . . . did things to me. They took pieces, they poked and prodded, they tried to figure out what the swarm had done to themselves through me." I all but whisper in a quavering voice, eyes downcast as my world rippling with my mental imbalance. I feel myself lifted into a warm embrace, after freezing for a moment, I surrender and snuggle into it, closing my eyes as I try to block out the memories again.

Luna allows this for a time, before shifting her wing to look down at me. "Frix, how old are you?" She finally asks.

I look up at her, still huddled into her warm embrace. "My body is about 12 years old, but I've only been sentient for 3 of those. So they say I'm subjectively about 4 and a half. I had most of my social skills imprinted on me by the infester. Most people overestimate my age because of it and the fact that I'm a soldier. Not the profession you'd expect to find a colt fulfilling, but we had no choice. It was either this or stay a science experiment" I state, closing my eyes again.

Luna stays silent for a long time, before finally sighing. "Okay, any time you accompany me, we shall try to make it your human guise. The least we can do is give you a chance to enjoy life, even from the viewpoint of a domesticated animal, I am truly sorry for what you had to go through," She murmurs, nuzzling the top of my head, I just smile as I snuggle into the furry warmth, causing her to giggle. "Alright, it will be time to move shortly, I shall send an escort to collect you. Wake up now, Frix," She whispers softly into my ear as I feel my world ripple and collapse.

Chapter 13 - Mental Games

The next morning finds me awake and more than a little hyper, much to Vine's annoyance.

"Would you settle down already?" Vine asks/commands in a hissed voice.

I just pause a moment and stare into her big soulful eyes before I give a big grin. "Nope." I reply in an overly happy tone, she just groans and drink some more of her coffee. I ruffle her mane slightly before turning back to my own breakfast of choice. Anything that's loaded with sugar, plus a protein tab, or in this case, two pills. I'd run out of my own supply, even cutting back to one every couple of days, and I'd been taking the 'human' dietary supplements, at twice the recommended dosage, and I'm still having issues.

Discarding the errant thoughts, I consider the warzone which is my plate. After ensuring there is no more remaining food, I graciously accept the plates surrender and refrain from licking it into oblivion, much to Vine's pleasure, she hates it when I lick the plate.

After cleaning up the various remains of our breakfast, namely stacking them on the cart that was delivered to our room. I once again ensure all my gear and apparel is in order before I take up a position to watch the door awaiting my summons.

Almost as if summoned, there's a sturdy knock at the door. I rise and move to the door, bracing my shoulder in case they try to force the door, I open it a few inches. I'm met with the sight of another Royal Guard. Nodding my head, I toss a wave at Vine before proceeding out the door.

"This way," The mare states with little to no inflection to her voice, well trained vocally at least. I set off after her. A couple minutes of walking and several heavy doors later, I enter what looks like a your average sciencey office place. Only in place of all the test tubes and beakers, various pieces of Night Guard gear lay scattered about in various degrees of assembly. Suppressing the urge to rail at them for defiling my comrades. I feel my breath rate accelerate and my pulse climb as I stand frozen, my hands clenching and unclenching as I look around, remembering seeing most of this gear on living breathing ponies and gryphons as we readied for another sally in the face of overwhelming odds.

"Ahhh, the survivor!" A voice calls out from one of the work stations, and the various ponies scattered about the room turn to look at me as I in turn notice their presence. I glance over the various pieces of gear before I close my eyes and collect my thoughts, putting on a happy voice I turn to the pony in a lab coat walking up to me.

"Hello, Private Redemit reporting as ordered." I state, looking down at the unicorn stallion as he in turn looks up at me.

"Well well, aren't you a large specimen," Is his response and I have to stop myself from face-palming I'm already reminded of Twilight. "Anyway! On to business, we need your assistance with your gear, we believe we have most of the parts repaired or replaced on your 'scout' armor, but we're having some issues with the power crystals not setting properly," He states turning to walk towards a doorway with my at his heels.

I take a moment to examine him. Off-white coat, steel gray mane, what looks like some kind of metallic instrument on his flank that I see every so often when his lab coat shifts. He had a name tag, I think it said Straight Edge.

"I'll aid as I can," I respond,going through the various scenarios for power crystal failure I know of. My gear was all custom-made for my unique physiology, so it was understandable that they had no reference on the problem. Vine and I were the only ones who really understood most of my gear's quirks aside from the armor chief, and he was dead insofar as I was aware.

Coming to the doorway, we step into a side room, and away from most of the prying eyes(I was very grateful for that.), where my scout armor and the broken parts of my heavy armor(Mainly the chest-plate and pants, most everything else was probably broken beyond recovery.) sit on armor racks adapted to a vertical rather than horizontal format to best display my armor for the several unicorn technicians fiddling with it.

Suppressing my irritation at somepony messing with my gear with a ruthless mental fist, I step up to the gear as several other ponies in their own lab coats back off. At close proximity, the chest plate shows a number of patched spots and the visible runes all show signs of repair, most of it done acceptably if not masterfully. Checking over the other pieces, I clear all the armor components and straps. I then start checking the propulsion units, namely the belt pack. Popping it open, I take one look at the runes on the charge they have inserted and shake my head, stepping back.

"You've got the wrong rune-set, my armor uses punchers, not pushers," I reply, most of the surrounding technicians look confused. I just shake my head. "Have you got the rune guide handy? I don't know what they called the rune I need, but I can show you," I state, one of the unicorns grabs a tome with his magic and sends it my way.

I tilt the book open, and start flipping through pages rapidly skimming the various rune-sets as I go, this takes awhile since I didn't exactly think to check which section I'd find them in, not that I'd have known, but still.

Coming upon the appropriate symbols, I read the name which is still meaningless, but the technical description is very fitting. "High yield, short duration thrust. This is what they use in my gear," I state, handing the tome back to the unicorn.

The three of them huddle together and start talking amongst themselves shortly before the unicorn that met me raises his head. "Why would they use those instead of of a lower yield, higher duration?" he asks.

"Mass. I'm twice the size of most ponies, plus the orientation of my body and wings, it all just works better with a bigger push rather than a gentle acceleration," I respond, basically quoting what I was told.

The unicorn in question nods a few times before tilting his head at me. "What about your wings?" He asks, I resist the urge to face-palm.

"They're on my back... so to fly, I have to lay myself out flat, but to get enough speed, I have to run, which naturally keeps me around forty-five degrees, kind of hard to get enough speed at that angle, the crystals provide that extra bump to get me moving" I reply.

At this point he appears satisfied and they then move back to redoing the runes on my jets, leaving me to the mercy of several other ponies in lab coats, who then proceed to barrage me with questions concerning some of the other items they've salvaged.

...

After spending several hours explaining what I knew of the various items and theories contained in our gears and weapons(Not a lot.), I find myself sitting on a bench as several ponies place my now-functional gear on me. Why I couldn't put everything on by myself, I don't know, but they seem pretty insistent on doing it for me and I decide objecting would probably be more trouble than it's worth. Sadly there were no weapons, although I'd been told that might come later.

"So, why am I putting this gear on again?" I ask.

"Because we need operational data to figure out how to train our own units with this gear," Straight Edge replies

I feel a surge of adrenaline and elation at what I think he's talking about, but I decide to ask for clarification to be sure. "Does that mean you have a test range set up?" I ask.

"Uh-huh, we've got permission to use one of the sally yards and the adjacent wing of the palace, work crews are still working over the wing, but the open air parts are more or less complete," He replies absentmindedly checking over various closures on my gear, I'm doing the same thing, but mainly by instinct and feel.

I suppress a squee at the thought of finally MOVING again, and simply stare down at my feet, counting the seconds as they drag by before I can get out and stretch all my muscles, metaphorical and physical.

Finally, after what feels like hours, they step back, obviously satisfied with the job they did on applying my gear. I stand up rather abruptly, causing a moment of near-panic, because flighty scientists are flighty, go figure.

"Alrighty! Lets go try it out!" I state happily.

Straight Edge opens his mouth but I whip my head around to face him and just hold very still . . . in a faceless helmet with a skull depicted on the front. Yeah, he's terrified. Part of me feels kinda bad. He's not the bad sort for an academic, the rest of me though, just screams 'go!', yeah, it's time to party.

Straight Edge gulps while looking up at me. "Yes?" He says in more of a 'yes, and please don't eat me' voice than a questioning, slowly shuffling towards the door.

I nod my head and follow him with a bounce to my step, not nearly as much as the insane pink pony though.

...

I have to give it to them, they had an accurate idea of my gear's capabilities, or they involved some pegusai. The courtyard is no longer empty, instead, it seems rather crowded with columns and skeletal structures, little more than framework with boards laid down for the occasional platform or stretch of walling.

I'm practically bouncing in place as I wait for them to decide what they want me to show off first. Straight looks up at me and opens his mouth.

"First we'd like to see your general mobilit-" He says, but I miss the rest as I'm already shooting forward into the jungle of columns and walls like a wolf in the chicken coop. I feel the impact of my movement in my feet and legs as the world seems to blur as I parkour just to feel alive.

After about 10 minutes, I start to feel a mild burn in my limbs as my lack of practice catches up with me. I briefly consider using magic to 'fix' it but decide instead(Regretfully) that I need to take it easy for the first day. Decision made, I wait until the opportune moment to make a perfect landing by some very impressed looking eggheads.

Walking back and forth to work some of the tension out of my limbs, I grin at them behind my visor. "Well, did you get the data?" I ask innocently.

Straight just looks up at me with a mute face, then nods slowly, poor guy looks like his minds a little frazzled.

"Great, where can I get the rest of my gear?" I ask in a chipper voice, he just looks confused. "You know, my weapons?" I elaborate, he shuffles kind of nervously, and I prepare myself for some bad news.

"Uhh... we don't have it..." He mutters, waiting for my explosion, I simply nod my head understandingly. He takes this as a good sign and continues. "It's being held in the Royal Guard's armory," He says then starts to cower as I tower over him menacingly.

"Okay, where would I find the armory?" I ask in a mildly 'not gonna kill you today' voice.

...

After receiving directions, I set off down the hall whistling as I go, leaving a very confused Straight Edge and company behind. I don't know what they thought I was doing when I hugged them, but it made me feel better, and that's okay.

As I go, I take the time to admire the decorations as I go, even going so far as to hold a staring contest with a random statue, just to watch one of the guards watch me and try not to let their confusion show, it was glorious. I briefly considered doing a few other pranks, but decided against it. Acting odd was one thing, being an idiot would get me in trouble, and that's no fun.

Coming up on the guard areas, I drop the pretense of silliness and instead stride down the corridors and stairs confidently. Since everyone knows they don't bother you so long as you look like you know what you're doing.

"What are you doing here? This area is restricted to guard units only," A voice states from behind me.

Or not. Turning around, I'm met with the sight of a snowy white pegasus stallion in the standard guard armor. He's looking up at me and almost visibly recoils as he makes visual contact with the decal on my helm. Rolling my eyes, I open my mouth. "I'm here to pick up my kit, or at least a kit. I don't know about you, but I feel really vulnerable unarmed," I state, watching his reaction.

He opens his mouth, then closes it, then sits there confused for a bit. After a few seconds of me being very glad my helmets opaque because it hides my grin, he tries again. "This area is restricted to guard units only," He states, as if it's some kind of mantra or something.

I settle for a sigh and a face-palm. "I AM a guard unit. No, I won't tell you my rank and outfit, that's classified," I finally say. "Look, unless you've got something else to say, I need to get my kit and back to my duties, I'm running on borrowed time here," I add, the guard just nods weakly and I do a sharp about face and move on, wondering why he fell for that so quickly.

I mean, I AM technically a guard unit . . . I think. I'm not really sure what my classification is aside from science experiment. I have a rank that's apparently not my acting rank, all very confusing. But I digress! Weaponry! This unit will be weaponized.

Sadly, the universe had other plans. Because my comm unit chooses that moment to light up on the Night Guard channel, startling me. Guess they figured the controls out. "Echo Two-Four, what's your location?" A familiar voice asks.

"Buck," I mutter, sighing. "This is Echo Two-Four, I'm en route to the morgue to weaponize," I respond, there's a moment silence.

"Say that again?" Pahnzer orders.

"I'm en route to the morgue to weaponize," I repeat, there's another short confusion filled moment.

"Do you mean the armory?" Pahnzer finally asks, and I face-palm.

"Right, yeah, headed for the armory to pick up my gear, sorry," I sheepishly reply. Some habits die harder than others.

"You weren't cleared to rearm," Pahnzer states, as if that has some bearing on the situation.

"With all due respect, sir. I've been walking by armed individuals all day. You want to stick me back in the civilian area where no one's armed, okay. But so long as I'm going to be near a bunch of armed ponies. I WILL be armed as well." I reply somewhat coldly.

"Why, you expecting to be assaulted or something?" Pahnzer asks, a note of weariness creeping into his voice.

"Expect? No, I don't expect to be specifically attacked. I just don't expect anything better than to be attacked once my identity becomes known by most ponies." I retort, I'm left in relative silence after that as I come up on the armory.

Entering what looks like a converted barracks room, I can't help but give a small smile at the collection of various sharpened implements set on racks and in various display units. While the lack of enchants and other thaumaturgically enhanced gear was appalling, it was still a pretty sight.

Walking to a collection of sabers with mouth guards for use by ponies, I took a moment to stroke one, remembering long hours spent sharpening various tools of my trade as a way to escape. If only for a short time.

"Can I help you, sonny?" A gravely voice asks, I experience a moment of Deja Vu, before turning with a small smile hidden behind my visor.

For an instant I see a grizzled pegasus with half of a wing missing, then I blink, and its gone. In his place stands an earth pony stallion with a red coat and a brown mane. On his flank rests twin hammers with pommels crossed forming an X, I can't tell if they're supposed to be war-hammers, or the blacksmiths sort, but then, there's not much difference between the two anyway. Looking at his eyes I'm struck by a rather stolid individual, I think I could like this one.

Deciding to play it safe for the moment, I stand at attention and salute. "Yes sir, I'm looking to pick up my kit. I was informed I would find it here," I state, watching him watch me.

He shakes his head after a moment spent thinking. "Can't say as I know of any 'kit' that's been tagged for a weird two legged critter such as yourself," He replies, I have to bite back a snicker.

I nod my head. "I'm sure they didn't, but it's been here coming up on a month I'd say if I had to guess," I state, glancing around the room.

He blinks a few times, but then his eyes narrow and he takes a more solid stance, I feel my own adrenaline rising as I grew still. "There's no 'kit' here for you, sonny. Now, unless you have a requisition order, I'm afraid you'll have to leave." He says in a firm tone, causing me to nod my head.

"They still have it locked up three ways to midnight? Alright, alright, but I'm not walking around naked," I retort, he opens his mouth but I wave a hand. "Listen to me for a second, would you?" I ask, he watches me a second, then gives a small nod.

"I assume you've seen the items in question, I won't go into specifics for obvious reasons, but I assure you they're mine, note my wrists, and the surface decals on my armor," I state, watching him glance at my armor, specifically where my wrist blades WOULD be, before giving another small nod. "I know they've been locked up by order of at least one of the princesses and I'm not going to argue that with you, I'll take it up with them. But in the mean time, you've seen my gear, can you imagine the sort of situation that warrants that much of an arsenal?" I ask.

He tilts his head at me a second, then opens his mouth. "Yes, I suppose I can, and judging by the gunk I had to clean off em, I can guess what you were using them on," He finally states, only to pause as I shake my head.

"No, even they were terrified by what I fought, we 'tried' to save as many changelings as we could, but the fear got to the powers that were, and they ended up being 'purged'," I spit out, causing the armorer to take a step back as he watched me wearily. "No, the things I fought were much, much, worse. And you know what, we were losing. Outpost after outpost was falling, we never knew when the next attack would come. So yeah, sleeping with your weapons was the norm, so was paranoia. I had it, I'll admit that freely. I've dealt with most of it, but I'll never be happy in a crowded room, or with anypony I don't know personally," I continue, causing the armorer to nod slowly. I really hate pity sometimes, but I'll take what I can get if it means I'm not vulnerable all the time.

"Now, I've been acclimating to a safer situation for over a month now, and while I was playing the part of a civilian, it wasn't nearly so bad. Now? I'm walking through hallways with armed guards every 20 paces, and the stress is getting to me," I state injecting a note of pleading into my voice. "I'm not going to ask you to break their orders, but I still need a kit, even if it means taking the local variant," I say.

He opens his mouth with an affronted look on his face. I roll my eyes before I feed power into my armor from the reservoir feeling various runes and the suits enchant activate, while the visual effects are pretty minimal, the quality of my armor is none-the-less apparent. He closes his mouth with a snap as a look of comprehension comes over his face. My point made, I cease feeding power into my armor and let the crystals slowly recharge.

"Let me guess, they made you clean everything by hoof, no magic?" I ask, he nods again. "That's for the best, otherwise, you might have triggered something, and that generally does not end well at all," I state. "Now you see why I value my gear, it saw me through several hundred engagements and helped me save the life of one I cared for very greatly, " I say with a sigh. "Now can I please get some gear? I'll take the same thing you issue your guards if that's what you'll give me," I plead, he stares at me with an undecided look on his face.

"Do it, Supply Sergeant," A voice says from the doorway.

I glance over and see a familiar gray unicorn entering the room. Blinking at what I just heard him say, I stay silent for the moment, awaiting the statement of price. As I wait, the Supply Sergeant takes a moment to consider me, then turns around and moves over to several racks of various weapons.

While he does whatever it is he's doing, I turn to the gray-coated unicorn. Taking a moment, I examine him some more. He's in what looks like a simpler form of the armor I'd met him in before in the marketplace, from the three lightning bolts making a triangle, to the steel-gray eyes watching me with a cool reserve, this one isn't a pushover.

“I'm sorry, I don't know your rank, sir.” I state, watching him warily.

“I'm a captain, denoted by the twin bars on my armor,” He replies.

I take a closer look and he does indeed have some small 1 inch metallic insignia comprised of two metal bars with another two thinner bars serving as cross-links. “Understood, thank you, Captain,” I reply, he simply nods, still considering me.

“Alright sonny, come over here a second,” The Supply Sergeant calls out. I walk over to a table where lays a VERY short sword(About 18 inches) a dagger that makes me want to cry, and what looks to be a lance that when combined with my size would make for a decent spear, I really hate this world. “One long-sword(Ouch.) with scabbard, one dagger, and the longest lance we have, none of it's suitable to your scale, but I can't do any better, you'd be better off requisitioning from a local blacksmith for gear more appropriate to your size.

Huh, didn't think of that. I make a mental note to find a black smith at some point as I pick up the two sharp objects in one hand and the spear in the other.

“Do you want a belt for those?” The Supply Sergeant asks me, I just shake my head.

“Thank you sir, but no, I'll handle attaching them.” I reply as I inspect the swords scabbard before turning my attention to the spear in my other hand.

“Alright, thank you Supply Sergeant. Redemit, on me.” the gray unicorn orders, I nod my head and give the Supply Sergeant a parting salute.

“Yes Captain, on you.” I state as I follow him out of the armory.

Instead of heading back towards the testing grounds I find us taking a different route, this one taking us outside the building into a courtyard where a number of other ponies spend their time exercising, from sparring to what looks like simple group maneuvers. We don't stop at any point, but continue straight across into what looks like a separate building. Passing through a double set of doors with a charge break in between, we enter what I assume is the lobby, on the far back wall is a motif of a black sun cresting the horizon.

Stopping a moment, I stare up at the motif, burning it into my memory, before bringing my gaze back down to meet a pair of steel gray orbs watching me in turn.

“Welcome to the headquarters for the Rising Dawn,” he states, then turns his gaze forward and sets off further into the facility. I have no choice but to follow.

Several hours later I exit the briefing room tired and annoyed. Apparently, my delayed debriefing just came up, and several batteries of questions eventually led to a general foray into what exactly I did. If they'd been disappointed to learn just how little responsibility and knowledge I was given, they didn't show it.

Especially Captain Pahnzer, I shudder at the thought of him. That was one individual I think I'd ticked off, probably when I showed up his team in the marketplace, except he also granted me armaments, or didn't stand in my way I guess. I would have acquired weapons one way or another. This place is rather confusing.

My exile, as pleasant as it was, also appeared to be at an end. I was going to eat in the cafeteria with the rest of the special ops ponies, apparently being involved in the cleanup meant they had to be inducted into my little secret. And saying 'No thanks.' was not an option, unless I wanted to eat outside the palace, and braving the streets, even if it meant I could eat with Vine, just wasn't an option.

But first, I needed to deal with my weaponry, and eating at the same time sounded like a good idea. Glancing around, I find a landmark, namely a colored strip on the floor and follow it.

Coming into the cafeteria, I'm met with the sight of a large number of ponies moving around and sitting at various tables eating, off in a back corner, several tables suited to human scale sit, but are also occupied by several of the former. Rather than risk a riot, I opt to just grab some food and kneel down at a one of the pony sized areas as far from other ponies and the humans as possible.

Ignoring the various stares and absence of activity that ensues shortly upon my entry, I walk to the meal line and grab a tray, I keep my posture as relaxed as possible and ignore the various workers watching me as I grab a random selection of various plants. I check around for any meat, but sadly, it appears even combat humans make do without, meh. Snagging a couple fruits, I walk over to an unoccupied table and kneel down, ignoring the bench.

Triggering the releases on my helmet for the first time in several weeks, I feel it shift and slide down. Flexing my shoulder a bit to settle my cloak back down, I stare at the food awhile before I shake my head and set the sheathed blade on the table before me. Pulling the dagger out, I start tracing the first locking rune onto the scabbard of the sword, once I have the first light run done, I start working my way along it, barely breathing as I carefully etch it further into the material.

Finishing the second heavier run, I sit back for a moment to consider my work. Then I roll up my sleeve and use the dagger to prick the inside of my arm, holding it there for a moment, I'm rewarded with a small drop of blood before my skin reseals. Wishing I had some magic chalk or its equivalent, I take the dagger and gently dab the blood into the seal, I end up repeating this action several times before I'm interrupted.

“Okay, who left their charge sitting out here, and why isn't it in the human section... and why is he armed?” A cold voice asks suddenly and loudly, I hiss as I almost leave a streak of blood across the rune, potentially ruining it until I clean up and try again.

Turning my head, I'm met with the sight of a pale blue unicorn, the irony of this isn't lost on me as I stare at her as she in turn considers me with a look of disdain. I briefly consider dealing with the idiot before I shake my head and turn back around.

“Hey! Who left their human?” She calls out to the room again, I resist the urge to face-palm as I gently set the scabbard aside and start consuming my food. Glancing around, I notice more than a few of the ponies watching us sporting small smiles or hiding snickers. I feel a bit of an urge to snicker myself, even with a dust cloak on, my wings aren't exactly hidden, but she does have rather the ability to ignore what she doesn't want to see.

I feel her move up beside me and resist the urge to shy away or otherwise react to her presence. I glance at her from the corner of my eye and find her attention is drawn to the nearly finished rune on my scabbard.

“Ewwww, is that blood?” She asks, I sigh as I rest an elbow on the table and cover my face in my hand. Several audible snickers reach my ears and I have to repress another groan.

“Okay, whoever left their humans here and let them draw on their gear with BLOOD is about to get it. Come on, you, we're going for a trip,” She grabs my sword and dagger in her magic and turns to leave, obviously expecting me to follow like a good little human, not very intelligent of her.

I suppress my combat reflexes ruthlessly and settle for turning my head to look at her. Pulsing a bit of magic through my body, I feel the enchant on my eyes ripple and pop. “Put those back down,” I state, equally coldly.

She freezes a moment then whips her head around looking for who spoke before she slowly raises her eyes to meet my own. At this point she freezes as we stare deep into each others eyes.

Before this gets any more awkward, I decide to try and set stuff back on track. “Just put them down.” I repeat myself, she nods mutely and levitates the weapons back to the table. “Alright, yes, it is blood. Blood is one of the few items I have at my disposal that easily allows me to enchant an item, in this case, I'm modifying the sheath so it's compatible with my armor. If you're the squeamish sort, I won't bother asking why your in the Rising Dawn, I'll just suggest you find somewhere farther away to eat.” I state flatly, then shifting a softer tone, I continue. “However, if you don't mind my odd methods, you're more than welcome to pull up a plate of whatever this stuff I'm eating is, and have a seat and we can talk like rational, reasoning beings.” I state fighting a slight smirk.

She looks at me a few more seconds before shaking her head and stalking off, I glance around the room with a frown when I hear several ponies smother laughter.

Shaking my own head, I turn back to the food on my plate. After that's dealt with, I turn my attention back to the sheath, pulling it in front of me. As I hold out my arm to get some more blood to apply, I hear the clatter of several plates all being set down at the table. I pause for a moment to allow any vibrations in the table to settle, before I prick my skin again and start dabbing the blood into the grooves.

“Can't you use something else to do that?” A female voice asks, I nod my head.

“Yes, there were a number of powders that work just fine, they even had a chalk substance that made drawing them much easier and you only had to go over it once, not three times. Sadly, I have none of those, nor do I know how to make them or what to even call them here. So my blood it is,” I respond absentmindedly, giving the rune a once-over at the 75% completion point.

“Well, you could always drop by the mage quarter, making runes isn't common practice anymore, but I'm sure somepony would know something that would help.” Another voice pops in, a very deep, very gravely one.

Almost against my will, I raise my head and look up at the surrounding ponies. Annnd it's the foursome from the marketplace. I feel my muscles tighten as my eyes dart around the room rapidly looking at my options, for their own part they just sit there watching me curiously. After a few seconds and no overtly hostile moves I relax a bit, looking back at them. “Well, hello, interesting to meet you again,” I state, watching them cautiously.

One of the pegusai snickers. The earth pony just grins, I feel myself grinning back nervously, this could go bad very quickly. “No, I don't hold it against you, though if we go up against one another again, don't expect it to be so easy next time, if you weren't using that fancy shield of yours-” He starts.

“I'd be a smear on the cobblestone,” I finish in a monotone voice, the pegusai busts out laughing as the other pegusai and unicorn both smile. “Seriously, that one impact took at least half my power supply if you'd had any kind of thaumaturgical enhancements, you would have won that engagement,” I continue, causing the earth pony to chuckle.

Taking the moment of levity, I examine them. The earth pony without his armor is revealed to be a solid black with a deep brown mane, upon further examination, his cutie mark is still a boulder. I briefly consider then dismiss asking him how he got to rock golem status.

On his right, is another unicorn, this one a mare. Green fur, purple mane with tan highlights, I can't see her cutie mark at my angle, but as I recall it was a cloud of something silver.

Glancing to my left I see the two pegusai, one's a dark blue with a light red, almost pink mane, the one with the stylized breath of air. The others a tawny brown with a light purple mane with the hail cloud.

“I'm just glad you didn't have any boosters going, I wasn't kidding about being needed elsewhere,” I continue, shaking my head.

“And we're glad it was you cleaning those things out of their tunnels, if we'd done it, the casualties would have been a lot higher,” The unicorn states, the rest just give solemn nods.

I blink. “Wait, how did you know about that?” I ask, glancing around, then I realize as the unicorn grins at me, the grin feels false, but I leave it alone for now.

“We were watching, we caught the last part of that fight, you're something else I must admit,” She states, watching me appraisingly.

I nod before I bring my eyes back down to the scabbard in front of me. Nicking my arm again, I bring the knife to the rune and ever so gently finish the last bit of detailing. Sitting back a second, I stretch my back muscles. Then gathering a small amount of magic from my reservoir, I place a finger on the center of the rune and feed the mana into the rune. The result is a small flash of light and then the rune glows a steady soft green.

I grimace at my work, it's not very good, plus it's obviously been corrupted by my own abilities, but it'll hold. Now I just have to do it again for the second latch point. Sliding it over slightly, I start to repeat the process, slowly dragging the point of the dagger across the material of the scabbard.

“Well, that's not something you see very often,” The unicorn remarks, I pause a moment to glance up at her. She's staring at me with a raised eyebrow. “You just fed magic into that rune, I saw you use it the other day, but this time it felt . . . different,” She states with a thread of curiosity in her voice.

I sigh “Yeah, I didn't keep the flow pure this time, I went to a concert last night, so my reserves are at a higher point than they've been in months, it's kind of hard to NOT use it right now,” I reply, and get a bunch of blank looks at my non sequiter.

“I'm part changeling, I feed off emotions, specifically love, although I can draw from others to a certain extent,” I explain, tossing the information out there to gauge their reactions, I get absolutely no reaction, leading me to believe they've been briefed, so I decide what the heck.

“My Alpha was the only one that willingly kept me fed and moving throughout the war, but her emotional state was kind of strained considering the situation, so I was always 'half-empty' you might say, but when we were put in a peaceful environment, she was able to stabilize emotionally and physically, this meant she was broadcasting more of what I . . . consume naturally, Toss in an emotionally charged event that she enjoys, and it's like liquid pleasure flowing through your nervous system, plus it leaves you with quite a bit of stored love,” I continue, struggling to put my feelings to words.

One of the pegusai, the dark blue one, pipes up. “Like an orgasm?” She says, and I plant my face on the table.

“I've never had my abilities likened to sex before, thank you so much for that,” I mumble from the surface of the table, prompting everyone to chuckle. “But no, I'd put it closer to the herb you roll up in paper and ignite then inhale the fumes,” I reply raising my head, causing the tawny pegusai to nod her head before she freezes when everyone looks at her.

“What? As if you didn't try it at some point in your life?” She says defensively, I just smile. “It's not like it's against the law to use it either,” She grumps, I suppress a chuckle.

“Huh, where's my manners, I'm Redemit,” I state with a chuckle, deciding to give the pegasus a reprieve.

“I'm Rock,” The earth pony states, I resist a face-palm. “But most people call me Rocky,” He continues, and I feel myself die a little on the inside.

“I'm Fairy Dancer,” The blue unicorn with the silver swarm chirps, I nod my head in greeting while doing my best to suppress a snicker, that name. Guess I know what the swarm is now, maybe?

“I'm Scatter Shot,” The blue pegasus with the breath of wind says with a smile.

“And I'm Cloud Burst,” The Tawny pegasus with the hail cloud states with a grin, I feel a small urge to grin back, but it's overshadowed by a larger realization.

“So, who's doing the psych evaluation?” I ask, looking around at them. I'm met with generally blank faces, but I sense a weak thread of surprise, so I shake my head. “It doesn't matter, but realize this, once you've spent enough time around me, I will feel your emotions, no I won't feed on you, but I will sense dishonesty,” I warn. “Now, I'm not terribly worried about being lied too, but if you're not comfortable being near me, leave, now.” I state, letting my features grow cold. “I won't tolerate false company, I had to put up with being used to keep my Alpha safe, that reasoning no longer applies. I'm responsible for my own actions here, no one else. Show me friendship, and I'll show you mine. Show me respect and loyalty, and I'll be happy to storm Tartarus at your side. But show me weakness, or a false shell, and I'll break you,” I state in a flat voice.

I look around at the four of them. Rocky(Ugh.) seems to be taking it rather well, although he still seems cautious. Fairy Dancer looks outright hostile, and the two pegusai seem to be regretting their seating arrangements, I almost feel bad for them honestly.

Deciding to deal with the outright hostility from Fairy Dancer first. I look her in the eye, then open my mouth in a fang bearing smile, combined with my yellow eyes, it's earned me more reprimands and beatings than I care to think about, but it works.

Her look of hostility drops like a used rag as she shrinks into herself before remembering where her backbone is and glaring right back at me. This only prompts me to start chuckling deep in my chest, the sound causes everyone at the table to shift uncomfortably.

“Now that I have you attention, and I hope your understanding. I am willing to do whatever it takes to see the Princesses' will through, if you are truly loyal, you'll do the same.” I challenge them. “Now, can we sit together peacefully? Or is this little gathering going to devolve into a fight before the armed squads trying to act like they're on lunch move in to neutralize me?” I ask with an ironic smile. I have to give it to them, they barely even flinch as I drop bombshell after bombshell on them.

I shake my head. “I missed it the first time, I should have known any pony with the mental fortitude to be in the Rising Dawn wouldn't dumb enough to make that kind of scene, much less oblivious to my obvious differences, the fact they assumed I'd lash out needlessly kind of hurts,” I state with a frown. “But I also noticed that most every pony in here is armed, this was normal for my world, so I didn't pay it much mind, but then I realized, I've seen several off-duty individuals around the palace, none of them were armed,” I continue. “Add in the intentional irritation from my 'debriefing' and the fact they were trying to hit my sensitive areas, and a pattern emerged, my only question is if this 'test' was ordered by the Princess, or just lower level leadership,” I chuckle, looking around the room at all the various ponies(And humans) watching me.

“On a side note, if you decide to attack, remember, you will lose your first wave, I've got a weapon in hand after all,” I state, wiggling the knife I'd been working on the scabbard with very slightly. “Your best option is to send your attack-humans in first, they'll wear me down slightly, and give you some idea of how I fight, maybe reduce the loss amongst the 'civilized' personnel” My irony on the last part is withering, and causes more than a couple pairs of ears to lower, a hollow victory, these ponies didn't deserve that, a concept I'm not used too.

Curling my hands into fists, I rest my chin on them and glance around the very quiet cafeteria with a tired sigh. “So, I'll ask again, can we work together? Or will my world outlook and your own prejudices get in the way?” I ask, broadcasting my voice to the room in general. “I'm loyal to your monarchs, of that you should harbor no doubt, doubt gets you killed on the battlefield,” I look around at the various faces watching me cautiously, and smile again while shaking my head.

Turning back to my scabbard, I continue tracing the rune lightly, leaving them to consider my words at their leisure. As I finish up the first tracing, and move on to the second, deeper run, a throat clears itself. I raise my head and look at Rocky who in turn stares back at me solemnly. I raise an eyebrow and await his response.

“I guess we got off on rather a bad hoof there,” He states ironically, I just give a half-smile. “How about we try this again?” He asks, I nod my head, watching him quietly.

“I'm Staff Sergeant Rock of the Rising Dawn, Field Engineer.” He states, I nod my head.

The next one to speak is the blue pegasus. “Sergeant First Class Scatter Shot of the Rising Dawn, I handle field communications, although I expect that to change up a bit when we get our copies of your gear,” She states with a small smirk, I nod my head, a certain gate crashing even springing to mind.

“Sergeant First Class Cloud Burst of the Rising Dawn, I'm the resident Weapons Master for my squad.” The tan pegasus remarks with a cocky grin, I just smile back and watch her face falter a bit at the sight of my teeth.

We all turn to look at Fairy Dancer who in turn is still staring at me with narrowed eyes, for my own part, I just sigh and shake my head.

“Master Sergeant Fairy Dancer of the Rising Dawn, Medic, Mage,” She finally states tersely, I just nod my head silently trying to avoid further aggravating her without a good reason.

“I'm Private Redemit, formerly of the Night Guard, Point,” I state nodding my head in greeting. “Of course, what I am now is still up for debate, isn't it?” I chuckle.

Rock gives a small nod and most of them smile, Fairy Dancer just continues to watch me coldly, I just shrug my shoulders.

“I'll be here whenever they need me, I just hope its soon, I haven't killed anything in over a month,” I state sadly, and end up rolling my eyes when this causes another round of tension. “Seriously, did you NOT just hear what I stated about my loyalty to your Monarchs? I like killing yes, but no, I don't go around killing randomly, I'm just bored,” I say tossing my hands, minus the knife, up in the air.

“Don't you do anything else to entertain yourself?” Cloud Burst asks incredulously, I just stare at her blankly.

“Uhhh, never really thought about it, I generally spent most of my time in a fancy kennel until they needed me to kill something. Oh, now they did throw the occasional human female that was in heat in with me to see if I felt like breeding, took me forever to stop that shit. And if anyone gets the same idea, no, just no,” I state with a tight lipped smile, some rather uncomfortable nods is the only response I get, and a mild feeling of . . . did they really?. “Ugh, please tell me that wasn't on the table as an idea?” I ask as I plant my face on the table.

“Of course not!” Rock says, yes it was.

Shadows be my guide, I hate this place already, we'll get along just fine, if nopony dies anyway.

Chapter 14 - Introductions

Several minutes and a battery of psyche questions later, I find myself back in the parkour jungle, this time Pahnzer and his team are with me. “Why am I doing this again?” I ask, glancing back at Pahnzer.

“Because we need operational data on how you move and use the gear, and the easiest method is to watch you actually use your gear” He states.

“The easiest method would just to do a mind scan,” I retort, he stops and stares at me.

“Come again, private?” He states coldly, I blink at the tone, but shrug my shoulder mentally.

“The easiest method, the method they used to teach me, was via mind scan, they take the key methods and theories used in learning to use the mobility gear and copy it from the mind of someone who's already learned, and then implant that knowledge into a prospective soldier, all that's required after that is for the soldier to work on is muscle memory and reflexes,” I say, Pahnzer stares up at me for a moment before shaking his head.

“That's not an option, just demonstrate your gear and its use, Private,” He orders, I shrug, but nod my head.

“Alright, easiest part, using it to boost yourself. You generally want to jump first to get as much velocity as possible, then fire the appropriate thrusters at or just before the apex of your jump,” I illustrate by bending my knees then straightening up launching myself into the air a foot or two, then using my hip jets to send myself another couple feet up. I repeat this step several times pointing out what differences I know of between my gear and the sort used by ponies. After that, I start demonstrating various tricks and methods to redirect and disperse momentum without breaking bones.

As I'm talking I notice a certain amount of byplay amongst my watchers, various glances and facial twitches that only those who've worked together awhile would understand. So of course, I don't understand any of it, but the thread of pity and a certain amount of disgust is sadly very evident. After another couple minutes of this I throw up my hands in disgust.

“Something wrong, Private?” Pahnzer asks in confusion.

“Your team seems distracted,” I growl out popping the seal on my helm so I can stare at them more appropriately.

“What?” Rocky asks, I just tap the side of my head. “Oh,” is all he says as they share another glance and turn to stare at me, a general thread of consternation taking over, much to my delight.

“Thank you, now, since I obviously can't explain this properly enough to keep you entertained, let me see if my handlers available to explain it,” I say in a disgusted tone of voice, giving a satisfied smirk as I feel their anger ignite and erase all the other sundry emotions I was having to wade through.

Closing my eyes and focusing inwards, I reach out. 'Vine, you busy?' I ask, I feel a moments surprise then a welcoming sensation before she responds.

'Not really, catching up on some reading, what do you need?' She asks in a bemused tone, I catch a glimpse of another Daring Do book.

'I'm trying to explain the mobility gear to some ponies, but I'm not entirely sure how to explain it appropriately for their physiology, I was wondering if you could help?' I hold the aforementioned reasons in my mind, in the hopes that she wouldn't dig any harder, sadly, she knows me too well.

'And they also feel pity for you, don't they?' She whispers back in an amused thought, I feel my lips peel back in a silent snarl as she starts laughing, her love washing over me for a moment before she turns serious again. 'Let me guess? You want to take a hike for awhile, and make me experience some of what I'll never have again?' She asks in what's supposed to be a joking tone, but I can still sense some partially unhealed wounds.

'I truly am sorry they took your gear, Vine, but I promise to talk to the princesses about getting your gear back, or at least whatever they finally release to the civilian market. Besides, you're a frikken pegasus, why do YOU need mobility gear?' I ask, she just sends a thread of embarrassment.

'You know I'm not the fastest flier, but with the boosters, I could probably compete with their show-fliers, the Wonder-Bolts, at least in a straight line flight,' she replies, and I send my mental agreement as well as confusion over who the Wonder-Bolts are, which is immediately answered by a barrage of memories from talking to none other than Rainbow Dash. I can't help but chuckle at the thought.

“Private?” Pahnzer breaks in, and I nod my head.

“Yes sir,” I respond, then mentally poke Vine 'Please?' I beg. 'If the princesses don't agree, I'll see about smuggling it out, these eggheads aren't the most security conscious,' I entreat with a mental grin.

I feel her assent as my personality retreats from the forefront of my mind, shifting to my glade, I consider watching as Vine uses my body to show them the techniques, but I shrug instead, and simply go to sleep.

Blinking as I awaken, I glance around at some very sweaty ponies who are all looking back at me with semi-exhausted faces. “I gather it went well then?” I ask.

'You could say that,' Vine whispers in a very satisfied tone of voice. 'Apparently, our training was a little harsher than theirs,' she giggles.

I give her a deadpan feeling in response. “Did you use magic to boost my stamina?” I ask in a flat voice.

'Nope, they really just couldn't keep up,' Vine snickers in my head before giving a mental wave as I feel her break the mental connection.

“Oh,” I mutter as I glance at my impromptu audience. “So I take it you learned some stuff?” I ask in a cheery voice, several muttered expletives reach my ears and I have to fight the urge to grin.

“Yes, Private, we 'learned some stuff'. Now, who was that?” Pahnzer asks in a weary tone of voice, and I fight the urge to face-palm.

“That was a pegasus mare by the name of Vine Bloom, she's my handler,” I reply in a questioning tone. “Didn't Celestia tell you about us?” I ask, partially confused, I get several shaken heads in response. “Oookay, why would she do that? That's frankly not safe,” I say in a confused tone.

“She probably wanted you to come at it from a fresh perspective,” Fairy Dancer says to Pahnzer as she considers a nearby bench almost longingly, I take a moment to assess my own situation and find myself tired, but still ready to go again.

Pahnzer nods in response, still staring up at me. “You learned how to use this gear by having the memories implanted in your consciousness?” He asks, I sense he's putting something together in his head rather than being absentminded, so I nod my head and settle to the ground folding my legs, most of the other ponies seem to take this as a sign and flop down themselves.

I just glance around and chuckle, before schooling my face into an expression of non-expression(Yay for oxymorons!) and watch Pahnzer as he thinks about something very deeply. “You are aware that most magics of the mind are classified as dark magic, right Private?” He asks, and I nod my head.

“To be more specific, the USE of said magics on unwilling participants,” I amend, then glance around at them. “But, you five also trust each other implicitly, and I trust my mental stability in case you tried to take or do anything you shouldn't. And if I'm not capable of defeating you, there's a mare that I feel quite confident can hunt each and every one of you down,” I state in a cheerful tone, they just stare at me.

“You think a lone pegasus can take us all?” Cloud Burst asks in an affronted voice, I turn to look at her and let the barriers in my eyes drop for a moment, needless to say, she looks away first.

“We're broken, Ma'am, you're not. Yes, she can take you, not head on, that's suicide, but assassination is always outlawed by the stronger party, not the weaker,” I state, the obscurity of my statement causes a moments confusion before I see several faint nods. Turning back to Pahnzer, I tilt my head. “You were saying, sir?”

Pahnzer just sighs and shakes his head. “Nothing at this time, Private,” He says in a flat tone, causing me to blink. Turning to the others, he tosses his head. “That's enough for today, hit the showers, we'll begin again tomorrow after PT, dismissed!” He then turns back to me. “You're sleeping in your own quarters in officer country for now, Luna has advised that you not be near others while asleep,” He remarks, and I nod my head solemnly.

“Princess Luna is very wise, Sir,” I remark as I stand and follow the others towards the showers.

“That bad?” He asks quietly, following me.

I glance down at him and give a half smile. “That bad, I can show you, assuming I make it to sleep tonight, Sir,” I state sadly, I miss Vine already.

He just stares up at me in a confused manner.

I shake my head, he doesn't know, righto, expo time. “I'm a dream-walker, or in other words, I can do a small amount of what Princess Luna does, I'm nowhere near as powerful, and the world of dreams can be . . . dangerous for one such as I, but sharing memories isn't overly difficult. Although, to be honest, I'd recommend against it, at least until I get a better idea of your mental solidarity, Sir.” I slowly state as I consider the situation.

Realizing how what I'd just said could taken, I hastened to amend “That's not to insult you, sir. Just, I was just one of the soldiers, Vine was little more than a messenger. You don't want to see what our officers turned into. The job . . . killed them, on the inside. One of the few things I could assist my Queen in, was assessing and repairing fractured personality gestalts. I not only got to bare up under their disgust and fear during waking hours, I got to wade in it when they slept and try to give them a purpose to get up the next day and sacrifice even more lives for another couple hours of safety.” I state with a soul deep sadness, I'd seen the situation from all levels, I'd been one of the few that knew just how bad it was, and upon further consideration, it was another sign of the deep trust my Queen had given me that I was too blind to see at the time.

“In fact, dreams were one of the few places left to escape, to pretend for a few . . . Hmmm, hey sir?” I ask, pausing just outside the showers to look at Pahnzer, he stops to look at me with nod, inviting me to continue. “ I know you view black magic as taboo, but what about group dreaming? It'd be another method to share the knowledge without spending several years retraining,” I say with a glimmer of excitement.

Pahnzer just blinks a few times. “Is that possible, private?” He finally asks, I take a moment to think about it.

“Maybe? I'd have to speak to Princess Luna and get her permission and help in setting it up, sir” I finally reply.

Pahnzer nods. “If the princesses doesn't rule the option out, I'm sure we can work something out, private,” He says, I nod my head. “Oh, and Private?” He asks, I look at him inquisitively. “No more blood in the cafeteria,” He states with an awesome 'I can't believe I'm saying this' face, I just nod my head and stride into the showers to go get cleaned up.

About half an hour later, feeling much cleaner, and having given my armor a through look-over, I make my way out to find only Staff Sergeant Rock waiting, everypony else seems to have departed. After glancing around a moment, I give Rock a salute which he returns.

“Come on, I'll give you the five bit tour then show you your berth,” Rock says with a grin, I just nod my head and replace my helm upon my head.

“By all means Sergeant, lead on,” I state, my curiosity taking flight. He nods and walks off, I follow after him. We make several stops, from the armory where I'd acquired my, ugh, weapons, to the medical facilities they maintain for the palace guard. I take note of specific routes and key sentry points as I go, doing my best to get a feel for the facility.

Our last stop takes us into what is obviously the barracks. Surprisingly, it turns out I'm not being bunked in the Rising Dawn's wing, something about sleeping arrangements, they probably didn't have a room available, which I find surprising to say the least. I'll have to find out if that was honest lack of space or inter-branch politics later. Instead, I find myself in the officers zone of the Night-Guard branch of the barracks. Did I mention how frikkin huge the palace was?

“Sorry, about this, but you'll have quite the walk,” Rock says with a shrug, to which I shrug my own shoulders.

“Eh, long as they don't try to put me in the kennels,” I say, he just shakes his head. “Oh, where would I find the library?” I ask, he gives me some more ridiculously long directions to which I nod my head before giving him another salute and checking my room out.

My first action upon entering my room is to check for gear and to assess the room. Four walls, okay, no window, which is oddly surprising in an officer's quarters, but nice nonetheless. One bed, a table with several chairs in a corner giving the whole space a rather cramped feel, I'm home again, only with twice the space this time round. Checking the trunk at the base of the bed, I find my duffel bag was delivered.

After taking it out and securing most of my gear on the provided armor rack which was obviously used for the palace humans, but still appreciated. I put my armor on the rack as well and change into a simple pair of gray pants and a brown shirt, then, steeling my resolve, I open the door and step outside, only to step right back inside and lean against the now-closed door hyperventilating.

“Come on Redemit, you're safe here,” I mutter to myself. “Safe? Ha! You're surrounded by armed ponies, and your handler, the only one who ever kept you safe, is now more than a few hours away by wing, and most of a day by train,” is my emotion's ready response. “They hurt you before, they'll do it again,” my emotions whisper, and my intellect just can't gather the will to fight the thought, It's probably true. I just slide down the door to the floor and cover my face in my hands.

…

Several minutes later, I reach a compromise. Using one of my collars wrapped around my upper arm twice, I attach the knife, with the handle just out of sight under my shirt's sleeve. Stepping out my door still leaves me feeling defenseless and exposed, which I know is silly since my armor was specifically designed to NOT resist unicorn magic, I was more lucky than I could express that they'd only managed to land a restraining spell on me in the market and not an attack, otherwise my apparently powerful armor would have let it through, and probably exploded in the process.

But I was getting off topic, trying to think of anything other than what I was doing as I slowly walked down the hall, doing my best not to freak out at the smallest noise, and I hadn't even run into anypony yet. I wanted a book, but the trip to the library was seeming more and more a mistake the longer I was out. Gritting my teeth, and narrowing my focus to the path ahead and the objective in mind. I forced myself to stride confidently down the hall, watching for landmarks along the way.

The first obstacle encountered was a lone maid walking down the hall, she watched my curiously, but otherwise didn't alter from her path, so I continued on. Passing two sentries, I nod my head curtly, and they continue to stare ahead stolidly giving no sign of noticing my presence, a response I'm just fine with.

As I go, my fear abates some and my curiosity compels me to start examining some of the artwork and other scenery as I go. Glancing out a window, I come to find the day mostly spent, with the sun making its way to the horizon, they'll probably be shifting astral bodies soon.

Glancing down out of the window, I'm met with the sight of the palace gardens, affixing the location in my mind, I make a mental note to check them out later before I turn to continue down the hall on my quest to check out the library . . . that probably isn't open at night.

Well, that shot that idea in the foot, guess I'll have to find something else to do, shrugging my shoulders, I lean out the window to contemplate the gardens, trying to get some feel of how to get out to them, at which point I rustle my wings slightly to settle them more comfortably and then face-palm. I have wings, use them.

Shaking my head, I step back from the window as I consider how best to go about performing the act of defenestration upon myself. I'm distracted from this by a voice suddenly speaking out behind me.

“What are you doing, human?” a voice asks behind me, and I freeze as I run various scenarios through my mind.

A. Not another psyche test, the middle of a hallway just ain't the place for it.

B. My wings are very apparent, oblivious somehow?

C. Talk or just throw myself out now? Is it a unicorn? If the second answer is yes, the first should probably be no.

Turning around I'm find myself confronting a white unicorn stallion with two stars, one superimposed over the other which has been rotated 45 degrees, for a cutie mark. Noting his face which seems to be twisted into a semi-disgusted sneer, as if dealing with something unpleasant or disgusting, every alarm in my mind goes off screaming 'noble proximity alert' and 'get out, now'.

As if to lend additional credence to this the unicorn seems to finally notice my yellow eyes and proceeds to flip the buck out. His face adopts a look of horror, and he rears back, his horn lighting up, I choose that point to stop watching him and instead I rock back falling out the window. “Monster!” Follows me as I fall.

I twist as I fall aligning myself to the ground, upon impact I remain crouched a moment sweeping the surrounding area. Seeing nothing I move backwards hiding against the wall, glancing up, I see no immediate signs of pursuit, no bodyguards launching themselves out the window after me. Right, peaceful realm, no constant guardians, the palace guard was all I had to deal with, and I was officially one of them.

Fighting the urge to continue hiding, I instead stand up and start glancing around, seeing a path, and having nothing really better to do, I start following it. Glancing around, I see a variety of plants, many the flowering sort, and what others there are that aren't, are still decorative. I also see a variety of animals, including a small family of rabbits crossing the path in front of me.

Seeing them, I feel my mouth water, but I resist the urge stubbornly. I'll have to see if I can't hit the forest below the city at some point. It's bound to be teeming with game, and I may not know how to hunt, but I'm certainly willing to try.

Shaking my head at the errant thoughts, I turn my attention back to the path before me. Looking around, I determine that I'm angling back towards the palace. Content with my probable destination, I continue on my current path. Coming around a bend, I pause as I feel eyes on me, glancing around, I don't see anything immediately. Coming to a halt, I take a slow turn, looking at my surroundings hard, still seeing nothing, I shake my head and glance up, only to freeze.

Three pegusai in a sweeping formation are flying over the gardens, glancing around, I see more than a few patrols. Fighting the urge to hide, I'm almost certainly already spotted, I continue my slow pace through the gardens. Ignoring the various sights and sounds, I focus instead on the guards I see all about, waiting their move.

Surprisingly, they continue sweeping the garden, and aside from a few curious looks, I'm left alone. Blinking at this odd turn of events, I continue walking through the gardens, trying to puzzle out what's going on, then it hits me. It's nearly dusk, time for the transition from day to night. And if my guess is right, the guards are securing the gardens for the ceremonial portions of the changeover, not some monster hunt.

Curious now, I jump forward giving my wings enough lift to get me airborne, glancing around from my new vantage point, I see the two princesses not more than 60 feet away. Setting down again, I set off in their direction.

Coming up to the point where I last saw them, I'm met with the sight of a small 'clearing' of sorts in the garden, a motif showing the princesses in their endless cycle of night and day adorns the floor, and various markings surround it showing stylized versions of the four seasons. After admiring the scenery for a moment, I shift my focus to the two beings to whom it's all dedicated.

Luna and Celestia stand facing one another, completely still, if I didn't know any better, I'd be worried it was some sort of standoff, but it isn't, and I do know better, in fact, I can feel it. Stunning amounts of power move through the two ponies before me, the very feel of it makes my bones ache and my muscles tense in sympathy.

The first to move is Celestia, I feel her power let loose dimly, and I lose track of it quite quickly after that, but I can figure where it's going. I look to the sun, and watch it dip beneath the horizon, signaling the end to another day.

Then, as Celestia's sun retreats from the sky, Luna's power lets loose, I close my eyes and bask in the feel as the power I'm much more experienced with dances and weaves, I dimly feel stars pop into being at her behest, great constellations alighting like some great fish breaking the surface of the sea to take flight upon the black tapestry of the night sky. And to make it all complete, to add that one great signature to an orchestra of lights, I feel her power reach out, and a song responds. Not one of wood and string, of metal and keys. But of astral winds, of aching cold and burning heat. Of ponderous mass and ancient magic, a mind that while not intelligent in the classical sense, is still aware of its Avatar's call, and is willing to answer.

I feel a smile on my face and tears running down my cheeks as I listen to the song, proof that here, at least, I'm not the greatest monster there ever was. And that though I may have murdered my Queen's moon. Princess Luna's was still whole, and as beautiful as ever. That even for one such as I, there's a chance at happiness.

Opening my eyes, I look to see Celestia and Luna nod to one another before turning and heading off, one to bed, and the other to whatever she does at night. Which makes me wonder, what DOES Luna do at night? Do they have court at all times, or does she handle some portion of the governing that's best performed during a slow period.

My curiosity piqued, and with nothing better to do, I set off after them. As I go, I start seeing more guards moving about, Night-Guards taking their posts relieving the Day-Guard contingent. Coming up to an entrance back into the palace, I see Luna disappearing through the door and head after her.

Glancing around once I'm inside, I find myself pausing, the hallway is entirely unlit, while the moonlight coming through the windows along the hall provides more than enough light for me to see here, just inside, the interior hallways have got to be all but pitch black. Glancing around, I see Luna and a small entourage of Night-Guard moving down the hall.

Shrugging my shoulders, I turn to follow after her, accelerating my pace slightly so I can catch up without being so fast I attract the ire of her escort, I can dimly feel them flitting around in the shadows the night shrouded castle is full of.

Catching up to her, I hear snippets of conversation, primarily something about a Prince Blue Blood and not having time for foolish adventures. It becomes clearer the closer I get. “We do not care, We have intensified the guard throughout the palace, and the gardens were swept, no sign of this 'monster' our cousin doth speak of was found. So We see no reason to continue wasting time on the subject. Unless you have more information on the subject, We will be eating the breakfast We missed thanks to this entire debacle,” She grumps, I can't help but grin.

Sadly my anonymity comes to an end, and a guard steps forth from the shadows in front of me. “Stop.” He says in the sort of voice you use with an animal, I narrow my eyes dangerously, but come to a stop nonetheless. “What's a human doing out at this time of night?” He mutters looking around me for something.

“Are you really that stupid?” I find myself asking, the corridor grows very still for a moment before it becomes very busy.

“Threat! Threat!” Somepony screams and I find myself hitting the floor as several dark shapes pass through the air where I'd been standing previously. Rolling clear, I resist the urge to pull my knife somehow as I shoot to my feet and snatch another Night-Guard trying to tackle me out of the air, this one a pegasus, and proceed to shake her while she screams.

“ARE YOU BUCKING RETARDED?” I shout, my terror and anxiety curdling into rage inside me. “You want to attack me? I'll KILL YOU ALL!” I roar straightening my arm out explosively launching the poor pegasus into the first response team to charge me, disrupting their charge and buying myself time. Pulling my knife, I snarl as I lower my stance and spread my arms out slightly to engage on all sides. Sensing something behind me, I straighten my wings out with a snap, catching somepony and launching them into the wall with a sharp yelp.

“Stand down!" Luna's voice rings out, I drop my knife instantly and step back. One of the Night-Guard isn't as intelligent and tries to body-check me. I reach out and grab the unicorn by the top of her barrel guard and pull her up off her feet, my other hand takes a hold of her horn and I hold her up to the side of my face as I snarl with my teeth next to her eyes. She doesn't soil herself, but from the whimpers, it's a close thing. “STAND! DOWN!” Luna bellows from much closer.

I feel the ponies surrounding me stop and slowly back off. Lowering the unicorn in my grasp to her feet, I keep one hand on her barrel plate as she rocks a little before standing on her own power. Wrenching her chest-piece from my grasp. She stares up at me with murder in her eyes. I just smile back, she's the first to look away.

“Redemit, what are you doing?” Luna asks in a tired and annoyed voice. I drop to my knee before her, irrational fear of what she'll do running through me.

“Forgive this one, Your Majesty, This one doesn't know where he erred, but will do better,” I say face tilted towards the ground, I feel her mutter something before I'm pulled to my feet by her magic.

“None of that, what did you do, Redemit, and this time, you tell me, not 'this one'” Luna says, fighting to keep her pity from showing on her face, it's almost as painful as the prospect of another beating.

“I do not know your majesty. I was bored and curious so I decided to come see what you did at night. When I got close one of your guard detail mistook me for a human, when I said something they just freaked out,” I report, suppressing my scorn, any guards-pony that manages to miss a pair of wings on a HUMAN doesn't need to guard anything more important than a privy.

“Who did that?” Luna asks, staring at the various Night-Guard surrounding us.

“I did, your majesty,” One of the pegusai steps forward giving me an ugly stare before bowing his head to Luna.

Luna blinks a few times before glancing up at me in confusion, I find myself growing confused as well at her response. “Explain yourself,” She orders.

“I'm sorry, Your Majesty, when he walked up, I only saw another human, I don't know how I missed his wings, I just . . . didn't see them,” He states, his confusion evident. I kind of wonder how he missed my eyes as well, but in the dimness of the corridor, everything is a shade of grey, add in my irises being at full extension to let in as much light as possible, and I probably blended in perfectly.

I find myself confused as well, my wings lower all the way as my fight or flight reflexes calm down. Luna glances up at me then does a double take before striding over and around me to start poking them.

“Ow! Your Highness!” I yelp as she pokes my wings a few times with her hoof, that HURTS!

“Interesting,” She mutters, most of the guard behind me start murmuring as well, I glance back but see nothing besides my brown with white highlights feather coloration. “Redemit, right now, I can't keep my eyes on your wings, every time I look at them, I have to fight to keep my gaze from shifting,” Luna states in a thoughtful tone.

“What?” Is my response, very intelligent, I know, but my brains dealing with a backlog of denial, it's all I can do to not say 'that's not possible', curse my world view. “I'm not sure why that is, Princess,” I finally remark, feeling more than a little insecure at the moment.

“Can anyone else see his wings?” Luna asks, a variety of 'no's and a 'barely' is the response. “Huh, well, We shall have to tell our sister about this,” She states, before shrugging and continuing down the corridor. “Inform Prince Blue Blood We believe the 'monster' he ran into has been dealt with,” She orders offhandedly, a pony saluting before striding off back the way we came.

I stand there a moment feeling very confused. “Coming, Redemit?” Luna calls out, I nod my head and follow after her, my body on auto-pilot as my mind replays and examines the chain of events that was today, trying to find the cause of this odd chain of events.

Chapter 15 - Forging Bonds

I find myself deep in thought as I follow after Luna. What do I know? There's some kind of perception altering affect on my wings, maybe more, it seems to twist the way everypony sees me.

After examining my memories of the various locations I'd been today, I can't see it being a spell cast on me, unless I was slipping big time. I don't have any odd objects in my possession, just two articles of clothing and a knife, so I don't think it's totemic in nature. Now, I do have more 'emotional' energy right now than I think I've ever had before, it's a pleasant experience to not be several weeks shy of emotional starvation.

I'm shaken from my thoughts by our arrival at what turns out to be a private dining room. The guards open the doors and Luna walks right in, I follow as well narrowing my eyes in the light. Obviously, not all of the palace is left unlighted. “Question, why was so much of the palace unlit?” I ask.

Luna shrugs. “Why not? Our Night-Guard has no need of artificial light sources, moonlight through the various windows this palace has a multitude of suffices quite handily. Now, the public sections are still lit, as are many of the servant's area's such as the kitchens, but elsewhere, there's no point, and We find it a pleasant change,” she responds.

I nod my head, I could see the pros and the cons to that setup, but I didn't particularly care either way, so yeah. “Okay, I didn't see any unicorns casting spells. I have no totems, nor do I have the knowledge of runes to do something like this,” I report.

Luna looks at me with a bemused smile. “We're not worried about that so long as it doesn't compromise security. Our Night-Guard was not aware of your presence at our sister's behest. But since thou art officially a member of Our Night-Guard, that shall be rectified,” She says smugly, obviously I missed something along the way, or it's an inside joke. She takes a seat at the head of the table and smiles back at me as I stand in place uncomfortably. “Well? Wilst thou have a seat?” She asks.

Blinking, I do as she requests, ignoring the death-glares her guard gives me as I sit only a few seats down from her. “What would you have me do, Your Majesty?” I ask, she makes a disgusted face.

“Well for starters, do not call us...me that. My name is Luna, and so few are willing to use that name it's rather an annoyance,” She states evenly, I bow my head respectfully.

“It will take a bit of time to deal with my training in that regard, but I shall try to do so, m-Luna,” I say with only the barest sign of a slip-up. Something I'm rather proud of since I was trained to NEVER use names with anyone but my 'handler', and that was only in private. And private this is not, I let my eyes wander the walls, noting ornamental screens that could house multiple unicorns, and I would never know it until they struck.

“Next, I'm rather hungry, apparently, some yellow eyed demon accosted our dear Prince Blueblood, so we were too busy sweeping the castle in search of said creature to eat before it was time to change the day to night. But now, with that 'monster' found and taken care of, I intend to rectify that, speaking of which,” She trails off as a servant pony enters and walks to Luna's side, obviously to take her order.

At the mention of food, I become aware I could eat, but it's not particularly pressing. So I simply maintain my silence. Luna leaning over to whisper in the servant's ear causes my curiosity to peak, and the servant's eyebrows to climb at whatever Luna is telling her. Nonetheless, the servant then bows, and walks from the room, obviously to deliver the order.

I look at Luna curiously, she just smiles back at me. “So, what have you been doing today, Redemit?” She asks, I nod my head as I set my thoughts in order.

“I've been getting settled in primarily, got my psychological evaluation done, did a little bit of instructing on my gear, apparently you intend to adopt some of my world's tools?” I state curiously.

Luna nods. “Yes, much of your gear is years ahead of everyone else militarily speaking, We haven't had a chance to see how the civilian side is doing, but we expect there will be some advances made there as well,” She states happily, like the cat that got the proverbial cream. “We expect that once we have your 'mobility kits' in widespread use in our armed forces, we shall have a much better position to deal with other countries.”

I tilt my head. “Do you expect any issues?” I ask, and Luna just shakes her head.

“Nay, we don't know of any, but we expect someone will get it in their head they should rule or we insulted their gods or some other silliness of the like,” She states languidly waving her hoof to illustrate the point.

I nod my head slowly. “I actually wanted to speak to you about the training, I have an idea for accelerating the process, but it'll require the use of your domain, plus your help since I'm not a very capable dream-walker compared to you I'm sure,” I state, Luna just stares at me.

“Thou canst walk the path of dreams?” She asks incredulously, I nod my head slowly.

“Yes Ma'am. My Queen trained me, I was in a position to aid her greatly, and anything I learned would be ignored, since I was more of a sideshow freak than an actual intelligent being,” I elaborate, Luna just nods a few times with narrowed eyes as she considers me, which is kinda creepy after about 30 seconds. “Luna?” I ask, she doesn't respond for a few seconds before turning her attention to the ceiling.

I start getting very nervous, afraid I've trespassed somewhere I shouldn't have. “Ma-Luna? I'm sorry, I didn't know, I haven't gone beyond the boundaries of my ow-” She waves a hoof dismissively.

“Nay, do not worry on that Redemit, we are not angered. We just did not believe it was possible for others to walk the path of dreams, at least, we never succeeded in our experiments,” Luna elaborates, her gaze traveling down to me from the ceiling. “We thought it was only our magic that allowed such abilities,” She says while studying me thoughtfully.

I nod my head affirmatively. “It is,” I say, Luna gives me a confused look. “My Queen's magic was the catalyst. She claimed me as her own, and implanted a portion of her magic in me,” I elaborated. “It ensured my loyalty and also gave me certain 'perks', namely my eyes and the ability to access the dream-realm or path or whatever you care to call it.”

Luna narrows her eyes as she considers me silently. “What you speaketh of would be extremely dangerous,” she says. “In fact, We're surprised thou survived with a personality intact,” she continues admiringly, only to falter when I shake my head.

“I barely had one before, and I sure as hell didn't after. When I say she claimed me, I mean it, literally and figuratively. She broke what little remained of that poor creature, then rebuilt me, pulling heavily on my handler's emotions and habits. After what the animals in the labs did to me, the only thing I sought was death, I had nothing to live for, and my existence caused Vine continuous pain.” I elaborate. Needless to say, Luna does not take this well, if the look of terror on her muzzle and the ears pressed flat to her scalp are any indication. I wave my hand trying to placate her.

“Bad times, desperate measures, Ma'am. My Queen was trapped in a tight spot and needed any weapon she could get. She didn't turn me into a puppet, she left my mind my own . . . just gave it a few nudges in the right direction. Loyalty, Kindness, Love, all things I learned to cherish thanks to her, I bear her no ill will, and I ask that you do not as well.” I say respectfully, my eyes begging what my voice does not. “You don't walk away from what I did and retain any true civility. What came before my Queen was naught but a snarling animal that knew nothing but pain and the drive to protect its Alpha, I won't say it was the best course She took, but I am content with it, just as I'm content to serve you in whatever facility you require under the understanding that Vine is kept safe and looked after,” I say with a small smile.

Luna shakes her head silently, I hear a shifting among the guards at the door and glance over them briefly, giving a mirthless grin as I watch them watch me. “Do not antagonize Our Guard, they do what they do out of concern for our life, something you can relate to,” Luna chides, I bow my head respectfully.

“You're right, Princess, I apologize. Old wounds heal slowly,” I say with a rueful smile. Then, in an attempt to lighten the mood, I try to shift the subject. “So, what do you do at night?” I ask, glancing around the room we're in, it's pretty, but obviously just a dining room.

“We hold Night Court. We make ourselves available to listen to petitions or concerns Our subjects desire to bring to Our attention. We also handle certain functions and ceremonies,” she says in a tone bordering on boredom, I smile.

“Not the most exciting?” I ask, she nods.

“Our Night Court is rarely used by our subjects, We spend most of our night doing paperwork or other such tasks,” she states with a large degree of disgust, and a small trace of . . . loneliness?

I blink a few times. “Then why bother?” I ask.

“Because we have always held our Night Court since Our sister and I took the throne,” Luna says in an affronted tone.

I keep my face impassive, this is obviously a sensitive subject, but it's also causing her pain. “And in a generation or two, it will be again, but for now, the current nobility is used to centuries of only one period of activity. Trust me, I lived in constant night for 3 years, Even with court running nonstop most weeks, the nobility generally only came during the same 8-12 hour period, something about trends or like crap,” I wave my hand dismissively. “I'd view this as an advantage, rather than a problem, you've both been separated from each other for a thousand years. You were all alone, you're mental instabilities notwithstanding, but in a way, Celestia had it worse,” Luna opens her mouth angrily, but I hold a placating hand. “No, seriously think about it, there's only one thing she cares about that compares to the stability of her kingdom, and that's you. She not only had to deal with the knowledge that she failed her duties as your sister so terribly she had to imprison you for a thousand years, but she was CONGRADULATED on it, by the mindless little mayflies which are her subjects. I can't begin to imagine the kind of life you must lead, but I think I have an idea.” I say, Luna falls quiet as we both think a moment. “To borrow one of my Handler's analogies, imagine a field, now fill it with weeds, they come, they grow, they get ripped up and are replaced, their impact on the field is minimal, but imagine a tree, growing from a seed into a great oak with deep roots, and heavy moss covered limbs. Now imagine what happens when that tree is ripped up, the damage is immense, and takes YEARS to heal, but will always leave a scar.”

I shake my head. “That's Celestia's heart, I don't know much about the various Element Bearer's genealogy, but from what little I learned from Twilight, her family has been in the royal's favor for a long, long time, several generations at least, now this is just guesswork, but I think Celestia has been planning your return from the harrowing moment she was forced to rip part of herself away to save some mindless insects that probably didn't even realize what she'd paid for their continued miserable short existence.” I snarl.

Luna just stares at the table, tears running down her cheeks, the guards in the room are thankfully silent, I barely hear them breathing. I reach out slowly and rest a hand on Luna's shoulder.

“Now, I can't speak for you, but if my Queen were in your situation, Night Court be damned, she wouldn't leave her sisters side for a few years, I know I wouldn't in her situations. You're night is beautiful, anyone with a brain in use can tell you that, but Celestia's been carrying a burden for a very long time,” I say quietly, my voice growing thick as I fight my own emotions. “My suggestion, hang Night-Court for a few years, go to bed until it's time to raise the sun, it doesn't matter what time you spend awake, what matters is who you spend your waking moments with. Celestia's your family, and family is what makes life worth living. I …I miss mine, for all the pain, all the fear, all the scars, I miss them all.” I choke up and bow my head tears running down my face as I cry silently.

I hear a choked sob before the table in front of me is wrenched away and I'm pulled into Luna's warm embrace. Pure, unfettered love hits me like a drug and I lay my head on her chest and cry, the feeling of warmth and security only causing me to sob all the more.

After a few minutes,my tears have stopped and I'm simply content to bask in her presence. I raise my head and look at the servant's door. “Someone's coming,” I warn, looking up at Luna, she blinks at me a few times, I just give her a confused look. “You don't mind if someone sees you like this?” I finally ask, she just laughs softly.

“Nay, in this, we do not mind,” She says gently, I nod my head in acknowledgment, but still insist on pulling away from her and setting the table back to rights before taking a seat as the door to the dining room opens.

A unicorn walks in, levitating several covered dishes, when she sees me, she blinks, but gives no other reaction. Walking up to Luna, she bows before placing one of her dishes before Luna, and pulling the cover off, revealing a sandwich and a pastry of some sort.. Glancing at me, she turns back to Luna. “I'm sorry, Your majesty, we received an order for two, do you want me to go get a bowl for the Human to eat out of?” She asks, I'm only partially insulted.

Luna glances at me a moment but I just return an incredulous stare before shrugging as I nod my head back at my wings with a grimace and a roll of my eyes. Luna just shakes her head slightly before giving the servant a warm smile. “Nay, what you have shall be sufficient, we're quite sure our human will see to his table manners,” she says with a slight smirk in my direction, I just stare at the plate still held in the servant's magic, my curiosity piqued.

The servant nods and sets the plate down in front of me, lifting the lid off, my suspicions are confirmed. Meat, glorious meat, a large side of the ribs from some poor critter sits before me, steam still rising from it. I raise my hand to grab the provided fork, then stop and rest it on the table. My training coming to the fore, I simply settle for a whimper as I stare at the food sitting in front of me as thoughts run through my head.

Meat means a job, meat means I get to kill. Meat means my queen wants someone dead, quietly, and how better, than by human? No one suspects the human, oh no, humans are stupid creatures, if a human did it, it'd be messy and crude, there would be blood everywhere or like mess. Part of me is happy to get to kill again. But the new part, the part that was born when I realized I was that much closer to being free and needed to adapt to a peaceful environment, worries. 'Does this mean I'm to be nothing but a pawn again?' I wonder, I feel a small trace of betrayal, but the older part of me just revels in the coming kill.

I look up at Luna who's watching me slightly confusedly. The servant just tilts her head. “He's very well trained,” the servant states. “What did he do to get such a treat, anyway?” she asks. Luna just smiles benignly for her benefit.

“Oh, he's in a new and very stressful environment, but he's still been very well behaved, his handlers are exceedingly happy with his progress,” Luna says, suppressing a laugh, the servant misses this as she's too busy watching me watch Luna.

Shaking her head, the servant bows to Luna again before taking her leave.

Once she's gone, Luna opens her mouth, but I speak out first. “Who am I to kill, my queen?” I ask, staring at the food in front of me longingly.

“What?” she asks, I suppress another whimper, why does she have to play it coy?

“Who am I to cleanse?” I rephrase myself, my hands clenching and shaking, I want the meat so bad I can taste it already, but I know what happens if I move before I have permission.

“What are thou talking about?” my queen asks once more, I can't stop the whimper this time, I'm too focused on not crying.

“Please,” I beg “Just give me their name, I'll take care of them, don't tease me, my Queen.” I want it, I need it.

She's silent a moment before drawing in breath sharply. “Redemit!” Luna thunders, I flinch, but raise my eyes to look at her, my train of thought derailed. She just smiles at me sadly. “Just eat it, I have no name for you, it's okay,” She all but whispers, I duck my head as I feel her pity. I don't want pity, I want to feed, I want to kill.

Raising my hands hesitantly, I take hold of the utensils and slowly liberate a piece of meat. Pausing a moment, I glance at Luna, who nods her head holding back tears. Raising it to my mouth, I bite it off my fork and slowly masticate the chunk of meat as tears of joy run down my face. I flinch when I feel a hoof rest on my shoulder, I touched the meat without permission and now I'll lose it, but Luna just smiles before she slowly rubs my shoulder.

“It's okay,” she whispers, I nod my head and go back to the food before me as Luna whispers encouragements soothingly.

All too quickly, the only thing on my plate is several rib bones. I push them around a bit to ensure my plate is clean before sitting back, my thoughts is conflict. 'You'll always be a monster, you'll always be a killer!' the older part of me, the . . . beast claims. 'Maybe, but not here, not with her, I'm not a pawn anymore, I'm her friend, her servant, her shield.' I reply. I feel strangely better after my internal debate, my body tells me it enjoyed the protein, I feel better now than I have in days.

“Thank you,” I say quietly. Luna chokes back a sob, I just hang my head. I don't like causing her pain, but I don't know how to stop it right now.

“Nay, it's alright, Redemit, everything's OK.” Luna says soothingly, I raise my head to look at her with a small smile which she returns. Then, almost hesitantly, she opens her mouth. “Your queen, she had you kill for meat?”

I nod my head mutely.

Luna sighs and rubs her brow with a hoof. “We shall not have any such jobs for thou, we are afraid that meat will not be a regular occurrence, we just had some on hand due to the gryphon ambassador's upcoming visit, and we heard the report on your tests, we felt some congratulations were in order,” She says chuckling, I return a weak smile.

“Thank you, Ma'am, I don't know why, but I've been taking twice the recommended dose of the supplements you use to replace meat in your human's diets, and I've still been craving it,” I remark. “And when you placed it before me, I . . . I guess I flashed back. Food was scarce, and meat even more so, so when my Queen offered it in exchange for some dissenter or other pony who stood in the way of her attempts to keep as many of her subjects alive as possible . . . I sprang at the chance to kill nobles, I hated them, and others . . . well, my Queen said they should die, so they died,” I elaborate, Luna nods sadly then cocks her head.

“Where did she get meat from?” Luna asks hesitantly, I look away.

“I didn't ask Ma'am, even I have things I won't do knowingly,” I say, I don't know anything, but I didn't ask, and meat is meat.

Luna looks like she's not sure whether she should be sick or not, but waves a hoof. “About the first part, thou art taking twice the dosage?” she asks incredulously, I nod my head. “Hast thou been to see a physician?” she asks, I shake my head. “Thou shalt visit one the first opportunity thou gets,” she orders sternly, I bow my head in acknowledgment, and she gives me a happy smile.

From there, conversation turns to the dream-realm, and my idea for training Pahnzer's squad.

“I can make and hold a world for them to practice in, keeping time accelerated will be the biggest issue, I'll have five minds all trying to run at their own pace. Scenarios won't be an issue, except the flying part, I don't have much experience in the air.” I say thoughtfully, trying to consider all the angles.

“We can assist in that,” Luna says, tilting her head to the side. “But why wouldst thou have little experience in the air, with wings such as yours we would expect you'd be . . . Redemit?” She asks quietly, I look at her inquisitively. “We can see your wings,” she says slowly.

I blink a few times as I try to figure that out, then I remember. Glancing at the door guards, I call out. “Hey, can you see my wings right now?”

After a few seconds, I receive two affirmative answers, which leave me more confused than when I started. Luna just shakes her head, not touching the subject obviously.

“As we were saying, we would expect thou to be one of thine armed force's aerial combatants,” Luna says questioningly.

I shake my head. “The Swarm spawned so fast, we lost control of the air, my Queen's power allowed us to shut the sky down for both sides, most engagements happened within 15 to 30 feet of the ground, which didn't stop aerial maneuvers, it just had to be carefully choreographed and required my Queen's personal attention to open a path through the storm walls, that sort of thing was left to civilized beings, not one such as I.”

Luna blinks a few times, probably trying to envision that scenario, I just shake my head.

“Don't worry about it, I can show you later if you assist us.” I state with a wistful chuckle. “Vines been enjoying herself since we got here, it took awhile to get used to the lack of storm cover, but she's been flying since the first day after we got out of the hospital,” I remark with a tender smile, thoughts of Vine bringing a ray of joy to my otherwise . . . odd day.

“Didst thou take to the skies as well?” Luna asks with a small grin, which falters and disappears when I shake my head. “Why wouldst thou deny thyself something so wondrous?” she asks incredulously.

I give a wry smile. “Because I didn't have my wings, to better blend in while I was with the Element Bearers, and ever since I got here, I've been avoiding strangers,” I answer with a shrug, Luna just shakes her head.

“We will not order you too, but we would suggest you take advantage of your new-found freedom, at least around the palace, during the night hours, we go to quite a bit of trouble to make our nights a sight to behold, we trust you shant be disappointed,” she says with no small amount of pride, to which I give a smile and nod my head.

“I always enjoyed the sight of your moon, too often it was one of the few accepting friends I had aside from my Alpha, I shall always treasure the opportunity to gaze upon it once more,” I reply, Luna just gives a bittersweet smile in response.

“Very well, thou hast given us much to think upon, we shall consider thy words, and thou art due upon the training field tomorrow, we shall let thee get back to thy business, fare the well, Redemit,” Luna states solemnly, with what is arguably a twinkle in her eye, I just stand and salute before moving towards the door.

Stopping at the door, I turn to the rightmost guard. “May I have my weapon back, please?” I ask politely, if the answers no, they won't enjoy the results, but hey, best behavior and all that.

To my surprise, and no little chagrin, the unicorn gives me a slight bow and levitates my knife over with a smile of thanks, and I get the impression it's not for asking politely. I return a salute and grasp my knife slipping it into my sheath as I step through the door.

Once outside the door, I find two of Luna's Night-guard facing me with blank faces, to each side I can feel additional ponies watching, but they seem content to stay to the shadows. I put my back to the doors and watch the two before me wearily, only to boggle at them as they bow their heads. “We hear what you said,” The one on the left says softly. Then the right one speaks out. “Thank you, our Princess hasn't said anything, but the lack of activity in Her Night-Court was affecting her, you brought her joy, and for that we are grateful, but if you ever harm her . . .”

“Then I would hand you the knife,” I state flatly, clenching my fists. “I don't know how much you know about me, but your Princess walks a very fine line, I won't just die for her, I'll kill as well, no matter the target. I have no sense of honor, I know no pity, I will not stop, I will never quit, for what time I have left in this world, my blades belong to your monarchs,” I state coldly, advancing until I kneel to face the two Guards-ponies at eye level, meeting their yellow eyes with my own. “Should they ever desire it, my still-beating heart would rest in their hooves, simply because I know they'll never do so except for the most dire of circumstances.”

“A version of your Princess took me from a slavering beast to a monster on the battlefield and a loyal servant, I won't say how she did it was right, but I still loved her for it,” I elaborate, causing the two to twitch their heads slightly, obviously the rumors have been going around. “The things I loved in my Queen are present in your Princess, besides, she gave me meat,” I state with a grin, causing the two to flinch, whether at the thought of meat or a grinning human, I can't really say. “I assume you know this should go no further than the appropriate ears,” I state standing up, I receive another pair of nods and bow slightly in thanks.

Stepping to the side, I walk around the two without a backwards glance. My awesome performance is somewhat hampered upon reaching the first branching. I stop, glance down the various paths I could take, and face-palm. Turning around to the two guards who are staring at me with stolid faces, probably hiding their confusion, I open my mouth. “Ah, which way to the barracks?” I ask, the one on the left steps forward and starts giving directions . . . a lot of directions, this place is too big.

Shaking my head in thanks, I move down the corridor, taking a number of turns and twists, including several flights of stairs. Apparently the gardens are quite large, that's nice. If I had to spend every day for a large number of years in a palace presiding over a court of children, I'd want my creature comforts in extra large too.

That slightly humorous thought kept most of my nervousness at bay until I managed to reach my room, at which point I closed and locked the door, put my knife on the bedside dresser, and stripped down to shower once more, the various 'encounters' having left their mark with more sweat buildup, it was getting rather annoying actually.

Once I was clean, I toweled off and considered getting dressed again in preparation for tomorrow. Shaking my head, I settled for getting into bed and pulling the sheets over me, the knife I placed under my pillow close at hand.

My preparations complete, I lay back on my bed close my eyes. Sadly, this does nothing to dispel my paranoia, or thoughts of the . . . eventful day I'd just had. I was still forming an opinion on Pahnzer and his squad, even Fairy Dancer. She disliked me because I was hot-headed and didn't respect their authority, not because I was a human hybrid, and you know, I can live with that, maybe even better my teamwork, it'd probably give me a better shot at getting to kill something. A life spent in a garrison was NOT something I wanted.

But I digressed, it was time for sleep, closing my eyes, I readied myself for sleep. Or tried too anyway, sleep was a long time coming.

I'm awoken by a knocking on my door, this of course causes a mild panic attack and me to rocket out bed still naked with dagger in hand. Sweeping the dark room for threats as I hyperventilate, I slowly calm down as whoever is outside knocks again.

I walk to the door and throw it open, narrowing my eyes as light floods my room from the hall. Sargent Cloud Burst puts her hoof down and slowly raises her gaze to meet my eyes. “Umm... Right! Time for PT, Private!” She barks, probably to cover her first reaction, I just nod stolidly and shut the door. Rubbing my face with my off hand, I shuffle to the shower.

Stepping out of the shower, rubbing myself down with the provided towel, I look up to see Sargent Cloud trying not to stumble around in the comfortable gloom of my room. “You can turn the light on, if you wish,” I state with a sigh.

“I'm fine! No worries!” Sargent Cloud Burst replies . . . she can't find the lights to turn them on.

Shaking my head, I walk over to the door and thump the light switch. Narrowing my eyes as my irises adjust I glance at Sargent Cloud as she stands in place blinking owlishly. “Not that I really care, but why are you in here? I'm not exactly safe to be around at the best of times,” I query as I move to gather my gear together, throwing on first clothes and then start buckling my armor on.

“Curiosity mainly,” Sargent Cloud replies frankly, I nod my head at the complete sincerity in her statement. Shrugging my shoulders, I decide why not, I have to work with these ponies anyway, I can give them a chance.

“Alright, what would you like to know, Sargent?” I ask offhandedly as I slip my chest-piece on and start sealing clasps as I start toggling various runes to ensure complete functionality.

“Most anything, we don't know much about you,” Sargent Cloud replies, glancing through my open chest curiously, I shrug my shoulders.

“That's a pretty open subject, would you like to be more specific, Sargent?” I ask, settling my dust cloak over my shoulders to cover my wings, no need to draw any more attention than I need to. After a few days, most of the Night-Guard should know me on sight, the rumor mill being what it is, but still.

“Okay, your name, do you know what it means in ancient equestrian?” Sargent Cloud asks, I nod my head.

“It means 'Redeemed', it was the name my Queen gave me upon my induction into the Night-Guard,” I state flexing my limbs to ensure my armor is settled appropriately before I sheath my knife and pick of the sword and socket it on the right side of my spine, listening to the click of the runes as they lock onto each other.

I turn around to find her hovering right behind me, I give no reaction beyond narrowing my eyes at the proximity, for her part, she just stares at my face.

“I'm not a vet or anything, but you don't look too good there, Private, you sleep okay last night?” Sargent Cloud asks, I just laugh.

“Ha ha, no. I decided to try and visit the library, figured out it was a little late for that, ran into a noble, ran FROM said noble, met the princess's body-guard, did a security check, then I had a late night dinner with Princess Luna, it was nice, found out for some reason at times my wings are hard to notice, and then I dang near got lost in this massive city you call a palace.” I state with a hint of exasperation. “Then, to top it all off, I have to go visit a doctor at some point today,” I state with naked dread, Cloud just blinks.

“It can't be all that ba-” Sargent Cloud starts but stops as I narrow my eyes and clench my fists. “Hey, Calm down Private! No one's going to hurt you here!” She exclaims, taking a step back.

“If only you knew,” I state rubbing my forehead and waving a hand to placate her fears. “Sorry, that wasn't aimed at you, just trust me when I say: I don't like doctors, just another word for butcher in my mind,”

Sargent Cloud looks at me rather askance but lets the matter drop in favor of another matter I brought up. “Wait, you ran into a noble? Was it Prince Blueblood?” she asks with a smirk. “AND you ate with the princess? I didn't hear about that one, what happened?” she continues, I just shake my head.

I didn't stop to introduce myself. And yes, yes I did. No, I won't tell you what happened, that is between myself and your monarchs, ask them if you wish,” I say turning to the door. “Shouldn't we be going?” I ask with a smirk, Sargent Cloud grimaces before shooting for the door.

“Buck, they're waiting on us, lets go!” She says over her shoulder as she shoots out the door and down the hall, I jog out after her and resealing my helm, then break into a run as I go, hurtling the occasional earth pony and unicorn, and ducking under any pegusai flying down the hall.

Arriving at an enclosed field, I'm met with the sight of a number of ponies performing various activities ranging from sparring to running, even a bout of swimming as I watch a group of ponies run into a small pit of water and swim across only to resume running on the far side. Following Sargent Cloud we soon come up to the rest of her squad mates and Captain Pahnzer.

“Glad you could make it, Private,” Pahnzer states evenly, glancing at Sargent Cloud who grimaces slightly before saluting. “Now that you're here, shall we begin?” he asks, turning around and walking away without a second glance.

…

An hour later, I'm feeling pretty good, and the poor ponies look like they're being hazed, Rock seems to be taking it well enough, as is Pahnzer and the two pegusai who spent most of their time in the air. But Poor Fairy Dancer looks ready to collapse.

I stretch my arms and stomp my feet to settle everything as the ponies perform various stretches to cool off and avoid immanent collapse. I suppress an unrepentant grin, I'd decided to see how good their physical regimen was, and found it lacking, probably something to do with the lack of thurmatogically enhanced armor.

“Hit the showers, then assemble back at the-” Pahnzer starts, but I cut in.

“Uh-uh, those two aren't done yet,” I state, pointing at the two Pegusai, Sargent Scatter Shot gives me an affronted look, Sargent Cloud just groans while hanging her head in an adorable display of faux-exhaustion.

Pahnzer looks at me in appraisal, then nods his head. “Alright, Private, what do you think?” he asks.

I shake my head. “They spend too much time in the air,” I state bluntly. “You want to learn to use the mobility gear? Fine, but that stuff throws you around, you need a lot more stamina in your limbs than you might think, especially for tight quarters. You need, as my handler is fond of saying, to practice running around like a demented earth pony, no offense, Staff Sargent,” I elaborate, Staff Sargent Rock just gives a tired wave.

Sargent Cloud groans again. “Running?” she asks in a voice laced with dread.

I nod my head. “Running, and it's time for me to get some air time in, which, I need some dead-weight, that will be you, Master Sargent,” I say with an inner smirk at my innuendo.

For her part Master Sargent Fairy Dancer looks a lot more energetic and ready to kill me. I just give a lazy smile and spread my wings in a 'preparatory stretch', she flinches every so slightly, but otherwise still looks ready to kill, I just shake my head.

“I did it in practice, Ma'am. I need some way to work my arms, I can't exactly run on them like you can, so I had to drag stuff with my constantly, and air dropping Unicorns or Earth ponies in hard to reach locations is incredibly useful, you'll love heavy armor and its strength rune,” I state gently, I had my fun, now it's time for work.

Master Sargent Fairy Dancer stares up at me awhile then nods slightly. She's still angry, but she's also willing to work with me, I can live with that. I step to her side and kneel, I look at her questioningly one last time to make sure she's okay with what I'm about to do. She stares at me a few more seconds then nods slightly, I nod in return and wrap my arms around her chest and flank, cradling her to my chest, I move back to the track.

“I'm not going at all high, but my launch is a little rough,” I warn as I flex my wings, Master Sargent Fairy just looks up at me quietly. I nod my head and bend my legs. Straightening them out explosively, I launch myself into the air and trigger my jets, launching myself forward into the air. While slightly shaky, my launch still gets me airborne, I leave my legs stretched out behind me as I power along with slow flaps of my wings, my bodies arrangement points my face at the ground, which leaves me vulnerable to attack from high and behind me but I will hopefully have someone to watch my back in an airborne fight.

Glancing down at Master Sargent Fairy, I find her rather tight lipped, but otherwise unaffected, just past her, I see the two pegusai starting their own run. Bringing my gaze forward, I focus on the path infront of me, without the strength rune, this still isn't as easy as it should be, I am way out of practice.

“I'm not on top of my game right now, I'm afraid,” I warn. “But if anything happens, try to stay calm and loose, my fault, my fall, I'll cushion you as much as I can,” I state making the first loop around the track.

“Understood, Private,” Master Sargent Fairy states, I just nod my head.

“Ma'am, we need to talk,” I decide to deal with this problem right here and now if at all possible.

“Yes, Private?” she asks warily, I just smile mirthlessly.

“You don't like me, and I understand why, I'd also like your help in changing that,” I say, flapping harder to bring myself a little farther from the ground, and any ears that might want to listen in, we're not exactly alone after all. “I wasn't treated very well in my world, I know this, and I even understand why. But the same reasons don't apply here, and I'll be the first to admit it kind of hurts. However, your dislike I'm sure is entirely reasonable,” I continue, she remains thankfully quiet. “I'm horridly untrained by your standards, little more than a loose grenade, waiting to go off in someone's face, friend or foe. While I could argue that, most of my time was indeed spent as little more than a glorified attack human or pack mule,” I flex my arms slightly to emphasize my point.

“So you say, Private,” Master Sargent Fairy says with an impartial nod, she's willing to listen, good.

“I want your help in fixing that. I don't want your friendship, your love, or any of that. All I want is a chance, your help, and maybe, just maybe, your respect. Anything that makes me better is something that will let me serve the Princesses better. And I intend to do as much as I can in whatever life this frail mortal coil has remaining to take even a thousandth of the load they bear off their shoulders, will you help me?” I ask quietly and sincerely, glancing down at Master Sargent Fairy, who in turn is looking up at me with new-found respect.

“I think I can do that, Private” she says with an equally quiet and sincere voice. “I think I can.”

Chapter 17 - Why Me?

Once free of the infirmary, I walk over to a window, throwing the panes open I lean out and start gasping for breath. The scent of flowers and the feel of the sun greets me as I look out upon a world I truly don't spend enough time appreciating, I'd spent most of my time inside or trying to anticipate needs I had no experience with.

I sorely wanted to talk to Vine right now, but use of the link was again something I wasn't supposed to do without permission, and there was no telling how my Alpha would react to my request.

After about half a minute spent with my head out a window, I feel a warm body push up beside me gently, and my Alpha sticks her head out beside me. “Enjoying the air, Redemit?” Fairy Dancer asks with a small smile, I nod my head.

“Yeah, sorry Alpha, just bad memories,” I report, glancing around, I feel her nudge my side with her shoulder.

“No ranks when we're not on duty, Redemit,” she orders.

I blink and give her a confused look. “Then why bother, Ma'am? I'm not complaining, I asked for your help, and I think you believe this to be the best course, but still, why?” I ask, unsure what I'm even asking, I don't understand half the thoughts and emotions going through my head.

She turns to look out the window at the buildings around the place, or maybe the sky, I'm not entirely sure which. “Lets go, Private,” she orders, pulling back from the window and setting off down the hallway, I close the window and follow after her. “Food first, then we talk,” she states once I catch up to her, I nod my head as my stomach growls at the thought of food.

We make our way to the mess hall, my Alpha glances up at me apologetically. “I'm not entirely sure I can tolerate the thought of meat and still eat, we'll try to find you something later,” she says with a grimace, I just grin in response, I smell weakness.

We get in line, grab our food, in my case I load up on legumes with a grimace of disgust. Grabbing a side of some kind of wheat pasta mixed with beans, we take our trays and Sergeant Fairy sweeps the room. “Too crowded, lets go,” she orders, walking out into the courtyard. Sadly, with no weather scheduled that day, it was also pleasant outside, and the courtyard was rather populated as well, which prompts me to look up and grin.

“Think you can transport our food up there?” I ask, pointing to a nearby tower, my Alpha just looks at me incredulously.

“You can't be serious,” she says in a deadpan voice, I just shrug.

“You're looking for privacy, there it is, and I can handle transportation for the two of us easily, I just can't guarantee our food stays on the plate too,” I state with a chuckle.

Sergeant Fairy looks up at the easily 300 foot tall tower and shakes her head. “Alright, Private, get me up there, and I'll bring the food,” she says with a sigh, I set my tray on handy table as she levitates hers over by mine. Food taken care of, I kneel down and open my arms. My Alpha glances around before walking into them, I wrap my arms around her flank and chest and lift her up.

Bending my knees, I consider the best path and settle for a short burst launch, getting myself into the air right at first in the dead air pocket of the courtyard is the hardest part, once I'm above the rooftops, flight becomes easy, and I land on the top of the tower in under forty-five seconds, not bad.

I set Fairy down on the roof, and take a moment to sweep the horizon, being on the side of a mountain, the view is extraordinary. I find myself content to simply sit and stare out at the countryside until I get bumped by my tray.

“Foods here, eat up,” my Alpha orders, I nod my head and take a seat against a piece of roofing where I can examine the countryside as I eat.

I crunch a couple legumes then to wash it down I bite down on a spoonful of the pasta, heat immediately explodes on my tongue as the incredibly spicy creation proceeds to punish me for profaning it by eating in such an unprepared manner. I sit absolutely still, a tear running down my cheek, as I try very very hard not to start choking. After a few seconds the burn settles to a general sear, down from forest fire, and I draw a shuddering breath in through my mouth, which just excites the darn burn again.

“Something wrong, Redemit?” Sergeant Fairy asks as she fights a valiant battle to withhold the unholy storm of mirth threatening to sally forth from her mouth in the form of a gale of laughter, I just roll my eyes and nod my head.

“Yeah, just letting my tongue go numb, Ma'am,” I state shortly, still taking shallow breaths.

She just falls over laughing for a bit, her own tray forgotten, I just huff and take another bite of the spicy food, the second bite isn't nearly as traumatizing, and I find myself enjoying it.

Sadly, the food doesn't last long, and all too soon, I find myself laying on my back, staring up at a rather nondescript blue sky, with not a cloud in sight. There are no constellations to trace, no galaxies to watch in awe, just more bright blue. Oh, now there is the occasional pegusai flying by, even a dragon at one point, but they weren't sticking around, and I was hardly going to go say 'hi', so the excitement was short lived. “Ma'am?” I ask, looking over at Fairy Dancer, who in turn examines the surrounding terrain with complete absorption for few moments, then turns to me with a sigh.

“Why did I choose to become your Alpha?” She asks, I nod my head, and she stares off blankly with another sigh. “I guess, to explain that, you need to see my point of view, so here goes: When you first showed up, you looked . . . well, like an enigma. You handled yourself with ease, the way you watched us, even knowing it was just a helmet, you were intimidating. Then you took on a five pony team of some of the best armed forces Celestia could find and beat them, and you know what, you made it look EASY. You handled us like a pack of new recruits just starting the advanced portions of their training, you scared me, to be honest. And then you tore through half the city moving so fast we weren't even mentally prepared to contain you. Even with the Captain of the Guard shielding the city, you still managed to break out of the city all by yourself, after taking down a squad of the air patrol's best and the forces we had set up to guard the train station.”

She levitates my blade and starts fencing in midair against an imaginary component, sweeping and stabbing to illustrate her points as she continues. “You tore through them like a hot knife through butter, but you did it without killing anyone, the worst injuries were actually self inflicted, we even heard that you slowed down to ensure one of the air patrol was still alright, now, you dropped him in a dumpster, but he lived. That was when I started to respect you, this unknown warrior that claimed to be a soldier but displayed all the skills you'd expect from a once in a thousand years hero they like to laud up in fairy-tales that the adults know just will NEVER happen.” she says with a grin. “But then, there you were, on your last ditch effort to save any survivors of your people, I was like, wait, there's more of them? Are we about to be inundated by a swarm of bipedal super-soldiers? But we also realized that your comrade was a pegusus, which gave us hope that it wouldn't be another race invading, but rather kindred souls who just happened to be refugees from another world.” She folds her front legs and brings my sword to rest, letting it sit point down in front of her and spinning it in place like a top, an inch above the top of the roof.

“And then we found you, circling over the forest, we'd salvaged the communications crystal from your comrade's armor, the one the swarm queen killed, apparently the suicide spell on the armor failed to trigger. You sanitized and destroyed the suit and the body within, but the top part of the helmet was sliced free first, so we heard you every step of the way. The pain in your voice as you called out like a lost foal hunting for its mother, it was all I could do to not ask to help you for crying out loud. But then, we realized where your 'alpha' site was, and Princess Celestia scanned it,” she trails off, tears flowing down her face. “I've seen Celestia annoyed, saddened, and occasionally even irritated, but I've never seen her cry, and I've never seen the rage she showed when we saw what those . . . things did to your people.”

“My squad was . . distracted, securing the outside, but Celestia stood by you as a silent witness for your entire journey, we came back to watch you cut those creatures down beside a . . . 'thing', a monster that took a swarm queen and rent its soul asunder and took its body like some kind of soul stealer, We thought . . . we thought you'd be too violent, that we'd have to kill you both, that this world could not tolerate monsters such as you, no matter how valiant your actions, how much mercy you'd shown to ponies you so totally outclassed. But then, you took the elements of harmony, the most powerful equalizing force we know, and you wielded them, however imperfectly, you took the power into yourself, and you negated it, you proved your mettle.” She says quietly, glancing up at me with eyes that were still wet with unshed tears, I just stared back quietly, wishing I were that individual she spoke of.

“Then, rather than attack, when we were all too distracted from your display and could not have possibly stopped you before you could have possibly wounded or killed the one who holds this nation together, you simply called for an end, you halted the aggression, you sued for peace. After slaughtering nearly a hundred creatures without mercy, without restraint, roaring like some wild animal, you showed a reasonable side, a love for peace, for Harmony.” I shake my head mutely, she just reaches out and rubs my arm with a hoof understandingly.

“Then, when all else failed, when faced with the most powerful being on this planet, an army at her back, you did not quail, you did not falter, you bore loyalty to another, and you would save her, at any cost, any price. But you weren't above begging, you would have been upon your knees if you'd thought it proper, but instead, you allowed that powerful being to be alone with the one whom you'd dedicated your life to, with a single action, you showed immense trust, and fortitude. So what that you freaked out when Princess Celestia started her spell, I probably would have done the same, but even then, you didn't lash out, you just ensured the situation and sat it out.” Fairy Dancer gives a small smile.

“And then, when you were ready to find your friends, you were once again walking death, every movement sure, every action planned. You blew past our advance like we were out for a stroll, you caused such a ruckus every bug in the area was inside the city after you, yet the both of you sawed through them like it was NOTHING, as if you weren't flesh and blood, but as if you were some elemental force of Harmony that would brook no disorder, no chaos. You cut through the heart of the swarm as if they were naught but flies. And then, as if to sign your name indelibly into the hall of heroes, you took on a juggernaut of armor and spines, an unstoppable behemoth even your kind feared and respected, and you won, and most of all, you made it look EASY. You let it chase you, keeping just far enough ahead it thought it would have you, only to walk into one trap after another. You would have willingly sacrificed everything for your people. Walls, bugs, vaults, none of it could stand before you, one obstacle after another you provided solution after solution. Many not the most creative, but all VERY effective.” She shakes her head.

“But in the end, what happens? Out of a force hundreds strong, only two survived. One, a pegasus who we assumed held your heart, and another, some warrior from legend wielding weapons and armor crafted upon the anvil of the gods, here to bring cleansing fire to the swarms of the unholy. I'll be the first to admit, I was prepared to be jealous of that pegasus. Some great warrior, ready to take on the might of a nation all for his people. Then we find we're going to be getting copies of your gear, weapons and armor like yours all our own, and to help us? Will be this same great warrior.” She says excitedly, then turns quiet again.

“Only, we're read in, and the psych officer reads off a list of mental problems a mile long and most of which I'd never heard of. We had some many rules on what we could and couldn't do to you, and then Celestia herself orders us to NEVER attack you, that you were too valuable, and that your armor was DESIGNED to be susceptible to unicorn magic, that you weren't peace loving, you simply didn't have someone telling you to attack, you were nothing, an animal, a HUMAN, a broken shell of a creature desperately trying to save the one thing it cared about above all else including itself. That you were suicidal, depressive, massive social insecurities, problems with authority, flashbacks, hostile responses borne of paranoia, oh, and to top it all off, you were part changeling, some parasitic creature that had probably acted to save that pegasus because only she could ever show it love.” She states with disgust, I glance away, my thoughts in turmoil.

“And then you show up, your first action upon your return is to attend a concert, only, word comes down the grapevine that this is the first time you've EVER experienced the like, what kind of sick twisted world did you come from? It went well enough, you harassed a guard a little, but it seemed more in good fun than outright malicious, and you returned to the palace having one of the more depressing conversations it has ever been my duty to listen too. You could kill hundreds of insects without breaking a sweat or slaughter an innocent provided someone told you too without turning a hair. Yet you couldn't even READ.” I flinch from the venom in her voice, even though it's aimed more at my situation than me, the knowledge that someone else knows of my illiteracy hurts.

“And then! Just to ruin any goodwill we might have, you acquire your armor, give the scientists just a taste of what they need to refine the gear we'll be receiving shortly, and then you set off to get your weapons back, and your outlook on ponies, it makes one sick! But then, once you have some manner of weapon, you set off after the Captain like a well trained dog, not a care in the world, a wolf in its element. You walked into the heart of this kingdom's special forces, and you looked around, and found us wanting, you threw a challenge in our face by your very existence, you practically screamed out: I make you look like foals, and I'm still a colt myself. Oh, that made me angry, and then we had to do your mental exam, they decided it would be best to do it in a . . . less active environment, so the mess hall it was, you were sent to eat, and we waited. The first test was conducted, and while you didn't lash out, you tore that unicorn to shreds with your eyes even while your mouth uttered reasonable words, I'm sure you even thought you meant them, it was all the major could do to not run screaming.” She pauses, staring up at me as I shift uncomfortably, I really wish she'd stop.

“Then, you see us, and far from the vicious gung ho individual, you look like the one unicorn in school that doesn't learn to use magic until much later being surrounded by the bullies. You looked like a wild animal ready to bolt, even in your armor and with weapons in hand. It was then we started figuring out just how badly you were mistreated, half the time, you took no shit from nopony, the other half, you would flinch at the first sign of annoyance, much less aggression. And then, because you love drawing up a litany of things you've done, you go and manage to 'accost' Prince Blue Blood, fortunately, your first action was to run and seek cover, that's the only reason that never went further, than and the fact Princess Luna took you under her personal protection. But that got me thinking, maybe we were going about this wrong, we were trying to reason with a trained soldier, when you're not, you're a vicious animal that serves its pack as loyally as the said Element. You're a child that's learned a set of responses as an animal, and now you're being forced into the same rule set as every other responsible adult, and you just aren't one. And as additional proof of my suspicions, you reach out to me, the least accepting member of the group, for help, you bare your soul to me for the briefest moment, and I don't see a killer, I see an innocent foal, desperately looking for the mother it's lost.” I look away, too many thoughts running through my head for my face to properly hide, I feel her rub my arm again slowly.

“I can't be your mother, but I can be your Alpha, I can show you the way to act, I can try to help you achieve what you want, to take even a thousandth of the load they bear off their shoulders. I don't know how much longer you have left, especially after that . . . 'interesting' physical.” She chuckles, I just smile weakly. “But I'll do my best, in whatever time you have remaining, you may not be what I thought you were before, but I believe you have the potential, you just need to grow up a bit, in one of the most dangerous professions in existence,” she laughs, I shake my head.

“Thank you,” I say quietly, she just cocks her head.

“For what? Believing you to be some fairy tale hero comes to steal the hearts of mares everywhere?” she asks with a vicious laugh aimed at herself, I just sigh.

“No, for seeing the worst in me, and still believing I could be more, I want to be more, I just don't know what that is,” I state sweeping my arm out at the world spread before me. “Even ignoring my species, which I'm not sure what that is. Even now, if you put me in a town, and I wouldn't begin to know what to do, how to survive, I'd probably be dead within a week. Besides, there is nothing wrong with being a hopeless romantic, Vine calls herself that all the darn time,” I retort, she just gives another deep sigh.

“Yes, well, maybe you're right, maybe not,” she replies. “But the fact remains that we need to get you trained on how to act in society, and I can't possibly cover all the angles. We do need to get you some protein, but I'm hardly looking forward to going outside to get it,” she says grumpily, rubbing her face with a hoof.

“Huh?” I ask, confused by what she means.

“I can't exactly take you outside, looking like that, even if I could trust you not to lash out at anyone that insulted or otherwise 'offended' me,” she says dryly, I grin at the first part then stiffen up my eyes going wide with anger at the second.

“I follow my Alpha's orders, Ma'am,” I spit out. “And as for my wings, I think that wouldn't be a problem either. It seems when I want to not be seen, I can.”

She flinches at my first remark, and tilts her head at my second, her ears swiveling forward. “What do you mean, you can not be seen, Redemit?” she asks.

I grimace. “What do you think happened in the Doctor's office?” I ask, she tilts her head a second before shooting to her feet and punching me with a hoof, my head snaps to the side, and I bring it back around slowly flexing my jaw, but keeping my hands at my side, I think I deserved that one.

“You mean, you made them think I was crazy?” my Alpha snarls at me.

“No, I mean, I don't know.” I respond, not shrinking back from her ire. “I found out last night with the Princess, for some reason, when I was out and about without my armor, I wanted ponies to see me as just another human, and they did, I walked up to Luna's personal guard, and they didn't notice anything, just treated me like another human until I spoke, at which point, let me tell you, shit got real,” I say with a chuckle, she doesn't look amused, I shut up. “And today, when we went into the med bay . . . I was...I was scared,” I admit, looking away. “I...I didn't want to be there, to be near doctors, all I could think about was disappearing into the background, where nopony would see me. And the receptionist as well as the doctor looked right at me, but through me, like I wasn't there.” I say in a quiet voice, not wanting to admit my weakness.

I hear a sigh before Fairy Dancer wraps her forearms around me from behind and lays her head down over my shoulder. I look to the side, meeting her gaze. “Alright, Redemit, I won't hold it against you, but why didn't we know about this ability?” she ask, I shrug.

“Because I didn't know about it besides the fact it seems to be a subconscious defense, oh, and my love levels were rather drained by that performance in the doctors office. I'm still more than good right now, but if this keeps up, I'll need to go visit... my handler, to...” I look away fighting another snarl. “To recharge, like the parasitic monster I am.

Her arms tighten around me a moment. “You're not a monster,” she says softly, I just laugh.

“If only you knew, if only...” I state sadly, looking up at the plain blue sky, wishing to see the moon once more, whole and unblemished.

“Then tell me,” she says tilting her on my shoulder as she looks at me, I just shake me head.

“That's not my story to tell, if they wish you to know, you'd have to ask Celestia, maybe Luna, she's been nice to me, I'm not sure she'd still be nice if she knew what I'd done to my world.” I rub her fetlock gently, alternating between scratching and rubbing.

“It can't be that bad,” she says lightly, I just turn my head to look at her with wide, wounded eyes, she blinks. “But how could you do something so horrid? You're strong and powerful, but I hardly think you'd be able to do something too evil and get away with it.”

I laugh harshly. “I did it by order of my Queen, and in the process, betrayed one of the most powerful beings in existence and one of the few who accepted me for who I am, whatever that is.”

“Huh?” Fairy asks, I just shake my head.

“I've said too much on the subject, lets go, I'll take our trays and meet you by the gate?” I query, unwrapping her arms and standing up.

“Sure, but how do you plan to get me down at the same time?” Fairy Deadpans, I just grin.

I grab our trays, and reach out grabbing Fairy Dancer just behind her front legs with a squawk from her. Before she can do anything else, I step off the edge with trays in one hand and Fairy snugged under my other arm, after a moment of free-fall I open my wings and let the air fill them, slowing our fall immediately. A few moments later, we're safe on the ground, Fairy looks kinda wobbly though.

“Never do that again without warning me,” Fairy orders, her face portraying her attempts to not throw up.

“Sorry, can't promise that one, I may have to do it at some point to save your life!” I reply flippantly, ducking into the mess hall before she can retaliate beyond a groan of anger and nausea.

Setting our trays in the appropriate collection point, I smile at the audience my antics have attracted and saunter out of the room, not even large numbers of ponies will get me down, or maybe they will, ah well, lose them in the hallway.

With that thought in mind, I exit into the hallway and jog towards my room, I get the occasional odd look from the guards, but I keep my wings half spread to ensure their visibility, and I'm unmolested.

Reaching my room, I step inside, sweeping for threats automatically, but everything seems undisturbed. Moving to my armor rack, I doff most of my armor, leaving the chainmail under-layer intact, and settle a shirt and some serviceable trousers over that. Replacing my dust cloak, I fold my wings down as tightly as possible, but decide against tying them down, I'm short a weapon after all. I tuck my cloth bindings in a pocket, just in case.

Grabbing the bag of bits I'd brought along just in case, and still never thought I'd end up using, I secure it in a pouch on my chest under my shirt. I put one of my simple collars on, hanging the knife in its sheath down my chest on a makeshift necklace. I grimace as I once again make a mental note to get my enchanted collars back, here's to hoping my Alpha knows illusion magic.

I walk to the door and pause, I close my eyes and lay my head against the wooden door for a moment collecting my courage. 'I can't spend forever in a cage.' I whisper in the depths of my mind. I'm tired of being scared, of being chained. I want to live like . . . like me, not some animal for ponies to stare at, or hiding in the darkness.

Opening my door, I take a deep breath and expel it, setting off down the hall. “Redemit!” A voice calls out behind me, I turn around to find my Alpha come trotting up. She smiles up at me. “I just remembered how new you are, we're not leaving by the main gate,” she states with a small trace of chagrin, I just nod amiably.

Taking a step back, Fairy Dancer blinks as she looks me over, even going so far as to circle around me, I just watch her with a cocked eyebrow and a half smile. “See something I missed, Fairy Dancer?” I ask, she shakes her head.

“No, just didn't expect you to be able to . . . I don't know, didn't think you'd blend that well to be honest,” she admits sheepishly, I just grin.

“Without going into the reasoning, I've had a fair amount of practice,” I admit, watching her bemusedly. “Although, as long as we're on the subject, think you could do something about my eyes?” I ask, she looks up at me a moment, then cocks her head.

“Can't you just change them?” she asks, I nod my head.

“And get a migraine, yeah . . . but they're also a gift from my old Queen,” I admit, giving a bittersweet smile.

“Alright, can't say no to a sweet story like that,” Fairy Dancer chuckles, I just grin. “Well come on then, kneel down, I'm not exactly coming up there,” she orders. I oblige her by going to one knee, she walks up close and stares at my eyes thoughtfully, I just hold my position patiently. After a few moments she shakes her head. “I know a simple color change spell, but it's not the best, if anyone gets a close look-” she starts.

“They shouldn't, I'm just the big hulking slab of meat following a guard, after all, just say I'm out for a walk or something, most ponies always ignored me.” I chuckle, Fairy Dancer shakes her head though.

“No, I don't think they will, you're at least 6 inches taller than your average human, and you're not bad looking either,” she chuckles, I just scrub a hand down my face.

“Really?” I ask incredulously, Fairy just shrugs.

“Hey, don't look at me, the only reason I'd even look at you is because you're sentient, but you've got to realize how bad the stallion to mare ratio is. There's a lot of desperate mares out there,” she admits frankly. “And with other inter-species relationships becoming accepted, it's only to be expected they'd turn to humans, they're everywhere, survive most any environment, and provide excellent labor, provided you can keep em docile, of course,” she says, waving a hoof for emphasis, then goes quiet as her horn lights up.

I shudder but remain still as she does her work, after a few seconds, she backs up with a satisfied nod. “Done?” I ask, just to make sure she doesn't need to modify it or anything, she nods.

“Yeah, it's not very good, and your eyes are gray now, but I couldn't change their appearance and still let you see without making it monochrome.” she states apologetically, I just reach out and give her a quick scratch, her response is instant and gratifying. “Ohhhhhh, that feels good,” she hums while I scratch behind her ear, I chuckle and rub up her ear as well, causing her to just about melt.

“Thank you, now shall we go?” I ask, standing up, she shakes her head and nods.

“Uh... yeah, sure, lets go get your han...meat! Lets go get you some meat.” I tilt my head in confusion as Fairy Dancer walks down the hall shaking her head and muttering. After a few moments, she turns back to me. “Are you coming? I'll be perfectly happy NOT to handle this if your not up to it,” she says with a slight shudder, causing me to blink.

As I catch up to her and we continue on our way, I consider the situation, Fairy Dancer doesn't want to be doing this, but she seems . . . I don't know, like she's obligated or something. I shake my head, it's all very confusing, but I don't want to jeopardize my chances of getting meat, yet . . . I don't want to cause her pain . . . honestly, I don't know why I care . . . but I do. I shake my head and groan, thoughts and emotions running through me, conflicting.

“You okay, Redemit?” Fairy Dancer stops and looks up at me in a concerned manner, I just shake my head.

“Yeah, just got a lot on my mind, and I'm not used to it. I didn't spend a lot of time thinking,” I chuckle, then look back down at her with a considering grin. “You know, you don't have to do this, I mean, you don't particularly like the thought of meat, do you?”

Fairy Dancer rolls her eyes. “What I LIKE isn't important, Private. Whats important, is that you be kept functional, and if that means we have to go out and kill something, then that's exactly what we'll do,” she states, her emotions on the other hand . . .

I narrow my eyes, thinking over what the doctor said, the gryphon quarter . . . I could go out there in my armor . . . and I'd have no idea what to do, I need a guide. The only other alternative is a restaurant that caters to . . . pegusai . . . which we know two of. I start grinning. “The doctor said I needed a one time boost, right?” I ask, and she nods her head, watching me with narrowed eyes. “So why not just get one of the pegusai to help?” I ask, causing her to blink before grinning sheepishly.

“I didn't stop to consider that,” Fairy Dancer says ruefully, I blink, she's part of a team, asking their assistance would be second nature I would think. As if reading my thoughts, she shakes her head. “I accepted responsibility for you the moment I realized how . . . for lack of a better term, immature you really are and... impressed my authority on you.”

I shrug. “Ah, okay, so who should we talk to?”

My Alpha gives me a deadpan look, I just watch her attentively. “Ah whatever, Cloud Burst should be free this afternoon, maybe she can show us,” she says with a sigh, I nod my head, following after her.

As we go, I start thinking, considering, weighing, or in other words, getting myself in trouble. So far, Fairy Dancer seemed . . . like she doesn't understand the role she's trying to fulfill. In my old pack, the Alpha had to assert their authority constantly, I bore loyalty to Vine out of love, AND because she could compete physically, not because she was superior. Unless she wasn't aware of the rules I'd followed? I needed to find out, but the prospect of a treat I'd had only sparingly was top priority right now, I'd speak with her later.

Sadly, it wasn't meant to be, as we're moving to find Sergeant Cloud Burst, a member of the Day-Guard walks up, he stares at me a moment as if unsure, but also doesn't show much sign of moving on. I fluff my wings slightly to draw his attention in case he's trying to find me specifically. This seems to be the case as he nods his head and walks up to me.

“Redemit?” He asks, I nod my head. “The Princess has requested your presence in 'The dining room from last night,' at your earliest convenience,” he states. I.E. We cleared a space in our busy schedule to talk to you, get here, now.

I turn to Fairy Dancer. “Sorry Alpha, I need to answer their call.”

“Right, carry on, Private,” She utters in a surprised tone with a thread of relief, I'm torn between a feeling of humor and one of disappointment.

“Yes Alpha,” I salute and move down the hall, once out of sight, I break into a jog as I start retracing my steps. Once back at my room, I turn down the path towards the library.

Chapter 18 - Getting Schooled

Reaching the point where I encountered the noble, I vault out the window and spread my wings gliding over the garden with slow flaps in the dead air as I look for the path I followed last night.

After another couple of minutes, I find the door in question and land hastily, taking the shock of impact on my knees, I move into the palace proper as I move to follow the route I did before, and almost run into a crowd of ponies.

Slipping right back into the gardens, I take a deep breath and trigger my helm, or I try to. I forgot I'd removed my armor, well, human act it was. Straightening my stance, I stride back in and past them without a second glance, acting just like another human on an errand, I receive mixed results, while nopony notices me, I stumble slightly as I become aware of a large drain on my stored emotional energy.

Blinking, I set the problem aside for later as I move to answer the Princess's summons. And end up getting distracted again when I get out of sight of the group of ponies, and the drain stops, I shake my head and continue onward.

Reaching the door that I'd gone through previously, I'm met with the sight of several Day-Guard and pause. After considering them a moment I shrug my shoulders and move closer. I don't know why Luna would be awake at this hour, but maybe because she is, it falls to the Day-Guard since it's daytime?

As I approach, the two remain at attention, apparently oblivious to my presence, a charade I'm well familiar with. They saw me the moment I entered the corridor, but appearances must be maintained. I stop immediately before them and stand at attention with a salute. “Private Redemit, reporting as requested,” I state. One of the two, a unicorn, salutes back, and I drop my hand but remain in a braced stance, while the other, a pegasus, cracks the door slightly and pokes his head in. Pulling his head out, the pegasus looks up at me. “You may go in, Private,” He states evenly, I nod my head in thanks and move forward as the unicorn opens the doors wide.

Once through the doors, I find not only Princess Luna inside, but also Princess Celestia as well. I move in several paces and salute again. “Private Redemit, reporting,” I state, watching the two of them curiously.

“At ease, Private.” Celestia's voice washes over me like a warm blanket, I nod my head and drop my hand.

“You requested my presence?” I ask, tilting my head.

“Of course, come now Private, come over, no reason to stand all the way over there,” Celestia states with a warm smile, I just shrug mentally and walk the seven feet to the table.

Surprisingly, or not, considering the subject Princess Luna and I discussed last night, the two Princesses have chosen to seat themselves side by side on the long side of the table, rather than taking the two heads of the table, separating them from each other, it's a sight that brings a certain feeling of warmth to my heart.

I reach the table and give a small smile and a nod to Princess Celestia, before turning my attention to Princess Luna. “Hello Princess, you liked my idea, then?”

She smiles softly and nods, I note but choose to ignore a small amount of wing rubbing between the two of them. Obviously, things were going very well, that brings me a certain amount of joy, an oddity I need to get used too.

“Then how may I be of service, Your Majesties?” I ask, looking between the two of them.

“Well, you could take a seat, first of all. Second, have you been to the doctor yet?” Princess Celestia asks, tilting her head to the side as her ears swivel to face me, I'm now her number one focus for the moment, urk, watch my words.

“Yes Ma'am, I have,” I state neutrally. “Would you like a recount of their findings?” I ask as I pull out a chair and sit in it, she nods amiably. “Alright, my blood work wasn't finished when I left, but their other findings were mostly in a word: inconclusive. They had my age between 4 to 9, rather than 12 years, 4 months. My temperature is apparently dangerously high for your standard run of the mill human, and I seem to be running a protein deficiency, even using twice the amount recommended by the human supplement instructions.” I say, winding down as I believe I've hit all the high points.

Princess Celestia blinks a few times, but appears otherwise unbothered, Princess Luna on the other hand, starts looking worried. I give her a smile. “I'm fine for the moment Ma'am. I was actually about to go out with my Alpha to acquire some animal protein when your summons arrived. After that, they believed simply eating plenty of beans or legumes in addition to my supplements should keep me up, but considering how little they know about me . . .” I shrug.

“Hmmm, this will bear further study, but if plant sources of protein prove insufficient, let one of us know, and we'll see about getting you a license to purchase meat from Equestrian providers. Otherwise, you'll have to go through the Gryphon traders, and their screening is more . . . lax than our own.” Princess Celestia states thoughtfully, Princess Luna just nods in turn. Princess Celestia then turns her head to Princess Luna and nods it at me.

Princess Luna nods in return, her smile never dropping, and turns to me. “We... I have given your... alternate training idea some thought, and I believe it should work, in fact, the scale you were thinking on is actually rather small. If, as you say, you received the information you needed to utilize your gear in a prepackaged form, it should be possible to 'recover' that package, yes?”

I open my mouth, and then close it, I have no idea. I finally settle for a small shrug and a shake of my head. “I guess it would be possible, but it'd require rather a bit of memory sifting to go back to the exact point of transference, and the recipients will still need to work on their actual muscle memory, but if you can drop the theory portion of the training and stick to the physical regimen, then yes, you could easily grow the class size exponentially, space and recruits permitting” I state as I start arranging points and thoughts to assemble a clearer picture in my mind.

“But do you really want a large force with this equipment?” I ask, causing Princess Celestia to tilt her head at me inquisitively. “Secrecy-wise. This gear is going to take crack troops to the ascendant level, if my performance is any meter stick, the team you have me training is going to be some of the meanest bolts in your quiver,” I state shaking my head. “If Staff Sergeant Rock Slide had been outfitted with Heavy Armor as befitted the point position, well, I would have lost, combining his mass with a strength rune will make him insanely powerful, in fact, you may want to trade off the strength for a speed in his case.”

Princess Celestia nods her head approvingly, and I find myself giving her a deadpan expression. “Did I just pass a test I didn't know I was taking, Your Highness?” She just laughs.

“Oh, very good Redemit, very good. No, for our purposes, as small a group with access to these weapons as possible, the better. Which isn't to say we haven't been . . . accelerating our own civilian infrastructure with some of the information your monarch was intelligent enough to send through. Some of your agricultural methods will certainly help to increase yields.” Princess Celestia says with a smile.

I nod my head, then freeze, I don't honestly care, but what she said sparked some memory I had, something about food and culture . . . what was it. Oh, buck, most civilizations tend to turn empiralistic directly following increases in food production, allowing larger standing armies and with the proper logistics, said armies can be used on surrounding territories. “Does this mean you'll be able to increase your standing army?” I ask curiously.

Princess Celestia blinks at me a few times and sighs, I think I just failed another test. “No Redemit, that will not be necessary,” She says in the same motherly tone, I can still feel the disappointment. I bow, feeling strangely . . . I don't know, I think I actually want her approval.

I stay silent after that, fighting my own feelings of not quite shame and wrestling with my own outlook, trying to figure out what I did wrong. Princess Luna chooses to step in at this point.

“If you had a . . . team with this gear, assuming mediocre skill, do you think they could take on say... an alicorn?” She asks, her point clear, I feel adrenaline hitting my system as my heartbeat accelerates and my vision turns green.

“Not while I live!” I snarl, Luna only cocks an eyebrow at me. “Yes, yes they'd stand a very good chance against you,” I state tersely, addressing my response to Princess Luna. “A lesser one against your Sister, but no chance against my Queen,” I bite out, rage still curling its way through my consciousness at the thought of someone trying to harm Luna or her sister, I won't fail again.

“Explain?” Princess Celestia orders softly, staring at me evenly, her smile gone.

I nod my head. “Princess Luna has had the last thousand years to go mad in, she then had part of her essence ripped away to purge said madness, her power levels are drastically reduced, I think, and her . . . manner, her experience, is low,” I state, trying to do my best to remain impartial in the face of her annoyance, she's not going to like the next part. “I'd lay good odds she'd make a dangerous mistake in any engagement, letting her emotions get in the way of her killing instinct, or something of the like sort,” I say shrugging, I then turn my attention to Princess Celestia who in turn watches me impassively.

“In your case, it'd have to be a surprise attack, you'd disengage or seek a position of overwhelming superiority if you saw them coming, and would likely find it. But assuming surprise is total, you again, would hesitate, letting your empathy get in the way of your fight or flight instincts unless you bore them a very great grudge or ulterior circumstances. While an alicorn, I don't think you're at the peak of shape either, which while not a bad thing, is not good either, it simply changes the scope of the engagement, I'd lay good odds on a physical attacker being able to engage you, Alicorn perks or no,” I shrug.

“Okay, Private, why would your Queen win then?” Princess Celestia asks calmly, I raise my eyes to meet hers and smile, something in my gaze makes even her flinch ever so slightly, barely a tightening of the eyes, but it's there nonetheless, and I feel shame for it, and then irritation at the shame, why does it MATTER?

“Because, Your Majesty, I was made in my Queen's image, and I am but an imperfect tool,” I state with a hungry tone to my voice. “Take me, and remove the emotional trauma, remove the empathy, but leave the emotion, and add a pit in the heart like unto Tartarus. She lived for two things. Revenge, and to carry on her sister's legacy, and she felt worthy of neither. I never saw the pain she felt, I never understood why she did the things she did. Why I was her constant companion, though she gave every sign of not liking my presence in the least,” I say softly my gaze softening as I look up at the ceiling without seeing it. “She still felt, she still cared, but it hurt her, every moment of every day. I was a wreck, but I wanted only one thing, Vine's safety, and she could could provide that, as much as anyone could. So she did provide it, and in return, she molded me,” I state with a smile.

“It was only after, when I had all that time to think while under the care of your Protege, Twilight Sparkle, Element of Magic. That I truly realized what I was, I was her avatar, her . . . familiar? I was her personal weapon, I smote at her command, and she could in turn watch through me, and rejoice. Through me, she struck back at them, the ones who took EVERYTHING from her.” I look at the two princesses with tears in my eyes. “I still can't imagine how she must have felt, but I think you come close, Princess Celestia, you were just lucky enough it never escalated that far,” I say with a shake of my head, rubbing the tears from my eyes.

“To be so important, you must send others in your stead, but to want to strike back, to leave your personal note, to scream defiance in their face. Was she right? Was she wrong? I don't know, but I can't imagine myself any other way,” I say sadly.

Princess Celestia nods her head, her smile gone. “Alright, Redemit, how would you handle our protection?” She asks, tilting her head to the side.

I just chuckle. “Find some murderers, earn their loyalty and surround yourself with them, let them strike where you cannot, if it will ease your conscience,” I shrug.

Princess Luna sighs, rubbing her face with a hoof. “Are you sure about this, Sister?” She asks, I look between the two of them as I sense a side conversation coming to light.

Princess Celestia shakes her head. “No, dear sister, I am not. But it is better that we should be prepared, than that we be blindsided." She turns to me. “The times before us will not be easy, there is... strife coming. This period offers many opportunities, but also many pitfalls. If we navigate it successfully, there are many rewards, but if we fail, this land will be buried in shadow,” she says in an ominous voice.

I nod my head. “You see them coming then, see how much you can accelerate the production of the suits, I'll . . . push the training regimen.” I turn to Princess Luna. “How soon can we begin the memory scan, Ma'am?” I ask, thoughts and ideas running through my head.

Princess Celestia just shakes her head and smiles warmly again. “Relax Private, we have time, time enough in fact, that your schooling which has been dreadfully neglected can be addressed.”

I go quiet and try to give a smile in return, admittedly a weak one. “What?” I ask, if this entails a royal instructor, I'm hiding in the belfry for a week, at least.

As if reading my thoughts, Princess Celestia gives a dry chuckle. “Do not worry, you have been handling your literacy training acceptably well, though if you require additional assisstance, I can get you a tutor at your request. However, I've noticed you've also started trying to write, but subject matter seems to be somewhat of a problem,” she says with a grin that on anyone else I'd call impish, on her, it's terrifying.

“Subject matter?” I ask, I could tell you what each word meant, but what she means is beyond me.

“You want to learn to write, but you have naught to write about, and you have a lot to learn to function in society, species aside. I see two problems and one solution,” she says in a voice that definitely turning mischievous, I narrow my eyes before I catch myself and relax my face. “You know about the lessons on friendship my student sends me, yes?” she asks, I nod my head mutely, my right eyebrow starts twitching, she wouldn't. “I think it'd be an excellent way to practice you quillmanship!” she says with a sunny smile as I feel my self wither a little on the inside, she just did, darkness as my witness.

“Uhhh, are you sure that's a good idea, Your Highness?” I ask desperately trying to think of legitimate reasons to say no.

“Absolutely!” She replies with that same motherly smile on her face. Evil.

“I... I'm not sure anyone else could even read my handwriting, Ma'am,” I stutter out, it's true, my handwriting looks like a beach full of dead squid.

“Why, then you could come and read it aloud!” She responds cheerfully, too cheerfully. EVIL!

"But-but... but you're busy! You have your court to handle... plus you already have to deal with Twilight's letters!” I strangle out, my face going red as my diction deserts me.

“Hmmm, you have a point,” Princess Celestia says thoughtfully tapping her chin with a hoof, I start to feel a glimmer of hope. “Which is why you should send them to Luna!” she announces cheerfully, and any hope I had dies a cold lonely death.

I turn numbly to face Princess Luna, only to find her staring incredulously at her sister as well. “Tia... what?” she asks, obviously almost as shocked as I am, please say no.

“Well? I have a student already!” Princess Celestia states cheerfully. “And you've freed up so much of your day by suspending Night-Court and doing the paperwork during the day with both of us conscious has accelerated the pace so much!” she continues happily, Luna starts looking too much like a choking pony for my comfort, her mouth opening and closing, but nothing coming out. “As much as I enjoy spending as much time as possible with you, you still have a large portion of time free from obstructions, and what better way to fill it up than by taking a student of your own!” she adds the final nail to the coffin, and I feel my own shoulders slump at the same time as Princess Luna's do.

“We... I... oh alright,” Princess Luna concedes defeat with a pout, I just feel my blush pale as the blood decides to visit the rest of my body for awhile. I can only stare at the both of them in mute horror.

“See?” Princess Celestia says to me with that same warm smile. “Everything's taken care of! I expect you'll have something to report by the end of the week?” she asks, I just nod my head mutely, still numb from the mental clubbing I just underwent. “Excellent!” she says happily clapping her fore-hooves together. “And now, I'm afraid I have to go, I've delayed my Day-Court as long as I could. Remember Redemit, write it out, even if you end up reporting it orally!” I nod my head with a weak smile as she cheerfully trots from the room.

My smile drops as soon as she's out the door, as does my head, to the table. I give a small groan. “Princess? What just happened?” I ask weakly.

I feel another thump and find Luna resting her own chin on the table. “We really don't know.” she says tiredly. Yawning, she picks her head up and gives me a smile. “So, what hast thou been doing this fine day?” She asks warmly, obviously, she's going to make the best of it. I give another weak smile and start talking.

…

“She did WHAT?!” Luna booms, I flinch, but hold up a hand nonetheless.

“I asked for her help, you see,” I state hurriedly. “Fairy Dancer thought this was the best course of action! She's doing it to help, she truly believes that!” I say pulling back in my chair as Princess Luna turns a burning gaze on me.

Luna stands and tries to move towards me only to find the table blocking her path, one burst of magic later, and I find the table getting shoved aside once again, that poor table. She walks up to me, and I find myself looking up from my seated position at a still mildly irate alicorn. “Thou art one of our Night-Guard, not some animal needing a leash!” she snarls, I open my mouth to agree, but then stop, I can't.

“But Ma'am, that's how I was raised.” I state quietly, Luna falls silent watching me, I shake my head. “I was an animal, it was the best way to counter the swarm, if I thought, I was dead, I had to be part of the pack, we all did. You couldn't plan your moves, you had to be part of the greater whole, you had to KNOW where your pack would be to cover them properly. When you were outnumbered fifty to one, you had to be naught but a creature of instinct. And if you think I'm bad, imagine a pony in my situation, you're herd animals, but also herbivores. You're prey first, not predator, the mental training for them was worse, much worse. I had less to 'unlearn' as it were, now I just have it in reverse,” I say with a sigh.

Luna still looks upset, but nods her head and drops her hindquarters, taking a seat facing me. “Thou coulds't have come to me, We would be happy to assist, or find someone who can in our stead, someone we trust,” she says evenly, I smile weakly.

“If I'd known what I needed, sure. But I didn't I was running blind here, I don't WANT to be part of a pack anymore, but I don't know how to function outside one. It's . . . it's comforting to be part of one again, you know? I . . . “ I trail off and shake my head as I run out of the proper words to describe what I feel.

Luna sighs and shakes her head, then stares at my eyes a moment. “Redemit,” she says softly, her voice becoming tense, I freeze, my senses overloading as I try to detect everything in my surroundings, besides several guards on both sides of the door, I don't feel anything else. “Why... are your eyes gray?” she asks and I let my breath out in relief, which earns a burning stare from her. “Why. Are. Your. Eyes. Gray?” she asks again her horn lighting up.

“It's an illusion,” I stare hurriedly, Luna watches me impassively a moment. “I was about to go out with my... with Master Sergeant Fairy Dancer to get some protein, and I don't like changing my eyes, so I asked her to disguise them, this was the best she could do on short notice,” I explain, Luna watches me a few more seconds before nodding her head. “Actually, on that subject, do you think I could get some of my enchanted collars? They're designed to disguise my eyes as well,” I state, watching her hopefully, only to sigh when she shakes her head.

“That's not the only thing they were designed to do," she warns with a shake of her head, I just roll my eyes.

"Which other function do you refer too? The tracking spell, the zapping one, or the death spell?" I ask, causing her to do a double take. "What? I'm the one that had them made, the zapper as I call it, or the shock spell, whichever name you prefer, stopped working on me . . . well, before I even had them made. The tracking spell, well darn, I didn't know you cared about my privacy that much, I sure as heck didn't. And the death spell, or charm or whatever you care to call it, please, not much chance it'll work on me, it has to draw in a large amount of power, if it activated, I could 'deactivate' it on a whim, no, that was my own insurance." I state quietly, slumping down in my chair.

Princess Luna reaches out and rests a hoof on my knee, I raise my eyes to meet hers with a faint smile that quickly fades. "I had those spells placed on them for three reasons, the tracking was for Vine, or any unicorn that I showed it too. It's got a really faint signature but surprising range. The zapper, well, it makes a fair bit of noise, just incase I needed to play the part of a dangerous human for Vine, that was her job description after all, and it came in handy a time or two. The death spell though, well, if I was ever taken, they'de have a certain period of time to find me, but once the collar was disabled or removed, it would trigger," I utter hollowly, watching Luna evenly. "I was not going to be taken alive," I state with finality.

"Who did you have to fear?" Princess Luna asks incredulously, I just give a half grin.

"Everyone except Vine and a select few in the Night-Guard. I was terrified the scientists... the 'doctors' would return, I didn't trust the population not to take their fear and anger out on me, I even had doubts about my comrades. But unlike them, I chose to take my frustration and fear out on the enemy. Surprisingly therauputic killing bugs when you can put a face of somepony you hate on each one." I give a dry chuckle, then shake my head with a sigh. "That aside, I'd appreciate those back if at all possible, this buisness of asking a unicorn every time I need my appearance changed gets old," I say with a shrug.

Princess Luna pats my knee a couple times then withdraws her hoof. "Very well, We shall see to it that your collars are returned to you," She concedes, then opens her mouth again. "Wouldn't thou wish a different choice of accessory?" She finally asks, the urge obviously getting the better of her. I hesitate a moment but then rock forward, reaching out and hugging her. She pauses for a moment before wrapping her forelimbs around me in turn.

"Thank you, but no, the collar is meaningless, it is the ones that hold the leash upon it that matters, I don't mind the collars, they're . . . my choice, as it were. Now, I may decide I don't want to wear them later on, everypony changes with time, of course." I hug her tightly a moment before I let go and rock back into my chair. I consider how best I can get myself excused, I still want that meat, but then I have an idea.

"Princess, you watched me eat meat last night, and you didn't turn a hair where most everyone else I've met treats it like a terrifying ordeal, why is that?" I ask, a thought popping up in my head, Princess Luna just stares at me blankly a moment before shrugging.

"... I've been around a very long time, even with . . . that event. I've had numerous opportunities to watch the consumption of various animal products, and I've eaten fish from time to time myself, it's not something I advertise, but the sight of meat doesn't cause me any discomfort," she states breezily, I nod my head, then tilt it mischieviously.

"Have you been to any local resturaunts that serve it?" I ask, she furrows her brow at me then a adopts a look of comprehension and nods at me.

"Yes actually, though you shall not mention it to my sister, she would worry unnecessarily," she warns me with a stern look. "But there are several such establishments in the city that serve fish products as well as a surprising number of rather delicious dishes," she says with a nod.

I smile, now all I have to do is get directions, borrow one of the pegusai, and then I can head out, easy enough, assuming one of the two pegusai is free, of course. I open my mouth to request location and direction, but Princess Luna beats me to it.

"Why don't I show you, in fact?" she asks, my eyes bug out and I sputter a bit before finding my voice.

"But you've already been out and about with a human once, what will they think if they see you in public with that same human, that'll be giving the wrong impression, won't it?" I ask as I pat myself on the back mentally, PR is every monarch's worst nightmare.

Princess Luna gives a giggle that on anypony else would be called cute. "Nonsense, you wouldn't be with Luna, Princess of the Moon! You'de be with Nightshade, a unicorn from Fillydelphia," she states smugly, I just turn pale.

"But-but... you can't be outside without your protection detail, Your Highness!" I state desperately, Princess Luna just laughs.

"Oh? And who would be foolish enough to attack me, hmm?" she asks, I just give her a deadpan look, to which she grins. "Besides, we shall have our protection detail with us, you'll be there, would you not defend us?" she asks with a smirk.

"With my life, but . . . it's still not safe," I say weakly, I think I just lost this argument.

Luna just shakes her head. "Very few things in life are 'safe'. Every year, we hear of our little ponies slipping in the bathroom, or the kitchen, there's even been a drowning in a sink. No, life inside the palace is tedious and boring, a little risk is what we need sometimes, just to know we're still alive." she says solemnly, then perks up with a big smile. "Besides! Your idea, while a little unsettling at first, has excellent merit and I wanted to thank you! This will be two problems with one solution," she states happily, I just nod my head with a smile of my own, I may have lost the argument, but the loser gets fish, and I'm okay with it, but first: my sword.

"Alright, but if I'm going to be your 'escort', I'm going to need my sword back," I state, watching her evenly, ready to make it very plain this is one point I'm not backing down on, she just nods.

"Not a problem, lets go!" Princess Luna states easily, one might even say giddily, if, you know, you weren't talking about a Princess. I open my mouth to illustrate further as I in turn stand, we'll need to find Fairy Danger to reaquire my blade, but I'm cut off by her horn lighting up and unceremoniously teleporting us.

I stand in place, blinking the afteraffects out of my eyes, only to find myself standing in the armory from yesterday. I glance around, looking for the earth pony from before, and see him come out of the back room.

He glances at me, then turns his attention to Princess Luna, which causes him to do a double take before he bows down. "Princess, how may I be of service," He asks, Luna nods her head regally.

"Stand subject, we are here to aquire weaponry for our escort," She states calmly, pointing at me, the Supply Sergeant looks at my in a confused manner before looking back at her.

"You want to give your human a weapon?" he asks in a confused manner, I just facepalm.

"Ummm, Supply Sargeant?" I ask, causing him to whip his back around to look at me, I give a small wave and a tight-lipped smile. "Hello, good to see you again!" to further illustrate my point, I extend a wing slightly from under the dust cloak, his eyes lock onto it and he nods silently, a flash of recognition appearing in his eyes.

He still stands there for a long moment just staring at me, then in a display of mental flexibility I never thought I'd see in a pony, he shakes himself and turns to Princess Luna as if nothing were out of the ordinary. "All his gear, then?" He asks, Princess luna looks at me questioningly. I find myself torn, on the one hand, I could get all my gear, on the other, I don't need all of it for this mission.

Sadly, the urge to not lie to my monarch wins out and I shake my head. "Just the storm-sword and my dagger, if you would, I'm not going out in full kit," I state, he just stares at me in a confused manner, I look at him. "The . . . you know, the LONG-sword," I state with withering irony heavily laced into my tone. "The purple one, it's enchanted with lightning, thus the storm part," I explain, he nods his head slightly before walking into the locked portions of the armory muttering under his breath.

Turning to Princess Luna, I consider my preperations, rubbing my chest absently, I find myself to be once more without my armor and resist a facepalm. What may work with my Alpha will not work when I'm protecting my Princess, I'll have to drop by my room. "Ma'am, I need to run to my room, I'll be back shortly," I state, before being cut off by a wave of her hoof.

"Nay, Redemit, we can take thee there as well," She states languidly, still stareing off at the door the Armorer walked through, I raise a brow.

"You know where my room is?" I deadpan dropping my formality for a moment, she looks at me with a raised brow of her own.

"Yes, I do, but when you put it that way, it does appear stalkerish, dosen't it?" she asks with a smirk, I just sigh.

"No, Ma'am, I guess not, you would want to keep tabs on your newest recruit," I state turning back to the door the Supply Sargent went through as well to hide me rolling my eyes, Princess Luna just chuckles. I don't exactly CARE as such, it's just odd that she's taking this much interest. She's one of the diarchs of a peaceful, and from what I've seen, thriving kingdom, after all.

"Oh come now, Private, I assure you it was just part of my briefing, I will admit I had my reservations about your condition, but I feel confident you'll do your best to adapt to your new life," Princess Luna states consolingly with a small pat on my shoulder with her fore-hoof.

The armorer chooses this moment to exit the locker, my sheathed sword held in his mouth and my dagger resting on his back. I take the obvious excuse to change the subject and walk over towards the armorer.

I reach out and almost reverently take my sword from his grasp, I stroke the sheath a moment before nodding my head in thanks and grabbing my knife. "Thank you for taking care of my weapons, Sir," I state warmly, he just shakes his head.

"You are just full of interesting surprises, aren't you?" He asks ironically, I refrain from smiling and settle for nodding my head silently as I turn to Princess Luna.

"Shall we proceed, Ma'am?" I ask, she nods her head and her horn lights up.

I glance around and find myself and the Princess in my quarters, I turn to look at her incredulously. "You teleported INTO my quarters? What if I'd moved furniture around?" I ask, my eyebrows trying to climb into my scalp region.

Princess Luna just gives me a deadpan look in response. "Just put your armor on, Private," She states, probably tired of waiting, or my pessimism.

I nod my head and move to my armor rack, I shuck my shirt and reattach my chest piece, I leave the rest of my armor where it is, it'll be hard enough explaining my clothing, seeing as its actual CLOTHING, rather than a fancy sack someone put on me, without the telltale bulges all over my body.

I take a moment to adjust my armor, and slip the sword on my back, I replace my shirt and inspect my appearance, while it is rigid, my chest plate was also designed for low profile effects, to improve mobility and all that so it hugs my frame acceptably well. I nod my head in satisfaction and turn around to Luna who's staring at me with a raised brow. I tilt my head. "Something wrong, Your Majesty?" I ask, she points at my sword.

"Humans don't wear those," She says in what I think is a serious tone, or she likes bad jokes, I'm taking the former option.

I narrow my eyes in thought. "Not even the guards for nobility?" I ask, Princess Luna just blinks at me.

"Most nobles don't require guards, the threat of royal justice makes Canterlot one of the safest cities in Equestria," Princess Luna deadpans.

I throw up my hands in defeat. "Well... I don't know then! Am I supposed to walk out all but naked when your life rests in my hands?" I ask her, my frustration plain. "I failed my Queen, I don't want to fail you too!" I state, clenching and relaxing my hands. I want to kill something,(Failing that, beat the snot out of something, maybe a training dummy, or a pony if I can trick them into sparring with me.) almost more than I want meat, this price for this little foray is getting higher and higher.

Princess Luna's face softens as she realizes why I'm so high strung and tilts her head to the side consideringly. "We have an idea," She states slowly, obviously deep in thought, I perk up and watch her intently.

"I can carry your weapon upon my person. You'll be by our side anyway, it would be simple enough to aquire it in case the need arose, which it should not," she states with narrowed eyes, I nod my head silently, I won't start anything.

I hand my blade over, Princess Luna considers it a moment before glancing at her own apparel and shaking her head. Once everything else is settled though, Princess Luna gives another satisfied nod and her horn lights up once more.

I swallow a few times from the repeated teleport stress and sweep our surroundings for threats, only to find myself in what I can only assume in Princess Luna's personal quarters. If by quarters, I meant a penthouse with as much room inside as some mansions.

I glance around curiously, seeing many things that speak of my Queen as well as Princess Luna, as if I wasn't already aware that they were indeed doppelgangers.

"Don't touch anything, we shall return shortly," Luna state tersely before disappearing off into what appears for all intents and purpose to be a room devoted to clothing . . . in a land where clothing is optional . . . what?

I shake my head as I ponder the proper name for such a room, was it still called a closet? I shrugged my shoulders and chuckled at the sheer absurdity. Turning my attention back to the room, I start examining it in more detail.

Most of the detailing is various shades of dark blue, which presents a somewhat somber yet soothing atmosphere, cloth curtains line most of the walls, even though they're not blocking windows, I assume it's an aesthetic thing and move on. A bed that even I would consider massive sits against one wall, posts hold up what looks like some kind of shear fabric that has the night sky embroidered into it, rather beautiful.

I'm interrupted from my internal musing by Princess Luna making her appearance from the closet, only I find myself tensing up a moment before I'm sure it's actually her. She seems . . . different, while I can tell her size hasn't actually changed, she seems smaller somehow, much like one of her subjects, I see no wings on her excepting vague ripples in the air as whatever spell she put on them changes its coloration to match its surroundings. Even her horn seems shorter, more fitting for a simple unicorn, completing the ensemble is a rather nice day dress. I'm not sure how she made the color yellow work with her coloration, but it seems too, or I just know nothing about fashion. . . or both. Yeah, both is a safer assumption than insulting her fashion sense, lets go with that. Either way, her rather distinctive cutie mark is covered by the dress, so by all means of measurement, she's a completely different mare. The saddlebags on her sides are almost lost in the plethora of changes she's undergone.

“You clean up well, Y-Miss Nightshade,” I state with a bow of my head, stumbling over my words a bit as I try to come up with the name she mentioned once in idle conversation.

Princess Luna starts chuckling which devolves into a short bout of full out laughter for awhile before calming down and nodding appreciatively. “Thank you, Frix, now, unless there is anything else of import for us here, let us depart,” She says with a touch of 'Finally!' in her voice, I nod my head.

“How are we-” I start to inquire about our exit strategy, only to have her horn light up once more.

Chapter 19 - Fish and Bubble Gum

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Prologue

Author's Note

I'd like to thank MadMaxtheBlack for the inspiration of my story, and also for giving me permission to use the totally cool name of his special operations task force, the Coming Dawn. Also as a forewarning, I've been making a LOT of mistakes that I'm already in the process of rectifying with a rewrite, but that's taking awhile, sorry in advance.

Prologue

Princess Solaris Celestia, Raiser of the Sun, Defender of Harmony, and Co-Ruler of Equestria, steps into the command center, causing all the ponies in the room except those clustered around the table to pause and salute. She nods to acknowledge the salutes, and they resume their semi-hectic activities. Stepping up to the table, she acknowledges the salute of the gray-coated unicorn with a nod before stating tersely, "Captain Pahnzer, report,"

"Yes, your Highness," he replies. "At 1400 hours today we had a large magical disturbance in the airspace above Canterlot. A large creature that appeared to be a dragon was observed falling from the sky towards South Market. City guards were dispatched to cordon off the area and investigate the scene until such time as a ready response team could be sent. In this case, mine."

"When they arrived on the scene, they found this creature standing over the corpse of what appears at this time to be a wildly mutated changeling, or as the creature called it, a Swarm Queen. The creature in question was wearing some form of armor utilizing high amounts of magic in its function. It was observed actually absorbing magic that had been used against it. After a short altercation, we failed to contain it, and in the ensuing chase it used some kind of advanced mobility component of its armor to outrun and lose pursuers." He moves a crystal forward and pushes magic through his horn into the crystal causing an image to materialize.

Princess Celestia considers the image in front of her intently. The creature displayed is obviously bipedal, but that is about all that can be discerned thanks to the all-encompassing dark gray armor it wears. The most visually-striking part of the creature is the helmet. A solid reflective surface of some sort covers the front part of the helm, and what appears to be a stylized skull covers the forward portions. Underneath that, the chest plate is fronted by a round circle approximately 6 inches across where one would expect an insignia to be, but this one appears blank. Overlapping plates surrounding the empty insignia seem angled to deflect attacks as much as to stop them. Additionally, two recessed nozzles seem to aim down from just under the upper chest, probably part of the mobility component. Some kind of chain-mail under-layer runs down its arms, with plating covering the mid-point of the upper arm. Elbow pads, some boxlike structures protecting the forearms, and metal studded gloves complete the protection on the creature's forearms. Around its waist sits a . . . well, she can only assume it is a belt, composed of a metal plate that covers his frontal region with flange points in key spots to allow for some flexibility. On the sides are additional plates covering the outside of the thighs with various pouches covering the portion along its waist region. Just above those, apparently attached to latch points on the bottom of the chest plate, are two sheathed blades. From under the 'belt' the chain-mail under-layer continues with plates wrapping around key points on the lower thigh, with knee-high boots, again with strategically placed flex points.

"This is a shot of the creature from behind; note the armor along its spine." Pahnzer continues, as he pushes another crystal forward and powers it, showing a frozen image of the creature from behind as it holds some kind of shield in front of itself. But what grabbed Celestia's attention were the wings. They seemed to be held at full extension, fanned out with the telltale colors of magic rippling along their front edges, but the most striking thing about them is the fact that they seemed to be crystalline in nature, almost like what a resident of the fabled crystal empire might have looked like, if the crystal empire had pegusai. And they were huge, easily twice the size of a regular pegasus's, though that was probably due to the creature's larger body structure. Almost fading into the background between the wings, was a row of glowing crystals marching down the spine of the creature armor.

Celestia glances at the unicorn, "Are those . . .?"

Pahnzer responds to the unspoken question. "We believe so, Your Highness. Those stones on the back of its armor seem to store and feed magic into the creature as needed, bypassing the need for a horn to utilize magic. However, it has not as yet displayed the ability to actually project, only to utilize it in its own physical presence."

Celestia shakes her head, considering the image silently for a few moments before shaking her head. "This kind of crystalline research is years ahead of everypony. Any idea what species it is? Or even where it's from?"

"At this point in time, we're unsure of species, and with the amount of magic inherent in the armor, scan spells failed to return anything meaningful. As for its origins, we can only speculate on its own words, and I quote: 'I trust you'll treat her remains with respect. I know your command will take her armor for study, but she fought her way across 200 miles and two worlds before she fell, and even then, she died a hero.' After which point we arrived on the scene and it employed a light emitting crystal to temporarily blind everypony as it made its escape."

Tilting her head to one side for a few seconds, Celestia considers his words before replying, "Another world? Hmmm. And where is the body in question, Captain?"

"In the morgue, your Highness, awaiting your decision," he replies.

Nodding her head, Celestia replies, "Very good, I think we can do that, try to be gentle with the remains, but we'll need to see that armor. I assume it was similar in design to this one's?"

Captain Pahnzer nods his head "Yes, your Highness, it was, except adapted to the specifics of a pegasus."

Celestia takes a moment to collect herself, before replying. "His 'friend' was a pegasus?"

"Yes, Your Highness, although her flesh was too badly damaged to determine her cutie mark. However, we found this design on the armor's exterior; we've kept it quiet, until you could be informed." With that he slides a folded slip of paper over with his magic.

Taking the paper in her own magic, Celestia opens the slip of paper and looks at the mark drawn upon it, her pupils shrinking. On the page is the image of the crescent moon, wreathed in storm clouds, very reminiscent of her sister's, yet not. "I can honestly say I don't know what this means, but in the meantime, keep it quiet, just get that armor, we need to know what we're facing. Where's the 'Swarm Queen's' body now?"

"Yes, your Highness. We've moved the remains of the changeling to a secure location at . . . " Pahnzer continues detailing information about the encounter and subsequent actions taken. But Celestia's eyes continue to ponder the slip of paper held before her, considering the implications. Another world. Another reality most likely, and the first insignia encountered is a different version of her Sister's. Nightmare Moon was defeated here, but who's to say she wasn't victorious somewhere else? Coincidence most likely, and maybe she was being paranoid, but she couldn't shake a certain feeling of unease. She'd have dispatch a letter to her student to assemble the elements; their presence might be needed.

Chapter 2 - Night Ops

Past: Frix(Pre-sentience)

It was the middle of the night, shortly after 2 in the morning, the forest was silent, no crickets sang, no owls glided through the trees, something wasn't right. Frix moved forward with his 'pack', trained to move from tree to tree, cover to cover, his pack moved as quietly as possible.

The pack beta, a large human wielding a 15 pound war-hammer, his body covered in scars where it wasn't covered in armor, led the way, snarling at anypony who got too far forward, or made too much noise.

His 'pack', a 15 human team, had been dropped off a few miles back, while their handlers stayed in the base-camp, monitoring their progress over their mental link with each human. His own alpha murmured words of encouragement and occasional caution as he moved along, following the beta's lead.

'Half a mile to the last known location of the patrol,' she whispered in his head, more to herself than to him, the words moving through his consciousness without being acknowledged. His attention was shifting over the foliage, something whispering in the back of his head. Something was wrong, but none of his instincts were triggering. He didn't know how to handle the feeling, but adrenaline was flooding his system all the same. Moving forward, he stopped next to the beta, catching a snarl in response, but he held his position stubbornly, looking around.

"Vine, what's up with your human, get him in check!" an unknown voice echoed through his consciousness as he felt his alpha's worry spike, causing his adrenaline to start spiking.

'Frix, down, cover Frix, cover,' she whispered in his head, causing him to back away from the beta and crouch down into the shadow of a nearby tree, his eyes still sweeping the surrounding forest. 'I don't know what's wrong, but something's, got him spooked,' her voice whispered back to somepony else.

That's when he heard it. Unnatural voices, whispering on the wind, the sound set the hairs on the back of his neck on end and brought a silent snarl to his lips. 'Hey guys, anypony else hearing that?' His alpha asked, he ignored her. Focusing on the sounds, he sniffed the air, his pack tensing up and watching him, while the beta started to shuffle his way aggressively.

'Vine, get your human under control, now! Ice, have your human stand by to suppress, we haven't got time for this.' Something inside him clicked, and he silently turned to look at the beta with a blank face, his snarl gone as he just stares. 'Vine! What's going on with your human?' The voice echoed through his consciousness. The Beta stopped approaching, and settled back as his alpha redirected him to the fore.

The voices were getting stronger. He glanced at the beta before looking around and settling closer to his tree deeper into the shadow, his breathing accelerating. 'Can't anypony else hear that?' Her voice asked again.

'Hear what?' another voice responded.

'I don't know, voices of some sort, but they're not . . . ' she paused, obviously at a loss on how to explain just what he's hearing.

Out of time, the voices nearly upon them, Frix snarled and dropped, the rest of the pack minus the beta dropping as well.

The beta turned and moved towards Frix, his weapon held up in both hands as he moved to assert his authority.

Glancing at him, Frix tensed, the urgency of the feeling driving him as he rose up silently and shot forward.

The beta didn't have time to react before a hand took hold of his weapon just below the head and a hand like a steel clamp latched onto his throat, his eyes having time to widen before Frix pivoted and slammed him into the tree stunning him as the humans all freeze.

Then, between the trees on their left emerged several dark shapes stepping forward into sight. They appeared to be quadrupeds, standing on four legs. In the dark it was impossible to see their coloration, but the telltale holes in their limbs were just barely visible, prompting a quiet gasp from his alpha as Frix sat there frozen.

After a few tense moments the dark shapes turned towards their destination and strode off. The humans stayed frozen in place, watching after them as the voices in Frix's head slowly died down. Stepping back and releasing the beta, Frix stares off in the direction the two beings had come from, something calling him. Looking back at the beta, their eyes met and Frix tossed his head with a chirp. The beta growled, but also moved off in the direction the two shadows had come from, the rest of the pack moving to follow.

'Let them have their head, lets see what's happening.' The other voice whispered.

Ghosting forward, Frix continued forward, sticking just behind the Beta, occasionally glancing around at his surroundings, the general feeling of unease still there. As they creep forward, a smell reached his nostrils, causing him and most of the others to tense up. Reaching back, he nervously touched the handle of his bastard sword.

Reaching a shallow dip in the ground, most of the pack stopped, spreading out into various positions of cover, as the beta, Frix, and another pack-mate moved forward. Coming to the lip, they looked down impassively at the pile of corpses. All ponies, many still wearing their armor. The patrol had been located.

Crouching down, Frix stared at the bodies, his eyes sweeping over them as his alpha retched quietly in the background. 'We'll have her too,' the voice states coldly in the back of his head, causing his eyes to widen as he stood up. Spinning in place, he reached up and tore his sword from its sheath as he leaped forward at the shadow creeping upon his pack-mates.

Somepony impacts my mental barriers forcing me to awaken.

Present:Redemit

My eyes popping open, I draw a shuddering breath in as I slowly rise, checking my surroundings. Finding nothing immediately wrong, I shake off most of the after affects of the dream, a small feeling of unease and dread clinging on stubbornly. Standing, I stretch, my muscles semi-stiff from sleeping still suited up, then shuffle slowly to the window. Peeking out around the edge, I watch the sky for a moment noting the time of day.

It was still marvelous daylight, but the sun is heading for the horizon. It will be time to move soon. Sitting back, I take a moment to consider. While not exactly the most pleasant, that dream hadn't exactly been shaping up to be one of the worst nightmares I've had to deal with. Rather, the fact that somepony or something had tried to enter it was a disturbing thought, more so than the night I'd first achieved sentience and my first brush with the Swarm.

Glancing back at the window, I shrug as I briefly consider consuming part of another nutrient bar, but decide it isn't the time nor is it worth the effort. However, I do pull out a protein tab and pop it in my mouth, swallowing it with half a swallow of water. I also adjust my alarm to tell me when it's time to try calling base again. That out of the way, I glance at the window again, activating the scanning equipment again to check for any magical spies. While I detect somepony scrying over the city, it doesn't seem to be close, but rather on a sweeping pattern. Shrugging, I move to the window. Checking the alleyway, I ease my way out and seal the window behind myself.

Returning to the mission that brought me here, I detach myself from the wall and fire my jets, moving off down the alleyway on my way to the structure I'd seen previously. Coming to the edge of the property, I find the building to be still active, even with nightfall appearing imminent.

Looking around, I find a sheltered spot to bide the short time before nightfall. A few minutes later, the sun moves below the horizon, revealing the night sky in all its splendor. Taking a moment to admire it, I return my attention to the task at hand. Moving to the mouth of the alley, I note numerous guards posted around the building, and a sizable number of ponies moving in, with no humans in sight.

Not knowing what to make of it, I shrug, and start circling, seeking a less active portion of the structure. Swinging around the back, I am somewhat chagrined to find it fenced in as a semi-obvious back entrance that had minimal activity. Probably should have thought to check that earlier.

Shrugging again, I'm doing a lot of that today, I move forward across the street shooting over the fence and rolling into the shadows. I check the area over; with the lack of light, most everything is reduced to black and white, but appears otherwise uninhabited. Looking up at the building, I consider the structure, before making my way up to a ledge, and from there wall-running and jumping from various parts of the building, I work my way up, occasionally stopping to scan the sky for passing patrols.

Reaching the highest point of the building that won't have me standing on windows (Not a good idea in 200+ lbs. of gear), I stop. I take a moment to flatten myself out into the available cover, and set myself up to wait. With the lack of activity, I have time to think, and instantly start worrying.

Trying to take my mind off the possible what ifs, I leaned over to the bit of window closest to my location to peer in. What I saw somewhat surprised me: I was above a large room with a surprising number of seats (most of which are occupied) facing a large stage. Taking a moment to consider this, I watch the ponies on the stage playing various instruments.

My curiosity piqued, I loose the seals on my helm. Without the additional insulation, I can hear the sounds coming out. Music. Hmm, so that was how it was made. Putting my head up against the glass to hear better, I sit there silently entranced. I have never really experienced anything like this before. I've heard plenty of musical recordings, because Vine Bloom loves to play them, but I'd never seen what must be an amphitheater before.

I don't know how long I stand there entranced, it was in hindsight a poor move and I'm incredibly lucky naught came of it, but I am awakened from my stupor two hours past nightfall to the soft chirps of my alarm going off warning me it is time. Tearing my eyes away from the display going on inside, I sit up and trigger my helmet, sighing quietly as it cuts off the music. I'll have to tell Vine about it later.

Putting two fingers to the side of my helm, I once again trigger the command channel. "This is Echo Two-Four calling HQ, please respond." Sitting back I wait, staring up at the night sky. After about a minute with no response, I try again. "Echo Two-Four calling any command elements, do you copy?" Closing my eyes, I sit there waiting as an overpowering feeling of dread fills my heart.

After another thirty seconds with no response, and my dread quickly rising, I switch to the Night Guard's frequency before trying again. "Echo Two-Four calling any surviving Night Guard Elements, I'm stuck in a local city and cannot raise command, Any active elements, copy?" Swallowing thickly, I stare at the sky unseeingly. "Echo Two-Four to any surviving Night Guard elements, please respond."

I sit there silently praying that somepony, anypony, would answer. After another 20 seconds and no response, I switch to my last resort, the open channels generally used by civilians, and try again. "Night Guard Private Redemit calling any surviving refugee elements, please respond." Silently rocking in place with head bowed, I stare at the chronometer, watching seconds tick by, each one its own slice of eternity. After another twenty seconds have passed, I close my eyes in silent dread. Night has fallen, and with it so too have my brethren. I am alone, and somewhere out there Vine Bloom is in danger, and I'm not there to watch over her as I'd promised.

My resolve hardens into a silent blaze within me. Standing, I bring up my suit diagnostics, starting a scan for the Alpha site's beacon. I stand there waiting as it scans the area, silently praying. Eventually it returns a positive match. Nodding I set it to my objective, and orient on the source, my energy levels reading a solid 100%.

Scanning the sky with some haste, I spot no nearby patrols, and spread my wings, each one unfurling to my side. Taking a running leap off the edge of the building, I flap my wings several time before gliding along the avenue, using the thermals from the cobblestone streets to allow myself to quickly glide towards the edge of town. Eager to travel, still I stay below rooftop level as much as possible to reduce my chances of being seen.

Using this method, I traverse at least half a mile, taking a moment to marvel at the size of the city. Once I see the city's edge approaching, I angle off from the city gate ahead of me and head for a less populated section of the city wall figuring I'll take my chances of losing pursuit with a speedy egress method. Unfortunately, I have underestimated the capabilities of the city's defenders, and it almost costs me.

I am almost too close to divert when my suits proximity alarms scream, causing me to pull to my right in a tight banking maneuver, skimming the now-visible barrier. My proximity causes a slight ripple to form along my path, and my antics plainly don't go unnoticed, as I hear quite a few shouts below me. Shortly, my proximity detector shows me several airborne objects in hot pursuit. Buck.

With my antics at the barrier, I can almost certainly count on a speedy response. I'm spitting in the dark, but I figure I have about two minutes before specialized reinforcements arrived. While tough, my armor is meant to fight swarmlings, not other sentient beings. If they start throwing magic around, life is going to head downhill, fast. I have to end this, now. Hopefully, the barrier doesn't extend to the gates, but either way I'm about to find out. First, though, I have some pegusai to discourage.

Pulling away from the barrier, I skim over the rooftops, flapping my wings to give the impression I am trying to pull as much speed as possible, then dip down into a deserted thoroughfare. I take several curves and turns, forcing the pegusai hounding me to tighten up as they continue following me. Rounding a particularly hard left turn, I trigger my jump jets to throw away my forward velocity, and attach myself to the wall just inside the turn, waiting.

I am not disappointed when several pegusai take the turn, the one on the inside having only a moment to squawk before I had him by his chest armor. Dropping off the wall, I put him in a sleeper hold, feeling his frantic bucking quickly slow and stop. I lay him down as gently as possible, and stand back up to confront the others, as they have managed to turn around and come back toward me.

Not giving them time to prepare, I leap up and run along a wall at them as they in turn try to pull up or away from me. As luck would have it, one of them manages to find a solid wall in his antics, which, with a sickening crunch, puts him out of play. I wince, and silently hope he is alright, but I can't afford to stop now. Leaping forward in an accelerated trajectory, I slam into another pegusai, and the impact with my armor stuns the poor guy. Slamming to the ground below, I cradle the limp body, but am a little too busy to determine much beyond a strong pulse and steady breathing. I drop him into a handy dumpster, as I once more take off down a side alley.

I need to find a gate, preferably one that isn't alerted yet. This means I need to move. I am probably too late already, so the time for subtlety is done. Opening my wings once again, I take to the air. Most of the airborne pegusai give me a wide berth as they wisely choose to shadow me rather than try to apprehend me.

Flapping my wings with smooth, strong pulls to achieve as much altitude as possible, I am actually surprised to see most of my pursuers falling behind steadily. Shaking my head, I note the gate I've just failed to get out near and cast my eyes along the wall, scanning for the nearest alternate exit. It's not long before I find one, which appears to be a train yard.

My time ticking by steadily, I decide that will be my next objective. Flipping around, I close my wings most of the way and orient myself on the train yard. I feel the wind whip by me as I quickly accelerate downwards. This will be tricky, but I feel confident I can pull it off.

As I fall towards the earth below me, I take a single moment to revel in the feeling of the air whistling past me, while I will always feel most at home on the ground, there is always something about being free in the air. But playtime was yester-year, and I have a gate to crash. Seeing a personnel access point set into the gate itself, I fix my targeting systems on it, planning a swooping flight that will terminate at the door. The seconds tick by, and my airspeed accelerates until it finally maxes out. I have achieved terminal velocity.

As the moment of truth gallops closer , I deploy my tower shield, pumping energy into my body until it feels like my very flesh is afire. Just as I am about to impact the ground just in front of the gate, my wings shoot open with a muscle wrenching snap and my tower shield snaps forward into ready position. The protective runes on its face light up like a second sun for an intense sliver of time before I impact on the gate and the world explodes.

When I can see again, I'm laying on my back staring at the night sky through a telltale ripple of the protective dome covering the city. Raising my head, I'm greeted by the site of a gate with a sizable hole in it. This would be a good thing generally, except I didn't know about the portcullis behind it, which managed to stop my weakened forward velocity. Admittedly, there is a rather sizable dent as well as a sizable chunk of the gate itself in the crossbars that it is formed of, that sucker is going to have to be cut out before the gateway is functional again. But for my needs, it might as well be whole and untarnished.

Glancing up, I still have company, but they seem mostly disoriented at the moment. Good, I have a short time to work with.

Groaning, I stand up shakily, eyeing my power levels: sitting around 35%. I shake my head and move forward. Reaching the gate I step into the space between the gate and the portcullis, giving myself a good defensive position while I work. I draw my white sword and briefly consider the obstacle in my way.

Most of the cross-linked bars making it up have been twisted and stressed severely. What this means is that an operation that SHOULD have taken hours and more energy than I currently have available just MIGHT be possible with the time and energy I do have. My sword sure won't appreciate this, though.

Shrugging and stepping toward the still smoking bars, I heft the white blade before me, and start pumping magic into it. After a moment, it heats up to the point where the blade itself starts to glow. I bring it down in a short vicious swipe, feeling gratified as several of the bars give a sharp *snap* and part before me. Taking a step back, I again repeat my performance, while listening to a number of shouts calling out behind me. My proximity sensors still show the immediate area as being clear, but my time is short.

I have time for a couple more swipes, freeing most of the stressed bars and bringing freedom so close I can practically taste it. Unfortunately, I see blips closing in on me, fast. Stepping back to the ruined gate and drawing my second blade, I ready myself in the 'doorway' as several ponies rush my location. Waiting until they are just about on my position, I rush out with both blades surging with energy. Taking the closest target first, I cross my swords and scissor his spear between my blades, cutting the head off. Stepping to the left, I deliver a punch to the side of his head as momentum carries him past me.

Turning to the next target, I bring my white blade down to force the sword he has grasped in his mouth down. At the same time, I thrust my storm blade forward along his back, too high to cut, but close enough for tiny arcs of energy to ground through his body. He drops to the ground and slides past me as the electrical shock convulses his body. Spinning toward the next two, I bring my swords across my body aiming for their weapons, a spear and sword respectively. I knock the spear aside and ground my storm blade into the sword. I wince internally as I hear the snap of a tooth as yet another poor guard manages to grind his teeth into the grip on his sword in his convulsions. Focusing my attention on the spear wielding pony, I lash out with a wing, slamming it into his flank and throwing him a couple feet to the right where he lands on his side, gasping for air as he lays on the ground cradling his chest.

Turning to the remaining guard, I can't help but chuckle slightly as he stares into my 'eyes' and quakes in place, his spear held up more as an after-thought than any kind of serious defense. "Stand down. I'm not going to harm you, but I can't afford to delay, either. Attack me, and you'll join your friends on the ground. At least one of them needs a medevac, so I suggest you take care of that," I state in an even tone of voice, trying not to bust out laughing as he shakily nods before dropping his spear and shuffling to his comrade on the ground holding his chest. I feel a certain amount of respect for the poor stallion for not running away screaming his head off, but rather moving to assist his comrade.

Shaking off those feelings, I move back to the hole in the gate, finally noticing the body of the first pony I'd addressed laying on the ground before the portcullis. His impromptu meeting with the wooden remains of the gate embedded into the aforementioned portcullis actually seemed to loosen most of the remaining bars, leaving almost enough space for me to slip out. Stepping forward, I pick up the poor guard's body, he's still breathing thankfully, and set him down to the side as I consider the gate and my power levels sitting at 10%. Maybe I won't have to use magic after all.

Drawing back an armored boot, I slam it into the weakened bars, making the gate shake and causing the tear to widen slightly. I draw my foot back again and slam it forward as I hear more shouts and footsteps approaching. Drawing my boot back again for one more kick, I decide I'm out of time and brace my hands in the gate. Feeding a whisper of power to the chest plate's strength rune, I manage to squeeze myself through the rent gate and turn to confront the outside world.

Surprisingly, I don't see anypony particularly close to me, leading me to question my knowledge of this world's communications ability. Being used to near instantaneous communications, I probably could have taken the time to open the gate and raise the portcullis. Oh, well, I'm sure they can take it out of the pay I don't think I'll be seeing for a very long time.

Chuckling at my own weak satire, I sheath my blades and move off. Following the base of the wall while staying out of sight as much as possible, I make my way steadily towards the cliff-side the city rests on. Reaching a handy launch point, I again consider my power levels: 17%, not bad. While I do draw more magic in than my jump jets can use, I don't exactly pull much more, so any time I don't have to use power will possibly be the difference between failure or success. but speed is of the essence, so speed is definitely warranted.

Taking a deep breath, and glancing out into the night, towards the source of the signal, I whisper softly, "Hang in there Vine, I'm coming!" I run forward and take a jump-jet enhanced leap forward off the cliff. The wind whistles past me as I slowly open my wings, turning my downward descent into a swooping dive. I work to convert as much of my downward velocity into forward momentum as possible with strong measured strokes of my wings.

Glancing back, I see various signs of activity over the city, but from my angle I can't see much. Hopefully, I'm far enough away that they can't see me either against the dark mass of the forest. Glancing down, I flinch momentarily. Recovering, I stare in awe at the dark majesty of the forest spread beneath me, something about it speaking of a wild untamed will.

Shaking my head, I dismiss the feeling as I look forward, the signal was pretty weak. I had a long trip ahead of me, and with my power depleted, it was going to take awhile.

Several hours later: Redemit

Circling a particular spot of unbroken canopy, I find myself resisting the urge to face-palm. 'Of course there's nothing here! It's in a CAVE,' I think with a withering amount of irony in my self-addressed tone. Banking away from the site, I slowly begin circling the area, my eyes probing the darkness of the forest below me, because I'm totally awesome and expect to see something through the frikkin' canopy. With no larger landmarks making an appearance, I have no choice but to start looking for a potential entrance through the canopy that won't involve breaking stuff. While I'm personally confident I could heal, my power levels are only sitting around 65%.

A further thought that causes me to groan with even more self-condemnation is to try contacting somepony on the ground. Keying my crystal, I again call out on the command channel. "Echo Two-Four calling any active command elements, over." Glancing around, I spot a small break in the foliage. It's large enough I should be able to land, but getting back out would be impossible. Filing it under 'Bad Alternatives' I continue circling the site, calling out again, "Echo Two-Four calling any surviving command elements, do you read? Over."

Sighing and shaking my head, I take stock for a moment. My only major complaint is my wings letting me know in no uncertain terms that several hours in the air, in full Heavy Kit, AND with no rest, is NOT a good thing. Grimacing, I continue to consider my options. I'm not going to be flight worthy for awhile after this. That hole in the foliage is looking better all the time, but first, one last try.

Flipping over to the Night-Guard Frequency, "Echo Two-Four to any surviving guard elements, do you copy?" I speak out, sweeping the horizon as I wait. "Echo Two-Four to any surviving guard, I'm over the Alpha site marker, the surface appears to be covered in a large forest. No visible entrance, moving to the surface to scout on foot." Closing my eyes for a moment, I offer up a prayer for my comrades. I open them again and move in to approach the hole in the canopy, sweeping my wings back at the last moment to let my armor take the brunt of the entry, and then I flare them slightly just before touching down onto one knee in the beam of moonlight.

Rising from my knees, I flare my wings fully, tensing up and flexing the muscles before I slowly close them. I hiss briefly from the pain as I fold them up behind myself. A minimal expenditure of magic numbs the worst of the pain, and they fold neatly. They may not feel good, but they aren't damaged. Looking around the forest before me I nod as the light gathering capabilities of my helm combine with my own eyesight to show me a slightly grayed-out cathedral of trees surrounding me in all directions.

Taking a deep breath, I place a waypoint on my current position on the map, and then proceed to circle the location where the signal seems to originate from below the ground. Finding nothing in the immediate area, I start circling outward sweeping the ground for any sign of an entrance. The occasional snap or whisper of sound indicates the presence of additional life, and glancing up, I see several shadows moving through the trees. I ignore them for the moment until they decide to make trouble, pulling my storm blade to be ready.

A few minutes later, my preparations prove well founded as one of them, obviously not the most intelligent, decides to try and surprise me by running at what it thought was a free meal stumbling through the darkness. Grumbling, I step aside and grasp it by the neck as it passes me, only to start in surprise when I feel and hear the snap of several wooden sticks in my hand before the body in my grasp twitches and stops moving and then collapses to pieces on the ground. This leaves me standing there, my right eyebrow developing a nervous tic as I stand there stupidly going, 'What the buck?'.

My actions being taken as aggressive, the rest of the pack of wooden creatures decides at this point to join in the fun, rushing to encircle me, my only response being to ready my blade as I clench and unclench my left hand, standing at the ready. As they consider me, working up the resolve to attack, or trying to intimidate me with some growls, not really sure which, I take the initiative by charging one of them and ramming my blade up its muzzle. Stabbing it cleanly only to have it mirror its pack-mate in falling to pieces around my blade leaves me even more confused, and I idly catch the one charging from my left by the muzzle and shake its body like a rat before tossing it into a tree. I swing my blade out to my right and slice the top of another's head off as it too, collapses to nothing but wood.

"Okay, this is getting weird," is the first thing that comes out my mouth. Not my finest moment, but come on, they're made of WOOD! Who makes a golem out of wood, then leaves it out in the middle of a forest? Unless they're not golems? I turn and consider the surviving creatures as they circle me. Four legs, slight build, built for speed and agility, pack aspect, excellent group coordination, long muzzle, lots of teeth. Wolves? Timber Wolves? I'd heard of those, but if this was they, they weren't exactly living up to the tales I'd heard. Either way, time to end this.

Cranking the exterior speakers up to max, I yell out, "Get out of here! Ha!" The crushing sound of my voice has the desired affect, causing the remaining wooden wolves to slink away. Filing them away for further consideration, I turn back to my surroundings, only to notice a small hill in the distance, hidden beneath the trees.

Making my way over slowly, I crank my proximity sensors to max, sweeping the surrounding foliage for any possible threats or defensive measures. If this was the alpha site, the entrance should have been secured, with at least 2 point teams providing cover. From the fact that the foliage doesn't look like it's been fed through a cheese grater, I'm forced to decide that nothing appears untoward on the surface, beyond the fact that there's NO PONY THERE!

Moving closer, I come to the entrance, only to see partially assembled sandbag walls that should have been fully assembled and manned. I close my eyes briefly as my feelings of dread surge, making me almost physically ill. I open them again and stare out at the world with cold, dead eyes, my feelings falling away as I consider the tracks on the ground: plenty of ponies, nothing else that doesn't look older than should matter.

Raising my gaze to the dark cave mouth, I enter in. The darkness swallows me, like an old friend, or a tomb.

Chapter 12 - A Musical Evening

Opening my eyes, I suppress a groan. Choosing instead to give a simple yawn. Taking stock of my situation, I feel Vine sound asleep, laying out on my back, in fact, I think she's on her back atop mine with her wings laid out to either side. Any other time I'd find that awesomely cute, but I need to wake her up, preferably without causing her to lash out at my unprotected back.

Reaching a hand back and up(Rather uncomfortable I must admit.), I slowly stroked her cheek. "Vine, hey Vine," I spoke gently, causing her to twitch, but otherwise not respond. Rubbing a little more thoroughly, I try again. "Vine, time to go soon," I state gently, thankfully, she opens her eyes this time round. Nuzzling back into my hand sleepily, she rolls off me, retracting her wings.

No longer constrained, I stretch and push myself up, backing up on my hands and knees until I can put my legs on the floor and stand. Taking a moment to stretch, I savor the feel of muscles stretching and joints flexing smoothly before heading to the bathroom to make sure my face is clean and my demeanor presentable.

After washing my face and hands, I rest my hands on the counter as I stare at myself in the mirror. What. The. Buck. Why did I just try to throw away everything I'd fought so hard for? Why did her memories of pain, even partially unhealed, throw me off the deep end, triggering my fury? I sit there pondering for awhile, before I remember the trigger. The moon. An object of beauty and calm in a world covered in storms and death. A ball of rock and stone, with a spirit all its own that'd been one of my only accepting companion in a world that despised and hated me. It didn't care what I was, it shared its light and beauty all the same. That I'd betrayed and slain as I'd pulled it apart, ripping most of it out of orbit and starting it on a collision course with my old world.

Sighing, I stare sightlessly at the mirror, remembering the haunting melody the moon's spirit had sang as it sensed Queen Nightmare Storm's impending demise, only to turn to screams of unbearable agony as I'd channeled my Queens power through myself to forcibly pull the moon out of orbit. Nightmare Storm, Luna, one and the same, just different realities. My mind could comprehend the difference, but my emotions? No, they were more primal, less shaped. I didn't have enough mental fail-safes. I would have done anything for my Queen, and my emotions couldn't tell any real difference betwixt Luna and Nightmare. I'd have to be more careful from now on.

Scrubbing my face with still damp hands, I take a moment to plan possibilities. What if she told Celestia about the dream? Then I'd tell the truth of course. If this made her more suspicious of me, I'd just have to work to prove myself.

My mind made up, I inspect my attire and demeanor once more before I put a blank look upon my features and return to the bedroom. Vine sits by the door idly inspecting the door's scroll-work. I just shake my head. "What are you doing, Vine?" I ask, she just turns her head to look at me.

"The door has some really nice detail. Whoever made it knew what they were doing." Vine states enthusiastically, I just laugh.

"I certainly hope so, this is the palace after all." I retort, Vine just grins.

"Yeah yeah, they have a really nice recreation of this particular vine, it's called a sa-" Vine starts but is interrupted by a knock at the door.

I instinctively move to flank the door as Vine moves in front of the door while standing slightly to the side watching me. I nod and she slowly opens the door, muscles tense. My own are equally tense, various moves and attacks floating through my consciousness as I await whatever is on the other side of the door.

"Miss Bloom?" A feminine voice asks, I give Vine a nod and she responds with a smile.

"Yes?" She asks.

"I'm here to escort you to Princess Luna, we're heading out shortly," the voice responds.

Vine nods. "Alright, let me grab my human, and we'll be right out!" She states happily, pushing the door closed.

I lean against the wall, taking deep breaths as my body slowly purges the adrenaline. Vine just gives me a small smile as she moves to my duffel still resting on the bed and pulls out one of my plainer collars, just a black strap with her name on the plate. Grabbing it in her mouth, she tosses her head, launching it to me.

Catching it, I put it on and move in front of the door as Vine moves back to my side and opens it up again. I'm greeted with the sight of a pegasus mare in dark armor, a night guard, obviously. Two leathery wings adorn her back, her coat is a charcoal gray with the telltale feel of an enchantment telling me her natural color is probably very different. Meeting her yellow eyes for a moment, I'm gratified by the presence of a rather intelligent glint in them.

Vine moves forward, distracting the guard from her scrutiny of me as she nods to Vine. "Lead the way!" Vine chirps.

"Aren't you going to put a leash on him?" The Night Guard asks, pointing at me. I keep my face carefully blank, if she's not in the know, I'm not breaking it to her.

Vine shakes her head. "He won't stray far from me," she responds, before tilting her head. "After you?" she queries.

The gray pegasus stares a moment to be sure she's serious about not leashing me before she nods and turns around, walking off. Vine follows on her heels with me pulling rear guard. A couple minutes later, we arrive in a courtyard, from the looks of it. The one just inside the main gate, I nod my head as parts of my mental map start lining up, this place is huge.

Looking at the center of activity, I'm met with the sight of a silver trimmed carriage. Looking it over, I suppose it's our transportation for this evening, considering the guards setting up to provide escort. My guess is confirmed when our escort takes us directly to the carriage and opens the door.

Vine nods her head before stepping up into the carriage, I follow after her, causing the guard to do a bit of a double take. Dismissing her from my mind, I sweep the inside of the carriage with my eyes.

Ridiculously nice layout, the ceiling is obviously designed with alicorns in mind, I don't have to bend over at all. There's a small bar containing a number of various bottles, I can only assume of the inebriating sort(Salted drinks, bleh) for ponies. And the rest of the carriage is taken up by well padded benches.

Vine moves to a back corner, with sight lines on all the windows and doors, before taking a seat. I follow suit and settle myself down beside her, between her and the closest set of windows. Sitting back to give the appearance of relaxation, I wait.

Not even a minute later, the door is opened again, and Luna steps in. The first time I've ever seen her in the flesh.

Bodies litter the ground, swarmling and Night Guard both. Laying in the center of a ring of charred and broken corpses, coughing weakly, blood streaming from a multitude of cuts, Nightmare Storm lays on her side, her ravaged horn ending in a splintered tip only inches above her forehead.

The feeling of a hoof rather roughly inserted into my sternum serves to bring me back to the real world. Blinking rapidly, I look around the carriage, seeing only myself, Vine, and Luna. Both of whom are watching me with concerned looks. I just shake my head and give a weak wave. "I'm fine, just some mental baggage." I sigh.

Vine gives a soft sigh and a half smile before patting me on the arm, to which I respond with a nod before carefully blanking my face as I look out the window, part of me waiting for Luna to start talking with more than a little dread.

Luna reclines on her side of the carriage before nodding out a window. "We're ready," She says, I hear a muffled response before we lurch into motion.

Almost against my will, I find myself looking at Luna as we go. Seeing me looking at her, she gives me a soft smile and a minuscule shake of her head. I nod my head slightly in response, relaxing.

"How art thee enjoying thy time here thus far?" Luna asks, considering the both of us with a small smile.

I chuckle. "It's had its shares of ups and downs, but it's been mainly ups, considering," I say, leaning back more fully to take advantage of the awesomely padded seat I'm sitting in.

Vine nods her head as well. "It's taken some getting used too, but I have high hopes for the future. You know, the usual bit. Get myself a farm, maybe a few more workers to help me run it, find a good stallion, maybe a herd," she states with a dreamy sigh. I can't resist raising an eyebrow at her. She just grins back at me.

After a moment of looking mildly bemused, Luna nods her head appreciatively. "There is much merit to that idea, and We dare say few who are as deserving of a . . . quiet life as thee. I wish thee the best of luck in thine endeavors." She states bringing her eyes back to me. "And what dost thou seek?" She asks me with an... odd smile on her face, one might even call it motherly, or at least, an attempt at it.

I shrug my shoulders, prompting Luna to blink in confusion at the odd body language. "I'm not really sure, Ma'am. To this point, the focus in my life has always been following and protecting my Alpha, then following the orders of my Queen first, and Alpha second, with protection detail tossed on top for laughs because the universe was a complete biscuit munching Cerberus. Now? I only have one 'order' anymore; To live" I respond, shaking my head. "Everything past that is all on me," I state in an unsure tone of voice. I'm in control of my life now, to a certain extent anyway. I can choose where I wish to go, if I wanted to just walk away, sure. But not likely to happen, Vine's always been there for me, I'm certainly not abandoning her.

Luna tilts her head as she examines me some more then shakes her head as she inhales through her teeth. "Freedom is an interesting concept. Just because thee hast the ability to do so doesn't mean thou should necessarily do so," She warns, I nod my head.

"Agreed, but it still makes me . . . I don't know, I kinda feel giddy, but scared at the same time," I shake my head at my confused feelings, Luna just laughs.

"Thou can expect a lot more of that as thou progress through life," Luna states with a smile.

"Awwww, little wolfie is finally growing up!" Vine snickers beside me, I give her a deadpan look in return, this only serves to make her start laughing. I roll my eyes and wrap an arm around her giving her a sideways hug.

"Don't expect very much of it, some of the antics you 'grown up' ponies go through are just ridiculous," I roll my eyes, Vine stops a moment to retort, then ends up nodding her head in agreement.

"Now now, there's plenty of things adults get to enjoy!" Luna snickers, valiantly trying to suppress her mirth, why it's so funny is beyond me.

"Eh, true, like concerts!" I state with a large does of enthusiasm, Vine just busts out laughing. I look at her and raise an eyebrow. "What?" I ask exasperatedly.

"Nothing! Absolutely nothing!" Vine snickers, I let it drop because she'll just drag me into a mental minefield if I push I think. Glancing at Luna, I find myself giving her a deadpan look as she sits there with a hoof over her mouth trying to hold in her laughter.

Seeing my face, she fails to contain her laughter and ends up collapsing onto her bench as she does so, I'm starting to feel less confused, and more annoyed.

"Ugh, females," I grouse, rubbing my forehead, they both just start laughing harder. "Okay, what the buck? Come on! What's so funny?" I ask in a frustrated voice, both of them stop laughing and return to a modicum of decorum, with only the occasional snicker or giggle.

"Nothing Frix," Vine looks mildly bloated as she holds in her laughter. "I'll tell you in a few years," She's states as she relaxes, almost completely calmed down.

"Ugh, whatever. Are we there yet?" I whine, this stuff is getting out of hand.

"Actually, We believe we're almost there," Luna states, glancing out a window, I perk up as well, glancing out, I'm met with sight of the white building I'd climbed a so long ago. I take a moment to consider the events that had happened, running for my life, finding my Queen one last time, rescuing Vine, ahhh good times.

As the carriage comes to a stop, I move to flank the door on the left side out of habit more than anything else. Luna just gives me a bemused look before shaking her head and standing. Several seconds later, a pony in a fancy red suit walks up and opens the door with a bow.

Luna steps out with a small nod to acknowledge the pony. Vine disembarks next and tosses her head for me to follow, I step out just after her, causing the pony holding the door to do a double take, but I ignore it as I move off after Vine and Luna, keeping my face carefully blank as I see all the various ponies in multitude of different outfits watching us, mainly Luna, thankfully. The general sounds of the crowd are almost annoying in their intensity. Fortunately, Vine seems to be holding up well, paying no mind to the crowd and simply walking along just behind Luna as if she were an assistant or something, and the human is just plain ignored, yay.

After about 20 feet of attention riveted stares and entirely too much noise, we reach the doors to the building, rather fancy looking ones with lots of gold trim and windows mounted in the doors. Stepping inside, we're greeted by another pony dressed in a slightly fancier red uniform. The stallion bows, to which Luna responds with another nod. Standing, he gives a smile. "Welcome to the Canterlot Amphitheater, Princess. The Royal Box has been prepared for you, will you require anything more?" He asks.

Luna nods her head and starts talking to the stallion, but I miss most of what they say as I'm too busy glancing around as we walk towards what I assume is the 'Royal Box'. All too soon, I find my sight-seeing cut short as we end up at a door that's flanked by two Night Guard.

The uniformed stallion bows one last time before excusing himself, and Luna proceeds through the door that's been opened by one of said guards. Vine and I follow her in, glancing around, I find us on an interior balcony, with two almost throne-like chairs. One's themed gold and white, obviously Celestia's. And the other is definitely Luna's, with several shades of blue being used, my observations are proven correct when Luna seats herself in it.

Moving slowly as to not attract much attention if at all possible, I glance around the large room, seeing the same area I was over the last time I was here. Glancing up at the 'ceiling' and all the windows, I can't help but chuckle.

"Something humorous?" Luna asks me.

I point up to the ceiling. "I've been here before, although last time I was on the roof," I state, Luna chuckles lightly before turning her attention back to the stage and the crowded seats in front of it.

"They shall be starting soon," She states idly, I nod my head, looking for Vine.

I find her towards the back of the balcony area sitting in a row of seats I missed on the way in. Contemplating the tiny chairs, I settle for kneeling on the floor near Vine rather than trying to squeeze myself into one.

The lights in the theater dimmed, leaving the stage lit up in a sea of darkness. As I watched, the curtains rose, revealing chairs in curved ranks, all centered around one central podium. Ponies of various shades and hues filled the chairs, each one with their instrument of choice. After a moments silence, a lone pony in a black suit walked out from one side and stepped up to the central podium.

She started talking, but I was distracted by Vine very quietly giggling in glee and grabbing my head in her hooves, effectively blinding me and cutting most of the noise out. After a few seconds of this, I finally manage to disengage her forelimbs. Reaching out, I wrap an arm around her shoulders and give her a small hug before letting go and turning back to watch the show.

Her pre-show statements finished, the mare then turns around and faces the orchestra, tapping some sort of stick on the podium in front of her, she raises it, and the orchestra begins to play.

The music, while not to my taste, nonetheless is pleasant to listen to. Vine obviously agrees, as I feel her happiness fill the air about me. This causes me to enter a minor euphoric state. I feel myself sit back with a small smile as I sit there listening and feeling.

After a time, I hear the music wind down. Shaking my head, I open my eyes and close my mouth. Checking my chin to ensure I wasn't drooling, not the best activity for making good impressions. Once I assure myself that I'm dry about the mouth, I lay my head back and look up at Vine.

Vine's looking down at me with a grin of understanding, which i return for a moment before turning my head back to the front.

Glancing at Luna, I make eye contact as she gives me a happy smile of her own. Then she makes a calming gesture at me.

I'm naturally very confused by this until I hear the door to the balcony opening and school my face into non-expression.

In walks a pony in another red uniform pulling a cart full of various snacks, I feel my mouth watering at the sight, we didn't exactly eat much today. Vine's stomach obviously agrees as it gives a loud rumble.

Vine rises and moves to intercept the pony in question, whispering something to him before taking the cart with a nod and pulling it over to Luna.

Luna just smiles softly before gesturing us at the cart, I bow my head in thanks before moving to grab some food and quietly consuming it. The music begins again and I find myself slumping sitting beside Luna's seat as I eat slowly and enjoy the sounds and emotions invoked. Everything after that devolves into a haze.

...

The next time I'm actually tracking, rather than getting high off good emotions and good music. The performance is over, the orchestra has all bowed to the audience, and the other spectators seem to be leaving. Taking stock, I find myself feeling well fed, both physically and emotionally. Shaking my head, I berate my behavior. While the experience was EXTREMELY pleasant, I shouldn't have let myself be distracted like that. Looking around, I find Luna looking at me inquisitively.

"Is something wrong, Frix?" She asks.

I shake my head. "No, Luna. Just got distracted," I state with a frown, not letting that happen again.

Luna just grins. "It's okay to be distracted here, Frix. That's what the point of this performance was, now, We must meet and thank the orchestra for that fine performance. Care to come along?" She asks with a merry twinkle in her eye as she looks at a practically salivating Vine.

Vine almost jumps at the chance, then sits back as her ears fold down, her reticence catching up to her.

Repressing a sigh, I shuffle over and pat her on the shoulder. "Hey, you don't have to actually say hi if you don't want to, but you enjoyed the show, at least show up and look happy, huh?" I ask.

Vine looks up at me, then gives a small smile. "I'd like that very much, Luna," She says turning back to Luna.

Luna smiles. "Excellent, right this way then," She states as she walks through the door, Vine and I follow closely.

A couple minutes or walking later, and we arrive at the lobby where the various musicians are circulating with the crowd. Rather than get mixed up in a crowd(Vines sticking awfully close to Luna) I decide to sit it out on the sidelines. So as we enter the room, I peel off and stand next to one of Luna's Night Guard, in this case a pegasus.

Part of me finds it extremely funny when said Night Guard ends up shuffling slightly, the nervous footwork being the only outward sign she gives of being uncomfortable. Although, she does end up sneaking several glances at me as the meeting progresses. I find myself repressing a smile as I just keep my eyes centered on Vine and watch the guard from the corner of my eye.

Finally, they Luna finishes her rounds and heads back for the door. I glance down at the guard who looks up at me, I give a nod, then turn and follow Vine, leaving one very confused guard gawking at me, oh life is good.

My antics aside, we quickly make our way out the exit and back to Luna's carriage, once inside Vine once again sits in the back corner and I sit next to her, my repressed grin going full force on my face.

Vine looks at me, sees my grin, and gives a small groan. "Dang it Redemit, what did you do?" She asks in an annoyed tone, I give her a perfectly angelic look of innocence.

"What? I just stood in one place and kept my eyes on you the entire time, honest!" I reply confusedly.

Luna looks about ready to collapse with laughter, but manages none the less to give me a stern look. "We trust there shall be no nightmares resulting for your activities this night?" She asks in a semi-ominous tone, I look thoughtful for a moment.

"Shouldn't be?" I query, Vine face-hooves and I bust out laughing, shortly followed by Luna.

Vine punches me in the shoulder, but eventually ends up giggling herself.

After about minute of acting like complete ninnies, we finally manage to settle down.

"Thou likes to grow things, then?" Luna asks, Vine gives a nod.

"I specialized in climbers actually, spent rather a bit of time working on a wine plantation with my family. We managed it for a rather wealthy pony. Part of our job involved rather a bit of climbing, so humans were actually quite useful. That's actually how we got Frix here, he was on the market as a 'field test' subject. We signed a waiver saying we had custody for a minimum of 5 years, after which point they had the option of recalling him for further testing or just breeding rights." Vine states, giving a small smile at the pleasant memories. "They never told us what the modifications performed were. But growing up, it very quickly became apparent just how different he was. A great deal smarter, not to mention faster than most other humans his age. He was rather loving right up until somepony he cared about was 'threatened', then he was rather violent. He almost ended up getting put down, but we managed to get him tested for aggression and he passed. So I gave him the nickname of wolf, and called him my little wolfy" she snickers, I just groan.

Luna smirks. "Wolf? Indeed, we think that is a very good name, very wild," she snarks, I just give her a deadpan stare. "So, are you planning on taking up farming once more?" She asks, turning back to Vine.

Vine tilts her head a moment, then gives a nod. "I think I'd like that, it'd be nice to watch something grow again, combine that with some of the methods we developed for farming towards the end of the war, and I think I could enjoy myself immensely while making a rather large amount of whatever, sadly I won't have my helper for awhile I'm sure," She gives me puppy dog eyes, I just roll my own. "But I think with the money we've been given, I could get something started, I'll have to take a look at what there is for a market," She states thoughtfully, Luna just nods, turning back to me.

"Do you have any plans for the future?" Luna asks, I shrug.

"I have goals, but set plans? No, not really," I reply.

"Oh? And what might those goals be?" Luna asks.

I shrug, looking out the window. "Safety, somewhere quiet to learn. There's so much I just don't know, killings fun, but I want to do more," I reply, Luna grows strangely quiet after that, and we spend the rest of the ride in an oddly uncomfortable silence.

Chapter 16 - Help or Hurt?

“Okay, I may have overdone that,” I groan as I set Master Sergeant Fairy down and rub my upper arms. What should have been a regular workout had left me shaking and sore. Pulling magic from my armor's reservoir, I pulse it through my body and give a long sigh as sweet relief flows through my body. Flexing my now limber body parts, I turn to two puddles of equine flesh. “Need some help?” I ask kneeling down beside Sergeant Cloud Burst.

Sergeant Cloud just gives a long low groan, prompting me to laugh.

“Come on now, you barely managed a mile, the rest of us did 5 on foot, and I did another 5 in the air, carrying the medic,” I retort good naturedly, I rest my hands on her side and feed a small but steady trace of healing magic into her, taking it slow until I know how her body will react to the magic.

It seems to work well enough, Sergeant Cloud's Breathing steadies out and she stands up after a couple seconds to stretch. “Hey! That was amazing, I feel like I just had 12 hours of sleep and a message!” she cheers, I just chuckle, moving on to kneel beside Sergeant Scatter Shot.

“Need some help?” I ask her in turn, she gives me an eager nod, she looks like she's trying to nod her head off, which is adorable. I rest my hands on her side in turn and feed a small wave of healing magic into her as well.

After a few moments, Sergeant Scatter stands and stretches her front legs way out like a cat, letting her back pop several times before standing and giving me a heated gaze, complete with hooded eyes, I recoil slightly. She just giggles. “With tricks like that, I bet you made Vine one happy ma-urk” I go from recoiling to striking out in the blink of an eye, wrapping my hand around her throat and lifting her up off her front legs so I can look her in the eyes from my kneeling position, this causes everyone else to tense up as well, regrettable, but she insulted my Alpha, this shall not stand.

“Take that back!” I growl. Sergeant Scatter just grabs ineffectually at my wrist as she struggles to breath. “Take. That. Back.” I order again bringing our faces closer together, she remains stubbornly silent but starts panicking. Bucking her back legs, trying to pull back.

“Stand down, Private!” Pahnzer orders loudly, and is ignored.

“Shit, someone do something!” Cloud orders in a voice verging on panic as well, but they don't dare move for fear of what I'll do.

“Take that back,” I order again, shaking Scatter lightly, she just stares at with pinprick eyes as she overexerts herself on insufficient air flow and starts blacking out, still stubbornly silent, I feel my rage curling inside me as my hand tightens further.

“Redemit,” Fairy Dancer says softly, her voice strangely calm in spite of the turmoil I feel inside her. I turn my head to look at her, a silent snarl upon my face. “She doesn't know what you mean,” she says quietly, I blink a few times, my hand loosening slightly allowing Scatter to inhale shakily.

“My Alpha isn't a whorse.” I respond. I feel a general thread of surprise and consternation from the group surrounding me.

“Human fancying isn't a crime here,” Fairy Dancer continues soothingly, moving closer very slowly, I simply watch her, my thoughts in turmoil. “She didn't mean anything by it, please, let her go.” Fairy continues, laying a hoof on my arm holding Scatter gently, I release my hold on Scatter causing her to fall backward and scramble away from me on her back.

I drop my gaze to the ground and rest my hands in my lap loosely, my muscles tensed up for any retaliation. With the heat of the moment past, I'm starting to contemplate the consequences of my actions. Sergeant Scatter Shot meant nothing by the statement, I reacted entirely out of context in what would have been a perfectly natural act back on my home world.

I blew it. I messed up so badly, I assaulted a superior officer. I'm sure they wont retaliate against Vine, but I'll probably have to . . . I don't know what I'd do outside. Where would I go? The forest? My wilderness survival training was minimal, if you got lost outside a conclave, you were dead, and by the end, there was no wilderness left anywhere nearby, just mountains and swarms hundreds strong.

I'm distracted from my thoughts by an annoyed sigh. “Alright, private, explain yourself,” Pahnzer orders.

“I have no excuse for what I did, I shouldn't have let my last world's behaviors affect my actions here, and for that, I am truly sorry,” I state with complete sincerity, I dug this hole, time to dig my way out if I can.

“Oh shit, so you mean when I made that crack about your . . . oh shit, I'm sorry!” I blink as I turn to find Sergeant Scatter actually still nearby, rubbing her throat, but I don't feel much anger, just general irritation, and a thread of contriteness. When I turn my head to her, she shakes her own. “Sorry Private, they always told me my questionable humor would get me in trouble one day, just never thought it'd be by stallion,” She says with a smirk, I can only stare at her.

“What?” I ask semi-bemusedly.

“By stallion, you know, you. Most males don't mind being flirted with, comes with the territory, always thought'd it be a mare that beat the crap out of me,” Sergeant Scatter says with a smirk. I find myself gratified that she's not holding a grudge, and also grateful that she's taking it in stride.

I gesture towards her throat. “I . . . ah, I can take care of that for you, if you'd like,” I offer by way of apology. Sergeant Scatter considers me a moment, as if she were peering into my soul, then steps up to me. I raise a hand slowly, one finger outstretched, and trace it down her throat lightly, magic whispering into her flesh, dulling the pain and combating the swelling.

Sergeant Scatter steps back and clears her throat, giving a nod and a significant look at Captain Pahnzer, what she's telling him, I don't know, but I hope it's good, or at least neutral. “Thank you,” I state, for accepting my apology, and showing trust in letting me heal her.

“We have GOT to get his gear in production,” Sergeant Fairy states, I look at her questioningly, she just stares back at me. “I mean, look what you just did with a touch, those two were on the ground, now they're up and ready for more, and all this through a human for crying out loud, you have the natural magical potential of a toadstool, no offense to you Redemit,” she says, I just chuckle.

“None taken,” I state, watching Sergeant Fairy shake her head.

“Can anypony do what you just did?” Captain Pahnzer asks, I shake my head.

“With the armor, even an earth pony can power runes, but healing? Not without the right runes, I don't know if I'm unique, or if any human could do this, but I can actually shape the intent of the magic flowing through me, which is why magic consumption is always a problem for me, I can blow my reservoirs in a matter of seconds, most runes, even big ones, will take closer to a minute. Unicorns can use the magic any way they want, including projection,” I explain, having had rather a bit of time and opportunity to experiment.

“Seconds?” Sergeant Fairy asks in a strangled voice. I turn to her with an alarmed look.

“Yeah, close to 3 depending on how badly I want something dead, why?” I ask, Sergeant Fairy just stares at me.

“I don't believe it,” Sergeant Fairy finally states, I blink, I have no reason to lie.

“What's the big deal?” Sergeant Cloud interrupts, and Captain Pahnzer turns towards her.

“His armor holds about as much magic as you'd find in your exceptionally powerful Unicorn's natural reserves, plus it seems to recharge quickly with unlimited uses.

I raise my hand. “Your crystals will break actually. Generally if you drain them fully you get about 5 uses out of them, depending on the material, mine are night-guard issue, we had access to certain . . . perks. The reservoirs on my back aren't crystals, they're a living component, something about crystal pony research, I think. But I do know, don't drain life into them or they'll burn out VERY quickly.” I state with a certain amount of irony.

I get several looks of not quite disgust at my last statement, if these weren't crack troops, I'd say it was squeamishness.

“You can suck something's life out?” Sergeant Rock asks, I nod my head.

“Yep, if I can stick one of my enchanted blades into, the channel I use to power the enchant can also serve to allow me to pull life out of the creature I'm killing, maybe only swarmlings though, never tried it on anything else,” I trail off contemplatively.

“Redemit,” Sergeant Fairy states. “Do us all a favor, and never try that on anything else without specific orders?” she asks rubbing her face, I nod my head.

I'm not sure why she's using my name, rather than my rank as everyone else does, but I'm certainly not objecting, my doubts about the validity of my name aside, it's nice to hear it said by someone other than Vine without disgust or aversion.

“Alright, no one mention Miss Vine Bloom without good reason for now. Private, work on that aggressive streak. Rock, you're with me, everyone else, hit the showers and assemble by the demonstration area in thirty mikes, dismissed,” Captain Pahnzer orders, his emotions moving at a breakneck pace, he's troubled, beyond that, I can't say.

I stand and salute with the others until he moves off, Sergeant Rock in tow, then follow after the three sargents as they lead the way to the showers. Coming to the showers, I'm stuck once more by the size in mass and build, most of the pony showers are designed lower, with broader heads designed to hit as much of their bodies as possible.

Rather than try to squeeze myself under one of the pony-sized ones, I simply head to the human section, which is thankfully devoid of said humans and handlers. Stripping my armor off, I place a hand on my back plate and pull a bit of magic into my body, running my hand over the various pieces, I pulse the cleaning runes, repelling dirt and grime. I'll have to polish most of it later, but that shouldn't be an issue, I can probably find my maintenance kit with the scientists studying the armor.

Stripping off my under-layers, I repeat the process once again, drawing magic off the armor as needed. Once my armors seen to, I walk into the shower area, going to the shower farthest from the door, and least likely to pull attention, I step under the shower head and start messing with the controls. When I get sub-arctic water, I know I'm doing something right, a little more fiddling, and I manage to warm it up.

Grabbing the provided brush and cleaning supplies, I lather the brush up and then turn towards the doorway as I hear the sound of a blade sliding from its sheathe. I tense up, but then relax as I see Sergeant Fairy Dancer through the door, holding my, ugh, sword.

I start worrying though when I sense her unease, she turns to look at me and the feeling intensifies, my heart-rate accelerates and I start taking deep breaths, I don't know what's going on, but alarms are going off inside my head.

I know post-digestive byproducts are about to hit the rotary air impeller when her unease disappears, replaced by determination. I bend my knees slightly and unfurl my wings slightly, grimacing as I feel the water moving through my feathers, it's going to slow me down.

Sergeant Fairy Dancer moves forward into the doorway, I keep my eyes on her steadily, various possibilities and scenarios running through my head. I don't sense hostility, so she dosen't personally hate me, which doesn't rule out an order to kill me. I don't sense desire, so it's hardly a rape attempt, not that the attempt hasn't happened before, but after I dislocated all four of a pegusai's legs and both wings, they left me alone. Of course, that wasn't here, I just pray I don't have to do it to Fairy Dancer, I really wanted her help, this world was terrifying in a lot of ways, and I was missing the thrill of battle badly.

“Can I help you with something, Sergeant?” I ask, gauging her reactions.

“Yes, yes you can, Redemit,” Sergeant Fairy states in a serious tone. “You can submit,” She says, and my teeth bare in a silent snarl. I don't know if she's challenging me, or want's an easy kill, but I won't go down easily either way, but without my magic supply, this could get bad very quickly.

She steps into the showers and I start considering avenues of retreat, there are none, she's blocking the door, and I can hardly slip past a unicorn, their telekinesis may weaken at range, but there is no range in here, and she has the only weapon, I need to disarm her, get the blade stuck in my meat, a wing if possible, this is going to suck.

“Not happening, Sergeant,” I state challengingly, moving forward to place my self in the middle of the room, wings held half open, arms held forward, elbows slightly bent, fingers clenched.

I feel her momentary hesitation, as she considers one last time what she's doing, then all doubt, all fear, just evaporates. 'Oh buck,' is my last thought before we both move.

I bull-rush forward, presenting an easy target for her blade, which she obliges me by stabbing forward at my chest. Extending my right wing out and forward, I force it onto the blade, grunting as I feel it punch through the muscle and grind along a bone. My momentary distraction by the pain proves my undoing.

In a display of mental dexterity, Fairy Dancer looses a second telekinetic wave, this time a simple blast that knocks me back sending me an the floor until I impact the wall head-first, stunning me.

By the time I'm tracking again, Fairy Dancer has both my arms and legs as well as my left wing restrained. My right wing is still impaled on the blade, and I give a muted yelp, clenching my jaw tightly as she pulls the blade out and forces that wing down as well.

I stare up at her, anger coiling through my limbs, my sight going green as power races through my body seeking a release I can't, nay, don't know how to give it.

Fairy Dancer steps up onto me, resting both front hooves on my chest, she levitates my blade to my throat as I stare up at her quietly. “You will submit, Redemit. I won't tolerate actions like what you displayed today,” She says quietly but with great force. I just smile, bearing my teeth. Surprisingly, she dosen't even flinch, just presses the blade closer, touching my skin, I feel the well sharpened blade start separating the layers of my skin, I add a smirk to my grin. Fairy sighs before increasing pressure on the blade, I feel blood start to pool out as the blade sinks deeper, when it starts to approach my veins I tense up, my smile melting into another snarl. “Submit to me, Redemit, I will be your Alpha,” Fairy orders again, my mind races, considering my options. They're simple: Submit or Die.

I close my eyes in defeat, this doesn't prove sufficient for her, my body twitches slightly as she taps the blade slightly, bringing it dangerously close to my throat veins. “Say it,” She orders.

With a sigh of defeat, I give in fully. “You are my Alpha.” I say, feelings of betrayal flowing through me, how can I do this to Vine. 'Because she's free.' my mind whispers back. 'She's free to live and grow, you're just a broken protector without a job and nothing to kill.' I snarl slightly in response, but I know its true.

I feel the blade pulled back slowly, then my Alpha steps off me. “Alright, clean up the mess and heal yourself. Then get ready, we have places to be,” she orders, I nod my head silently.

Standing I move to the shower I was using, tilting the shower head, I wash away the blood on the floor. After that, I ensure my wing is repaired and finish my interrupted shower. upon exiting the shower area, I find my Alpha outside, still holding my sword.

I watch her warily until she notices me and tosses her head at my armor. “Get dressed, lets go,” she orders, I move to my gear and start putting it on, once fully clothed and armored, I turn to her and gesture at the blade.

“May this one have his blade, Alpha?” I ask, flinching slightly as I use the training I'd come to loathe.

“No, you may not, and refer to yourself in the first person, I want your obedience, not your subservience,” Fairy Dancer states with an edge of disgust, I find myself torn. On the one hand, I don't have a decent weapon anymore, on the other, she's willing to treat me as an equal, an equal that will have to follow her orders, but still.

I rub my chest-piece absentmindedly, reassuring myself the little 3 inch blade is still there. How the hay you kill anything with it, I don't know, but I'll certainly be able to slice someone up at least. That morbid yet still humorous thought sustains me while we make out way out of the shower building and through a number of corridors to the parkour jungle.

As we're coming up to them, Fairy speaks softly. “Follow their orders as if they were my own,” I clench my teeth as I find myself placed unceremoniously in the position of Omega, but I keep my silence.

Walking up to the other four, I stand at attention and salute, when Pahnzer returns it, I drop my hand but remain at attention. “What do you want me to show you today, Sir?” I ask, I don't miss his blink at my chance in terminology, and I have to suppress another snarl.

“Alright Private, we've had our exercise for the day, lets discuss -” He starts outlining the subjects he wants to talk about, and I steady myself for a long day ahead.

Several hours later, my voice is feeling rather rough from the amount of instruction and iteration I'd been forced to give. Not having had any schooling on the subject, I was being forced to put into words what I took for granted as much as breathing, and it was not a pleasant experience.

I was tired, I was irritable, and I couldn't heal without permission, but I sure as hay wasn't asking in front of a crowd. As if sensing my fatigue, or noticing the time. Captain Pahnzer holds up a hoof, interrupting my speech on counter balancing every action. “That's enough for today, Private. Lunch should be served in 20, you have a doctor to go see, everyone else, chow time,” he orders, I can only admire the amount of control he exerts with a calm controlled voice.

Contemplating the doctor visit, I find myself more than a little violently averse on the subject, but then, it's not my choice, now is it? I snarl silently and turn to my Alpha, who's watching me equally silently. “I won't ask what's got you irritated. I can guess from what I've heard, but your going, and there will be no bodily harm inflicted on ANYPONY,” She orders, making the last part very clear, I grind my teeth and nod.

“Permission to heal myself before we depart, Alpha?” I query as soon as we're alone, she shakes her head and I blink in surprise, she didn't strike me as the vindictive type, nor did I think she had a cruel streak hidden somewhere which made her response all the more surprising.

“We don't know what changes the use magic causes in your physiology, if we're going to get an honest medical reading, it's best not to cloud the waters,” Fairy Dancer explains, I find myself nodding almost against my will.

“Yes, Alpha,” I respond, more irritation flooding my mind, why? Why'd she have to do this? Why now of all times? That question will have to wait . . .

“Come on then, Private,” Fairy Dancer orders, setting off, I have no choice but to follow.

My tour the previous day starts paying off, as I can tell we're going to the base infirmary, which invokes mixed feelings in me. On one hand, they're the kind of doctors soldiers will tolerate, on the other, said soldiers will be around if push comes to shove, and not on my side.

The closer we come, the more I find myself pulling back in my mind, mental barriers slamming shut as I start practicing fear control exercises I haven't needed in years. It helps only a little, I find myself tracking every corner, every door. It wasn't bad in the hospital, I never saw a doctor more than 30 seconds, and they never even looked at me. Plus, my . . . Vine was there, conscious or no, I had very specific orders to disable or kill as needed if anything happened. Now? I was being led into the hydra's den with both arms tied behind my back, it was all I could do to not pull my knife to have a weapon in hand.

We enter the front foyer and Sergeant Fairy moves to the counter, I have to physically resist the urge to run, I'd rather deal with Nurse Redheart than this, I miss her, she was fair and compassionate, I want to see her, not some random animal in a lab coat.

I watch my Alpha smile at the receptionist. “Hello, I need a full physical for the Private here, she says, gesturing at me, I just want to melt into the background, where no one can see me, keeping a straight face is hard. I don't know why I didn't trigger my helm, didn't think of it, I guess.

The receptionist looks directly at me, then turn back to my Alpha with a confused look. “I'm sorry Ma'am, who?”

“The human right behind me,” my Alpha replies, I can sense a thread of anger, either from the receptionist ignoring me, or what, I can't tell.

The receptionist nods her head slowly making eye contact with several nearby orderlies, they look confused at first, but one heads into the back as the other starts walking forward to listen in, alarms start screaming inside my mind, but I keep my hands by my sides stubbornly.

“Look, just get the doctor,” my Alpha orders, and the detached part of me chuckles. The rest of me just bends my knees a tad, ruffling my wings slightly. More are coming.

I'm not disappointed, what's obviously a doctor and a small army of orderlies come out of the back, look around the room, then focus on Sergeant Fairy, I move up to support her, still wishing I could just disappear and this entire affair could die in a corner somewhere.

“Can I help you, Master Sergeant?” The Doctor asks in a mock friendly voice as he approaches, my teeth draw back as I start flashing back, mental safeties start disengaging with soft clicks in the depths of my mind as I start selecting and prioritizing targets.

“Yes, you can, Captain, I need a full physical for Private Redemit here,” Fairy states, turning to the doctor, who in turn glances past her right at me, then turns back to her, giving another fake smile.

“All right, Master Sergeant, if you'll follow me please, we'll get you admitted right away,” he says with a 'you're crazy' vibe to his voice, thankfully, my Alpha catches on at this point.

“Excuse me?” my Alpha states, narrowing her eyes dangerously.

The doctor nods and several horns light up, my blade that my Alpha had been carrying on her back is pulled away and she's encased in several layer of magic, this is my cue, and I haven't killed in weeks, time to dance.

With a sick smile, I walk around the group confronting my Alpha and stride to the unicorn holding my blade. Drawing back a fist, I slam it down into the back of the unicorn's head with a satisfying crack. The handle of my blade slaps into the palm of my hand and I bring the blade up and around to rest against the doctor's throat with a flourish, with my wing tapping his horn to disrupt his magic, I'm being showy, which is sloppy, but I'm also about to kill to defend my Alpha, and it feels great.

Then, as if to say it's just one great tease, one cruel joke, as I'm giving the doctor a few more miserable seconds to realize his impending demise, my Alpha calls out. “Hold!” My training kicks in and I stay my blade, the doctor just stands there frozen, his eyes rolling up to meet mine, only to flinch away from the look of sheer rage on my face as I'm denied release.

“Let. Me. Go.” I hear her order, and saw my blade along the doctor's throat lightly to emphasize the point, I barely cut the hair, but he proves unable to find his voice for a few moments.

“...let . . . “ the doctor swallows. “Let her go,” he orders softly, still looking in my general direction without meeting my gaze. The surrounding unicorns drop their magic as they and the other orderlies back up, leaving the one I hit laying on the ground, I snarl softly before pulling my blade from the doctors throat, leaving him to collapse on the ground.

Kneeling by the pony I ambushed, I rest a hand on his head lightly. Feeding magic into him slowly, I ease the swelling and pulse magic into his skull just in case I hit harder than I think I did. Considering his body one more time, I wonder why I did that with a certain amount of detached curiosity, normally, I wouldn't have cared or stopped to help even if I'd cracked his head in two. Giving up on the question for the time being, I stand up and look at Sergeant Fairy, who is in turn watching me.

She gives a slight shake of her head after glancing at my blade, I suppress another growl, and after a few moments hold it out to her in a show of submission, she takes it in her magic and rests it on her back. “Thank you, Private,” she states quietly, then, turning back to the receptionist who's looking between the two of us as if she can't decide who's more terrifying. “Now, could you please sign Private Redemit here up for a physical?” she asks sweetly, and I hold back a grin as the receptionist nods and shoots off down the hall.

I turn my head to watch the various other ponies in the room with us. Most of them look confused or outright scared, but several stare at myself or my Alpha sullenly, making eye contact with several of the latter, I smile and watch their sullen looks melt into sheer terror.

“W...what is that monster?” One mare quavers, I just give a sharp barking laugh.

“Look to yourself to find a monster, pony, I act in defense of myself and my own,” I chuckle, causing a group gasp, my Alpha just gives me a narrow-eyed look I can feel without turning to look. I fall silent and settle for staring at them silently.

Another couple moments later, the receptionist comes back out. “The...the doctor will see you now,” she quavers. Sergeant Fairy gives a short nod and walks past her, I follow, but turn to the receptionist who stares up at me with pin-prick eyes. In another bout of compassion, I kneel down and pat her head gently, she blinks up at me, but seems to relax slightly none-the-less. I give a slight smirk and stand up, leaving the poor pony goggling at me. Heh, talking, smiling, human assaults clinic workers, I can just see it now.

Several minutes later I find myself under the scrutiny of several more doctors. I stand quietly, practicing breath control while I feel sweat soaking my garments, only Fairy Dancer's presence prevents my immediate and energetic exit.

“This is Private Redemit, he's a new recruit, and he's been experiencing some health related issues. Her Majesty, Princess Luna, has ordered that he be examined with all due haste, you will treat him with the respect you would show any other pony, since he is just as intelligent as any other pony. But beware, he's apparently rather skittish around doctors. So no more than two doctors near him, and stay where I can see you,” my Alpha orders as she moves to sit herself in a corner where she can watch everything going on as well as the door.

A unicorn mare steps forward. “You expect me to believe this human is intelligent? I'd sooner accept a talking cat!” she retorts angrily, I just smile, though it's rather strained.

“Belief, or disbelief is up to you, but you will treat me with respect,” I say with a small smile, taking vicious pleasure in their looks of unease.

“Redemit,” My alpha warns, and I nod my head submissively, dropping my gaze from them, and focusing on the various devices along the walls and scattered around.

Another one of the doctors moves forward and clears his throat. “Let us begin,” he says in a quiet voice.

…

Several hours later, I'm feeling a few steps short of irate. The physical tests weren't an issue, I didn't mind the blood samples they were taking continuously. But when they took my temperature 4 times using various locations on my upper body and head, then tried to stick another into my lower body, I just about tore one of the technicians apart. Needless to say, they gave up on that, and simply settled for huddling together, whispering animatedly with one another.

As I'm sitting in chair, not quite huddling, even after continuous kind and courteous treatment. A doctor comes up to my Alpha and opens his mouth. She gives him a dirty look and points at me, the doctor looks slightly less sure of himself at this point, but none-the-less gamely walks over to me.

Looking up at me, he appears slightly nervous, which isn't doing much for my mood but I digress. Opening his mouth, he gives a weak smile. “Hello there, Private, we've finished most of the tests, your blood work is going to require some additional time, and we've had to call in several human specialists, but we have a number of preliminary findings.”

“Based on observed muscle densities, and lack of joint problems, we'd say your age was somewhere around 4 years old, with some alternative signs pointing closer to 9 years old.” He starts off, I raise a brow. “Furthermore, your extra appendages, namely your wings, seem to be in fine working order, if slightly denser than their pony equivalents, as does the rest of your limbs and other functioning parts.” he continues, I nod my head appreciatively. “However, we do have a few immediate concerns. You're blood is showing a distinct lack of specific acids, and your skin pigmentation also indicates a general lack of protein in your diet, have you been consuming a protein supplement?” he asks, I blink.

“Yes, yes I have, a human diet supplement, I've been taking twice the recommended dose, actually.” I respond, the doctor nods.

“Have you been noticing any signs of fatigue or lethargy, maybe added irritability? Troubles breathing?” the doctor asks, I nod my head.

“I've been craving meat rather badly, and my normal exercise regimen wore me out this morning, I thought I was just out of practice, I don't know about irritability-” I start but my Alpha coughs, interrupting me.

“He's been extremely irritable recently, including lashing out at another for presumed insult to his previous handler,” She states authoritatively, I duck my head, suppressing another bout of said irritation.

The Doctor nods his head. “You'll want to talk to a human specialist, or maybe a xenobiologist, his physiology is certainly unique enough. Now, do you know what temperature you generally run, Private?” he asks, I shake my head.

“No, I generally avoided vets and doctors, any care I can't provide myself, my handler handled.” I answer. “You'll probably want to talk to her, why do you ask?”

“Because by domesticated human standards, you should be a steamed vegetable. Your temperature has been holding steady around 97 to 99 degrees, depending on shifts in your mood and activity levels, now, this is all conjecture, but it appears that your organs aren't shutting down, nor do you appear comatose, so aside from suggesting you take up the consumption of additional protein, we don't have any other recommendations at this time, your physiology is simply too unique, we don't know what we're looking at,” the doctor state ruefully.

My Alpha glances at me appraisingly. “You're just full of surprises, Private. We'll have to see about that protein, can he make do with beans or nuts, doc?” She asks, turning to the doctor, who shakes his head.

“To keep his levels up, maybe. But for now, you want actual protein in his system, perhaps fish. You can find that at most any diner that serves gryphons or pegusai. Or if you're feeling rather adventurous, you can venture down to the gryphon quarter and see what they have in the way of animal protein, just . . . don't tell anyone here about it.” He states shaking his head and looking slightly green at the thought. I'm just surprised he even knows where to find it, my thoughts must have shown, because he glanced at me and shrugged. “We have gryphons in the guard too, talk gets around, and when you've seen as much of the body's insides as I have, the thought of body parts isn't so bad, it's the consump . . .” he trails off shaking his head.

I nod my head respectfully, I still hate and fear doctors, but this one wasn't bad. I'm just never coming back here if I can help it. Giving a weak chuckle, I stand. “Are we done here, then?” I ask, he nods his head.

“We're waiting on that blood work, plus you apparently spent some time in the Ponyville Hospital, we've requested those records by dragon-fire as well, you'll want to drop by in a few days . . . just try not to harass the staff,” he says lightly.

I just snarl. “Tell them not to harass my Alpha then,” I retort, he blinks, and backs up with a nod, moving to join his associates.

I turn to Sergeant Fairy Dancer and nod my head towards the door. “Shall we?” I ask, thankfully, she nods, and stands, turning for the door as well. With that, I bid farewell to another encounter with maybe not-so-animal ponies in white coats.