"That's all it is? How does this work?" Twilight looked back and forth between my disassembled rifle, and the drawings, scanning for details.

"Look at the purple paper, that one's all about how you can make these usable yourselves. I'm thinking of wearable firepower, things of that nature. Perhaps even inner-facing sights." I explained. Outside, the sounds of screaming and running echoed over the now-perfected obstacle course. The company commander was shouting at the platoon commanders, everything was panning out perfectly.

"I understand that," Twilight began, the two princesses leering over her shoulder at the drawings. "-but I want to know what makes them function." She looked at me upwardly. "And to be honest, I'm not sure these unorderly training methods are efficient."

I took a deep breath, catching my thoughts. "Trust me, you will see. I'll explain the training process when there's time, but Elliot is my only concern right at the moment, you understand." I looked between Celestia and Luna. "But as for the functionality of the firearms, you are skipping almost 200 years of evolution. These are already complex, and have a lot of moving parts. The shooting part is all in the bullet, the gun here..." I gestured, "-only controls the distribution of the shots."

"Well what is the purpose of putting explosives inside of the bullet?" Luna asked, looking closely at a magazine on the table.

I sighed, grabbing the diagrams, and laying them open and apart on the table.

Deep within the Changeling Empire...

The cavern was gorgeous, despite being full of such sinister insects. Stalagmites and stalactites blanketed the well alive cave, dripping with fresh water. Inside of one area, a dinner table was set. A feast of various meats and wine was laid out before Elliot, confronted by a friendly Colonel.

"I do apologize for the rough procedures, my soldiers were having some difficulty getting you here." The creature grinned at me.

"They tried to stuff me into a dog-sized wooden box..." I complained.

"I see, it's just that you were struggling, so aggressive force was necessary." He explained, looking at the table.

"I was trying to stop them from stuffing me into a dog-sized wooden box." I replied.

"I understand your concern, but you're safe now! From those foul creatures. We will keep you safe." He asserted, smiling innocently.

"I see, safe. What about Grayson?" I asked, taking a long drink from my wine glass.

The officer closed his eyes and took a deep breath, looking down at the table with a solemn expression. "I was hoping you'd neglect to ask me about your poor friend." He took a long drink from the wine glass ahead of him.

"What, about, Grayson?" I pressed, more seriously than before.

He hesitated once more. "Your friend will not be accompanying you, for he has lost his life." The Colonel gazed upward for a moment, before turning his eyes to the ground.

My face went numb, my entire body letting out a deep breath. I felt my heart freeze over, ceasing to hold meaning. "What do you mean? You can't be serious, there's just no way. Not Grayson." I spoke aloud, telling myself. I felt sweat cover my body, and tears fill my eyes.

"I could tell you the details, give you the logs, but I doubt you would want any of that. Just please believe me, that it was a horrible accident. No one's fault, he was simply afraid. I'm sorry." He sat back and downed the last of his wine glass, setting it gently on the table as to not make a single sound.

A stale silence plagued the room. I started to cry.

"But what is important, my friend..." The Colonel got out of his chair and slithered up beside me, holding a wine bottle in his hand. "-is that you are not sharing such fate. You are here, the powers that be chose you to carry on his story. You are the last of your kind, as far as yourself, or I know. How will you choose to live out your race?" He poured me a glass of wine, full to the brim. "Will you sit down and surrender, show cowardice? Or will you carry out your commander's wish, and take the fight to the slaves of the princesses? In his last moments, Grayson cursed those terrible ponies, cursed them for his death, and all of his pain. Will you answer his call, or will you surrender your meaning, your race's very hope here?"

I looked at the table, hardly listening. I took a long, slow drink.

Author's Note

Sorry about the slow updates lately. I read my comments and fan-mail! Feel free to drop either!