Redemption

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.