Lifegiver

by Meep the Changeling

Chapters

2 Bronze
3 Pinkish Inquisition
5 Flight
6 Reward
7 Heart Pounding Supprise.
8 Welcome Waggon
9 The Dust of Ages
10 The plot thickens
11 Something Wicked
12 First Date
13 Engagement
14 Darkness
15 Serendipity
16 "Trixie needs no narrator! Stand aside!"
17 Planning Ascension
18 Normal, Weird, Horror
19 Apotheosis
20 Medic 3: The Repunchening
21 Tea
22 Second Date
23 Nova
25 Beginnings
1 Wings
4 Everypony's Working for the Weekend
24 Duel of Peers

2 Bronze

Scootaloo Dash- 12th of Solarus ‘15 EoH - Afternoon

Wings!

I sprinted down the road, hooves sounding like a thunder fight against the cobbles.

Gonna fix wings!

I vaulted over Big Mac’s apple stall, it was in the way!

Wings! Flight! Hovering! Soon!

Why did they even have a stall? Sweet Apple Acres was just a quarter mile out of town, a five minute walk from the town square. Just build a little shop by the path-

Who cares! WINGS!

I skidded to a halt, possibly making sparks, as I twisted to zip up to the front of my house. It certainly would have been possible. A few cobbles were flint after all. I’d seen sparks once.

The house the girls, Brook, and I shared was a simple home. It looked a lot like any other place in Ponyville, the only uniquity being the large pool outback, and only then because it was a saltwater pool. Other than that, it was just a normal one story, big, rectangular, plaster walled, straw roofed building.

Home is what you make of it. The inside was what counted. Especially for Brook.

Oh! Right! Brook!

She’d need to know somepony would be staying a while. Because wings!

I trotted up to the front window on the left side of the door. The window that got so many ponies to ask if a pipe had broken, or call the building inspectors… Despite everything being fine and legal.

Peering into the water filled room, and not seeing any sign of my amphibious roommate I gently tapped a hoof on the window. Not too hard. She hated it when people tapped the window too hard. Apparently that was mega loud.

A few heartbeats later and the seapony’s long flowing mane filled the window as she peaked out from the top right side, solid jet black eyes barely visible due to how much of the wall she was hiding behind. The dimly lit room and window tint prevented me from getting a real look at her, but at least I could see she was there.

Honestly, I’d never expected to see a seapony, much less room with one. Overall though, I’m glad my friends and I met her while at the beach a few years ago. Brook had decided to try finding her special talent on land, since nothing under the sea had seemed to be her thing.

Also she was terrified of the two hundred meter long eel-sharks that apparently live near the seafloor where her people make their homes. I’m so happy to not live anywhere near the ocean.

Oh my gosh, in a week or so I’ll be able to fly! Take that underwater monsters! Ha!

Brook’s eyes moved as she noticed me, twisting as she smiled, mouth still hidden behind the wall. A half second later, a timid hoof wave greeted me before she started to pull herself back out of view.

“Wait!” I called, making sure to mouth each syllable clearly. “Come to the door, I need to talk to you!”

Brook froze in the window, sinking down a few feet before nodding sadly and vanishing from view.

A few moments later the door opened slightly, letting me properly see Brook. As well as the damp trail she left on the floorboards. Fortunately, for the sake of avoiding an argument, I was way to happy to care about more water stains.

Brook looked a lot like a pegasus when out of the water. Seaponies can morph their long Epaulette Shark-like tails into rear legs, and their front halves are already very pony-like. Out of the water, she looked like a light coffee colored mare, with lots of little clusters of dark brown quarter hoof sized spots, and a scattering of white flecks. While slightly oily, her sea-green mane was nice and fluffy looking. When she had a proper ploy, she had a short tail to match her mane, just like anypony.

The differences between Brook and a pegasus were instantly apparent though. Instead of fur she had a smooth slick rubbery skin. Rather than multi colored pony eyes she had solid black orbs, though they looked more cute than creepy thanks to being shiny. The three thin slits on either side of her neck were gills. Wings that rather than feathers, were something between a batpony’s wing and a fish’s fins.

All in all, she looked like an aquatic pegasus. Heck, she could even fly about as good as a griffon with her finny-wings! But seaponies are not actually ponies. They are near-ponies, a species that looks alot like a pony kind, but can’t have a foal with a pony. Unlike most near-ponies Brook had one thing that instantly let anypony know she wasn’t a pony.

Her teeth. Her two rows of pointed, serrated, daggerpoint-like teeth. Teeth that would most definitely go through a pony like a hole-saw through wood. Carnivore teeth.

If I didn’t know that Brook was the kind, timid, geeky mare that she was, she would scare the pee right out of me every time she spoke.

“H-hey Scoots.” Brook greeted, hanging half around the door. “What do you need?”

Right! Wings! Yay!

I suddenly noticed that my cheeks were cramping from a persistent smile.

“O-oh! Yes. Doctor’s visit.” Brooks said quickly. “Did it go well? You look happy, so… Yay?”

“Well, no.” I answered quickly. “The hospital couldn’t do anything, but that’s okay because I found somepony who can fix them just a few minutes ago! She seems pretty nice, and just moved here to set up a Clinic or something, I can’t remember exactly, I’m too excited!”

Brook smiled, her teeth flashing for a very brief moment before she covered her mouth with a hoof. “Eep! S-sorry.”

I gave her a timid smile. “It’s okay. I’m almost used to them. But yeah! I’m going to get fixed up! But uh… There’s a thing.”

Brook nodded. “W-well yes. Something important enough so you won't come in to talk first.”

“Well, I told her I would be in front of the door. She should be here any minute now.” I said turning to look up the street for any sign of the white and yellow unicorn.

“W-what? You’re doing an operation here?” Brook asked in stunned surprise.

I nod-noded. “Yes. She doesn't have a home or office yet… And I said she could stay with us until she does as payment. I promise it will be temporary, and I know you’re nervous around ponies but I… I need… If you can imagine not being able to swim.”

Brook clenched her lips for a few long moments then sighed, gills fluttering slightly. “I… I don’t understand. But I understand… If that makes sense.”

“Uh… Sort of?” I said with a confused shrug.

“Just… Please tell her not to scream. I hate it when they scream… Ponies don’t even taste good.” Brook sighed. “Well… Not usually.”

Woah! Okay, that was entirely new!

“Uhhh, do I even want to know?” I asked with a wince.

“I’m only repeating things I’ve been told. Let’s forget I mentioned anything.” Brook admitted shyly. “Just… Please… Make sure she won’t call me a monster. Okay?”

“I will,” I promised. “And well, she’s pretty weird, so she might not be afraid of you at all.”

“That would be nice… It’s pretty dry out, I’m going back to my room.” Brook informed turning away and closing the door.

“Okay. Sorry. I just couldn’t let the opportunity vanish.” I apologized, recognizing Brook’s ‘I-can’t-handle-this-social-thing-right-now’ tone and wrapping up so she could go.

Dry wasn’t a problem for her, she actually liked low humidity. But well, I wasn’t going to blame her for using ponies assumptions about her biology to slip away from awkward moments. Heck, I’d do the same if I could.

“I know. I can’t be mad at you.” She said the door clicking shut a moment later.

I knew that Brook wasn’t angry. She was just scared. She’d never expected ponies to panic because of her predator's grin, and it hurt her pretty badly. When all was said and done, she did enjoy living in Ponyville, she just was a lot more introverted than she had been with her own species.

I’m sure I could explain everything to epic-wing-fixing-mare well enough where everypony would be comfortable.

Oh dear Celestia! What they hay was her name!?

I spent who knows how long pacing the porch trying to remember what her name was. I didn’t want to be rude! What if not even being able to remember her name meant she got mad and didn’t fix them?

“Hallo again!” Her memorable feminine accented voice called snapping me out of my pacing in an instant.

“Uh, yeah! Hi… Um…” I blushed a deep red as apparently my brain didn’t even bother to pretend I had remembered.

“It’s Lily, or Azur if you want to be forma-” She informed, trailing off as she looked over towards Brook’s window with a growing frown. “Um… Your house seems to have flooded.”

“No that’s just Brook’s room.” I said automatically tone shifting back to happy as I realized the crisis had been averted.

“Okay, but, It’s full of… Oh! Is it a window tint?” Lily asked. “If she has porphyria cutanea tarda I can fix that too. Das ist common where I come from.”

“Uh, pour what?” I asked, instantly confused.

“It’s a disease, it makes you blister in sunlight. I’ve heard some ponies use window tinting to still be able to look outside.” Lily asked.

“Oh! Geeze that sounds horrible. No, she doesn't have that.” I said wincing at the thought of just instantly blistering from walking outside. “She’s actually amphibious, but can’t sleep on land so we worked out a way to make her room into a big fishtank.”

“Oh,” Lily exclaimed with genuine interest, “is she a salamander? I heard there was an intelligent reptilian species somewhere in-”

“No, no! That’s a myth.” I giggled. It was always fun to hear foreigners misconceptions of Equestria! “Brook’s a Seapony.”

Lily blinked twice then turned to look into the window. “Those exist?”

“Yeah… But they are like, literally nothing like the myth. Except for the being a ponyish aquatic creature.” I explained. Now was as good a time as ever to get this out of the way. “She’s really not okay with most ponies, and well, she’s very very shy because those same ponies are very afraid of her. Because she’s not an herbivore.”

“Well that’s just a little speciesist.” Lily said with a frown. “You don’t need to worry, my best friend is a- Well his species is known to eat ponies. He doesn't though. Lots of carnivores have a ‘no sapients’ rule.”

I sighed in relief, at least she wasn’t instantly not okay with meat-eaters! But on the other hoof, “Well… See, there is a difference between say a Griffon and a Seapony. Sure both eat meat, but one is part bird, and the other is part shark.”

“Uh, beg pardon?” Lily asked giving me a wide eyed look.

“Brook, and all Seaponies, are part shark.” I repeated, “She’s harmless, but uh… Her teeth are very very very creepy.”

“How harmless?” Lily asked. “Sharks eat in their sleep you know!”

“She doesn't eat ponies.” I said firmly, I’d learned that the first night spent camping with her on the beach she’d washed up on. “But uh, she did get hungry talking to a Griffon once… But she insists that’s because seagulls are apparently very good, and that particular griffon was gull colored.”

“Okay, so, she has a no sapient’s rule?” Lily asked, fear looking to be going away.

“Well… She’s never said that… But she’s pretty shy, and generally nice, so you’re perfectly safe. Just please don't panic when you see her, she gets depressed very easily.” Wanting to change the topic away from something sad, I decided to lighten the mood by telling Lily what Brook’s talent happened to be. “Want to know what’s hilarious about her?”

“Sure.” Lily answered backing away from the window, looking a little disappointed. “But, you are not pulling my legs are you? I mean I can’t see anything in there.”

I nodded. “Eh, yeah it’s hard to see in there, she likes it dark. She could be in another room too, I mean, she is amphibious. Trust me, she’s real and you’ll see her sooner or later. Anyway, the funny thing is her talent is, heh… She’s the host of a radio show.”

Lily gave me an odd look. “Uh, how’s that funny?”

For me, the funny thing was her personality basically inverted, going from shy to bombastic like turning on the lights. Also the fact that almost nopony knew that Brook wasn’t a pony.

“Well… It’s funnier if you know her.” I giggled. “Her talent is mixing audio, which she never would have learned she could do in the ocean. She’s got her own station, mix of music, news and talk. Her whole set up’s here, if you can get her comfortable around you, you totally have to get her to show you her set up, it’s cool!”

Lily shrugged. “Still don’t get why that’s funny… But, I suppose you want to get started? Do you have a tarp, or drop cloth? Because this could be mess-”

Her eyes suddenly shrank to pinpricks. “Oh dear Faust! Uh, please tell me that she won't frenzy from smelling blood!”

I winced, I hadn’t expected there to be any blood involved. This was magic, right? “Uh, why will there be blood?”

“I have to take physical objects out of your wings.” Lily deadpanned. “Maybe a more powerful unicorn could teleport them out, but I’m not that gut. I’ll need to cut them out. So there will be some blood… Und you live with a half-shark!” She finished, fearfully hissing the last few words.

I giggled and gave her a reassuring smile. “Well um, not looking forward to being cut… But it will be okay. If she didn’t go nuts the time I nicked myself cutting carrots, she won't now.”

Lily nodded, and let out a relieved half-sigh half-groan. “Okay… I um… I’ll help, but I might get a hotel room. I mean, I can handle predators, but, sharks?”

I rolled my eyes, everypony was like this. Hence why Brook basically never went outside. “She’s fine. Uh, do you have everything you need? I think I have a tarp somewhere.”

“Ja, I got everything.” Lily said a bit nervously.

I opened the door and invited the mare in. The inside is way nicer than the outside. Growing up in Ponyville honestly had me thinking that the whole world was the same sort of Classical Era style as Ponyville. But that impression had only lasted until a school trip to see the observatory in Manehattan.

Applebloom and I really loved a lot of the modern Equestrian styles, and we’d decorated both halves of the duplex accordingly. Nice smooth dark hardwood floors, minimalist furniture, decorative colored lighting from mage-lamps, and most important of all, transforming public spaces.

City ponies had one brilliant idea for homes. In Ponyville, you had a living room, bedrooms, a kitchen, a dining room, your house got huge fast just because of the idea that you needed a room for everything. City ponies, on the other hoof, worked out that if you can make each room cleverly it can do all kinds of things.

Brook and my apartment had a total of six permanent rooms. Two bedrooms, one kitchen, the room Brook had her equipment set up in, bathroom, and the utility room. You entered in the utility room, which thanks to a series of sliding walls, curtains, and folding furniture hidden in the walls, floor, and ceiling, could become about a dozen different kinds of room.

Need a living room? No problem, slide the couches up out of the floor, open some cabinets to reveal the stereo and other things, done. Need a dining room? Couches go down, table and benches come up. Need some office space? Slide the east wall out to divide the room in two, fold down the desk on the back of the sliding wall, close the privacy curtain. Done.

Need a guest bedroom? There’s four beds that fold out of the non-sliding East wall. Want a workshop? Slide the west wall out, unfold the workbench and open the tool cabinets.

Oh and you can have a living and dining room with the east wall ‘deployed’. You can have the east and west walls out at once if you don't need a living or dining space, leaving a hallway to the kitchen and other hallway. Despite the challenge of building the whole set up, Applebloom and I really enjoyed the renovations.

At the moment, the utility room was in the ‘living room’ state. Pretty much how it was most of the time. I had Lily wait as I retrieved a tarp from the shed out back.

As I set the tarp down on the floor, Lily commented, “you have a nice home.”

“Thanks! AB and I built most of the interior ourselves. The landlord wanted to renovate, but he let us do it instead after we basically said we want to live here permanently.” I explained. “So uh, do you want like, a table or… How do we do this?”

“ A table would be good.” Lily admitted. “Uh, something sturdy, a normal dining table is wobbly. We can use the floor if we have to.”

I giggled and walked over to the second couch and started to flip the little latches with a hoof to fold it down. “Our table is as solid as the floor.”

“Uh, what are you doing?” Lily asked in confusion as I flipped the fourth and last lock. She wouldn’t have seen them, each latch is hidden behind one of the couch's legs.

I grabbed the top of the couch and pulled, folding it so the back touched the seat, then pushed, the whole couch sinking slowly into the floor, the wooden backing almost seamlessly blending into the floorboards as it sunk flush with the rest of the floor.

“Well, we don’t want to have to clean the couches. Can you put yours away? The locks are behind the legs. I’ll take care of the table.” I asked.

Lily stood up and immediately began to inspect the couch, crouching down to look at the underside. “That’s ingenious! Is your mark an engineering core’s badge?” She asked excitedly.

“No, my friends and I are great at helping others find their talents.” I answered, pulling up on the hidden handle to get the table’s lifting mechanisms to push it out of the floor. “But we tried a ton of stuff to get our talent’s before that, we had a club for it that we’re trying to make into a youth organization now.

“Anyways while our special talent is helping others, we sort of have a whole heap of random skills. This place is half Cutiemark Crusader Clockmakers, and half Cutiemark Crusader Carpenters, glued together with grown up planning, skill, and patience.” I finished as the gear assembly finished raising the table.

“That’s pretty cool.” Lily said finally working out the couch and getting it to slide down as I pulled the tarp over the table. “What do you mean, youth program?”

“Oh! Like an official after school club, Equestria wide with programs to help fillies and colts find their talents!” I explained excitedly. “The three of us went to college to get the business degrees, education degrees, and all that stuff to get it set up. Hopefully, in a few years or so, we can stop working retail and get the program running!”

It was always fun to talk about the dream of an Equestria wide Cutiemark Crusaders program. Too many young ponies went too long without learning what they were good at. Especially since we'll, blank flank is as popular a schoolyard insult as always.

“That’s pretty-” Lily started, stopping as Brook timidly stepped into the room, “-uh, hello.”

“H-hi…” She said doing her best to slowly scoot along the wall towards the door. “I’m gonna go… Vinyl has new records I need to pick up.”

“Alright. Have fun.” I said making sure the tarp was covering everything properly.

“Brook right?” Lily asked, her tone returning to normal. “Scootaloo here really oversold your alleged creepiness.”

I looked up quickly, dreading that kind of blunt statement causing any sort of problem. But no, instead Brook simply gave her a surprised look.

“I don't scare you?” she asked.

“No. I thought you would, but no.” Lily mused. “Honestly, I was picturing a great white with hoove-”

Lily froze mid sentence as Brook smiled happily, and not the small restrained smile that mimicked a normal pony’s grin, but that full corner of jaw to corner of jaw actual smile that took me year to get used to.

“-ves…” Lily finished, trailing off slowly.

Brook’s head drooped, her grin faded.

“That’s amazing!” Lily exclaimed, prompting a surprised “wah?” from Brook and I.

“How the hay does your mouth do that?” Lily asked. “There’s nothing to indicate you can open it that wide! No lines no wrinkles… Hold on, do you have the double rowed teeth, how does a pony shaped jaw hold them like that?”

The white mare looked genuinely interested, she had that same sort of Science!™ look that Twilight did when she had something new to study. I facehooved. “Oh my Celestia, I forgot you're a science pony…”

“Ja, I’m a cellular biologist, und biophysicist, und uh… Well you get the idea.” She admitted with embarrassment.

Brook squirmed a bit, unsure of how to react. I saw her eyes dilate after a moment (a tricky thing to do thanks to their jetblack uniform colored outer layer), she shuffled her hooves and finished walking to the door, taking her cloak and scarf off of a peg and quickly bundling up, wrapping her face with the scarf to hide her teeth.

“I um, thanks!” She said in a half happy, half weirded out tone. “Stretchy skin, that’s how. Bye!”

She quickly slipped through the door, leaving Lily and I alone.

“Um, did I say something wrong?” Lily asked with a frown.

“No. You just did something she didn’t expect.” I replied.

“You could have said she was just a pony with shark-teeth.” She said accusingly. “I’m not kidding when I said I was expecting a Great White shark with hooves.”

I felt my ears droop. “Heh heh… Sorry… Just well that’s how most people treat her. I didn’t even think you would find her teeth neat.”

Lily shook her head. “You have no idea! Sharks regenerate teeth. If she does, I could maybe work out a way to let other ponies regrow teeth. Anyways, we have bits to get out of you. If you’ll climb onto the table, I’ll put you under and you’ll wake-”

Put me under? Yeah, no. I might be brave/stupid enough to let a stranger try to fix my wings with a magic I didn’t hear of, but I wasn’t stupid/dumb enough to let them knock me out.

“Yeah, how about no.” I said firmly. “I want to stay awake.”

Lily blinked twice, giving me a horrified look. “You want to be awake while I perform surgery on you?”

“Yes. So I know I won't wake up in a cabin in the woods someplace.” I answered equally firmly. “Not to say I think you’d kidnap me or anything… But I don’t know you… And well, Sweetie was right, you do have a bit of the Mad Mage thing going on.”

“It will hurt very badly.” Lily said with a visible wince. “I understand your fears, und I assure you you are perfectly safe. Even if I did want to kidnap you for creepy sex reasons or whatever you are worried about, I don’t know how I’d make somepony snuggle me by force.” She finished, shaking her head in amusement.

I couldn’t help but crack a smile at the idea of somepony trying to make me cuddle them. That was a funny concept. ‘You’re a pretty one, I’m going to make you forcefully cuddle me against your will!’ Heh…

“Still… I want to be awake for this.” I insisted. “Can’t you like, just do a local anesthetic?”

Lily nodded. “Ja, but I don’t have drugs. So to do that I’ll have to disconnect your nerves. Und that hurts a lot.”

“I’m a tough mare, I can take it.” I grunted hopping up onto the table with a rustle of tarp. “Besides, this way you can talk me through what you are doing. I want to know how they got fixed so I can rub it into those Doctor Jerk’s faces.”

Lily sighed and trotted over to the table. “Alright… In a minute, this will really hurt. Also don’t call them jerks. There is a big difference in technique und approach here. A doctor deals with medicines, tools, und spells that replicate those tools und spells. They deal in big things. I deal in the smallest things. A Doctor can treat cancer by injecting or cutting, I can treat it by showing your white blood cells what to attack. We have entirely different tools und techniques.”

I thought it over for a minute. “I guess that makes se-”

A burning agony of pure pain rippled outwards from the base of both my wings! It literally felt like a thousand burning needles had all been jammed into every spot along a straight line path from my wings to my spine, and then all down my spine! Somepony was screaming like they had their legs chopped off!

Oh, that was me…

The pain slowly, ebbed away. I took a few deep breaths, trying to forget what that had felt like. “Owies owies owies…” I whimpered over and over without wanting to trying to.

“Und that,” Lily said slowly, “is why I wanted you unconscious. Can you feel this?”

I looked back to see Lily rather roughly pressing the edge of her hoof into my left wing. “No.” I said shaking my head, “Oh Luna… This is… It’s like I don’t even have wings… I can’t feel…”

I shuddered and tried to think about anything other than the fact that it felt like my wings were just gone.

“Ja… I’ll keep talking so you don’t go into shock. Another reason I wanted you unconscious.” Lily sighed.

“Sorry…” I apologized. “Trust issues. I had very bad parents.”

“I can sympathize, but this is medicine, some things are for the best… You shouldn’t look back here. I’ll talk.” Lily said her horn lighting up again. “By which I mean I’m going to start cutting.”

“Oh!” I quickly looked forwards, resolving to check back every few seconds to make sure that nothing nefarious was going on. “So um, what are you doing first?”

“I am making an incision around where my magic shows me the caps are.” Lily explained. “I’m not really cutting, I’m using my magic to make your cells part from one another. It will heal without scars.”

“Aww… I kinda like scars.” I mused. “A clipped ear or cool cheek scar would make me look badflank!”

“Nein! You look much better as you are now. A scar would make you look… Thuggish.” Lily commented. “Okay. Your wing is open. I am now removing the necrotic tissues from around the site. I’m using the von Buns technique to remove the entire tissues by disconnecting them from the surrounding tissues. They will be regenerated in a few minutes.”

I flinched as I heard some wet squishing, scraping sounds. Maybe looking back wasn’t a good idea…

“Uh, um… Do I need to worry about bleeding out?” I asked quickly.

“Nein.” Lily said calmly. “I’ve stopped the blood flow to your wings. The only blood comes from the first incision. I thought there would be more… But it looks like your cardiovascular system does not extend to the end of your wings. I’ll fix that soon.”

“What could have caused that?” I asked curiously.

“Probably your corrupted genome… Do you have a donor in mind? Maybe a friend? Any pegasi will do.” Lily said casually.

“Any?” I asked, heart skipping beat in excitement.

“Ja, any.” she replied. “Okay, I can see the caps… Your doctor was wrong. These are um… Keep talking for a bit. This will be tricky…”

“Uh… Well, my adopted mom is like, the only real option.” I said, trying to not focus on the really creepy scraping sounds and what they might be…

“That’s pretty sweet,” Lily said slowly, “you’d be her actual foal after the resequencing finished.”

“Wait, really?” I asked in surprise.

I could literally, actually, seriously have Rainbow Dash as my like, real by blood mom?

“Ja. The process needed will replace one of your x chromosomes entirely. It takes about five months to finish, uh, your wings will work almost immediately, but over time the DNA graft will eventually replace all of your DNA. So whoever you pick you will be related to, und you actually will loose the blood relation to a previous parent.

“It sounds horrible, but the technique is the main reason why many Germane foals are alive today. Uh, history wise, the Great War was bad. Und so healthy citizens donate blood so hospitals can remove as much bad DNA from foals as possible. It’s not a biomancy technique, but I learned it anyways… If I hadn’t been forced to leave, I’d be using my version of it to help ponies there.”

“Um… Does that mean my appearance will change?” I asked curiously.

“Ja, a little. Nothing major. Your body is finished growing, at most your mane color might change a bit.” Lily replied. “It would completely change a filly though. Okay, I’m done on this side, I’m going to do the other, then we can put them back together properly.”

I couldn’t help but grin. “That would be totally awesome!”

“Uh, ja, it would be horrible to leave your wings like this.” Lily said as she moved to my other side.

I giggled. “No! Having mom’s mane colors. I tried to dye my mane like that but it didn’t work. It did not work…”

I couldn’t help but remember my terrible, horrible, no good, very bad dye job. The colors had all run together and turned the exact green-brown of ‘slightly sick poo’. Funny to think back on now, the worst thing ever back then!

“I had to cut it all off. Wore a wing for two years.” I giggled.

“You laugh at your pain too?” Lily asked curiously.

“Well, yeah. I could be sad about it, or well, laugh. It’s all over with now. I don’t want to be some sad moping mess. So I laugh.” I explained.

“I do the same thing.” Lily said eagerly. “I’ve never met anypony who could get over things like that too. Well… I’m able to laugh at most things at least…”

“Yeah, sure.” I agreed. “There’s some really bad stuff I can remember too. But It’s done. Over with. So I focus on now… Speaking of now, how’s that wing?”

“It’s not as bad as the other. I’m almost done.” Lily said, the scraping sound coming back.

Along with the horrible spine tingling the scraping induced. “Guh! It’s like hooves on a chalkboard!” I moaned.

“Sorry. Bone sounds like this when you separate the fibers.” Lily said casually.

“Wait what?” I exclaimed whipping my head back to see exactly-

I immediately looked forwards again. I did not just look at that. Nope nope nope!

“So um, anyways, last week, I read a great book!” I said to try and change the subject.

“What was it?” Lily asked in a joking tone. “It’s not a good idea to look at your own surgery in progress, don’t do that so none of us have to clean up sick?”

I groaned, “Very funny…”

“Sorry.” Lily giggled. “I have a weird sense of humor sometimes.”

“Yeah, my mom’s sense of humor.” I grumbled.

“Okay,” Lily announced, “I’ve got everything out. This may tingle, I’m going to regenerate your wing’s tissues und use several spells to guide them to grow in properly. Is there anything special you may like done while I’m at it?”

I cocked my head to the side, almost turning to look and remembering at the last moment not to do that. “Uh, special?”

“Ja!” Lily announced. “We could just put things back normally, or we could make them better. Or maybe not better, but special. I could add in some electroplaxic cells along the fronts of your wings, so you could zap things with them like an electric eel! Or you know, something.”

“Wait, really?” I asked, she couldn’t be serious about that.

Could she?

“Ja. I mean, eh, forget I said anything. There’s just a lot to rebuild, so I’m spending a lot of energy anyways und I have weird ideas sometimes.”

“Uhh… Well, how about we just make them really really good wings?” I asked, deciding against the taze wings.

Sure that sounded cool, but A, bit creepy, and B, I knew for a fact I’d shock myself.

“Okay.” Lily said. “So… Good at speed, maneuvers? How do you want them? Oh! We could make them silent like an owl's!”

Okay, now THAT was cool!

“Ooo! Yeah silent would be awesome!” I exclaimed eagerly. “What about endurance? I’m pretty sure that if we use mom’s DNA to make the missing parts that I’ll have speed and agility in spades.”

“Oh ja? How so?” Lily asked a few glimmers of blue light shining on the wall as she charged a spell.

“Well, uh… I was taken from my parents by Foal Protective Services, and adopted from foster care by Rainbow Dash. So yeah. Speed’s gonna be just fine!” I giggled excitedly.

“Really?” Lily asked curiously and with a bit of amusement.

“Yep!” I replied.

“So… This makes two important pony family member’s I’ve ‘saved’.” Lily muttered to herself. “I wonder what my high score will be?”

“Wait… Saved?” I asked curiously. “Why saved?”

“Because um… Those metal bits were… You’ll see in a bit. Almost done.” She said as the sound of arcane sparks started to fill the room.

I anxiously waited for what felt like an hour as Lily’s magic did whatever it was she was doing. Then suddenly my wings were back! I could feel every last part of them again! And also a few parts I couldn’t before…

“Alright, give them a little flex and try to curl the feathers at your wingtips.” Lily ordered.

“Uh, I can’t.” I said automatically.

“Ja you can. Your body knows how to move, just tell it what to do.” Lily said. “Move the tips.”

I closed my eyes, concentrated, and slowly moved my wings. I could feel them move like they had before, but it felt smoother, more powerful. Each motion was like my legs or head or tail, it felt like it was supposed to move, not like it was supposed to stay still.

I felt tears start to form in my eyes. They worked! Even if I couldn’t fly they felt like body parts now! Not like some decorations stapled to my shoulders!

Then I tried to curl the feathers at the tips. They moved!

“Thank you!” I exclaimed through joyous tear filled eyes, turning my head to look at the pony who had finally, at least, really, truly improved my wings if not fixed them completely.

And that’s when I saw everything she had taken out of me in neat piles arranged on the tarp.

“You’re welcome!” Lily replied with a happy smile.

I tried to keep from throwing up.

Long strands of rotten meat. A lot more puss than should ever be on the planet. And two sections of bone with corroded bronze bolts and other bits of metal literally drilled through them and mounted like you would do if you were bolting wood together!

“I ew… Just… nN!” I exclaimed backing away from.

“Huh?” Lily asked in surprise. “Oh, ja, I guess this is pretty gross. Where’s your trash?”

“No wonder they wanted to cut them off when I was twenty!” I exclaimed practically falling from the table in the need to get away from… That!

Lily frowned and trotted over giving me a kind hug before gently pulling my left wing to the extended position. “It’s okay, see, all better! Improved too. Used the odd drop of earth pony you have in you to make them extra tough.”

“I-I’m not pure pegasus?” I asked in confusion, desperately seeking anything to focus on other than that mess on the table.

“Eh, yes and no.” Lily said waving a hoof in a so-so gesture, “Everypony has a percent or two of DNA from another kind. With how many inter-kind couples there are and have been, scientifically speaking there are no ‘pure’ breeds anymore. Haven’t been for thousands of years. You have about one percent earthpony. Und so I used it to make your wings earth pony tough!”

She gave me a happy smile, then frowned. “Oh, und um… You should press charges on your parents because that bronze was slowly corroding und uh… Ja, it would have probably killed you in another ten years or so.”

I gulped. “So that’s why you said saved?”

She nodded. “Ja… But how about we clean up this mess, und then we see how you can do with some wing exercises. Tomorrow we can get started on getting you your flight feathers.”

“That sounds great!” I said, glad to for the first time in my life have made real progress.

I owed this mare more than a short stay in my home, even for just this much. I’d have to find a way to repay her someday.

Lily - 12th of Solarus ‘15 EoH - Late Night

Against my better judgment, I’d decided to stay the night at Scootaloo’s. I was still on the fence about how safe Brook was. Sure she had seemed like just a normal pony earlier, and then later when I had seen her come back… But you could never be too sure until you’d been around a carnivore long enough to really know them.

I’d gone to sleep in the awesome deployable guestroom some time ago, but sleeping in unfamiliar buildings has never been an easy thing for me. So when I heard hooves thumping down the hall I’d almost instantly woken up, awake and alert, ready for battle.

The guestroom was separated from the hallway by a curtain. Behind it was whoever had gotten up. Scoots? Maybe. Brook? Possibly. An intruder? Could be.

I had to at least look.

As quietly as I could I rolled out of bed, moved to the curtain and pulled it back.

Ahhhhh! Soulless black eyes! No fur! Teeth! Oh dear Faust no!

The monster’s mouth opened, I was too terrified to even react as it’s tongue slid from its gaping maw and slid over my cheek.

“Bleh… Pone…” It muttered.

Then turned and shuffled off towards the kitchen.

What. The. Buck?

With my heart beating at a million miles per hour, I stuck my head out from behind the curtain, gingerly looking out into the kitchen. “Oh…” I sighed, heart still beating at a million klicks per second.

It was Brook. Sleepwalking. Into the kitchen.

She trotted into the kitchen with her forelegs, dragging a large shark like tail behind her. I assumed she had to intentionally shift between this shape and having rear legs.

As I watched she made her way slowly to the fridge, opened it, sniffed around, grabbed a slab of what looked like pork ribs. She sniffed them, carefully licked them, and then just ate them.

Raw. Bones and all. In three bites.

Okay. So that’s why Scoots said she was creepy! Still, she hadn’t bitten me… And she could have easily taken my head clean off if she had wanted.

Brook sleep-rummaged through the fridge for a few more moments made a frustrated sound, closed the door and started to walk-drag herself back down the hallway. Going back to bed I guess.

I couldn't help but watch as she moved, it was pretty fascinating how her tail moved like a snake did. On closer look, her tail was doing the real work while her hooves just kept her propped uprigh-

She stopped dead in her tracks right in front of me! She sniffed the air hungrily!

“Food?” Brook muttered sleepily

I felt the terror come rushing back. “Nein, not food!” I squeaked.

Brook turned, mouth opened, long tongue reaching for me! Panic rooted me to the spot!

Her tongue slid along my other cheek.

“Bleh… Pone…” She grumbled disappointedly.

Ohhhh! Duh! She was a pony, so her species was a pony kind, or at least a near-pony. Any species that eats in it’s sleep would logically have evolved a dislike for their own kind’s flesh so they wouldn’t eat each other. So she tasted things first, then ate them if they were ‘food’.

I felt the fear leave me as Brook slowly shuffled back to her room.

“Well… that’s the end of sleeping for tonight.” I muttered to myself.

Sure, I knew I was completely safe staying here now. But it was medically unwise to go to sleep right after two back to back mini-heart attacks…

3 Pinkish Inquisition

Lily - 13th of Solarus ‘15 EoH - Noonish

Everyone has their idea of a ‘great person’. In general, it’s someone who's accomplished amazing things while remaining some form of upstanding role model. Everyone’s always wondered what it would be like to meet someone like that in person.

Apparently it’s literally like meeting anyone else.

I was seated in Scootaloo’s apartment across the table from Rainbow Dash. A name known almost universally. Athlete. Adventurer. World Hero. Fastest Thing Alive.

The unique rainbow patterned mane. The sky blue fur. Magenta eyes. Lightning bolt cutie mark. Everypony alive knew what she looked like. Mostly from the label of her line of sports drinks, which was the only product to actually improve your performance by more than a few percentage points.

A twenty percent boost, no matter what. So potent that it was illegal to use in sports unless everyone had some. Dash would have been famous just for that drink. But the list of broken athletic records, her inclusion as a character in a Daring Doo novel, oh and right, she saved the world from Triek… Dash was a living legend.

And yet, as she sat across the table from me, that’s not how I saw her. I saw her as just another pony, and for the life of me I couldn’t understand why.

She looked just like her posters. Built like a laboratory's attempt to streamline a pony. Shoulders akin to a brick outhouse taped to another brick outhouse, nothing more than tightly packed powerful muscle that in my professional opinion, should have atomized her wing bones with each twitch.

And yet, she still didn’t look bulky. She didn’t look masculine, well, she did, just a little, but that had nothing to do with her wings. That was all in her body language.

Cocky, aggressive, brash. She was all of those things, her general posture told you that. But her tone of voice, words, and genuine emotions showed a completely different side of her as well.

“Alright,” Dash said decisively, “we’ve been talking for a while. You don’t seem like a crazypony. Sure, you fixed up Scoots wings, and I owe you a ton for that, and you also healed Flash up… But, and please don’t be mad… You seriously look and sound like the evil mage from an old B-movie!”

I couldn’t help but crack a grin. “Ja, I know… I can’t help being Germane-”

“Wait, you can’t?” Dash interrupted. “You couldn’t like, just change your looks and voice to whatever you wanted?”

I bit my lip and gave her a slow nod. “Well… Ja, I could. But I like me. I’m happy like this. Would you change how you looked if you could?”

She smirked. I think I said the right thing to get on her good side.

“Pff, no! I’m awesome!” Dash objected. “I’m a bit… Serious though. You know, when it comes to the body. I get that you got the metal out of her wings, and you fixed them up for her, and also apparently made them flap silently… But I don’t get what Scoots means by you needing some of me to finish her up.”

Ah, there we go. Concerned mom looking out for kid time. I hadn’t ever had this particular conversation before. I’d never dealt with anypony’s parents.

Fortunately, I knew how to be professional.

“What do you want to understand batter?” I asked.

“Uh, I think you mean better.” Dash pointed out.

I blushed slightly. “Oh, danke.”

“Anyway… What sort of magic are you using? What does it do exactly.” Dash asked leaning forwards a little. “I happen to be friends with Twilight Sparkle. I’ve had one of the best mages as a friend for fifteen years, and she couldn’t let Scootaloo fly for more than an hour. Or even find anypony who could do that for her, even after seven whole years.

“So what makes you different. How are you doing it?” She asked, looking at me with rapt attention. Less in awe of me, more like I was being weighed for market.

“I am a biomancer. A school of magic that until recently was illegal in your country.” I explained. “This is because, well, it’s hard to learn and very easy to make a mistake that can cause a very painful death or worse for a subject of it. It can also be used to create monstrous creatures, or in theory, und this is only theory, create an Alicorn.

“Now I say theory because that has never been done, und trying to do it bucked up my entire country. If I couldn’t repair my own body, I’d have died when I was nine from diseases most ponies don't get until they are in their late second century. But, as you saw this morning when Scootaloo hugged you with her wings, it can also do many great things.

“I am fortunate in that my talent is Biomancy itself. I am by no means the best to ever live, it is my people’s historic School of Magic after all. There were many greater than I will ever be. But I have never made a mistake I couldn’t fix. I am very… High quality.”

Dash nodded, “Okay, so you know magic that probably nopony else in Equestria does. But how does it work?”

“You said Twilight let her fly for ein hour, ja?” I asked curiously. “I’m guessing she used Transformation?”

Dash nodded.

“Transformation magic takes one thing, und directly translates it into something else.” I explained, trying not to be a dick and talk about magic as if a pegasi would know it’s details, but also trying to not sound like I was talking down to her. “It consumes a lot of energy at once, und burns through its allotted energy quickly. But it can be infused into potions, und most effects a pony may want are ones they would not like to have forever.

“Biomancy is much like Transformation. But it doesn't change anything other than living tissues, und it does not transform those tissues directly into what you desire. Instead, it physically changes each und every cell, using the natural processes of biological systems to accomplish what you desire it to do.

“You instruct the very cells to change, und you give them the energy to do so. It is also permanent, you have changed what their actual self is, rather than simply told magic to ‘make this leg look like a wing and work like a wing’.”

Dash shifted in her seat a little, clearly thinking and trying to process it. Had I said it too vaguely? Perhaps too simply?

“So what you are saying is that Transformation magic is like steroids.” Dash summarized. “They can make you stronger, but only for as long as that dose you took lasts. Then you need more. But Biomancy is like a real workout that you keep up for years and as long as you don’t just trash your body, you stay strong. Am I getting that right?”

I nodded, smiling happily. “Ja! Exactly right. While both schools can do a lot of the same things, Transformation burns the energy you put into it to make the magic do what you want, but biomancy uses the magic to change you at the most basic level so you can just do what you want.

“Und so, each one has things it can do that the other can not. Like making you an Alicorn. I couldn’t do that, but I am sure you have seen those costume tiaras that give you an hour of demi-godhood.”

Dash snickered. “Yeah I have. AJ and I pranked Twilight with a pair of them. Heh, we had her thinking we achieved Alicornhood by defeating Big Mac in an arm wrestling contest. But, um, I think you are overestimating what those things can do.

“I mean, yeah I had a horn. But it was just a horn. No magic. Just a shape. But Twilight couldn’t tell the difference, so there was probably some sort of Enchanting aura or something on those that makes others think you have an Alicorn’s arcane signature or something.”

I felt my ears droop. Well, there went that dream. “Oh… I um… I was hoping to buy one so I could see what flight would be like.”

“So you can’t give yourself wings, but you can make Scoots fly?” Dash asked suspiciously.

I sighed and pointed to Dash’s wings with a hoof, “I could give myself a pair of those right now. Und I could move them just like a pegasi could. But your kind uses a lot of magic to fly, und I can’t give myself the organelles to fly properly while still having my horn and unicorn magic organelles or well… Last time I tried I herniated my left lung and liver because my skin started to split und blister li-”

“Uh, I get the picture. You can’t have both without being really really sick.” Dash said with a wince, “and if you got rid of your horn you couldn’t change back.”

“Exactly.” I answered. “Though, I could probably work out how a griffon flies, or perhaps a changeling. They don’t use magic to fly… But that could take months or years. Because I need to know exactly what I want to do in terms of DNA and cells. I could easily give myself cancer trying to fly like a griffon.”

Dash nodded. I could tell from her eyes that she was concerned. “So, if your magic is this dangerous, why should I let you use it on Scootaloo again?”

“Oh nein, nein, nein!” I exclaimed soothingly. “All I will have to do for her is things I have done many times before. In fact, I’ve done it to myself twice und it’s why I’m still alive! The real danger lies in attempting new things, und in making too many changes to someone in too short of a time.

“All I did for Scoots was heal her wings with her own natural processes, that’s perfectly safe. Well, I also made some small changes, but nothing major. She’s safe for another alteration. But after the next spell, she can’t be safely changed for about eight months. Unless she wants to develop an aggressive cancer in something, usually it’s the heart or kidneys. Your body doesn't like to change drastically without long rests between instances.”

“Uh, so yeah… You say ‘it’s fine’ but then also say ‘causes cancer’...” Dash said sheepishly, “You’re not really selling your case here.”

I face hooved. Dammit you silly pony. Not everyone knows what cancer actually is, let alone what causes it.

“Any time you change a cell, you risk damaging it.” I explained. “But I am very very good at it, und I know methods und spells which are some of the safest developed to date! But, ja, if I make a mistake I could accidentally cause a cell to begin dividing uncontrollably und not die when it’s supposed to. That is what cancer is.” I explained.

Dash opened her mouth to reply, but I held up a hoof to cut her off. “Nein, let me finish. Das risk is exactly why even with a procedure I could do right now, this hour, I am taking a whole week to redo all of the arcana, triple check it, und then after I am certain everything will work, then I cast the spell.”

“Oh, well, that is definitely different.” Dash admitted, some of the fear in her voice vanishing

“So, are you convinced that it is safe for me to work with her?” I asked, needing that confirmation.

Dash mulled it over for a few minutes, lips pursing as she thought. Then, finally, she nodded. “Yes. If it’s that simple of a spell, but you're going to work that hard to make sure it works right, I think I can trust you. So. How exactly will making Scoots my actual kid fix her, and how are you going to do that? Because I really don’t want to have to birth a foal. That would destroy my figure and ruin my entire career.”

“Uh… Raising a foal isn’t that disruptive.” I said in slight confusion.

Dash flashed me a grin. “Heh! You’re a doc. Think about it medically.”

I frowned, doing as asked until my eyes widened with clarity, “Oh! With your small frame having a foal would displace a lot of your skeleton while developing, und possibly induce permanent bends.”

“Mhm. My mom’s spine got permanently tweaked when she had me.” Dash said nonchalantly. “Our whole family’s always been pretty slim over all. I actually had my ovaries removed around my twenty-fifth for the express reason of not ruining my streamlining or messing up my back… So um… We don’t have to somehow fit Scoot’s in me, do we?”

I erupted into laughter, almost falling off of the bench I was sitting on. “Haha! Nein! Nein! We don’t have to do that! I just need a DNA sample from you. A feather, blood, spit, fur, lock of mane, anything.”

Dash wiped a hoof across her forehead. “Oh thank Celestia! Now uh, let’s pretend I never ever thought we might have to do that, okay?”

I nodded. “Ja no problem.”

“Right… So I give you a feather and you use it to do… What?” Dash asked desperately trying to move the conversation along.

I couldn’t blame her. I would be really embarrassed about that little idea myself.

“I use it to extract DNA from you,” I explained, “und then I write it’s sequence down using Biomantic notations. I use a sample of Scoot’s DNA to do the same. Then I work out how the two would combine best, picking an x chromosome of her’s to replace with yours based on which of the options is medically superior.

“Once I have made the choice, using the appropriate spell I create special types of viruses which will insert the new genome created from your DNA into her cells, und then instruct her cells to begin-”

I noticed Rainbow’s eyes were starting to glaze over. Time to speed this up. “-Ah, I use magic to put the new DNA into her, und then get her body to start replacing all of it’s old cells with the new ones. She will then have an undamaged genome, und the last part of the magic will cause a one time regeneration of lost tissues resulting in her regrowing any missing body parts. In this case, her flight feathers.”

“Wait, any missing part?” Dash asked in sudden concern.

Ah, I knew that tone. “I can instruct the magic to not recreate specific organs. Did she have her appendix of tonsils removed?”

Dash nodded and sighed in relief. “Yeah her appendix almost burst a few months after I adopted her.”

“Nein problem,” I reassured, “I’ll make sure she’s fine. So… May I ask you something now?”

Dash nodded. “Yeah yeah, just give me a minute to get you a feather.”

“Uh that’s not what I-”

Dash turned and plucked a small feather from her wing. Not an important one, it came from close to her shoulder. Still, that had to hurt to just yank one out.

“There ya go kid.” Dash said spitting the feather onto the table and sliding it over with one hoof. “Oh and fair warning… Scoots is going to love you.”

The words hit me like a sock full of oranges across the face. “Uh, beg pardon?”

“She’s bi, you’re cute, and you’re giving her the single greatest gift anypony ever could.” Dash said in a ‘duh’ tone. “She’s going to fall for you. Trust me.”

“Oh…” I admitted with a hesitant shocked.

Dash suddenly looked around, ears perked in surprise. “Huh, I expected Pinkie to chime in with something…”

“Uhhh…” I honestly didn’t have anything I could say to that.

“Ah well,” Dash resumed, “look, if, but most likely when, Scoots decides to just glomp or kiss you, be nice.” Dash ordered. “Or I’ll have my wife buck you into next week. And not the sexing kind of bucking, the kicking kind.”

I was still trying to process the fact that Dash was right. I actually was giving somepony the greatest possible gift, and yes the natural reaction would be a crush. Faust’s floofy tail! What do I do?!

Well, I guess I could take her out once or twice. She was nice, and it would be nice to have a friend.

“In case you’re wondering,” Dash continued, “I’m mostly ribbing you. But seriously, I know Scoots better than anypony. If you’re not interested in her, please get something ready to turn her down in a nice way that won't just crush her completely, okay?”

“Uh, well, I don’t think that’s really necessary-” I began, stumbling over my words with a flustered sputtering.

Dash grinned. “Really? Great! Forget I said anything, and take her to a mexicolt place. Right, we done here?”

I felt my mind panic a little. I needed stability, something familiar. Talking! Yes, just completely ignore and forget the incredibly awkward fact that a cute mare's mom told you to ask her daughter to a mexicolt place!

“Actually, I would like to know why Scootaloo never received any medical attention for this before.” I said quickly and urgently, trying to just roll over and forget the last few seconds. “I saved one of the bone sections I removed, und the bronze plated bolts inserted into them were most definitely going to kill her very soon. She’s fortunate there was a thick oxidization layer und her body had only just begun to wear through it.”

Dash’s face instantly fell into the first stage of advanced sadness. “I um… I really don’t… This is hard for me to talk about, alright?”

“It’s important I know.” I insisted. “I’m not going to judge you as a person, but if there is any medical reason she didn’t receive any care, I need to know in case that creates any complications.”

“Oh.” Dash said to herself in the tone of a pony who realized it would be necessary to talk about something painful. “I don’t want to talk about this twice… And I should probably tell Scoots too. Let’s get her in here.”

I nodded. “Alright, that sounds fair.”

Dash got up and trotted down the hall towards Scoots room, vanishing from sight an instant before she knocked on the door. “Hey, kid. Can you come out here a mi- Ah! Er, sorry Brook.”

“It’s okay.” Brook’s voice said with a giggle.

A moment later I heard the sound of a door opening. “She spooked you coming out of the bathroom again didn’t she?” Scoots asked.

“Yeah.” Dash grunted. “How are you so quiet when you walk?”

“My hooves are soft, not hard. So they don’t click.” Brook explained.

I couldn’t help but giggle a little as I pictured everything happen as it must have, just out of view. Man I wish I’d seen Dash’s face.

“Anyways, dining room.” Dash said coming slowly back into view.

Dash immediately noticed my amused grin and shot me a glare. “It never happened.”

She and Scootaloo quickly took a seat opposite me. Dash squirmed for a few minutes then took a deep breath, turned to Scootaloo and started to talk.

“Right, so… I’ve gave Lily the feather she needed, and she explained how she’s going to fix you.” Dash began. “Now I’m not a doctor, but I do know a lot about what’s good for a body and what’s not. Lily’s definitely doing something dangerous, but she’s doing it way more carefully than anypony I know of-”

“Even Twilight?” Scoots said in a snarky tone.

Dash rolled her eyes. “Obviously! Well, except for like, laboratory study stuff.”

I raised an eyebrow curiously.

“Oh, uh, Twi’s never thought much if at all about using magic to solve a problem… She just sort of does it.” Dash explained.

“... That’s horrifying…” I eeped.

“Meh, she doesn't screw up that much anymore.” Dash said with a dismissive hoofwave. “Anyways, this mare’s got a way to fix you, and I think she can do it… Which means I need to tell you I’m sorry Scoots.”

Scootaloo’s ears drooped slightly. “You knew about the metal, didn’t you…”

Dash nodded. “Y-yeah… And that it was more than just a little…”

I felt my heart sting with empathy as Scoots face fell like she had been slapped.

Dash stumbled over a few words, awkwardly making nonsense sounds until she managed to blurt. “The Doc said you would be safe for at least ten more years, and I couldn’t bring myself to tell you that the only option then was to amputate your wings!”

“W-wait,” Scoots said with a horrified stutter, “amputate?”

“Yeah… Because… Well… The bronze would poison you or something, but like, later.” Dash informed, ears drooping.

“Once your body ate through the oxidized layer and the bronze was exposed, it would be very toxic to you. Bloodpoisioning at the minimum, und possibly death within weeks if it’s arsenic infused bronze. The kind used in older statutes.” I elaborated. “Und you were dangerously close to getting through the oxide layer when I took them out.”

Dash nodded grimly. “Yeah, what she said. I just… They said you had years before there were problems, and when they started it would be very obvious… So I had them not do anything. I mean they said you were okay for the moment and I was sure Twilight could find a way to fix it!”

Scoots nodded slowly. “Yeah, that’s a good idea.” She didn’t sound upset by that idea at all. But she did still sound a little betrayed. “But how… How did that turn into almost a decade?”

“Well, Twilight didn’t have a fix.” Dash sighed. “I swore she would but well… I didn’t know she didn’t know healing magic back then. I mean she knows first aid so I thought- Yuu get the idea. But she promised she would find a spell to help, and I trust Twilight with my life.

“So I lied to you… I said I couldn’t afford it then and would save up, and that Twilight was helping. Because… Because I couldn’t tell you that you’d never fly, not when I thought Twilight might find a way to help you.” Dash finished, looking down at the floor in shame.

Everypony was silent for a few long minutes. It was quiet enough for me to hear the light sloshing of the water in Brook’s room. The ticking of the wall clock. The sound of Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle's muffled voices talking from beyond the home’s shared wall.

Scootaloo slid down the bench and wrapped her arms around Dash tightly in a loving hug. “It’s alright. I forgive you.”

Dash silently returned the hug. Speaking only after Scoots let go, “So… You understand?”

Scoots nodded. “I do. Thank you. I don’t think… I don’t think I could have handled knowing I’d never fly and that my wings needed to be removed… Besides, you were right.”

Scoots smiled and turned to face me. “Because there is a fix for these wings! Thank you for, you know, existing.”

I smiled slightly, glad that the downer mood was over. “I’m happy that I’m alive too.”

Scootaloo stretched her left wing out, craned her neck and carefully plucked a feather, then set it next to Dash’s on the table.

“Right, there you go.” She said firmly yet happily in a relieved tone of voice. “If you need more, just ask. If you need any help, I’ll get it for you… One week right?”

I nodded. “Ja, one week und we will have you flying.”

I picked the feathers up with my magic, and set them down next to my saddlebags on the far side of the table in preparation for extracting DNA from them. It was time to get cracking.

The front door suddenly burst open! A bright pink mare with a brighter pink mane stood panting in the doorway.

“D-did I miss it?” The crazed looking mare gasped.

I only saw Dash’s ‘barely holding back a laugh’ nod due to having jumped backwards a whole meter in alarm.

“You’re like ten minutes late, Pinks.” She said with an amused chuckle. “Hey Lily, it’s Ponyville. You’ll need to get used to her doing that.”

“Aw darn!” The pink mare sighed, ears drooping, “I was frosting a cake.”

“Uhhh… Okay….” I managed to say, doing my best to lower my tail from an alarmed pose.

“Don’t sweat it Pinks,” Dash chuckled, getting up. “Lily, it was nice talking to ya, but I gotta go. I’ve got stuff to do. So, Pinkie, wanna get lunch?”

“Yepperoni!” She nod-nodded eagerly and trotted out of the room with a overly eager wave directed at me for some reason.

The two mares quickly left the building. My brain started working again.

“The buck was that?” I demanded of nopony in particular.

“Forget it Lily, it’s Ponyville.” Scoots giggled, “Why don't you get started on the spell and I’ll make us lunch?”

I slowly shook my head. What the hay was I getting myself into?

“Yeah, all right.” I said taking a seat and getting my parchment and tools from my bags. “Sounds great.”

5 Flight

Scootaloo - 25th of Solarus ‘15 EoH - Mid Afternoon

“Ak! Purf! Herk!” Lily gurgled incomprehensibly as I ran down the street to-

Oh sweet Celestia I was dragging somepony by the neck!

I skidded to a stop, letting go of Lily and instantly wheeling around with an apology, wincing as I realized I’d dragged her about fifty meters!

“Oh my gosh I’m so sorry!” I shouted, ears drooping.

Lily massaged her neck with a hoof for a few moments as she wheezed in recovery. “It’s… Fine… I’d be… Exci…”

“Excited too?” I asked, unable to bear the wait between words.

Lily nodded, the sun making her earrings and piercings sparkle. You didn’t see many ponies with much jewelry, but I could see why Lily got her hoops. The two little gold hoops in her left eyebrow gave you something to look at other than the polar bear-whiteness of her fur, and the small hoops in her right ear let you find the edge of her ear more easily so you could better judge her emotions.

The dangly chain piercing in her other ear did that too, but the extra-sparkleyness suggested it was enchanted. So it had to be more than a ‘pretty thing’. Like the almost invisible same-color-as-her-coat stud AJ got in her right ear so Twilight could enchant it with a cloudwalking spell.

Hold on. Sparkly, magic… Twilight would kill me if I didn’t let her watch me get fixed up!

Not literally, but well… You know.

“We should go to Twilight’s castle,” I said quickly, “so she can watch you work.”

Lily blinked, then nodded once. “Ja, she probably would like to see the spell. She was interested in sharing notes sometime.”

This led to a new problem. I was originally heading for Sweet Apple Acres, because Mom had moved her cloud-house there after marrying AJ. Somepony would need to get them so they could see too.

“I don’t want to change without my moms there too.” I said biting my lip.

“That’s not a problem.” Lily said with a smile. “You go und get them, I’ll get Princess-”

I winced. “Uh, don’t call Twilight Princess. She hates that.”

“Really?” Lily asked with a raise of her gold-decorated eyebrow.

“Yeah.” I said with a nod. “If it’s not a formal event, she really hates being called Princess.”

“Oh… Gut.” Lily smiled slightly, I could tell she didn’t like nobles that much. “Anyways, Twilight will likely be busy. If I tell her we are ready to cure you now, she should be able to wrap up anything she is doing right now und be free to watch when you get back.”

That actually sounded like a great plan!

“Alright! Um, I’ll meet you at her castle as soon as I’m back. Just have somepony in the lobby to show us where Twilight wants you to setup.” I said, turning to leave.

“Uh, setup?” Lily asked with a confused sound.

“Twilight will want to take measurements! She’s heavily into the science side of magic.” I explained before taking off, to eager to delay the best day of my life with needless conversation.

I’ve always been fast on the ground. Not just for a pegasi, but in general. When I got old enough to compete in the running of the leaves, I’d made second place three years in a row. The only pony to beat me, Applejack.

But you know, earth pony endurance is nearly bottomless. If we wanted the race to be fair, we’d have it bracketed by kind. I’m pretty sure nopony could ever win a ground race against an earth pony with a speed talent. Just like how nopony could win a race against a pegasi with a speed talent.

Unless they were Rainbow. I’m pretty sure the mom she’s never mentioned was some sort of physical manifestation of pure bucking speed. Not even some sort of equinemorphized one either, I am convinced Gramps literally dated and had a foal with speed itself.

Mostly because of the time, Derpy asked how fast she could actually fly if she were trying absolutely as hard as she can. So Mom took a dive from the edge of the atmosphere, and slowed down when she started to fear burning up like a meteor. We clocked her at mach twenty-two.

Twenty two times faster than the speed of sound. I literally don’t know how fast that is. Mach one, sure that’s getting carried to Canterlot in about five minutes. At Dash’s top speed that would be from Ponyville to Canterlot in like, literally ten seconds flat!

As I ran to Sweet Apple Acres, me, with all my life experience, I literally could not comprehend moving that fast. But in less than an hour, with Mom’s blood going into making up my wings, maybe I could!

Before today ended, I could flap my wings, ascend into the heavens, and with some luck give Mom somepony to actually race against! Or, more likly, get to fly. To me, both of those options were equally amazing.

I didn’t even notice as my hooves stopped clicking on cobbled road, and started crunching on dirt. Or when I started to run up the front path to Sweet Apple Acres. Who cared about mundanity? I was going to fly!

I only even noticed I’d arrived as I ran up the steps built on the outside of the barn that led up to Dash’s cloud house. She’d loved it too much to sell it, so AJ agreed to live with her in it. Provided they put it on the farm. So we’d tied it to some of the barn’s rafters like a ship on a dock.

I may have shoulder-checked the door open. I’m not sure. All I remember is being outside, than being inside in front of Dash who was giving me an upset look, and then I shouted, “Lily’s done and we're gonna get my wings fixed at Twilight’s so she can watch!”

Dash’s upset face evaporated. “That’s aweso-”

“Get other-mom and meet us there!” I shouted eagerly, turning around as I suddenly realized, “I’m gonna get Bloom and Sweetie, they’ll wanna be there too!”

“Oka-” was all I managed to hear from Dash before I rushed out the door and back down the stairs.

Back to Ponyville! No problem. Get Sweetie from her shift at the Hay Burger, get Apple Bloom from Pattern Steel’s Smithy, go to castle, get wings.

Time blurred. Space warped. Or I was to excited to remember anything other than telling Sweetie to. “Now! Please! Castle! Go! ”

Then her confused face asking. “Uh, wuh?”

Me exclaiming. “Wings fixing! At Castle! Now!”

Then suddenly I was inside of Steel’s Smithy on the edge of the Everfree, exclaiming to a wide eyed Apple Bloom and exclaiming. “WING FIXING! NOW! IS!”

Bloom and Steel yelped, jumping as my shout apparently drowned out the ringing of steel on anvil! A glowing white bar of metal flipped off the anvil as the Bloom’s startled hooves lost their grip! Steel eked in alarm, smashed the bar away from her face with the haft of her hammer and threw up her leathery batty-wings from the shower of errant sparks!

The alarmed-terror on Bloom’s face morphed to anger as she turned to face me. “Luna’s mane Scoots! I nearly threw white-hot metal onto my boss! You can’t just explode into a bucking smithy!”

I felt my ears droop in shame, sadness, and general mortification. “I-I’m sorry… Just… Uh… Wings. Lily’s gonna fix them now. Like, now-now… And.. Um…”

Bloom’s lips formed a little ‘o’, her ears slowly rose from their flattened position. “Ah… Sorry. Er, we’re doing a knife set for a restaurant in Canterlot and-”

“It’s fine.” Steel said, voice the same eerie-calm as always. “Accidents happen. She’s excited. Go ahead. I can finish the other knives in the set myself.”

“This is the first one.” Bloom said pointing to the slowly cooling bar on the dirt floor.

“I managed without you for a century.” Steel said, smiling enough to reveal her fangs. “Your friend is having a big day. Share it.”

Bloom nodded. “Alr-”

“Or you’re fired.” The batpony mare teased, fetching some tongs to pick up the bar and put it back into the forge.

Bloom rolled her eyes. Then turned and nodded to me. “Okay, Scoots let’s rooo… Um… Steel? Do we have a spare door frame?”

I spent the walk back to Ponyville red faced in embarrassment. Apparently oaken doorframes reinforced with Thestrial Steel were far less strong than an excited Scoo-

Spying Twilight’s castle at the end of the street my ears perked up so hard they might have stretched out a bit. I was gonna fly today!

I started to bolt forwards, hooves eagerly pounding on the cobbles! A firm grip on my tail jerked me to a halt!

“Scoots, I know you’re excited,” Apple Bloom said evenly, “and I know that’s a castle door, but there is no way in tartarus that it’s more solid than Steel’s shop door.”

“Oh… Um, good point.” I said, dipping my head in embarrassment.

Castle doors had nothing on those built by the scociophobic recluse who lived ten yards from the Everfree.

A few moments later and the two guards ponies at the entry pulled the door open for us to enter. Twilight immediately looked up from a loose-leaf notebook and gave me the biggest grin ever.

“Quick! We’re using the upper balcony, so you can try flying right away. You know the way right?” She asked, holding her notebook open with her magic so she could run with it.

I nodded, eagerness bubbling back to the surface. Fly! Me! Now! Was!

“Oh boy…” Bloom muttered. “Uh, Twilight, just make sure you open all the doors.”

I gave her a glare. “Okay, can we stop that? Yes, I ran down a reinforced door without noticing but-”

Twilight giggled. “I did that to the Canterlot Library once! Apple Bloom, there are some things a pony just can’t help but want a little too much. Like seeing a School of magic that’s the forbidden to outsiders art of a world famous nation with your own two eyes.”

Bloom’s eyes took on a look of… Something. I didn’t know what that emotion was.

“Sorry Scoots.” She apologized. “I’m just… I’m still on edge from almost burning somepony.”

“I know. I should have been more careful. But I wasn’t. My bad.” I apologized. “Now, to the flying balcony!”

I turned right and sprinted off down the hall. The balcony was easy to reach. It wasn’t technically a pegasus landing platform like most homes had, but it definitely worked as one. Dash usually set us down ontop of it when we came over.

As I ran up the spiral staircase Twilight drew along side me, still smiling. “I had absolutely no idea you were even being helped! This is so exciting!”

“What?” I asked, almost tripping in confusion. “But Dash and I told you days ago!”

“Yes.” Twilight admitted. “You were here, and you said words near me, but I’ve been extremely busy lately. I’ve been teaching Wizardry to an apprentice, trying to learn a new language, bringing somepony up to speed on Equestrian politics, to say nothing of the normal duties involved in running Ponyville…

“Spike said you were here on a day I was spending trying to learn Old Changelish. And I can’t remember you coming over in the last week. Meaning you were talking while I was reading. So you were basically talking to an empty room! Eh heh.”

I almost facehooved, only my eagerness to not trip and fall down a spiral staircase saved me from the gesture. “I should have known better than to try to talk to you while you were reading… I guess we were to eager to plan a ‘you can fly now’ party…”

“Probably.” Twilight giggled. “Or I’ve finally mastered the art of sounding like I’m talking with you while still focusing on whatever I’m reading. Do you know how many times ponies interrupt me while I’m reading? Almost every time. And no! I don’t read literally all the time. Forty two percent is not one hundred percent!”

I was less surprised that Twilight spent that much time reading, or that she tracked her time usage, and more surprised that, “there are still things you haven’t read?” I asked.

“Oh please! I probably haven't even read seven percent of everything published thus far yet!” Twilight exclaimed as we reached the top of the stairs.

Probably? Yet? Holy crap! That meant she had read at least six percent. How much stuff was that?

Dear Celestia! Twilight made the worlds best translation spell! Did she mean everything in Equish, or like, everything, everything?

No! Don’t think about that or your head will explode and instead of flying today, you’ll be dead!

The stairwell door opened to reveal the large balcony. Marble tile floor. Gold railings shaped like looping vines. Big enough for twenty ponies to comfortably stand on. Everypony I cared for standing eagerly on the left side.

It was happening! Yay!

Lily stood near the center of the balcony, a small folding table was set up near her to hold the scrolls she’d made. The table also had a few arcane tools on it. The copper and crystal devices were evenly spaced around the table, and had small cup-like dishes on them that were pointed in a general ‘middle of the balcony’ area. Twilight had probably set them up to record data.

By chance she had been looking right at the door when it opened, and her eyes locked with mine. It was a magical moment. She was about to give me the best thing anypony ever could! You can’t not repay that! But what could I ever do for her?

“Okay everypony!” Lily announced as the door opened. “Please stand at the edge of the balcony. It’s safe to watch, but getting too close could disrupt the spells und well, I doubt any of you also want to be effected. Scootaloo, please stand a pony’s length in front of me und stay as still as you can.”

I nodded and trotted into place, trying to contain my urge to do an eager hop-skip.

“Um, how close is it safe to get?” Twilight asked, pulling her notebook into view.

“No more than three pony’s lengths from Scootaloo. My spells will insulate me, but without protection the magic might decide to jump to you.” Lily explained. “It’s drawn to bio-electric activity, like how lightning seeks the closest grounded object.”

Twilight nodded, conjured a quill with a flash of magic and started taking notes.

Lily nodded slowly to herself and slowly began to pace around me, her horn lighting up with it’s bright blue glow as she walked. “Alright… I’m scanning you to make sure you are healthy before starting. We want to be sure there is nothing which might foul the spell.”

I gulped nervously, heart beating faster untill Lily stopped her circling with a nod and returned to the table.

“You seem perfectly healthy. Stay as still as you can, und do not clench your jaw!” She warned.

I wanted to ask why, but the warning to stay still rang like an alarm bell in my mind. Fortunately, Applejack asked for me.

“Uh, why should she do that?” AJ asked.

Thanks Mom-Two!

“So if the magic changes her jaw or teeth at all they won't scrape on each other und result in a trip to the dentist.” Lily explained.

I immediately slackened my jaw. Colegate was a very nice pony, but I did not want to hear another lecture from her on oral care!

“Ya’ll can’t fix teeth?” She asked in response.

“Nein! I can. But I can’t change anypony more than once every five or six months. Cancer risk.” she explained, picking up the scroll on her right and opening it. “Now, please be quiet. I need to concentrate.”

Everypony quieted down. Lily’s horn blazed blue, this time the familiar wavy bubbly aura of a unicorn’s magic tightened, shifted, and constricted into a nearly perfect cone. It was as if every little wave and ripple shrunk to microscopic size.

Ohhhh! That made se-

A half dozen slender rays of blue light traced themselves through the air from the tip of Lily’s horn, and connected with me. I could feel each spot they touched as a warm spot on my skin, as if some pony were gently holding my wings, shoulders, heart, and the base of my skull. It was both weird and comforting at once.

Lily closed her eyes tightly, her magic’s glow covering them a moment later. At the same time the warm spots where her magic held me started to tingle, as if millions of tiny icy tendrils were snaking their way through me from the warm points, without making those parts cold.

My heart fluttered, the odd sensation was more than a little creepy.

“Nein… Nein…” Lily said slowly. “It’s okay. It will be a little cold. Just stay calm, und relax.”

I did my best to do as she said, but couldn’t help it as the fur on the back of my neck began to stand up.

A few heartbeats later and I could feel the icy tendrils almost everywhere in me. It was almost too much to stand! I had to run! Or maybe drop! Or-

The warmth from the six points flooded through the icy tendrils, soothing literally every single muscle in my body like the world's most tosty bath!

“Ooo…” I reflexively moaned.

“Okay,” Lily said with a relieved sigh. “It was harder than usual, but the infusion array is now working. You can move a little now, but try not to do more than breath, or blink, or shift your weight.”

My heart seized in panic. Ponyfeathers! She’d meant literally motionless? Please don’t have made her bucked it up!

“Ach! Nein!” Lily exclaimed, seconds after my heart skipped a beat. “Your heart doesn't like this! We need to move quickly!”

Woah! She could actually feel me? That was creepy slash cool! Should I tell her that it was just a fear response? Would that be moving too much?

Lily grabbed the scroll on her left and opened it. A spark of magic from her horn zipped to the parchment, activating the stored spell in a blaze of blue flames! The scroll vanished in a flash of white light, which flowed up to form a prismatic ball of cyan colored energy the size of a mango at the tip of her horn.

She took a deep breath, and dipped her head down. The energy ball slid down the thin beams of magic, splitting evenly among them, and turning each pale blue beam into a cyan colored, rainbow outlined one for a few long moments as the light ball bled into me.

The second the energy touched me I felt every single muscle in my body burn like I’d just finished running for hours! It didn’t hurt fortunately, but it did sting! I could feel the energy as it soaked into my body, sinking into an insane number of places. This was how a sponge felt!

Lily grabbed the second scroll, opened it, and activated it with a second spark. The burning scroll erupted into a gold hued orb of orange light, speed to her horntip, then bled into the beams like the other ball had.

This energy felt different as it sank into me. It didn’t feel like I’d worked out. It felt warm, inviting, relaxing. Like I’d just spent a warm summer day swimming, except I wasn't tired and could totally go for a hike or something because it was a perfect day out.

Lilly let out a held breath, and suddenly the warm tendrils of energy and beams of light vanished!

“Alright. That’s the energy infusion and DNA replication.” She said in a tired tone. “Now, we need to tell your body what to do. With the new material.”

Oh dear… She sounded and looked really exhausted.

“Um, are you going to be alright?” Twilight asked carefully.

“Ja. I’m fine.” Lily sighed. “I don’t have much mana, und while I knew this would take a lot, she is very hard to work with. You’re like an energy sponge, Scoots. But we can’t stop, or we’ll waste that energy, und you might burn up if it lacks a place to go und nothing to do but sit in your body.”

Right. Okay. Let’s not even think about that.

Lily’s horn began to glow again. This time her aura gently engulfed me, making me glow blue for a few moments before flaring up into a bright white light! I couldn’t see anything! Everything was white!

Wait, did that mean I couldn’t see because my eyes were glowing so bright they couldn’t see any other colo-

AH! EVERYTHING CRAMP!

“Oh… Nein…” Lily groaned faintly. “She’s drawing too… Too much… How can you be taking this mu-”

A sound like somepony falling over made my cramping heart writhe in terror!

“Oh ponyfeathers!” Sweetie Belle swore.

“Somepony bucking fix it!” Dash demanded fearfully.

“I’m on it!” Twilight exclaimed.

I heard the sound of a horn flaring up with magic. The whiteness tinted slightly lavender.

“Twilight, ya’ll sure you can get her out of that safely?” AJ asked wearily.

“Oh, no!” Twilight said quickly. “I couldn’t stop this if I tried. I don’t know enough about this particular spell. But Azur did finish it’s matrix, it just doesn't have enough power to finish. So I’m simply giving it a little more juice. Seems to be working. Looks like it’s doing it’s job. Can somepony help her up? Give her a manabar? I got one on the table.”

“We should stop playfully poking fun at your gut instincts when it comes to magic…” Dash said softly to herself.

Twilight laughed. “Don’t worry. I definitely used to rushed in to a lot of things. Celestia’s mane! She does just soak up energy like a sponge! Hey, Scoots, if this hurts yell or something. You have about three unicorns worth of thaumaturgic current in you right now. Not counting the scrolls.”

I wished I could. But everything was completely clenched all the way as tightly as it could-

“Uh, make that six.” Twilight exclaimed in surprise. “No, twelve! Twenty fo- Fourt- Quarter of-a-me! Half-a- Luna’s bucking mane! How the buck can you possibly-”

The whiteness vanished with a loud pop and crackle.

I dropped about three hooves down, landing on the balcony with a soft click.

All of the soreness and pain was completely gone. Heck, I could feel the breeze washing over me like a nice shower. If anything I was completely comfortable!

Everything felt… Great. Except for a bit of a headache. Nothing big, just a like what I got from reading for a few hours.

I blinked a couple times, trying to clear my eyes of a few ribbons of light that sort of were drifting around randomly. Huh, those were there when I closed my eyes… Wait a minute I wasn't seeing those! I just sort of knew they were there… And how they were moving…

“Um… What are the ribbony things?” I asked nopony in particular. “Is anypony else seeing those riboney things everywhere?”

Twilight was busily inspecting me by walking around me in a circle. AJ and Dash were busy staring at me in a way which honestly felt really uncomfy. Bloom and Sweetie were gently helping Lily eat the mana bar.

The poor girl looked like she had been awake for a week strait!

“Wait, ribboney things?” Twilight asked after a few seconds. “Can you point to one?”

I nodded and gently touched one with a hoof. “I’m touching one now.”

Twilight took a half step back and gave me her Science™ face. Oh sweet Celestia, please don’t have her go full-

“That’s thaumaturgic current. Unicorns can sense it, I don’t know how you are sensing it, but don’t worry it becomes a background thing with a little time.” Twilight said while looking at my wings with interest. “Can you extend a wing?”

I nodded and stretched out my right wing, turning over to look at-

“Oh! Wow!” I exclaimed in delight.

All of the feathers that made up the rear and tips of my wings were the same cyan as Dash! The mid feathers faded from cyan to my orange, providing a nice smooth transition of color! Even more awesome is my wings were much larger and more streamlined than the typical pegasus wing!

I folded it, curious to see how it rested against my side. The minute it folded I realized two things.

First, Dash and AJ were staring at me like that because they both liked pegasi and my wings looked really bucking sexy on me. Correction, were staring at me. Now they were awkwardly looking at clouds. Good.

Second, my wings swept up when folded, so that the tips of my feathers stuck up just a bit beyond my spine. Just like Twilight’s. Just like an alicorns.

I slowly moved a hoof up to feel at my forehead.

“You don’t have a horn.” Twilight informed as I reached up to check. “But yeah, they are.”

“How?” I asked, “And why?”

Lily groaned.

“Are you okay?” I asked stepping over to-

“Woah! I weigh, like, nothing!” I exclaimed after a few steps.

It literally felt like my body was as heavy as a piece of paper! It was effortless to move! Awesome!

“Ja. I’m okay. Just… Something made the spell drain all my mana. I’ll be okay tomorrow.” Lily said managing to stand up in a way that made me think she was carrying invisible sacks of bricks.

Twilight nodded. “She drained three quarters of my mana too… Is the spell supposed to take that much power?”

“Nein… I should have had enough to do it on my own.” Lily replied.

That’s when Bloom and Sweetie noticed my new wings.

“Woah!” They exclaimed in unison rushing up to get a close look at the new me.

“I know right?” I laughed happily.

“I’m glad you were able to finish the spell.” Lily said to Twilight as my friends gave me the same grins we grinned while planning and building the rocket wagon. “I was afraid, you would do something… Foolish.”

Twilight blinked, then grinned, then laughed. “You’ve been listening to my friends haven’t you? That’s just good natured ribbing. I used to be overconfident with my magic, I still am sometimes, but I’m a lot more responsible now. But yes, I still sometimes make a foolish mistake about when and how to use magic.

“It’s a part of who I am. We all have some negative traits, and well, friends joke about them. Example: Hey Dash! You’re really arrogant and boastful!”

“Yep!” Dash replied, still cloud watching. “AJ, you’re super stubborn.”

“Reckon so.” She chuckled looking back down and taking a deep breath. “Ya’ll shouldn’t take friendly tease’n as warnings an’ insults Lilly. Twilight’s a great mage, as I’m sure ya know now.”

Lily nodded firmly. “I see… I uh… I’ve never really had many friends. I’ll keep that in- Scoots, you have alicorn wings! How und why?” she exclaimed noticing how my wings curled up slightly.

I shrugged. Twilight shrugged. Everypony shrugged.

Lily shook her head. “How much energy did you put into her?”

“Three quarters of my manna.” Twilight answered. “Roughly three hundred and eighty four AUVs.”

Lily gave her a blank look. Twilight returned that blank look with a confused one. Sweetie Belle smiled in slow realization.

“Ha! I know something Twilight doesn't! Germaney doesn't use the Imperial System!” Sweetie giggled. “Three-eighty-four Average Unicorn Values is about a one-fifty-six kilomanas.”

Twilight facehooved. “Oh my Luna, how the bucking hay did I forget that…”

“Faust’s mane!” Lily exclaimed in shock. “I just- Wait! Her odd genetic structure with the tri-fold heritage und the fact that Dash und Applejack’s bloodlines are very pure for their tribes combined with the nearly pure unicorn Scoots had- Your mane is a little fluffy! It could hide a cute little tiny horn! Can you check?” Lily asked eagerly.

I quickly felt my forehead. Nope. Smooth. I shook my head. “Nothin. Just a little headache.”

Lily’s face fell the same way Twilight’s had the time she thought she had done a ‘first’ in magical physics, but it had turned out she failed.

“Humm… Well… Perhaps… Ah! Ja, das ist es.” Lily shook her head with a simple smile. “Twilight, you must have gotten too close, und since you were feeding her energy, the spell must have shaped itself a bit to match your own biology. Thus, transferring some of your traits onto her. Since the magic was directed primarily at Scoot’s wings, you happened to direct it to match her your wing shape.”

“Is that possible?” Twilight asked, along with me.

“Ja! You have to hold the form of the thing you desire in your mind for the spell to work.” Lily replied with a tired wobble. “Without training, it’s hard to do. You knew we were fixing her wings, ja?”

Twilight nodded.

“You must subconsciously have thought of your own wings, as you are the most familiar with them.” Lily said wobbling again and deciding to sit down before she fell over. “So now, Scoots has pegasi wings, made from her adoptive mother’s blood und made to look alicorny by your thoughts. … I think I’m going to sleep now.”

Lily wobbled again, then slowly lay down, almost immediately starting to snore lightly. Twilight knelt down and started to check her pulse and other vitals.

Rainbow walked over to me as I bent down to make sure she was okay. “So, kid,” she said with an eager but awkward tone, “aside from making you like, a solid nine-”

“Mom!” I exclaimed, doing my best to not look grossed out and failing.

“What?” Dash objected. “They do! You’re like, twenty years younger than me. Chill. I’m just saying they look great and that you might have to learn to ignore the random flirts stallions are going to give you.”

“Oh…” I kicked the floor shyly.

It was still awkward, but at least it was awkward for a different reason.

“Anyway, wanna see if those things are for more than just show?” Dash asked with an eager smile.

“Buck the hay yes!” I shout-exclaimed, wings flaring open reflexiv- “Sweet! My wings do that open-when-happy thing now!” I giggled.

Dash cleared her throat. “Uh… They do that when you’re more than happy. Also when terrified. And don’t even bother trying to keep ‘em down. I’ve broken belts... So um, remember anything I told you about how to fly?”

“Literally every word.” I replied.

“If they actually work,” Twilight mused, “I should have a clinic built. No sense making an asset like Lily spend her own money to set up a public service.”

“Well, then let’s find out.” I said happily, snapping my wings open and pushing down hard while sweeping them back to take off.

It worked!

For the first time ever it worked!

I was in the air!

I was hovering my own height off the ground!

“Yes!” Dash exclaimed, jumping up to my eye level to hold out her hoof for a bump. “You did it, Scoots!”

I accepted the bump then looked up. “How high can I go?” I asked nopony in particular.

“Well… After you can start seeing the stars with the sun up, it gets really hard to keep going up.” Dash mused. “Which sucks because the sky gets all black and well, it’s cold, but I’ve always wanted to see if I could reach the moon.”

“Uh… You shouldn’t try that one.” Twilight said slowly.

“Pff, that’s what you said about the dive, and I only singed a few feathers!” Dash objected.

I giggled and flapped lightly, seeing if I could move up. It would suck to only be able to hov-

“Ha! I’m going up!” I exclaimed happily, “Hey mom! I’ll race you to however high the star-seeing spot is!”

“You’re on kid! I’ll give you ten seconds head start!” Dash exclaimed, lips starting to move in a silent count.

I pushed down as hard as I could, immediately shooting up through the air, easily as fast as Dash’s normal ‘flying around town’ speed. I felt pure joy flood my entire body. There was nothing I could say to explain how I felt. Nothing I could do.

Wait. There was one thing.

“I win! Buck you gravity! Woo!” I exclaimed lovingly, ascending into the heavens for the first time.

6 Reward

Lily - 1st of Midsummer ‘15 EoH - Late Morning

I awoke on the bunk in Scoot’s utility room in a daze. It took me a full five minutes to start having coherent thoughts. Every cell in my body felt hungover. I knew what the buck this feeling was. This was Mana Burn.

The last time I’d been hit with Mana Burn, I’d repeatedly drained myself dry more times that I could remember. Why? Because I had to spend around nineteen hours doing nothing but dishing out a good dose of not-die to a battlefield’s worth of wounded soldiers. And then woke up like this.

What the flying flippity buck did I do however long ago I was last conscious?

I felt my chest and barrel constrict as I realized the last thing I remembered doing was starting to work on Scoots wings. Faust’s blood! I couldn’t remember anything after starting the work. What if I passed out mid operation?

I turned to jump out of bed and seek anypony to fill me in on what the hay happened, however many days ago, and noticed a letter stuck to the side of the bed. A parchment envelope secured with a lavender wax seal and fuchsia ribbon.

It had my name on it, my full name as well as the title I had earned, written in rather elegant script. Azur Lily von Maresburg, III, the Lifegiver.

Figuring that nopony gives a letter that nice to a murderer, I calmed down slightly. Enough to take the envelope in hoof, break the seal and fish out a letter. Or rather one of two letters. Seeing that one of the folded bits of parchment was labeled ‘read second’, I took the other and opened it.

To my surprise, a small silver key fell from the paper. Picking the key up in my magic, I quickly read the letter.

To Azur Lily von Maresburg, III - Lifegiver,
and
To Whom it May Concern

In light of your recent public service, namely, the healing of Scootaloo Apple-Dash, and in light of your desire to establish a medical practice within the township of Ponyville, I, Princess Twilight Sparkle, hereby award you, Azur Lily von Maresburg, III, ownership of commercial lot 312, hereafter referred to as “96 Greenlight Road”.

Awarded assets include the grounds, building, facilities located on the grounds, and any and all items located within the building as of the time of your first entry.

This letter also bestows the right to modify “96 Greenlight Road” as required for your use provided the exterior of the building is not modified in any way without the proper permits and permission from the town planning committee. Excepted from these stipulations are erecting a sign of no more than 3 meters in height, installing a hanging sign board, and landscaping.

As the property is awarded for the purpose of being made into a clinic, this letter also exempts the owner from paying taxes on the property, as per the Public Medical Services Act.

Signed,

Princess Twilight Sparkle

I read the letter twice, sighing in relief the first time upon realizing I must not have accidently hurt a very nice pony, then wondering in confusion what the second letter might be. This nifty letter got me out of having to take the property owner’s exam, perhaps the second letter was a brief list of what not to do?

No that made no sense, the first letter explained what I could and couldn’t do with the property. Maybe Twilight put detail about the place in the second letter since the first was an official thing?

Eager to find out, I opened the second letter.

Lily,

You prefer to go by your second name, correct? If not please let me know at a future date. I hope you are doing well, I had Scootaloo force-feed you a healing potion so with luck you are awake sometime tomorrow morning and not next week.

You will be glad to know that Scootaloo is doing fine. More than fine in fact, she seems to be able to give Dash a run for her money over long distance! That is to say Scoots is about a third as fast in the air, but has more endurance than anypony I am aware of. If we were to organize a pegathon, Scoots may be able to win if the distance is sufficient to tire Dash out.

You did a great job. I spent the better part of a decade looking for potential methods to cure her myself, only to be met with failure. I’m a little upset that Celestia allowed your particular art to be illegal for so long, but I do understand her fears about it. Furthermore, if history is any indication, we would have actually had problems with monster-makers until about a hundred and twenty years ago.

But that’s in the past! One day, after my schedule clears up, I insist you show me some of your School’s workings. Especially since as far as I can tell, you’ve managed to give Scootaloo the flight which is her birthright, but also an earth pony’s endurance. Of course such hybrids do exist naturally, but it is interesting to see they can be produced as well. There are many applications to such hybridization which could serve the public good.

Don’t worry about being forced to work on various projects though. You are free to work as you please, unless given a royal order, but that’s just a thing all business owners in Equestria face.

Speaking of business owners, the other letter in this envelope awards you a property. I managed to find an older hotel which was abandoned, but in good condition. It has twelve rooms in addition to a lobby, a kitchen, a dining hall, and a large room which I assume was intended for meetings. It should be a simple matter to convert the place into a serviceable clinic.

While technically not legal, as this is a commercially zoned building, there is also a penthouse on top of the hotel which you could use as your residence. Just list it as a ‘dormitory’. Also eat this letter so nopony knows I told you about that legal loophole.

There is a small catch to the property which would be wrong to not tell you. No, it’s not haunted. Yes I know everypony assumes it’s haunted when you say that, but it really isn’t.

The property is at the very end of Greenlight Road, which has a small lane attached to it at a ninety degree turn. Said lane is Redlight Loop, which as the name implies, is in fact Ponyville’s Redlight district. That’s why the property remained available for so long. It’s a Love Hotel built before I established a zone for that kind of thing. The original owner moved their business into the ‘district’ for reasons of laxer laws regarding services provided.

(Apparently the hotel staff couldn’t have socks as part of their uniforms without being in the district. Yes that’s the entire reason. No I don’t get it either. Socks aren’t fetish clothing, are they? The lawyers seem to think so.)

Though since you’re renovating it anyways (As you will want to have it up to code for a clinic) I don’t think that it’s present condition is a problem. I hope you can agree to that. Also don’t worry about the neighborhood being scuzzy! Establishing a fenced district for that sort of thing made Greenlight Road a very nice part of town.

Additionally, as the property is in such proximity to an adult entertainment area, I recommend having established business hours which end before ten pm. This is when nightclubs open. It’s not a legal thing, but I have friends on Greenlight who find themselves quite irritated with tourists who mistake Greenlight for more of the ‘district’ and assume that their businesses are clubs.

Ponies can be pretty dumb sometimes. Especially since Redlight Loop is a gated area…

Oh, I should probably mention that the exterior of the building is very unassuming and discreet! I’m sure you have seen some shops in Ponyville, this is nothing like them. It’s a very unassuming ‘C’ shaped building with a small courtyard. I’m certain you will enjoy it.

If you have problems gathering funds for renovation, please come see me. I’ll work out a business arrangement for you. Though by the time you begin the actual work, Celestia will have worked out how she wants to reward you and I doubt you’ll have a problem getting together those sorts of funds!

I do have one request though. Scootaloo was able to absorb three quarters of my mana (Incase you don’t remember, I supplied additional energy to finish your spell). I would like you to find out how and why. Not for any important reason, just simple curiosity. She’s also reported having a headache, and my magic couldn’t fix it. I assume this a side effect. If you can please do something about it. Scootaloo was worried it’s something major.

Your Friend,

Twilight

P.S.

I just remembered! You now own a home in Ponyville. You will want to visit it as soon as possible. Don’t carry anything heavy or fragile on your first trip. It’s always nice to just enjoy a new property and envision how to arrange it!

Okay. First thought: Twilight The Rambler! Feared by postmares and pen pals alike!

Second thought: Why the hay would she assume I would assume it was abandoned because ghosts? Of all the monsters that exist, ghosts are not one of them. Faust’s mane girl! I’m a mage, not a cryptozoologist!

Third thought: If fixing up pegasi wings impresses Equestrians enough to give me a clinic, how would Twilight react to my former classmate who attached the body of a giant anaconda to his marefriend because she wanted to be a lamia?

Fourth thought: Assuming their Love Hotels were the same thing as a ‘Liebhaber Zimmer’, I have no idea why I was even warned about that. Oh no! It’s a building designed to rent rooms to couples for a few hours instead of all night! Do Equestrians assume couples don’t have sex in normal hotels? Because that’s what couples do in hotels.

Fifth thoug-

The sound of something knocking on the wall next to the curtain derailed my train of thought.

“H-hello?” Brook called. “I can sense you moving. Are you awake enough to talk?”

I blinked a few times, curiously trying to work out why you would say ‘sense’ instead of ‘hear’. I mean, she had to have heard me making the bed creak and rustle as I moved, right?

“Ja, I’m awake.” I answered.

Brook poked her head through the curtain, a bit of mane falling across her eyes. “Can I ask you something?”

I nodded. “Ja, but may I ask something first?”

Her word choice was just bugging me too much.

Brook nodded.

“Why did you say sense me? You meant heard me, ja?” I asked with a confused ear droop.

Brook smiled for a moment. “No, we can sense electric fields.”

I raised an eyebrow incredulously, sure sharks could sense the bioelectric field of any given creature, but that shouldn’t be possible outside of water. “Even in the air? Oh! Is that seapony magic?”

Brook nodded giving me another happy smile. “Mhm! I can also zap things… It’s not as good out of the water though.”

“Alright,” I said as I slipped out of the bed, dropping to the floor to not be rude by making her look up for the whole conversation. “What do you need? Oh! Uh, what day is it?”

“It’s almost noon. T-tomorrow.” Brook answered. “So, Scoots and I were talking. A-and she’s being a scaredy minnow.”

“Why?” I asked with a slight frown. Then my eye widened to the size of dinner plates. “Wait! You are saying she’s being affraid-”

Brook nodded. I felt a nagging concern at the back of my mind that things were about to get awkward.

“Scoots want’s to thank you. For wing fixes.” Brook said simply. “She asked for ideas, I said she should take you to dinner. She thought I meant on a date and not just ‘give food’. And-”

I facehooved. “She want’s to take me out now, and you can’t get the idea out of her head?”

Brook nodded.

I sighed. A week ago, I would have instantly said no. Yes, I’d help a stranger for the sake of being kind, but a date? No!

But it was different now. I’d spent an entire week with her. She was very nice, also pretty, and I couldn’t think of a single other pony who dealt with their pain the same way I did, with a good laugh at it. I liked her a little bit. We were definitely friends, hay, maybe we could be more…

Why the buck not? I could do a date. Right?

Except… She was cute… And nice… And uh… Humm…

I tapped my hooves together nervously. Well, maybe there was a hangup of hers I could exploit, Brook said there was a problem right? I mean, Scoots was nice, but I would just royaly buck up a date! I’d never gone on one, and there was an entire protocol right? I’d rather have her as a friend then just an ex-customer.

“Uh… So, um, what’s the problem, exactly?” I asked fear-hopefully.

“S-she’s too nervous to ask if you like mares… Because, y-you know. She think’s you're a mare.” Brook said, rolling her eyes. “And I can’t prove your not.”

“W-well just because I’m a colt doesn't mean I like mares.” I pointed out.

Brook giggled. “Oh yeah! I forget land ponies do that! Hehe!”

That was the giggle and expression of a mare who found gay couples adorable. Which was in and of itself adorable.

Wait a moment…

“Hold on, none of your kind’s males like other males?” I asked in confusion.

“Um… Well… I don’t know.” Brook replied with a frown. “They don’t let the genders mix except for spawning season… But um, yeah… Scoots is too nervous to ask if you like mares. So I’m asking. Because it’s pathetic.”

Oh Faust… If Brook thought Scoots was being pathetic over it…

“W-well ja. I do.” I answered. “I like both.”

Brook nodded. “Okay. Thank you.”

She quickly trotted out of the room and called. “He says he likes mares. You’re fine!” In the tone of a mare who had been trying to settle an argument for way too long.

“Brook! No!” Scoots exclaimed from her room. “You did not just ask her that!”

“I did. You can ask him out without fear of offending him so much that you ruin your chance at friendship.” Brook returned irritably. “I am done sociling for today. Goodbye.”

I facehooved a second time. So this was what it was like to live with friends… Not bad, but at the same time, sort of stressfull. Thank Faust I had my own place now.

A heartbeat later Scootaloo stuck her head around the curtain with an apologetic frown. “I’m so sorry! She’s normally very polite, I don’t know why she won't call you by your chosen gender!”

“It’s fine…” I said, sighing as once again my extremely girly looks had created drama for somepony else.

“No it’s not!” Scoots disagreed firmly. “It’s rude to call people by the wrong gender. Just because you happened to have a bit of an error while developing doesn't mean-”

I closed my eyes tightly, deciding to for once stand up for myself on the matter of my gender. “Scootaloo… I made you fly. If I wanted to be a mare, don’t you think I would be one?”

She took a step to the side and tilted her head. “But… You are. I mean, you look, smell, sound, and act like a mare! Also I’ve walked behind you, you don’t have balls and you even have the piercings- Oh!”

Scoots face erupted into a slight blush. “You’re a gelding! I’m sorry, that’s actually really popular with gay stallions. Especially the-”

My ears practically strained themselves as they stood up in alarm. “Wah? Warum der Bock- I… Why is that popular? How?”

Scootaloo blushed a bit more. “Well, you know, no testosterone makes a stallion stay small and mareish. Besides if you ever want them again you can apparently rub a healing potion into the skin there.”

“W-h… How do you even know that?” I asked incredulously.

Scoots shrugged, “I have a lot of gay friends from high school. It’s just a thing they do… A lot of the bottoms want to stay cute, and well, that’s an easy way to do that and also to let other stallions know your orientation. Also my friend Summer Blaze insists that some strait stallions will go for geldings too.

“I guess it would seem weird to a foreigner, but it’s just a thing here. Has been for generations apparently. There’s even a female equivalent ‘signal’, you wrap the base of your tail with a ribbon.”

I felt my face scrunch into a completely baffled expression.

“I um… I’m guessing you didn’t get gelded intentionally?” Scoots asked awkwardly.

“N-nein!” I replied with a wince.

Grandma was right! Foreign customs are really weird!

Scoots eeped, instantly pulling me into a hug. “I just remembered you said you had cruel parents! I’m so sorry!”

I think my groan could have been heard from space…

“Nein! I still have them.” I explained with an irritable sigh. “I got drunk with a friend, und got the piercings… I don’t remember any of it. The piercings tuck everything in. Und since I look exactly like a mare in every other way apparently, nopony believes I’m a colt.”

“Oh…” Scootaloo let go of me slowly, then stepped back to a reasonable speaking distance. “So um… If you got them drunk, and don’t want to be treated like a mare-”

“Oh, why don’t I take them out?” I asked.

She nodded.

“W-well… You need to leave piercings in for a few months. Or you can get a bad infection. Just because I could heal them, doesn't mean I don’t mind getting infections.” I explained.

Also, there was just one small other matter… “Und besides… I um… I like them.”

Scoots blushed and grinned a little bit. “You do? Realy?”

I nodded slowly. “Ja. I’ve gotten used to them, und well… I think they make me look pretty. I like pretty things…”

I kicked the floor gently with a hoof, trying to hide my embarrassed blush.

“So, if I’m understanding this right,” Scoots began, “you’re a colt, but you like pretty things, so you made yourself look like a mare?”

I shook my head. “N-nein… I look like this naturally. I um… I crossdress though… Because dresses are pretty und vests are not. Und I do mind being called a mare! But since nopony ever think’s I’m a colt I just… Gave up.”

I got pulled into another hug. This one was not as urgently tight, rather it was warm and a bit reassuring.

“You don’t need to be embarrassed about that.” Scootaloo said with a smile. “I know plenty of colts who enjoy dresses.”

“W-well… Wait… Y-you do?” I asked, one ear perking, one ear drooping in confusion.

She nodded. “Yeah. Most live in Manehattan, though. I went to school there after elementary.”

“B-but…” I started, shuffling my hooves against the floor. “But… ponies call them the right gender… Right?”

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow at me. “Uh, Lily, isn’t the entire point of crossdressing to not look like your normal sex?”

I nodded.

“Okay, and from how embarrassed you are right now, I’m guessing you prefer to do it all the time?” She asked.

I nodded again. “J-ja.”

“Then why do you care if ponies think you’re male or not?” She demanded in an odd teacher’s sort of tone.

Huh… Actually that was a good question. Why was it so important to me?

I thought for a moment, and all I could honestly answer was. “Because I’m a colt… Und I just want to be one und also look pretty. But all the pretty stuff is for mares.”

Scootaloo nodded sitting down as she asked. “Right. But there are consequences to that. You want to be happy, so you do something you like, but that means ponies will be confused. You have to know that.”

Again, I couldn’t dispute that, I could only nod. “Well… Ja.”

“Can I give you some advice?” Scootaloo asked in a honestly therapeutic tone.

I nodded in reply.

"I worked this out by being bullied for not being able to fly.” Scoots began. “My entire fillyhood was filled with absolutely nothing more than people constantly picking on me for being flightless. I spent a very long time being a depressed mess because they made me think I was a freak. Then, one day I realized the truth.

“The problem isn't them, it isn't you, it’s not even them, it's the fact that you care what they think of you. You need to learn to stop giving a buck about other ponies opinions and just enjoy being you."

I knew in my mind that such a simple speech shouldn’t have had much of an effect on me. Of course I shouldn’t care so much. Duh!

But at the same time, my heart latched onto her words. It was the solution. After all, what did my gender really matter except to somepony I was dating? Nothing, that’s what.

Somehow Scootaloo actually made that simple statement of the obvious stick with me. Not in a mind controlled fashion. I was pretty darn sure I’d notice being hypnotized or controlled thanks to a certain incident in Capsan.

No, this was more like somepony I cared about greatly dispensed sage and life changing advice.

“H-How the buck did you give your words such… Weight?” I asked in awe.

Scootaloo gave me a happy smile. “Special talent! Sweetie, Bloom, and I can help others find their talents or otherwise sort their lives out. … I don’t have the best actual words, that would be Sweetie, but still...”

“Sooo you have a therapist's cutiemark?” I mused.

She shrugged. “Sort of. I guess. Anyways, you seriously just need to let go of the stress. Who cares if the clerk at the bookstore think’s you're a mare? You obviously enjoy looking nice more than being correctly identified. Just be happy!”

Again, her words felt like they had been said by somepony I deeply cared about dispensing sage advice.

“You have a very useful talent.” I said with as much heartfelt honesty as I could.

She was goddamn right! Who gave a flying buck? I shouldn’t care! What did it matter as long as my friends knew who I was? Why did it take somepony with an adviser cutiemark to get me to realize this?

Scootaloo smiled happily as she saw my face relax. The stress was melting away. I didn’t seem so awkward to explain to her my gender anymore. Then suddenly she blushed deeply.

“So uh…” Scoots stumbled. “Now that I know you’re a cute girly-colt, w-would you like to go out sometime?”

Ponyfeathers.

I couldn’t say no. Not now! Not after seeing she cared enough about me to try to help me over one of my biggest social problems!

“Um… Okay.” I answered.

Scootaloo’s cheeks began to stretch into a grin. I quickly held up a hoof and shouted. “Wait!”

The way that her ears drooped and face feel at my gesture actually hurt.

“I… I don’t exactly know… This will be my first date.” I explained. “Und um, if you want a stallion who will be… Stalliony, I um-”

Scootaloo giggled and gently reached out to boop my nose. “You gave me a mini-heart attack! Don’t do that. I like mareish colts! They’re cute!”

“Oh!” I exclaimed, clearing my throat. “Well, uh, alright. We should go out sometime then.”

“How about today?” Scoots asked eagerly, “We could get lunch and talk! I don’t think I know too much about you, we mostly talked about my wings and me.”

“Well, I need to check out the property Twilight gave me today.” I said, trying to shy away from a date today so I could have time to process everything that had happened.

Scoots nodded, “Okay! Where is it? We could do a walk and then get lunch afterwards. You’ll want somepony to help you shop for furniture and things anyways, right?”

Ponyfeathers! Trapped!

Wait a bloody minute… Why the buck was I sad that I had a nice mare wanting to go on a date with me!? My biggest dream was to have a loving family! This was step one for that!

What the flying buck brain!?

Don’t you dare buck this up for me!

“Ja! That sounds lovely!” I answered giving Scoots a smile.

She let out half a squee, only to choke it back and try to look cool half way through, “I mean, great! I’ll show you an awesome time today.”

I turned away, levitating the silver key into my saddlebags to hide my stifled grin at her outburst. Dropping the bags into place on my back I turned around, and realizing I knew nothing about Ponyville’s streets, realized that not only did I want to go out with Scoots, but I also needed her as a guide.

“So,” I asked, “how do we get to… Ninety Six Greenlight Road?”

Scoots blinked, “Um, where?”

“Ninety Six Greenlight Road.” I replied. “Twilight gave it to me since as a hotel it can easily be made into… Yes I know what I used to be!” I said facehoofing.

Scootaloo giggled. “No you silly filly! I just didn’t hear the address. That’s near the ‘district’, Twilight told you what's somewhere near there right?”

I nodded. “Ja. Und?”

“Well if you’re okay with it, nothing I guess.” She answered with a relieved smile. “It’s good to know you don’t make a huge deal out of adult stuff like almost everypony older than me does. Seriously, I don’t get older ponies at all… Anyways, let’s get going. Should be about a ten minute walk.”

Scootaloo stood up and trotted out of the room, turning back to hold the curtain open for me with a polite ‘go on’ gesture. As I passed through the curtain I couldn’t help but feel like I could get used to this.

Who knows what the future holds?

7 Heart Pounding Supprise.

Scootaloo - 1st of Midsummer ‘15 EoH - Late Morning

“Awww come on! It’s not that personal of a question.” I lamented.

“Yes it is.” Lily sighed, a tinge of frustration in her- uh, his voice.

All I wanted to know was what was the first girly thing he did was. That wasn’t a huge deal, was it? Maybe if I talked about something embarrassing first? It’s not like we had anything else to do on what turned out to be a pretty long walk.

“When I was fifteen, fresh into middle school, I had my first crush.” I started.

Lily gave me a suspicious look, blue eyes probing me to see what I was up too.

“You know how you just enter puberty and the hormones come in?” I continued. “Well I had an early estrus cycle, which happened at the same time I developed a crush… On the principal. In the middle of an assembly.”

“Owch…” Lily muttered.

“Yeah.” I agreed with a light ear droop. “So, now you can tell me your embarrassing thing!”

“It’s not embarrassing. It’s painful.” Lily explained with a weary sigh. “But I’ll tell you something embarrassing, fair’s fair.”

Ah ha! So I’d have to tell her a painful story eh?

“I was repeatedly made fun of for being a cripple in front of the teacher and entire school, and nopony did a single thing. Not one disciplinary hearing.” I informed.

Oh wait, was it rude to crowbar something out of somepony if it was-

“I had a tea party.” Lily admitted. Tone darkening. “I’m only telling you because I’d like you to never ask me again, alright? I can laugh off a lot of things… But not the first thing.”

“What’s so bad about a tea par- Oh… You’re parent’s objected?” I asked with a wince.

He nodded.

“I was blind in my left eye until I learned magic…” Lily said quietly. “Ceramic shards aren't easy to remove… Took out the entire organ. Grew a new one… Couldn’t match the color.”

Wait a damn minute! “I call bull!” I exclaimed, “Both your eyes are blue!”

Lily stopped walking, reached up to her, uh, his left eye and popped out a contact lense. The eye underneath was a leaf green.

“On another topic,” he remarked putting the colored contact back in, “No matter what I do I can’t make that eye blue… That’s also the second replacement. I removed it again after I knew what I was doing and tried from scratch. Still green. I can swap the green one right or left, but I can’t replace the color. It’s really odd!”

“Woah, wait, what?” I asked, stopping mid step as the words sank in. “You can give me wings, but you can’t make your eyes match color?”

He nodded. “Ja… Well… Nein. I can make the other green, but I like the blue. That’s Azur Lily for you, able to make microorganisms from scratch, unable to make his weird eye blue.”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Oh, hey, that reminds me.” Lily mused looking over at me as we rounded a corner. “About your operation, how are you feeling?”

“Fine,” I replied honestly, “I’ve had a persistent headache, and the wibbly lines are kind of distracting, and getting used to my weather sense is kind of stressful, but-”

“Uh… Pegasi don’t have a ‘weather sense’.” Lily said sounding concerned.

That couldn’t possibly, just, wait, wah? I narrowly missed walking into a lamp post as I turned to ask. “Wait, but… we control the weather… How-”

“Practice, education, ja you can fly up und move a cloud or make it rain but it’s a learned skill to do it properly. There’s no magical sense for the weather.” Lily said insistently. “Das ist, er- That’s more of an earth pony thing.”

I felt one ear droop and one perk up as equally large tsunamis of confusion and intrigue hit me from opposite sides.

“But… I’m a pegasus.” I protested feebly.

“Ja! But you’re a hybrid pegasus.” She said firmly. “You may have inherited more than an earth pony’s endurance. What is this sense like? Perhaps you’re simply more aware of air current’s now because of your flight mag-”

“Oh no!” I exclaimed, shaking my head quickly. “It’s nothing like that! I mean, It’s way way more than that!”

I stopped walking and turned north to point at a patch of sky. “See right there? The winds are blowing at about um… a good run, and coming towards us. But that aircurent is fake, because the rest of the wind is running perpendicular to it, and is much much more moist than the rest of the air.

“If we turn east you can see where the weather team is harvesting the mixture from the air to make rain clouds for mom-two’s farm. But because of that, just over there, the air that would have been wet is dry now, so the air is leaching more water from the soil, and will dry out the edge of the whitetail woods, which are already pretty dry so if we got a hot day we might have a minor forest fire…”

I trailed off as Lily’s open mouthed stare of awe turned into something deeper than awe.

“Um… Are you okay?” I asked timidly.

He nodded. “Ja, just uh… Can you influence the weather? From here I mean? Like, try to give it a nudge?”

“I don’t know…” I replied with a frown.

“Well, if you ever do, then you also have all of an earth pony’s magic in addition to your pegasi magic.” Lily said slowly. “As is, you have half of one of the more rare gifts I know of.”

“So, wait, you mean that earth pony magic-”

“Connects you to a force of nature so you understand it intuitively and can influence it in small ways? Ja.” Lily replied, resuming walking with a puzzled look on her- darn it, his face.

Well, that explained alo-

Oh.

My.

Celestia!

“Oh my gosh!” I exclaimed. “I’m also seeing thaumaturgic current and the headache is just how Sweetie described hers while she was developing her spellcasting ability!”

I grabbed Lily by her shoulders and pulled her close. “Did you make me an alicorn?!”

“Nein!” She exclaimed urgently. “Not intentionally! Look, it will take five months for everything to finish changing-”

“There is going to be more?” I asked, holding onto him tighter.

“Ja. But,” she sighed, uh I mean he sighed!

Damn you, you probably genderfluid adorable pony I got to know as a mare! Let me think of you with your prefered pronouns dammit!

“It should not be big things that change!” She continued. MOTHERBUCKER! He continued, “I directed the magic to fix your wings, und to make your new DNA dominant. But you still have lots of cells with your old DNA, und so I sped up cellular division for a number of cycles so the mono… Uh…”

Lily must have seen my eyes start to unfocus because he asked, “Short version?”

“Short version.” I confirmed.

“You’re aging super fast right now,” he explained, “und will for five months of normal time. It’s not going to cut your lifespan, the magic also repairs your telomeres in the new cells. Uh, that’s what causes most of the aging process, damage to your dna when you run out of the telomeres within each cell.

“Anyways, the accelerated aging will result in your old cells dying, und being replaced by the new ones until your entire body has been replaced cell by cell. A process which it would normally do over about fifteen years.

“But this shouldn’t do more than replace your old heart piece by piece with a new one made from pegasi cells. This stage of the spell can only replace existing tissues, not create new ones. because it’s a natural process, only sped up.

“It won’t make you grow a horn, I would have had to specifically give you one.”

“Und yet,” I said skeptically, “I’m seeing what Twilight told me is magic, and I have a headache right under where a horn would be.”

Lily might be a medical expert, and a damn good mage, but I didn’t buy his theory. After all Twilight had finished the spell hersel-

Lily’s blush and giggle snapped me out of my thoughts.

“What?” I asked, hoping he wasn’t laughing because he thought I was stupid.

“My accent rubbed off on you!” He giggled.

Wait what? I rewound the last few seconds in my head. Ha! I had said und instead of and!

I cracked a grin. “Heh, oops!”

Lily shook her head slowly, wiggled out of my grip and resumed walking. “Well, we will find out if anything went wrong as time goes on… Admittedly if you were growing a horn from scratch at twenty two times faster than normal, it would create an extreme headache.”

I frowned and thought about pain for a moment. How would I rate my pain?

Actually, the hay kinda question is that? Rate my pain… Four stars! Two enthusiastic hooves up!

No! Focus Scoots! You can satirically pick apart a silly phrase later. Work out a scale now.

Let’s see, one would be the dull throbbing of my old wings… Five definitely had to be the time I was thrown through the wall when the rocket cart exploded… Ten was either the time I threw myself off a cliff and got impaled on the rocks at the bottom while trying to fly or die; or the six hour bathroom marathon from that time I ate fifteen pounds of double deep fried cheesy-beef to try and impress that cute hippogriff stallion.

This felt like a nail being driven into my head. No biggie.

“Meh, somewhere about a two. Maybe the high ones.” I decided.

Lily nodded. “Ja, see? Nothing big.”

“Well… Eh, yeah I guess you are right. A horn erupting from my head would probably feel worse.” I decided after a moment’s thought.

“Right.” He agreed.

We turned another corner, the small signpost for the street read ‘Greenlight Road’.

So this was where Lily would be living. Not bad.

Most buildings were older ones, pre-Twilight Ponyville for sure. We had a candy shop, oh hey, so that’s where Bon-bon’s was!

“Hey! That’s Bon-bon’s place!” I said pointing to the small shop at the very end of the street.

“Who?” Lily asked with a small frown.

“Oh! She’s a local candy maker, pretty famous too!” I said eagerly, “She invented the Manabar along with her wife. I knew she had her shop in Ponyville but I never knew where.”

“Ooo!” Lily exclaimed. “I should make a business deal! Those things really work.”

“Heh, just make sure you get on Lyra’s good side first!” I giggled. “She can get really protective.”

“Who?” He asked with a confused frown.

“Oh, that’s Bon-bon’s wife. She’s mint green and white. You can’t miss her, super distinct!” I explained. “Oh, also she’s weird, and apparently an archeologist. The ancient lost artifact appropriating kind. Also a cryptozoologist… Or possibly just a major nerd, I don’t know her that well.”

That was probably the best way to explain one of Ponyville’s finest weirdos. Not to say I didn’t like the mare. But well, weird is weird.

“Wait, Twilight mentioned my property faced the gates of the district, und if that’s the shop at the end facing us walking up the road, then my place is next door!” Lily said eagerly.

The way she, dammit! The way he said that was very telling. A place of her... HIS! Own was definitely something Lily wanted very much, and was definitely proud to have.

I could feel the poor little guy wanting to rush over and look at it, but also really not want to be rude. There was only one polite thing to do here.

“Race ya there?” I asked.

“Ja!” Lily exclaimed taking off like a shot.

Wow. I blinked a few times, and stretched my wings a bit. It wasn’t every day you learned why Dash gives everypony a head start!

I counted to ten in my head. By five seconds Lily was a third of the way down the street. By ten she was just over halfway there. I jumped, snapped my wings back and down, and took off in the power-leap technique Dash had tried to teach me years ago.

By eleven seconds I was in arm's reach of the white unicorn. By twelve seconds I was lifting him up, and by fourteen seconds I was dropping him gently to the cobbles in front of the large sort of C shaped building.

Hehehe! No wonder Dash loved to carry me! That was so fun!

“Well…” Lily said to he- himself

“Like it? You did good work there didn’tcha?” I asked with a proud beaming grin.

Lily nodded once. “Ja. I did… Und once my heart is beating again- ah ha there it is… Okay. Ja… Warning next time please.”

“Never flown before?” I teased while he caught his breath and started to look over the building.

“Nein. But I have been defenestrated. Und that was quite similar. Especially the no warning.” He replied, tone back to normal.

My mind racked itself for the word.

“Oh, um, alright. I’ll warn ya next time.” I said.

Sweetie would know what the buck that word meant, I’d just have to ask her later.

The building was rather interesting in terms of design. It had been built for privacy. It was built far back on it’s lot, giving it a large patch of badly-in-need-of-landscaping lawn on it’s front side. That side was mostly a thin wall… Sort of.

If you looked at the building from above, it would be shaped like the letter ‘C’ if it was made only with right angles. The parts that jutted forwards on their side formed ‘arms’ that sort of ‘hugged’ a courtyard, which is where that thin dark polished stone and gray brick wall came in. It filled in the gap in the ‘C’ leaving a large arching entryway which let you see the small courtyard and an old scum filled fountain.

Most of the building was made from gray stone, ether in brick form, or in large slab form. It didn’t look ugly, or medieval, more like how you would build a prison, military base, or other fortified structure. It had two, or maybe three stories. Which gave it a looming and imposing presence.

Fortunately for the sake of aesthetics, the upper portion of each ‘arm’ was topped in a waddle and daub ‘long house’ of sorts that ran from the large rectangular brick part of the structure to the front of each arm. These bits had a lovely timber-slat roof instead of thatch, fitting for a Ponyville business building.

Unfortunately, it was made very creepy by the lack of windows. Though that made sense given what the building was for.

The arms had a balcony running on the inside above the courtyard that would let you reach any room from any other room on the second floor of the arms. Some of the nice wrought-iron railings picked over the stone segment of walltop like black needles. It was kinda creepy.

The big main brick of a building had two small windows overlooking the courtyard made of dark, smoked glass. Two elaborately carved large oak doors facing into the courtyard, and a completely flat roof that was surrounded by more of the needle-tooth like wrought-iron railings.

Atop the creepy imposing prison-like building sat a completely normal looking house. In the middle of it’s totally flat roof, which I guess formed a yard. It was a cherry of complete normality atop the sort of creepy building. With lots of dark nearly impossible to see through windows.

“Uhh…” I said to myself.

Lily nodded as she looked at it, and smiled. “Perfekt!” He exclaimed happily.

“You like it?” I asked, still kinda creeped out by the old, slightly dilapidated building.

“Ja!” Lily beamed me a smile. “She needs a little work, but I have a friend who like to build things und made one hay of a good cart given we were in Stalliongrad at the time und he only had primitive hoof tools to work with.

“I can get him to come in, we knock some holes in the walls, put in more windows, maybe paint the roof… It will look great! Und the penthouse Twilight mentioned is an actual house at the pinnacle of the building! I like the pun.”

I couldn’t help but smile at her- dammit! At his optimism. Hay, it was pretty infectious!

I nodded. “Yeah actually. I can see this place being fixed up… I mean it’s a bit creepy now, but some windows, and a few window boxes for flowers… Yeah it could look pretty nice!”

“Ja!” Lily exclaimed trotting inside the courtyard. “Nice! There are stairs going to the balcony, und then up to the roof. You don't have to go inside to get to the penthouse.”

I followed him in and nodded as I spotted the round corkscrewing black iron staircase he was looking at. That definitely would make thing easy for the grounded pony. A thing I wasn’t anymore! Booyah!

“Yeah, and that flat roof is perfect for pegasi to land on.” I observed. “Plenty of space left with the house on top.”

I looked up towards the top of the stairs. “So, we’re checking out the penthouse first, or what?”

Lily shook her head. “Nein, nein. We’ll save it for last. I want to see what we have inside… This place is huge! I may need to hire assistants, und for certain a janitor!”

Definitely a janitor, maybe two. It was pretty big. It looked a lot bigger from the courtyard than the road. Maybe one of it’s Construction Enhancement Enchantments was larger interior than exterior space…

Nah it was too old of a building for that. It had to be an illusion. The optical kind, not the magic kind.

Lily walked over to the lefthoof door and gently ran a hoof over it’s surface. “Mmm… Solid, und just a veneer of wood. This is a steel door. Nice! The security will be good for keeping medical supplies safe.”

“This is pretty beefy security for a place to take a date…” I muttered.

“Maybe it wasn’t built to be a hotel.” Lily said with a shrug.

Lily put a hoof on the doorknob, tested it, nodded, then levitated a small silver key from her bag and unlocked the door. Turning the brass knob, she pushed the door open with a rusty grinding creak.

The interior of the hotel was dark, dustier than the bottom of a refrigerator, and smelled very musty. It was not decaying, but it was old. Like an antique store.

Lily and I walked into the interior, Lily shutting the door behind her with her magic.

We stood in a lobby, dark hardwood floors covered in motheaten white carpets led to a grand staircase heading to the top floor. A large probably fake platinum heart shaped chandelier hung from the ceiling, festooned with dying lightgems that cast the entire room in the dull light a single candle would provide.

A dust covered, cobwebbed over, receptionists desk and keyrack sat directly to our left. A coatroom sat to our right. At the top of the stairs was the entrance to a room with a sign that read ‘potion and toy rental’.

The entire place was as quiet as a tomb. I could hear my own heartbeat and Lily’s breath. My weather sense told me the air was completely still, completely dry, and unnaturally cold.

“Uh… Lily…” I said quietly.

“Ugh… Five janitors…” She muttered kicking some dust from a hoof.

“That earring enchantment… How cold does it make an area?” I asked, remembering her explaining the shield charm once.

“Oh, sorry it is a bit chilly in here. I can suppress it.” She remarked.

Her horn glowed briefly. The temperature did warm, a degree or three but no more.

“Humm…” Lily mused, “Climate control enchantment must be broken.”

“Huh.” I nodded to myself. That actually seemed reasonable. You did need to occasionally tune them, and this one would be a much older spell than my ho-

Somewhere in the empty corridors of the hotel, an audible click echoed. A heartbeat later the faint, tinny, staticy sound of a cheap radio crackled to life!

The last few notes of a haunting melody pierced the silence before a DJ’s voice voice filled the air in their place. “Good morning Ponyville! That was ‘I’m Too Sleepy to Name This, Please Go Away’ by Octavia Melody, a lovely if haunting tune if I do say so myself. Coming up next an exclusive interview with Captain Shining Armor regarding the truth behind the Battle of the Borderlands. That’s right everypony, the tabloid journalism stops here!”

“Why the flying buck is Brook’s show playing on a radio?” I squeaked.

Lily rolled her eyes. “Enchanting a sound system to turn on when customers enter the building isn’t common here I take it?”

Just then the room grew substantially colder! Hoofsteps, half as loud as they should be descended the stairs, turned right, and vanished into an open doorway, the temperature rising back up the second it left!

My heart decided to beat so fast it would explode, so my brain just sort of shut it off, freezing me completely still with complete panic! A panic Lily shared as her tail stood straight up in alarm, eyes widened to dinner plates!

A faint creaking and rustling came from where the hoofsteps vanished to. Something clanged! The hoofsteps came back! The temperature fell sharply! I could see a ball of wadded up thaumaturgic current wrapped around an otherwise non-suspended floating box of cereal!

A few bits of honey roasted wheat floated up from the box, seemingly of their own accord, and vanished with a crunch like shattering bone!

Lily and I screamed in unison! The box fell to the floor with a rattle and thump!

“W-wa-warmmmth…” A faint voice whispered needingly.

I could see frost starting to form on the floor around the box!

I turned, grabbed Lily by the scruff of her neck, wrenched the door open and bolted! Pursued by a lamenting cry of, “Pllleeassse! Warrrmmmtth!” and accompanied by Lily’s insistent screaming of “Fly! Fly! Fly! Fly! Fly!”

“I can’t! Balconies! Rails! too dangerous!” I screamed back, knowing I’d smash into a wall in panic.

Then I remembered the stairs. Yes! Stairs! Up! Up then fly!

I turned and bolted up the staircase, losing my grip on Lily. I almost looked back, but then heard the sound of her hooves skitter on the metal steps, racing up after me!

A skipped heartbeat later and we spilled out onto the roof! I snapped my wings open to take off-

Into the completely empty sky! Oh sweet Celestia no!

“We can’t fly! It will see us! There’s no cover!” I squeaked.

Lily said something, I think it was a curse, each word was half in Equish, half in Germane. “Uh, hide!” She shouted after her garbled oath.

“Where?” I demanded, sweeping a hoof across the empty rooftop.

“House! Duh!” Lily exclaimed sprinting for the small house-like structure’s oken door.

“No! Wait that thing’s in there!” I yelled rushing after him.

“Hahaha! Nope It’s definitely out here and about to eat our bucking plots!” He refuted, yanking the door open with his magic and rushing through the door!

I followed along a split second behind and-

“Surprise!” A crowd of ponies shouted!

The lights flicked on! I was looking right into Pinkie’s super-happy-party-time grin.

And that’s how I learned that thirty one is NOT too young to have a heart attack.

8 Welcome Waggon

Lily - 1st of Midsummer ‘15 EoH - Noon

“Surprise!” Shouted the amassed horde of enemy-

No…

It. Was. Normal. Ponies. This was a prank.

Son. Of. A. Whore!

Blood pressure, rising… Urge to punch prankster directly in the pterion: Maximal.

Must. Contain. Rage!

That’s when Scootaloo clutched her barrel and fell over.

“Oh darn!” The pink earth pony mare leading the crowd lamented, ears drooping. “Somepony grab the first aid kit, it happened again…”

A small white medical kit floated over in a forest green aura to a point where the mare could grab it with a hoof.

“Honey, I keep telling you, leave it by the door.” A kinda familiar stallion’s voice sighed from deeper into the crowd of now concerned pranksters.

I held up a hoof slowly. “She’s fine. Just give her a few more seconds.”

This wasn’t a medical emergency. Sure normally but-

“She had a heart attack!” Somepony called from the crowd in angry disbelief.

“Ja, she did. But for the next five months residual healing magic means in a few minutes her heart will literally be good as new.” I explained. “She wasn’t killed outright und so-”

“Ow…” Scoots groaned, slowly pushing herself back up.

A few relieved sighs came from the crowd as she stood back up. Instantly the pink mare wrapped her in a hug, somehow stuffing the medical kit into her mane and getting it to stay within the voluminous curls!

Like, what even… Did she have a pouch woven in her mane? Actually, that’s kind of a brilliant idea! But I’d never pull it off with my short A-line manecut.

“I’m sorry Scoots,” the pink-prankster apologised, “I didn’t think you would get scared that bad! I mean, I’ve only scared twenty ponies that bad with a surprise party, so um, that makes… Hon?”

“One in four-forty-five.” The same very familiar voice called back.

“Right! So, statistically, you were fine, but um… Sorry.” She apologised, then immediately turned to me. “Also sorry, I hope you can still have fun at your Welcome-to-ponyville-as-well-as-your-new-home-slash-business-slash-fortress-that-was-a-gift-for-fixing-scoots-wings-and-being-new-member-of-my-family-’cause-that-is-also-a-thing-party!”

She finished her explosion of words with a huge smile, and by throwing two hooffuls of confetti into the air. I stood in stunned awe at how rapidly, yet coherently she could speak for a few moments before her actual words hit me.

“Wait! Family? What?” I exclaimed. What by Faust’s bucking mane was she even talking about?

Oh dear lord! Please tell me Equestria didn’t have a compulsory herding law like Mareland!

“Um, you’re my sorta-brother-in-law.” She said in a ‘duh’ tone, giving me the same look anypony would give to someone who was very drunk.

“No I’m not!” I protested, now more confused than angry about her prank to get me up here for the party. “I don’t even have any siblings.”

Almost immediately, a sort of burnt orange pegasus with a spiky blue mane and tail emerged from the crowd holding a soda can in his hoof.

Wait, Sky? I gave him a small confused frown. What was he doing here?

"Good to know that dinner was for nothing then.” Sky said half-irritably. “I know for a fact that my mom and the Pink are gung ho about this. But if you're not, eh, no feathers off my back..."

“But- I, wait… Why are you here?” I demanded, needing my confusion to be put to rest.

“Uh, my wife is throwing a party. Wedding vows and what not.” Sky replied instantly.

Oh, well I guess that made a bit of sense. “Ah, so you're married to her. Okay I guess that makes-”

The pink mare put on a pouty face as she turned to Sky. “Triggie, you said you mentioned me!”

“I did!” Sky protested. “Mom broke out wine and this little guy is a lightweight.”

Sky turned to me again and pointed a hoof at me. “Right, so you’re my sorta little brother because you're younger than me and your parents are only alive because my parents donated organs. I'm okay with the concept now, because you know, I had time to process things; also I’m not trying to get ancient weapons to work, the workings of which I have never seen before, with literally hours left before a war breaks out.

“Anywho, so, you're sorta my lil bro, and Pinkie’s my wife, so that makes you her sorta-brother-in-law, therefore, welcome to the family gets added to the party name. Get it? Got it! Good...” Sky finished.

I felt my heart leap a bit. “So uh, you’re not mad at me for-”

“For going behind my back through a friend to get introduced to my mom?” Sky asked, then nodded. “Yeah, I am. Little bit. But you’re also right, you technically are related to me, so I figured I’d get revenge in a brotherly sort of way.”

Ah, so that explains the super convincing ghost prank. Sky probably set up some of his tech to mimic everything.

“Mm… Not bad. I’m not a fan of pranks though.” I said, happy to sort of have a relative that wasn’t a jerk. Well, a huge jerk.

“I’ll keep that in mind for pranking purposes.” Sky said, taking a sip of his soda. “Not gonna stop me though…”

“Well, now that we’re all cleared up, everypony party till ya drop!” Pinkie exclaimed, vanishing into the crowd with a “Weee!” as somepony else cranked a sound system to flood the room with what could only be described as Symphonic Dubstep.

Scoots tapped on my shoulder. “I’m going to get some snacks. Pinkie’s great at planning parties, but somepony always gets the last coco-coconut ball before me. Be right back.”

“There’s snacks?” I asked turning to follow her as she trotted off.

A hoof gripped my shoulder. “Oh no you don’t!” Sky said firmly. “You wanted a brother, you’re getting one.”

“Uhh… What do you mean?” I asked, concerned about the slightly ‘I’m going to give you a swirly’ tone of voice.

“We’re going to hang out and get to know one another before I’m back off to the badlands for work.” Sky said, two chairs pulling themselves out from a nearby table for us to sit at with a flicker of green magical light.

“Was?” I exclaimed in surprise, noticing the color matched Sky’s eyes. “How did you do that?”

He shrugged and took a seat. “Not exactly sure in terms of biology. I’m forty percent unicorn, you remember dad, right? He’s pretty powerful. I like to think he gave a bit of his magic to me. I can levitate some lighter objects, not too fast, not too far from me, but still… Not bad.”

I nodded and sat down. The chair was actually pretty nice. Solid wood, comfortable, a simple modern style with a nice plush seat. “Why would somepony leave this behind when moving?” I mused to myself.

“What?” Sky asked with a frown before chuckling. “No, all the furniture is a gift. Pinkie gives everybody who moves in basic furniture. It’s her thing.”

“Wait, everypony?” I asked in surprise.

He nodded. “Mhm. If you move to Ponyville, you get a party. End of story. They actually had to pass a law stating that Pinkie has to give everyone a week to see if they stay because she started throwing parties for people that were just passing through and things got a bit too, disruptive...”

“How can you two afford that?” I asked in a serious tone. “I’m about to start a business here, so if there is some financial magic you know-”

Sky laughed. “Oh, no, all of this is on her, not me. We don’t share a bank account. That way we can save up money for surprises without the other knowing. As for how the Pink does it, well, I know… But I don’t think I could ever successfully explain it to anybody else. Just accept the fact that she gave you a gift and move on.”

That didn’t bode well with me… “Uh, it’s not bought with blo-”

Sky gave me an irritated face. “No. It’s not criminally sourced.”

“Oh. Gut.” I replied, awkwardly looking down at the table in embarrassment.

Searching for something to turn the conversation away from ‘I just assumed you married a crime boss’, I quickly asked, “so, if you live out in the Badlands… How does Pinkie do parties for everypony here?”

“Eh, I don’t really live there full time anymore.” Sky said, kicking back in the chair a bit. “When we got married, Pinkie didn’t want to leave her friends, so I commute. Two weeks at work, two weeks at home… Unless there’s an emergency.”

“But, aren’t you-”

He nodded. “Yeah, I’m their chief engineer. Chief. As in, in charge. Meaning I can delegate. And if there’s a problem then anyone on the engineering crew can just call me on their watch, or use a messenger gem, then Pinkie rushes me over, and I fix it.”

I facehooved. “I spent way too long in Stalliongrad. I keep forgetting that long distance communication is a thing.”

Sky snickered. “Seriously? You’re supposed to be a fully trained Wizard, right?”

I rolled my eyes. “Well ja, but I also am a specialist. I’m a Biomancer, not a Transmuter.”

Sky frowned for a moment. “Aww…”

The hay? Was he disappointed that I couldn’t know, do, or remember all thirty some od schools of magic?

“What?” I asked raising an eyebrow. “I chose a complicated field. I can’t remember all of magic, that’s beyond knowability.”

Sky gave me a grin. “Give it six years, Twilight will disprove that statement. I garentee it.”

If he hadn’t assumed that, then, what had he been sad about? “Then why the frown?” I asked quizzically.

“Would you mind doing something for me?” Sky asked.

“Um, sure. Do you need medical attention?”

He shook his head. “No. Just… It would be really cool if next time you told someone you were a Biomancer, if you phrased it ‘Damn it’ their name’, I’m a Biomancer, not a ‘other thing’.”

My eyebrows both rose, too confused to just choose the left or right to raise in confusion. “Um, why?”

“Long story. Let’s just say I don’t like wasting potential, and as a pretty good doctor, you could be making a fairly good piece of referential humor.” Sky said as he took another sip of soda. “So how’s the watch treating you? I kinda didn’t want to give it to you. I was afraid you’d call everyday.”

“Wait, it does more than tell time?” I asked ears perking up in surprise.

“I- wait, but- what?” Sky sputtered, face contorting in a mixture of irritation and bafflement. "Do you not remember me explaining to you what it is or how I called you on it during the battle!?"

I timidly shook my head. “N-no… I sort of can’t remember much of it at all… Overdosed on a mana restorative afterwards so I could try und heal everypony I could.”

“Ahh. Okay.” Sky said, sighing to try and calm himself down a bit. “So you have drug induced memory loss. That’s way better than being sorta related to an idiot. Hold on, I know the screen defaults to display the time, but you didn’t look at it, see all of the buttons, and assume they could do things?”

I nodded slowly. “Yes, but well, I thought, you know, they were for changing the time. Or turning on a glowy light. Or getting a compass at the most. You know, watch things.”

“But- but, it only resembles a watch!” Sky protested. “I intentionally made them look sci-fi so anybody would know it’s more of a multi-tool than a timepiece!”

I felt my ears flick back in annoyance. My specialty was magic, not technology! I had nothing against mechanical things, but I hadn't spent my life learning about them or anything!

“Dammit Sky, I’m a Wizard not an Engineer!” I protested, using his phrasing by pure reflex.

Sky instantly smiled, only barely keeping from clapping his hooves. “YES! That was perfect! Okay, all forgiven. We’re good.”

I triple blinked. “You’re not upset at me for not understanding your watch does lots of things after one accidental joke I don’t even understand?”

Sky nodded. “Yep.”

I thought for a few moments, eventually concluding. “Must be a hay of a joke… Can I get in on it?”

Sky shook his head no. I was about to ask why when Scoots emerged from the crowd with a plate of snacks. “Hey! Sorry about that. I just got super hungry there for some reason.”

“Cuz your body had to regenerate an entire heart.” Sky and I said in unison.

Scoots blinked then giggled. “Hehe! You two sure you're not actual siblings?”

“Well, I mean, technically we would be what, half brothers?” Sky asked. “Because you did that genome swapping thing.”

“More like…” I paused for a moment to do a quick calculation, “Eighty-six out of a hundred brothers. But well, neither of us grew up with one another, so it’s just a medical connection.”

Sky nodded. “Sure, but that sort of does count for something I guess. Mom was right, she and dad chose to give life to two ponies in Germaney, and you resulted from that life. That’s family. Sort of.”

It warmed my heart to know that he’d changed his mind in the last three weeks. Though admittedly I probably shouldn’t have latched onto a vauge quazi-familial connection in the way I did, it was nice to know that I had some ponies out there who did give a bit of a crap about me.

“Danke Bruder.” I thanked happily.

“Gern geschehen, Schwester.” Sky returned with a coy grin.

My ears drooped. “Uh, that means sister.”

Sky nodded. “Yeah, I know. I’m fluent in Germane, remember?”

“Then wh-”

“We are now eighty six percent even for you getting Kev to talk to my mom behind my back.” Sky exclaimed with a silly grin

Scootaloo’s eyes narrowed. “I swear if you did that ghost thing down stairs, I’ll smack you into next week!”

“Please don’t. Pinkie did that to me once, it’s amazingly confusing.” Sky said with a sigh. “And what do you mean ‘ghost thing’? I didn’t do any ghost thing. What are you talking about?”

My eyes widened. If that hadn’t been a prank…

“We went downstairs first.” I explained urgently. “Und after entering the room got freezing, we heard hoofsteps come down the stairs, und then a box of cerial floated out of a room without any aura suspending it-”

Sky shook his head. “Yeah that wasn’t me. Ask the Pink, she’s a notorious prankster… Though she’s more into classical style pranks. That’s a bit elaborate for her tastes… Hmm… On second thought, try Dash. She’s here somewhere.”

“So, you don’t think it could have actually been a real ghost and not a joke, right?” Scootaloo asked in concern.

“Um, ghosts aren’t real.” Sky said firmly. “Vampires, yes. Werewolves, sure. Zombies, also yes. But incorporeal undead? No. That one’s been pretty much confirmed by both science and thaumaturgy. Spirits need a living body to exist within this universe.”

I nodded slowly. “Sure, ja, I know that. But that seemed incredibly real.” I nervously shuffled a hoof on the floor.

Sky pursed his lips for a few moments. “Well… Cold air, nothing visible, sounds still present… A few various monsters could definitely have also done that. But there’s no way in Tartarus a monster’s been living in Ponyville’s heart for the like, um... Fifteen or so years this place has been closed.

“Also there’s the fact that this is after Twilight had the walls built, and a pretty thorough security sweep was set up. I know, I built the tech components for it. There’s very few things that would block any monstrous creature’s bio or arcane signatures from the hourly sweeps. So it’s probably a prank.

“If you’re still worried though, ask Dash. If she didn’t do it, then I don’t know, get Lyra to go look for you.”

I nodded. That did seem like a reasonable plan. Scootaloo mentioned she was an archaeologist and cryptozoologist. That meant she knew her way around traps, monsters, and probably bandits.

“That seems like a go-” I started.

Suddenly a mint green mare leaned into view from behind Sky. “Hey! While I wasn’t sneaking up on you to pester you about a suit again, I couldn’t help but hear my name, what’s up?”

Sky groaned and held a hoof to his temple. “Right, Pinkie invites the neighbors over so everypony can meet and be friends…”

“Yep! Hi by the way, I’m Lyra. I live next door with Equestria’s hottest mare.” Lyra greeted holding out a hoof. Then her eyes narrowed. “Hold on a- Wait we met before! You were the medic who helped everypony after the Battle of the Borderlands!”

I flinched instantly. It sucked not being able to remember anything about that day except for a vague series of fragmented images playing on fast forward.

“I’m sorry,” I apologise, “I can’t remember much of anything. I used a lot of mana bars to-”

Lyra nodded sympathetically. “Say no more. I helped Bonnie test them. They can really knock you for a loop if you have more than three in a day. The name’s Lyra Heartstrings, just a minute.”

Lyra turned to face Sky. “Please build me an epic humanoid suit!”

“I did. Use the one I made you.” Sky grumbled.

“Yeah, but it’s just metal and gizmos and only vaguely human shaped!” Lyra protested. “I know you could make a lifelike squishy soft fur covered one!”

“Yes, I could.” Sky agreed. “But I know what you would use it for, and I don’t wanna be a part of that.”

I couldn’t help but feel this was a very old argument. Judging from Scoots sigh, it was probably also a frequent one.

“You made the first one!” Lyra protested.

“Correct. I also thought you just wanted an exoskeleton to better hold your balance upright for combat reasons. Not a live-in organic-like lifestyler costume slash marital aid!” Sky objected, ears laying back in annoyance.

I could end this… Based on Scoots irritable moan, I should probably do it just to earn some brownie points. Oh hey maybe I’ll get a hug for it!

I cleared my throat. “Uh, I could probably actually make you bipedal. Or if I can get another changeling tissue sample, I could work out a means to let you shapeshift into one particular humanoid form.”

Lyra’s golden eyes widened as she turned to face me. Sky’s eyes conversely shrank with fear.

“Whelp, semi-bro opened the floodgates.” Sky muttered. “Hey Scoots, let’s go see what the Pink is up to?”

Scootaloo nodded and backed away from the table, Sky doing the same.

“That’s an excellent idea!” She said giving me an apologetic look before whispering, “see you in an hour.”

Lyra slid into Sky’s chair. “I’m best friends with a changeling! I can have you a tissue sample in twenty minutes! How much work is needed and what do you accept as currency? Price is no object.”

Oh. Dear. Faust.

Those eyes. Those were the eyes of somepony who had been desperate to experience something for decades, but never got to obtain their goal.

This was possibly a mistake. Also we would be adapting the transformation gland splice I used with David. If I even did anything. A permanent change was definitely the wrong call regardless of anything else here.

“It would take me about a month to adapt a spell of my creation to the task.” I said slowly and calmly, doing my best to analyse her over the noise of the party. This wasn’t the best place to try to psychologically profile somepony…

“It might be better to do this durring shall we say, office hours. Once I’m open.” I said, hoping she would be reasonab-

“Your brother’s been jerking me around for eight years. No dice.” Lyra said firmly. “How much would you charge? It’s not medically necessary, so there’s no way you’d do it for free the Crown won’t pay you back for cost. Tell me what I need to give you to get the thing.”

I sighed. The long sigh of someone who realized that they were facing a wall of stubborn that wouldn’t budge.

“I don’t know prices here very well…” I admitted slowly. “I spent five years in Stalliongrad. Where a table knife is half a day’s wages. How much is a bit worth?”

Lyra nodded to herself in thought. “The Crown pays everypony a four thousand bit living stipend, that’s enough for one pony to have a one room apartment with the minimal features, as well as essential foods, and with a bit left over for the occasional treat. It’s the bare minimum to survive and stay a bit upbeat. A working pony probably brings in sixthousand bits a month on average, which would get you a nicer apartment, and good food.”

“Hold on,” I interrupted, “Equestria does a basic income?”

That was in a word, sort of insane for me. Germaney wasn’t exactly a wealthy nation anymore. Too much medical expenses for everypony. Welfare of any kind other than medical was non-existent.

“Yeah. I know, were the only nation that does it, but it actually helps the economy. Can’t spend money you don’t have. So, six thousand bits is a worker’s wage. Skilled labor can pull in around twice that.” Lyra explained.

Alright. Well if skilled labor for one month was twelve thousand bits, and since this was cosmetic…

“Fourteen thousand bits.” I decided. “But! I’ll settle for eight thousand, if you can get your wife to agree to a business deal to supply my clinic with a reasonable amount of Manabars. I don’t have much of a reserve, und if I have to do multiple operations in a day, I will need them.”

“Done.” Lyra said. “I’ll have the money and the tissue sample in your hooves by midnight.”

“Um, I never agreed to do it.” I said, making Lyra’s ears droop and eyes start to moisten in ether genuine despair, or masterfully executed puppydog eyes. “This was just a price estimate.”

“Oh… Well, will you do it?” Lyra asked. “Please?”

“Well, maybe. It depends. Exactly what do you want and why is it so important that you will ask for it in the middle of a party?”

Lyra chuckled. “Sky avoids me like the plague because he knows I’m gonna pester him till he makes me that suit, or one of us dies, then till he makes me the suit again. Even if you do come through for me. It’s a stubborn off. At this point it’s a game to us. I see him, I ask, he rejects. The first pony to give up loses, and he understands that.

“As for what I want… I admit that I’m sort of the weird fangirl here. Ever hear of the Ancient Aliens Theory?”

I nodded. “Ja, of course. I went to college. Much of the technology ponykind has comes from studying the ruins of dead alien cultures. I’m sure most ponies know-”

“The Precursor species,” Lyra began, quoting the old often used explanation, “arrived on Equestria during the days before Ponykind was civilised, and built cities to observe and study our developing species, leaving before our ancestors developed writing, and leaving behind some of their wonders.

“The theory is bucking wrong!” Lyra stated, thumping a hoof into the table hard enough to make me jump. “It always says they came from other worlds. But they didn’t! I’m not some tinfoil hat conspiracy not here, I have and also have seen proof!

“Nopony wants to believe that a sapient species can go extinct. I understand that. But it’s academically irresponsible to reject the evidence and insist that the Precursor species ‘just left’. No. They were here, this was their homeworld too. And I know what they were called.

“Humans. They lived here about two hundred and fifty million years ago. Want proof? Archeology. Dig that far down and you will find a geologically distinct layer of material containing so many relics, synthetic materials, and rare isotopes of so many different stages of complexity and development that there is no way that whoever made them didn’t develop everything from the bow and arrow to…”

She paused a moment, face contorting as she searched for a word. “Well… I don’t know what you’d call it. We don’t have any spell or weapon that would render a huge chunk of the world unlivable for centuries due to radiation levels… Not for technical reasons mind you. We are definitely more morally advanced than humans were if the devastated regions you can find are anything to go by.

“I… I actually found a relic of theirs that… I still have it. Mostly because museums insist it’s fake. They could record information in ways which last for well, hundred of millions of years apparently. I found what amounts to a book, only you can ask it questions, and it answers.

“It took me a while to learn the language used, and also begging Twilight to teach me how to make a translation spell… But I did. And I learned everything I could about them. Humans that is.”

Lyra sighed sadly, then turned to look wistfully out the window. “Studying that book showed me an amazing people. They had no ability to detect or use thaumaturgic current, but that didn’t even slow them down. They built a flying machine, then just sixty years later landed a ship on the moon just to see if they could. They developed a means for every single last one of them to talk to every other person anywhere on the planet. They worked out the basic workings of the universe, except arcana which they thought was fictional somehow…

“Humans were a species that did amazing things. All the time. I’ve seen some of their media, they had movies too. Our filly and colt programming is all stories and fairytales, Humans have a show for their young that teaches science. They were literally masters of the world, not one monster existed in their time period. They dominated the food chain to the point of working out how to literally grow a slab of meat from scratch!

“My personal favorite, Humans were awesome. Like, in attitude and behavior. Always positive and upbeat! I’ve got a video they created to broadcast during the end of their world. It has a motherbucking laughtrack! The possibility of their entire species going poof! And they laughed in the face of complete annihilation. Now that is the definition of cool!

“I have all that, but ponykind mostly refuses to buck the cultural narrative and accept the bucking amazing truth… It doesn't help that somehow the name human, and their likeness, has been used as a fantasy species by many authors over the years. Just makes me seem more insane to everypony… Maybe I am, I don’t care anymore. The establishment will never accept the truth.”

She turned to me and gave me a smile. “So all I can do is geek out over human stuff! And why not? They were pretty neat from what I’ve learned. I want to experience what life would have been like if I had to walk on two legs, had hands, and all that… Except keeping fur. And general pony shape. Because having no fur is very cold, and embarrassing.

“So, can ya do that?” She finished bringing her rambling tirade to a close.

I was conflicted. Lyra definitely could be quite crazy, but, she was also an archeologist and could easily be right. I’ll be the first to admit that accademia can refuse to let go of a narrative, traditions latch onto every part of life for good and for ill.

If she was crazy, then I’d be hurting her by enabling her to change. You never, ever play into anypony’s psychosis. If she was not crazy, then she genuinely wished to experience how life would be if she had a different body. I completely understood that desire.

I thought about things for as long as I cared to, then nodded to myself.

“You still have this book?” I asked.

“Yes! I sleep with it on my nightstand. I used to be under the pillow but Bonnie kept nibbling on it in her sleep. She’s a sleep-nomer.” Lyra answered.

“After the party, bring the book over and show it to me.” I said. “If you have it, and it’s not something that you clearly made yourself, I’ll do it.”

“Yes!” Lyra exclaimed, pumping one hoof into the air. “I’ll literally be back three minutes after this shindig!”

She flashed me a huge grin. “Cuz it’s real. Anyways, what did Sky mention me for? He wasn’t warning you off me was he?”

I shook my head. “No. He was saying you could help check the building for a potential monster.”

Lyra’s eyes light up with the same sort of excitement of a foal in a candy store that was also made out of candy, and happened to be otherwise empty of other living things.

“What kind of monster?” She asked smoothly.

“It’s probably a prank,” I said dismissively, mostly to reassure myself, “but when I went to check out the bottom floors a few minutes ago, Scootaloo and I encountered something extremely ghostlike. It made the sound of hoofsteps, the room was very cold, und something invisible moved making hoof steps, then levitated a box of cereal without any visible aura.”

Lyra raised an eyebrow. “Did it say anything?”

Come to think of it, yes. It had. How had I forgotten that?

“Yeah! It did actualy, it … It wanted warmth.” I said frowning. “That sounds really weir-”

“Hold on,” Lyra reached into a saddlebag and pulled out a small yellow gemstone with her magic and tapped it with a hoof, “Colegate. … Hey Cole, it’s Lyra. Did you prank the new mare who moved in next to me today?”

“Uh no.” A mare’s voice said, coming from the messenger gem. “Meep and I have spent the whole day playing twister.”

Lyra winced. “I didn’t need to know that.”

“No! Actual twister. The game.” Colegate protested defensively. “It’s amazingly fun with both players can shapechange.”

“Right…” Lyra sighed. “Well, you’ll want to come over. Around midnight when it will have had time to calm down.”

What was she talking about?

“Uh, Lyra… What happened?” Cole asked in concern.

“Based on Lily’s account, we either have a Dash grade mean-spirited prank, or there’s a Windigo loose in Ponyville.”

“Ah tartarus…” Cole sighed.

“Want me in on this too?” A third voice asked.

“Nah, we keep it small for now. If we’re right, I’ll call the whole gang in.” Lyra said dismissively. “Besides, Cole’s the only one here who might be able to sneak up on one.”

“I doubt it… I mean, I’ve only had about a month to get used to all of this.” Cole sighed. “But I’ll try. At the very least I’ll be easily able to scout the place. Midnight is good for another reason too, it will be about as cold as it gets. So it will have less power to draw on… Though, well, so will I.”

“Hey, you did fine in the Crystal Empire, you’ll be fine here. Lyra out.” Lyra said tucking her gem away.

“Uh-” I began.

“You described actions that could have been performed by a Windigo.” Lyra said simply. “But the demand for warmth is what seals the deal. They literally eat heat. If we have a cold Windigo loose in Ponyville, then that’s about as dangerous as a hundred starving changelings. Mostly because of stealth capabilities and the fact that I’m pretty sure most detection spells don’t get triggered by them.”

I felt my ears stand up in alarm. “So you’re saying it could be in this room right now?”

Lyra shook her head. “No way. If it could have followed you, it would have gotten you before you reached this place. They are fast! If it is one, something is keeping it from leaving the building. Which is another reason to check it out… I’d like to Windigo proof my closet.”

She was speaking with absolute conviction. In the tone of somepony who actually knew what they were talking about. “I uh, I thought Windigos were mythological. How do you know-”

“I’m friends with one.” Lyra said with a grin. “I have a LOT of weird friends. Windigoes are… Complicated. They aren’t monsters, not in the sense of ‘megadangerious animals’. They are a people. It’s just that their culture um… Well… When you literally see all other lifeforms as prey, you don’t tend to be nice. Also how they reproduce is… Deadly to us.

“So I called in my Windigo to possibly deal with what I hope to Luna isn’t one that grew up in their hidden kingdom. Because if you fight fire with fire, you fight the truth behind the myth of ghosts with the truth behind the myth of ghosts.”

“That… Seems weirdly logical.” I concluded, fur on the back of my neck standing up.

“Right,” Lyra said casually. “Enjoy your evening, I’ll see you around midnight for some Ghost Bust’n. Want me to let your marefriend know crazy Lyra’s done gushing about humans for the moment?”

“Oh, she’s not my mare friend.” I said automatically. “We just started… Um, checking out this place was our first date…”

Lyra winced. “Owch. Kid, that’s not a date. Sometime soon, go into the Redlight district, no it’s not a sex place, there are nonsex things there too, it’s just where all adult establishments are. Anyways, find the restaurant called ‘Ruby’s Diner’. Tell any Ruby there that Lyra said you can use her table, password being ‘What password?’, and take Scoots out for a nice dinner. It won't even cost you a bit! Just let the waitress get a good meal too by giving Scoots a few hugs or something.”

I blinked a few times in bafflement.

“Changeling owned restaurant.” Lyra explained.

“Oh! Huh… That… That’s pretty brilliant.” I mused, trying to distract myself from the pending situation.

I spent a few long moments alone at the table. Contemplating what I had walked into. A secure city. A possible monster that could avoid detection. In the building under me.

Why?

Why couldn’t I just find a nice peaceful life?

“Hey, don’t be sad, it’s a party! Chin up.” Pinkie’s voice said soothingly.

I looked up to see the ponk mare giving me a warming smile, but holding an understanding sympathy in her eyes.

“I’m sorry.” I apologised. “It’s a great party, und I appreciate the effort, and the furniture but-”

Pinkie gently tipped my head so my chin was slightly angled upwards. She literally made me ‘chin up’! That was so incredibly funny that I couldn’t help but smile.

“There ya go!” Pinkie said soothingly. “I am really sorry you got scared earlier. If you’d like, I can move the party someplace else. I understand that someponies are just not party people.”

“Oh! Nein nein, it’s fine!” I reassured. “I just… I’m a bit afraid right now. There-” Oh dear Faust! Don’t say it you’ll start a panic! “-there’s a personal issue and-”

“Ooo.” Pinkie cooed knowingly. “I see.”

Pinkie reached into her mane and pulled out an actual full sized bouquet of red and white roses, bound with a black silk ribbon!

“Give this to the young lady.” Pinkie said, then immediately frowned and stuffed the flowers back into her space-warping extradimensional mane of science and magic bafflement. “Oopsies! Hehe, you’re interested in Scoots! That wouldn’t work at all just let me-”

“How do you even do that?” I begged as she rooted around her mane with a hoof.

“Muffin button.” Pinkie replied.

“W-what?” I asked reality itself.

“Huh?” Pinkie replied, giving me a confused look for just an instant.

The impossible mare pulled her hoof back out of her mane and into what I was certain was also back into our plane of existence and offered me a rather elaborate folding multi-tool.

“Here ya go! She’ll like this way better.” Pinkie announced setting the tool down on the table. “Have fun!”

I immediately picked the multi-tool up in my magic and inspected it as Pinkie vanished back into the crowd. It was real, not an illusion… It was some sort of hardened steel… Manufactured very well…

Okay then. Under no circumstances should I ever underestimate Pinkie. Thank you reality, I understand completely.

“Hey!” Scoots said sliding into the seat opposite me. “Lyra said she was done. Sorry… Uh, everypony in Ponyville’s heard that once… A year. At least.”

Blinking the confusion from my eyes. I decided to just take the pink mare’s advice.

“That’s okay. I understand.” I said holding out the multi-tool. “Here, a gift.”

Scootaloo gasped happily and took the tool in hoof, immediately opening a few of the bits to inspect them. “This is awesome! I’ve been needing a new one. The last one broke in half. It was cheap Yackastan steel… But this, this feels quality. Thank you so much!”

She flashed me a truly delighted smile, then frowned. “I um, don’t have a place to put it… Now I know why Applebloom almost always keeps her saddlebags on.”

“That’s alright, I can carry it for now. I’ll even walk you home.” I offered.

“I wanted to fly.” Scoots said, a filly-like grin spreading across her face. “You don’t have to give me anything. These are more than enough.” She spread her wings out, fanning them in a rather pretty and impressive spread.

Oh. Oh! She was flirting! Quick brain, what do we do?

Flirt back! Obviously.

But how?

I blushed and drew one hoof up to my mouth, giggling into it like I was a mare in a Neighponese cartoon who was just noticed by Senpai.

Thanks brain…

Scoots smiled and leaned over the table to give me a tight hug. “Awww! You’re so cute when you do that! The blush looks super pink with your coat.”

“Danke.” I said quietly, shuffling one hoof against the chair leg.

Quick! Complement back! The window of opportunity is closing!

“I love your voice.” I said quickly.

“My voice?” Scoots said with a surprised ear-perk.

“Ja. It’s… It’s very kind and robust sounding.” I said, not explaining myself very well due to being more than a little flustered. “It’s like a character in a radio drama, where they need somepony with a great voice because without a visual half the content is lost.”

“Thank you.” Scoots said honestly. “That’s the first time somepony has ever liked my voice.”

Ah ha! Were on a roll. Right?

“Well, I’m more attracted to behavior than looks.” I said taking a short breath to try and lose some of the fluster. “N-not to say you are ugly! You look very nice. Just that to me, actions matter most. Und you are very nice, und also you’re somepony who can relate to me. Das ist rare…”

“What do you mean?” Scootaloo asked politely.

“W-well, your parents implanted toxic metals into you.” I said trying to keep from saying it angrily. “Und mine lit me on fire. We both had horrible families, but we rose above it und are mostly happy now, ja?”

She nodded understanding. “I can see how that would be rare. I like that about you too. Maybe one day when you’re more comfortable talking to me about it we can swap war stories.”

“Ja, I’d like that.” I said honestly giving her a glad smile. It was so nice that she understood! “You didn’t break, you rolled with the pain und became stronger for it, und you didn’t lose your equinity. You’re smart, if under educated, und also quite strong, peppy, kind, happy, und best of all you’re a tomcolt.”

Scootaloo giggled. “Thanks again. But what’s me being a tomcolt have to do with anything?”

I blushed deeply. “I um… Mares are prettiest, but stallions act in the most sexy ways, so uh… You know.”

Scootaloo smiled and gave me a loving stare. “I see… You know, I could say the same for you. All of it. Except you’re definitely more of a scholar than I am. Also I’m more into feminine types than your standard stallion. Because colts like you are just the most adorable things ever.

“I um, I know it’s a bit silly, but… I love you. It’s silly because I’ve only known you for like, a week. And I know that it’s a love born out of you fixing my wings, but at the same time, doesn't that sort of earn some love? It’s only my biggest dream come true! It’s not the most intense love I’ve ever had for anypony. My second marefriend still has that slot… But… It feels a bit different. Less lusty, more genuine appreciation.

“I um… I understand if you say no. But, for a little while at least, longer if we work out, will you be my coltfriend?” She finished looking at me all adorable-hopefully.

Oh Faust! Commitment time. Could I do it? Could I actually commit myself to trying to build a proper relationship? Yes, I was an adult, yes I wanted one, but I hadn’t even read a book on the subject!

“I- I uh, I really want to.” I said, Scoot’s ears falling sadly instantly. “But I don’t know how to have a relationship. I don’t know what exactly to do or say… I love you too, and I don’t want to hurt you.”

Scoots sad ear droop turned into a light smile. “Oh you silly, come here.”

She grabbed my chair and drug me over so she could hug me tightly to her side. “You just be affectionate and be yourself. That’s it.”

“That’s it?” I asked, leaning my head against her shoulder.

“Mhm.” She confirmed.

“Oh… Well, in that case, yes.” I agreed cheerfully.

“I love you, ya silly genius.” Scoots said giving me a squeeze.

“I love you too.” I replied, still happily leaning.

That’s when the chorus of “Awwww!” Filled the room, I remembered we were at a party, and I realized that I had just done my first romancing in front of a sizeable audience.

I could feel the blush burning my face as I shyly levitated a tablecloth over Scoots and I to hide before the embarrassment reached fatal levels.

9 The Dust of Ages

Lily - 2nd of Midsummer ‘15 EoH - Midnight

The party wound down just before midnight. Once I got into the swing of things, the actually rather pleasant party managed to make me completely forget about Lyra and our possible Windigo.

It wasn’t until Scoots gave me a goodnight kiss and flew off with a happy grin, leaving me alone on the massive deck-roof next to my new home that I remembered there was quite possibly a very rare and dangerous creature below me right now.

I’d heard legends of Windigos. They are real creatures, everypony who study’s magic or monsters knows that. They are largely mythical due to being more rare than an architect and an engineer agreeing on how to design a building, but they exist.

Windigo are something of a puzzle for the Thaumaturgists. A living ball of magical energy, constantly draining heat from the world to sustain itself. That’s all I really knew about them. I had a friend who knew more, her thesis paper ‘Legends, Lore, and Truth: Postulations on Windigo Ergonology’ proved she knew way more about it then me.

Or was at least able to get away with being pretentious as all hell. It's hard to say. The field of Ergonology is not very big. It’s hard to study energy based life when your one known example seems to be almost always hostile and too rare to easily find.

She found one once. Managed to collect the data for her thesis. She doesn't have front legs anymore. Not flesh and blood ones at least.

If I had been one year more advanced in my studies I could have regrown them for her. But that’s not how the cards fell. She found a Windigo, it quote ‘froze them off’ unquote, she wrote her thesis, got automail, and then graduated before me and vanished.

Leaving me at the present, sitting on my roof, afraid of losing a limb via what had to be the most painful way possible, and considering begging Twilight for absolutely anyplace else.

But there was a problem with that line of thinking. It felt cowardly. I like to think I’m a sensible pony. Not the fool who rushes in, nor the coward who never makes a move, a sensible pony who does the right thing. If I fled, then somepony else would have to deal with this.

Even worse, this was a good building! Large, spacious, I could run more than a clinic here. I could make a proper hospital! Not a big one, but this was large enough where I could have a few apprentices one day who also worked as Biomancers here. There was room to build, to grow, to thrive!

I couldn’t run with that on the line! That would be cowardly beyond measure.

“Two minutes thirty three seconds!” Lyra’s voice exclaimed eagerly from just over my shoulder.

“Ahh!” I yelped, turning in a mini-panic to find the minty mare standing a few feet behind me, dressed in a light armor of some sort.

It was based around a simple black undersuit, fur tight, like a diver’s suit. The armored portions were a minty green, her own color but darker. It sort of looked like she was dressed in half of a changeling’s exoskeleton, with saddlebags tossed over her back.

“Sorry. This suit’s stealth enchanted, and has sound dampening materials for the hoof-caps.” Lyra apologized.

“Horse apples!” I objected. “You teleported!”

Lyra giggled. “Oh man I wish I could teleport! I can’t wrap my head around that spell though… It’s a bit complex for me.”

“Ah… Well, at least you came prepared.” I said pointing to her armor. “What is that, exactly?”

Lyra grinned and nodded towards the courtyard with an expression that indicated we should go to it. “What, this old thing? It’s my pre-Luna’s friend armor. Unfortunately Luna keeps our good gear in her personal armory, so I keep this around for my um… Personal utility.”

I nodded and started to descend the spiral staircase. “Ja, but what exactly is it?”

“Oh. It’s a diver’s suit enchanted to be self-repairing with an old exoskeleton my changeling friend molted. I got her to shift to match my size just before a molt and turn her exoskeleton into a super-tough polycarbonate and ceramic… Um… It’s super tough ultra light plating. And I also packed some gadgets into it.” Lyra explained finishing as we arrived in the courtyard.

Well, that was... Interesting.

“So um, she’s okay with you wearing her old ‘skin’ so to speak?” I asked morbidly.

Lyra rolled her eyes. “This is a mare who when we and some other friends were stuck up in the tundra, realized we had infinite food because we cared for her enough to regenerate every day. So she shifted parts of herself into plants and then just cut them off so we could eat. Meep’s super utilitarian.

“Heck, using one of her exoskeletons was her idea. I was going to get Steel to forge me something. Uh, back on topic though; that tundra trip, that’s where my Windigo knowledge comes from. It’s also why I’ve got armor on, for stealth reasons. How good are you at sneaking?”

I winced. That was all the answer she needed.

“Good thing I brought some spare hoofcaps.” Lyra said to herself a she levitated four black boot-like bits of cloth from her bags. “Stick them on. They will prevent your hooves from making sound.”

I nodded and slipped the small hoof only coverings on. Just before I was about to ask how they would stay on, I felt each cap magically adhere to my hooves. “I take it you have to intentionally take these off?” I asked.

Lyra nodded.

“What about if we need to talk?” I asked curiously.

“No worries. I have a spell for that.” Lyra said with a dismissive hoof wave. “Right, so you’re a healer type. Do you have anything that can heal injuries quickly or does everything take you a month or so?”

Ah I see, she was wondering what good I would be in a fight. Good for her.

“I served as a city guard briefly. I may not have much mana, und I’m not too good with weapons, but I can fight.” I informed. “Not well mind, but I can protect myself.”

“That’s good, but I am more interested in your levels in cleric, not fighter.” Lyra said in a way to serious tone for something that nerdy.

I hadn't played Oubliettes and Ogres since freshmare year! The hay was a mare in her early prime doing playing a filly’s game?

“I can heal simple injures quickly, ja.” I said blankly.

Lyra frowned a bit. “Sorry if that sounded insulting… Right so here’s the plan, Cole takes point, I back her up, you stay on our plots and zap the cuts and bruises away. Sound okay?”

“I’ll be honest, it would sound better if you hadn’t just treated it like a Oubliettes and Ogres game.” I admitted, rubbing the back of my head with a hoof.

Lyra rolled her eyes. “You sound just like a Royal Guard. ‘Ma’am you can’t possibly have learned anything from a game,’ they say, ignoring the fact they use wargames for training exercises, and that Oh and Oh is literally a small unit tactics simulator.”

“Er- well, be that as it may, it feels...wrong, to make a parallel between a real dangerous situation, und a game.” I said defensively.

“You’ll change your mind in a while.” Lyra smirked. “Trust me, with Vi as your DM, the game is basically a simulator, not a game. Which is awesome! Satisfies the adventuring urge nicely. Now, while we wait…”

Lyra hopped over to my side and sat down. Incredibly weirdly at that. She sat with her plot touching the ground, her spine vertical, and her legs in front of her crossed into a sort of x with her hooves on opposite sides.

“That, can’t be comfortable...” I remarked instinctively.

Lyra blushed a little. “Um, actually at this point, it kinda hurts to sit pony-style. Anyways-”

She levitated a small black leather book out of her saddlebag. “Here she is!” Lyra informed passing it to me to inspect.

I took the book with my magic and levitated it in front of me, turning it to inspe- Oh.

If this was pony-made, it was certainly one of a kind, and very expensive to make. The leather wasn’t leather. It looked like leather, felt like leather, but it was definitely not made of dead cells. This was some sort of synthetic material, perhaps a superfine plastic thread woven into a ultra-tight mesh and then laminated. Or maybe some sort of latex.

Whatever it was, it was some of the best synthetic leather I’ve ever seen. It beat the faux leather dress I’d gotten as a gift in college by miles!

It also was not a paper book. But well, Lyra had said it was a device so I should have expected it not to be parchment. Though it wouldn’t have been the first enchanted animated book I’d ever seen. On the inside, the ‘book’ had two brushed metal panels that had that sort of silvery brushed look of aluminum, except for the center of each ‘page’ which was a jet black pane of glass, like an empty photo frame that had been polished into almost a mirror.

“Well, this isn’t like anything I’ve seen before.” I admitted honestly.

“Don’t believe it’s not pony made though?” Lyra asked. “That’s fine. Take your hoof and chip or scratch the glass.”

I blinked and turned to look at her. Her face looked completely serious.

“Are you sure?” I asked.

Lyra rolled her eyes, then suddenly drew back her hoof and punched the left screen dead center! The glass spiderwebbed into a thousands seperate pieces, shattering and- and… not leaving the frame.

Instead it quickly melted, flowed back together and reformed into a single sheet of material again. Completely new looking. As if it had never broken. Without a single trace of thaumaturgic current.

“Huh…” I said with a frown, leaning to inspect the pane closely.

“Now, could ponies make that?” Lyra asked.

“Nein.” I concluded. “If that had radiated some mana, ja, but… I don’t think our tech is that good.”

“It’s not.” Lyra confirmed. “I’ve seen glass that can fix tiny scratches that was ponymade when you leave it in the sun, but that’s it. You can snap that entire tablet in two, hold the bits together and it’s good as new. She always fixes herself.”

“Alright, I‘m inclined to believe you. As far as this is not a pony-made device.” I said acceptingly. “But as for your idea about ‘humans’, show me what you got.”

Lyra smiled, took a stylus out of her bags and gently tapped the glass with it. “Hooves won’t work. It’s gotta be something conductive. Because she was designed for fingers.” Lyra said as the black screens suddenly brightened to a still black, but glowing faintly sort of black.

A moment later a blue circular logo flickered into existence on the righthoof page. The logo was sort of like a letter o inside of another letter o with little tick marks at odd angles around each o that rotated around the center point of both o’s.

“Good evening, Ms. Heartstrings.” A odd female voice said, coming from the device itself.

“Hey Spice!” Lyra greeted, “Could you-”

“Wait! hold it! Are you a person?” I asked, leaning forward to inspect the ‘book’ much much more closely.

“No, unknown equine, I am Terran Systems Inc’s Simple Personality Interface, Civilian Edition, or S.P.I.C.E. I serve to facilitate the operation of this Terran Systems Inc Mark Seven Personal Media Device.” Spice replied. “Please remain quiet while my owner, Ms. heartstrings, utilises my functions.”

“Yeah, don’t interrupt. She gets confused very easily… Human tech and Twilight’s translation spells don’t get along well.” Lyra said insistently. “Spice, can you tell me my current location?”

“You are currently standing eighty six point three five kilometers bearing two hundred and eight point one three degrees from the Imperial Palace on Terra. WARNING: This is a restricted zone. For your safety, please leave the Palace defensive zone.” Spice warned.

I raised an eyebrow and looked at Lyra. She winked back.

“Spice, what is Terra?” Lyra asked.

“Terra is the homeworld of Terrans, also known as Humans in some more traditional circles. Terra is the center of the Terran Empire. It is also known by the following unofficial names: Earth, Monde, and Erde due to linguistic differences. NOTICE: Using any name other than Terra on official documents is punishable by a five thousand credit fine.” Spice informed.

Lyra nodded, “See? This girl thinks she’s on another world entirely. An older one. One I dug her up from.”

“This unit is functioning properly, Ms. Heartstrings. Your insistence as to this planet not being Terra are worrying. Please seek psychiatric help. Xeno friendly clinics are within three hundred kilometers of your location.” Spice informed as Lyra closed her and slipped her back into the bag.

“So, how about now?” Lyra asked smugly.

“I’m inclined to believe you.” I replied.

There was more to that however… “That said, if you are right, I do not see it impacting my life much if at all.” I admitted.

Lyra looked a bit hurt, but nodded and gave me a sigh. “Yeah that’s the problem… All the truth does in this case is change our cultural narrative. Which is why nopony cares…”

“I care.” Another pony’s voice said from in front of us!

My ears stood up in alarm, my heartbeat sped up, and I readied my magic, horn blazing as I calculated whether to fire blind or throw up a shield.

Then the air in front of me faded into the shape of a blue mare with a blue and white mane.

“Hey Cole!” Lyra said happily.

I took a deep, relieved breath. “Oh thank Faust! Why would you do that?” I begged.

“Do what?” Cole asked with a look of serious confusion.

“Uh, you didn’t intend to be invisible?” Lyra asked, one ear drooping.

Cole facehooved. “Ugh! Sorry! I can’t believe it’s taking me this long to remember I have to remember to be visible…”

“Um, what?” I asked.

Ponyville was apparently a land of pure confusion. Oh no! That’s why Scoots warned me to ‘forget it Lily, it’s Ponyville.’ The town was a weirdness magnet!

Cole blushed lightly. “Uh, well… I’m half windigo. After I figured out how my powers worked well… It- It’s not like unicorn magic. Like at all. So some things are hard. Like staying visible after I know how to turn invisible.”

“At least you’re not falling through floors anymore.” Lyra giggled.

“Yeah, thank Celestia for that.” She said with a pained smile.

“Half?” I asked. “Didn’t you say that she was a windigo? How do you even become half an energy based lifeform?”

Cole’s ears drooped. “Um… Well, you don’t. But most ponies don’t know that about us so you know they think we have normal flesh bodies. I say I’m half windigo because then I’m not instantly a monster. I’m the child of some poor mare who well, encountered a windigo. So instead of grabbing torches and pitchforks I’m treated kindly.

“Also uh… I literally didn’t know myself till a month ago. I- I‘m a pony. Inside, you know? I don’t act like they do. At all.”

Lyra nodded. “One hundred and twenty percent true right there.” She shuddered. “Ugh! Your birth mom was horrifying.”

Cole winced and then turned to look at the doors. “Yeah so, this is the place huh?”

I took a second to compose myself and nodded. “Ja. Scootaloo and I encountered, um, whatever we encountered just inside the doors. Right in front of a grand staircase in the lobby.”

I turned to face the doors, bolstered a bit by the fact that I had two famous adventurers interested in checking it out.

Still, there was the major question of, “how safe is it to go in there blind?”

“Not at all safe,” Lyra answered with a grin. “That’s why I called Cole over. So she can scope it out first.”

Admittedly, that was a professional response, but... “Okay, but how safe is that? Und also how do we know whatever it is can’t hide from her?”

Cole chuckled. “This isn’t the first time we’ve done this. It’ll be fine.”

“I just don’t want to have to regenerate somepony’s legs.” I nervously explained.

“I lost my left hoof once.” Lyra remarked. “I can tell you from experience that I’ll be okay if that happens to me. I reacted in the proper manner to the injury.”

“The hay you did!” Cole said, face stretching into a huge grin.

A huge grin full of literally perfect teeth! Holy cow! She had to be obsessed with oral hygiene to a-

Right! Lyra said her day job was dentistry. Duh. Wait, if she was tangible energy, she could just will her teeth to look perfect… Her body was basically an illusion spell, I think?

There is never a library when and where you need one.

Hold on, she’d said something. What was it? Oh yes!

“How did she react?” I asked wanting to know for the sake of me being the closest pony to provide medical attention. “Also, who healed your hoof?”

“I did.” Lyra said nonchalantly. “I poured a healing potion on both stumps and stitched it back on. Good as new! Also Bonbon likes the scar. Say’s it’s totally badflank.”

I turned to look at Cole, searching for the story. She gave me a knowing nod.

“We were investigating the Everfree back when the Timberwolf population started to skyrocket.” Cole began. “One bit off her hoof just above the joint in an ambush, so we fell back to a nearby logger’s cabin-”

“Hey! This is my story!” Lyra objected.

Cole rolled her eyes, “Go ahead.”

“Anyways, I couldn’t let that alder-nosed colonoscopy bag keep my hoof.” Lyra said resuming the story. “It was a matter of pride, principal, and really not wanting a prosthetic limb because no doctor alive would let me have a hand.” Her eyes narrowed. “I’m talking about you, Sky!”

Her normal face popped back into existence as she continued. “Now, there are two normal reactions to being grievously injured. Panic, which is the bad one, and seek medical attention, which is the Good one. I chose the Lyra one, and wrapped my stump with an old shirt from the cabin to staunch the bleeding, applied a tourniquet, modded a chainsaw, attached it to the stump, went back out into the woods, cut that Timberwolf open, got my hoof back, and rubbed its nose it’s own mulchy intestines!” She finished with a serious, and also crazy gleam in her amber eyes.

“W-I… Really?” I asked, ears laying flat.

“Yep.” Cole confirmed.

“Best day of my life!” Lyra insisted. “I even got to use a bucket list one-liner.”

“So um, I take it you’re not afraid of the potential danger?” I asked, hoping to get back on topic, my apprehensions being almost completely allayed.

“Not one bit!” Lyra announced, taking a look towards the upper floors. “So Cole, how about you go through the wall about there and-”

“Wait, what was the one-liner?” Cole asked with a confused face.

“It was ‘Groovy’.” Lyra replied, looking a little annoyed at having been interrupted.

“How is groovy a one-liner?” Cole and I demanded together.

Lyra sighed and facehooved. “It’s… I… Bonnie got it! Look, let’s just get on with this. There’s something interesting in there!”

Cole nodded and gave the two of us a grin as she faded back to nothingness. This time I could see a few flickers of thaumaturgic current as she vanished, but only while she faded. Once she was gone there was nothing to be seen. Not even with a unicorns extra senses.

“She’s good.” I mused optimistically.

Something thumped into the hotel's door!

“Ow! Damnit!” Cole cursed. “I guess I forgot to go intangible… My bad.”

A second thump echoed through the courtyard.

“Um… I’ll try the wall.” Cole announced. Then a split second later. “Nope. This building is phase-proof. Somehow.”

“Thought so.” Lyra said with a sage nod as she trotted over to the wall. “Right, I’m going to chip a small hole in the wall and you squeeze through that.”

Lyra’s horn blazed gold for a few minutes as she attempted to use a few different spells on the wall a foot to the left of the left hoof door. As I waited for anything to happen, her face grew more and more irritated until suddenly with a blast of magic she vaporized a chunk of brick!

“Oh.” Lyra and Cole exclaimed an instant after shard of stone stopped flying dangerously close to everypony’s eyes.

“Some warning next time would be great!” I grumbled, blinking stone dust from my eyes.

“Sorry!” Lyra apologized.

“That’s a solid wall of steel in layed with quartz spell circuits, isn’t it?” Cole asked with a sigh.

“Yep.” Lyra confirmed. “Who built this place? Thestrals?”

“Nah,” Cole disagreed, “this isn’t nearly that overbuilt. Have you seen Pattern Steel’s house?”

“Point.” Lyra grunted.

“Wait, the walls are metal?” I asked curiously.

“Yeah!” Lyra exclaimed. “Good metal too. This isn’t steel. It’s too blue and silvery. Judging by how far I am from the doorframe and the apparent thickness of the doorway… We have a half-pony’s length of solid metal behind a veneer of rock. This is overkill even for an old Guard defense post… That’s what it was before a Hotel, right?”

Cole nodded. “That’s what I heard too. But yeah, warded alloy steel walls… That can keep me out. Could be an old Tribunal base?” She mused.

“Eh, maybe… But they supposedly told the EUP all of their bases locations when they were defeated wayback when. This is their style though. Especially with how much mana these wards must burn every day and how long it’s been empty… That efficiency rating is on par with their advanced Thaumaturgy.” Lyra said, debating herself internally. “Well… If a few Ruby changelings could run this place as a hotel for twenty years, any traps the Tribunal set in it must be gone. It’s likely a fallback position somepony forgot to demolish or appropriate.”

I couldn’t help but feel like I needed to read more local history. “Could somepony give me the short version of what the Tribunal is?”

“A supremacist group left over from pre-Celestia times.” Cole answered. “They were some sort of shadow government until around nine hundred years ago when they were exposed. If I’m remembering my history right Celestia took them down, executed the leaders, but let their troops change sides if they wanted.”

Lyra nodded. “Yeah… Basically they were dark magic types who wanted to put unicorns back in charge of everypony. The modern Equestrian black ops force called Trident is descended from their members who defected. Because you don’t waste excellent spies and stuff.”

“Thanks, I should read some local history.” I decided. “But for now, do we have a plan b?”

Lyra nodded. Her horn flashed gold for a moment. “Okay, everypony, for the next twenty minutes only the three of us can hear each other. They can still hear things we do, so keep quiet. Lily did you lock the door when you ran out?”

Oh. My. Faust. I hadn’t! I didn’t even close the door! I just sprinted like mad, and now here I was, door closed…

“Your face says no… And that you left the door open.” Lyra said in concord.

She reached over and tried the door, then shook her head. “Locked. Hopefully a security feature. Lily, open her up. Cole, you head in first… If you can.”

I stepped forwards to unlock the door, reaching for the key with my magic and stepped directly into a patch of the most intense icy cold to ever exist on Equis!

“Oops, sorry, let me step out of you.” Cole said as the coldness went away.

“T-t-t-thh-thanks.” I stammered, deciding to just tough through it.

“Upside, you know what it feels like if a windigo touches you now.” Lyra said. “You’ll be able to warn us.”

I nodded and unlocked the door, pushing it open and stepping out of the way so I wouldn’t have my spine suddenly soaked in liquid nitrogen again!

The door creaked open. A cold draft blew out of the dark, dusty interior. By the dim light of the dying lightgems I could make out the still dropped box of cereal, sitting in the half-hoof deep dust.

A odd silhouette shape glowed briefly in the doorway. Cole hissed in pain. “Ah! Okay. No. I can’t go through that… Ow…”

Lyra’s eyes widened slightly, “Are you actually hurt?”

“Maybe… Felt like getting my nose sandpapered.” She muttered. “I… I don’t like this. You go in. I’m waiting here for one hour. If you’re not back by then, I’m getting everypony to go in after you.”

That was an excellent plan! I was happy to be a part of it.

“Gut!” I exclaimed. “ Here, take the key so-”

“No, keep it. You may need it for inside doors.” Cole said urgently. “It will be fine. Octavia can pick locks.”

Lyra nodded and stepped into the entryway, then slowly passed through the door, frowning as she moved. “Oh yeah, it’s unnaturally cold in here… Come on Lily, watch my back.”

“You girls be careful.” Cole warned as I walked inside just behind Lyra.

The entryway was exactly as I remembered it. Dark oak floors, grand staircase heading up to the wrap around balcony. Gray stone walls with the top halves covered in white marble. Dark orangish wood floors covered in an age’s worth of dust.

Lyra gently stepped over to the box of cereal and bent down to look at it. Inspecting it in a critical manner before nodding to herself. “No strings attached… And nopony picked it up. Ah, see this?”

I stepped forwards to see what Lyra was pointing too. A hooffull of cereal was scattered around the box, looking as if it had crumbled partially to dust.

“Yes. Somepony stepped on this.” I said then blinked. “Wait, there’s no hoofprints in the dust!”

“Mhm.” Lyra sighed. “It’s a windigo. It drained heat from the cereal, which made it shatter. This confirms it, they only ‘eat’ matter when hungry. Odd that it chose food though. Instead of say, that door handle.”

“They could eat that?” I asked as Lyra stood up and headed for a set of open double doors to our right.

“Yeah. Or at least, Cole can. I get why she still eats normal food pony style. I mean, she did it that way for her whole life. But I have seen her turn a table to frost and wood dust.” Lyra mused, carefully peeking around the corner before heading in. “There’s a chance that this one may be visible. It’s hungry, so it may not want to burn the energy to stay invisible.”

I nodded, if they did take more energy to remain unseen than seen, that was reasonable. Also good for us.

The room Lyra and I stepped into was a large dining room. The floor dipped down leaving a raised portion all the way around the room with a fireplace at one end. Two tables covered in the dry rotted remains of pink tablecloths and dust formed the place where ponies must have once sat and dined.

“If there is a windigo trapped in here, how did the hotel function?” I asked, the thought occurring to me.

Lyra paused, then turned to face me with a grim smile. “Lily, you’re a genius! But your point makes this a million times worse…”

“How?” I asked, a sneaking suspicion forming in my mind.

“Because it means there is either a hidden room where it was trapped for years… Or it’s been trapped here recently. Meaning um…” Lyra gave me a hurt look. “If someone brought a windigo into Ponyville, we have a huge problem. Hopefully it’s not that. If there isn’t a hidden room where one has been trapped because of the crazy wards… Lily, somepony died in here.”

I took a step back in shock.

“Windigoes can’t enter, or leave due to the wards.” Lyra clarified. “Meaning somepony would have to intentionally have let one in. Making one getting trapped here unlikely. So there’s either a hidden room in an old Tribunal base, a very very bad thing… Or Somepony got in here, became trapped and… There’s no pleasant way to say this…” Lyra groaned. “Windigos are born when a pony is cannibalized… Whether by themselves, or by another… And um… Sometimes the pony can live. Assuming the windigo that forms in their body, and then possesses the corpse doesn't drain all of their body heat in their first hunger… Or that the pony doesn't bleed out…”

“Uhhhh… So that means that Cole-”

Lyra threw up a hoof to cut me off. “She refuses to tell me. Her adoptive parents are monster hunters, they raised her from a young filly… To see if they could civilize one. We are not talking about my best friend’s origins. Skip it!”

I nodded. “Okay. Dropped.”

That wasn’t a topic to push, even if I wanted to actually know myself...

“My point is, a tragedy happened here… If we don’t find a skeleton or bone dust in here, we need to look for a hidden room. Windigoes may be, horrific, and they are predators, but they in some cases can be people. I can’t imagine being trapped and hungry for… Oh Luna, the thing could have been stuck in a hidden cupboard for almost a thousand years.”

I winced. That was very uncomfortable… The thought of being trapped in one small space for multiple lifetimes. I couldn’t stay sane.

“You sure you want this building?” Lyra asked as she started to inspect the room.

“It’s not the building’s fault bad things happened in it.” I answered, peering under the tables.

“Odd way to handle things. Most ponies I know would tear down a house a murder happened in.” Lyra mused.

“Ja, well, if Germanes thought that way, we would have to rebuild almost every public building.” I answered, seeking conversation to distract me from the creeping horror.

Oh Faust! What if somepony got trapped in a hidden cupboard and grew so hungry that-

“Uh, we need to talk about absolutely anything. Please! “ I begged, giving Lyra my most pleading of pleading looks.

Lyra winced, “Ack… Sad Bon-bon face! You don’t need to do that, I’d like to not think about the details too. Uh, oh hey, so back in oh-two, my friends and I wanted to get Meep and Cole to hook up.

“You see, Cole had been crushing on the bug for, like, literally her whole teen and adult life. At the time we didn’t know that Meep was a Changeling, and we also thought Cole was a pony. This was about oh… Thirteen years ago. Long time.

“But anyways we worked out a plot where I rigged it so we won the contest to be Princess Cadence’s Bridesmaids. We thought we could use the romantic backdrop to do some good old fashioned relationshipping.”

Lyra kept talking for the entire time we searched the old building. She told the story expertly, only pausing when we had to take a moment to slowly peek our heads into each room to check it over for well, a body.

It was nice to have the distraction. I didn’t know much Equestrian history, and apparently their plan to make their friends hook up was interrupted by Queen Chrysalis’s first invasion of Equestria. I was stunned at how incompetent Lyra described her as. The Demon Queen of the Swarm definitely had gotten more cruel and effective over the years, though I still wasn’t sure sure how I felt about my part in Chrysalis’s demise.

The next few minutes were a mix of Lyra’s story, my wishing I had done more in the actual fight instead of just healing ponies afterwards, and briefly letting Cole know we were fine when we had to go to the outer balcony to check the hotel rooms, just incase they were where… it was.

Nothing.

Each room was empty.

No body. No windigo. Just eery silence, dark rooms, a few old dresses, and dying light gems.

Lyra and I trotted back into the lobby. “-after that, Meep managed to prove her real identities to Twilight, who got a letter to Celestia who in turn got her Equestrian citizenship as her real Changeling self. Just in time before the anti-changeling witch hunts started up.

“I’m glad the lovebugs are welcomed in Equestria now. Took a good four years before they could be seen in public without being attacked, regardless of hive… But now, well, equality for all really means all.”

“I suppose that includes this windigo then?” I asked through morbid curiosity.

“Yes. If she’s not hostile. Under the most recent Sapient Species Act, regardless of species, any thinking creature who is not a danger can live here.” Lyra said casually, then sighed. “Though there are still plenty of ponies who don’t care about the laws… Like the Tribunal did, lots of ponies out there would like to change things.

“Man I hate exploring their old ruins…” Lyra lamented.

“Ja…” I nodded.

We had checked every room. There was nothing here. Nothing obvious. There had to be a hidden room someplace.

“All the dimensions add up…” Lyra groaned. “Length, width, height… No possible hidden room bigger than a dish cupboard. Meaning we have one of my least favorite things.”

“What’s that?” I asked, frowning in concern.

“A building this big and heavy has to have a substructure to help hold it up. There’s got to be a basement. Seen a stairwell going down in here?” Lyra asked bitterly.

Oh… Oh this did not bode well. Not at all. Not one bit.

When I had been twelve, I got lost in my family’s basement…

“Oh… Yay…” I fearfully moaned.

“Well, let’s do this.” Lyra sighed walking off towards the door which led to the kitchen.

“Why the kitchen?” I asked, following after a moment’s hesitation.

“Not kitchen, pantry.” Lyra muttered. “You don’t hide a stairway or ladder someplace just anypony could stumble across it. Ever wonder why bookcase doors aren’t really a serious thing? Ponies casually pick up books. We put coats and hats on pegs… If you have a hidden entrance it goes someplace few ponies will go.”

That made perfect sense. I wished it didn’t. Nothing good could come of a hidden basement. All of the horror movies with creepy sex-maniac killers have hidden basements!

Lyra walked through the kitchen and opened the small door to enter the pantry. The dust still bore our prints from walking through it last time. I nervously eyed the rows of shelves and cabinets that filled the small room, checking to see if any of the scattered boxes, bags, and bottles had moved. Checking to see if there was some sign the windigo was stalking us.

Nothing.

At this point, the nothing was getting more terrifying than any something could ever be. I wanted a monster to leap out of a wall! I wanted plates to fly across the room in an explosion of pottery! Give me something I can see! Let me know where it is!

Lyra started to check the walls near the door. Wanting to move out of her way, but still have a clear line of sight to the door so I could bolt, I backed into the corner of the room directly opposite the doorway, pressing myself firmly against the wall so Lyra could have room to wor-

A sharp click split the air as my rear left knee depressed a patch of wall.

Hidden machinery beneath the floor groaned, shaking off the sleep of the ages to whir to life. The center of the room dropped down a few hooves, smoothly sliding into a recess in the floor beside it, opening a one pony wide hole the length of the floor, with just the doorway wide strip to use as a landing.

White stone steps slid upwards, grinding slightly as they moved, forming stairs that plunged down into the inky black depths, until with a click and a humm the stairwell was illuminated by a large lightgem at the bottom, flickering, dying white light flooding the newly revealed oak wall paneled stairwell.

Lyra hissed. “Luna’s mane… If it didn’t know we were here before, it does now… We better move.”

“Out of here?” I asked, voice just a little squeaky.

“No, down. We’re here to scout. This is a very expensive way to hide your basement… We need to know.” Lyra said as she took a piece of chalk from her bag, marked the button with an x and wrote 'press for basement, Lyra', then quickly started to descend the stairs.

I hesitated a moment, bit my lip, did my best to push fear aside, then followed her down the stairs.

The steps descended maybe fifty feet in a straight line then came to a sharp righthoof turn. I noticed a button on the wall at the bottom of the stairs as we turned the corner and let out a relieved sigh. At least we wouldn’t be trapped here.

The floor underhoof was made of steel. An odd choice, especially since it was burnished to a dull shine, and the dim flickering lights reflected off the floor. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if the lights were not flicking like they were on the last dregs of mana…

We came quickly to another right hoof turn, where the one pony wide path became a two pony wide steel stepped staircase… And the walls oak paneling stopped and some odd green ceramic tile covering began to replace it.

Lyra and I descended the ‘cut out as if by a chisel steps. The staircase seemed to go on forever. One straight line. No bends.

“So… One deep basement…” I nervously joked.

“I see floor.” Lyra announced with an urgent ‘stay ready for anything’ tone.

Forty five seconds of stairs. To get to the basement. With every single step, the temperature fell noticeably, I could see my breath midway down the stairs. This so did not bode well…

We stepped out into the dark, only barely lit room at the base of the stairs. Whatever other details and features the room had instantly became irrelevant. You’d never see them. Not with what sat recessed in the far wall.

“Well…” Lyra said, ears drooping fearfully. “Buck…”

“Ja,” I agreed, “buck…”

There sat in the wall, a three pony wide circular, magically reinforced, pure steel, frost covered, vault door.

10 The plot thickens

Lyra Heartstrings - 2nd of Midsummer ‘15 EoH - Midnight

I had exactly five seconds to gawk at the seriously massive iced over door before the dull rumble of gears echoed off the stair well. Lily yelped, jumping a full foot into the air, even wheeling around. Poor girl. There’s a difference between serving in the guard and tomb raiding.

“Don’t worry about it,” I soothed. “It’s just the stairwell closing.”

“But what if we can’t get out?” Lily asked, giving me a ‘starting to panic’ state of hopelessness.

Oh boy… That budding panic would probably get us into trouble.

“Calm down. There was a button at the bottom of the steps,” I soothed again, putting a hoof on her shoulder. “I marked the button on the top. We have backup coming in… About twenty minutes if we are not back out with Cole by then. It’s fine. Everything’s fine. We’re fine. How are you?”

“Thank you.” Lily sighed in relief. “I forgot about your frien-”

She stopped mid word, eyes shrinking in a baffled confusion as she stared off at a point over my left shoulder. ”Was? Why is there a guitar in the corner?”

I turned around, instantly spotting a thestral style Stratosurfer propped up lovingly in the darkest corner of the room. It was old, beat up, with a faceplate scarred from countless strikes of a pick. So old the original color had flaked off the body, leaving behind only a few pink and blue flecks of paint on the worn spruce body.

Tartarus, bits of the arcane amp were poking through worn down spots on the face… This had been used well past it’s warranty, that was for sure.

It also presented a bit of a problem... Thanks to Octavia, I knew a bit about instruments. “That’s very weird,” I agreed. “Especially because this design is only fifty years old.”

“Perhaps… Perhaps someone who visited the hotel left it behind?” Lily mused.

“If somepony found this vault door, it would have been reported.” I said shaking my head. “Also that means Luna would have known about it, and she would have set this up as a base for the Night Guard. No, the windigo had to have moved this here. But why?”

To set a trap, obviously.

“Don’t touch it.” I ordered firmly.

“Ja, Ich werde nicht zu tun buchse scheiße!” Lily exclaimed, taking a step back from the guitar.

I blinked unsure of what that particular Germane was for. I only knew a smattering of the language. “Uh, come again?”

“I said, I’m not going to touch anything at all.” She translated.

Huh, and here I thought she said she would not poop on it. Lyra, your Germane is worse than you think...

Right, let’s plan this. Don’t waste time and what might be limited oxygen. Oh, yeah... Better not tell Lily that we possibly have limited air down here with that stairwell closed.

“First thing’s first,” I began. “It knows we're down here. Those stairs were loud. We don’t split up for any reason. Second thing, if ether of us are in trouble, scream out my name, not help. Why? Because it could scream help mimicking one of our voices as a trap.

“The bad news is from what I’ve seen, their powers very a lot, but they only have a small number of things. So aside from limited flight, invisibility, intangibility, the equivalent of excellent physical conditioning, and a versatile energy attack, I have no idea what it might be able to do. Example, Cole can shapechange, freeze things super quickly, and mimic simple unicorn spells. Her ‘mom’ by which I mean the windigo that was supposed to raise her, could light things on fire out to a hundred meters…”

“So we have no way of knowing how it might attack us, und we are right in it’s lair?” Lily asked face filling with fear, then to my great interest, shifting to a grim determination. “Okay. What can hurt it?”

“Energy.” I said simply. “A punch wont do crap to one. There’s nothing to hurt, no anatomy. But since they are living magic, if you sent a good jolt of thaumaturgic current through them, that hurts! Cold’s also excellent. If you can make ice, your golden, try to freeze it or even just pelt it with snowballs. Most unicorn fillies I know learn to conjure-”

Lily nodded. “Ja, I did that as a colt.”

Oh. My. Luna.

I felt my eyes widen then shrink. “I’m so sorry, are you male?”

Lily nodded. “Ja.”

Right Lyra, update your brain pronoun list… Okay, there we go. Now delete that readied ‘Oh my gosh the new neighbor is so cute, you need to meet her!’ speech you had ready for Bon-bon… Right, all good!

“Sorry about that,” I apologized. “Okay, so you can do snowballs. That will help.”

It would help about as much as giving a potion of speed to Rainbow Dash, but well, if it was hungry enough, and with how cold it was here, maybe that would be enough to kill it.

“Oh, nein, nein, nein!” Lily exclaimed shaking his head. “I may not be a Thaumaturgist, but the transference of thermal energy is first year study at my alma mater. I can do more than a snowball. But uhh, but not for long… I’ve got a small reserve.”

I nodded, opened my bags with my magic and tossed him a Manabar.

“Danke.” Lily thanked stashing it in his own saddlebags.

“So what can you do?” I asked curiously a I turned to study the door.

“Liquefy the air by moving all of the heat to another pocket of air.” He said simply.

I triple blinked. “Uh… How big is the AoE on that?”

That did not sound even remotely safe.

“A meter should be enough to give me ten shots before I’m empty.” Lily said after some thought.

Oh, that was much better!

“That should get that area cooled to about minus one eighty…” Lily mused to himself, tapping a hoof to chin in thought. “So the zone will draw in available heat almost instantly, returning the room a stable temperature due to the laws of Thermodynamics… Okay, ja, I can do this!”

I couldn’t help but crack a smile. The white colt was like an action-oriented Twilight with his determined ‘Science!™’ face.

“Right, let’s see about cracking this door open,” I said turning to inspect the door’s surface for any possible means of opening it the Lyra way.

“Uh, why?” Lily asked. “Shouldn’t we try to go back?”

“It will be expecting that. It’s probably lurking at the base of the steps for us to return. So we go into the vault,” I explained. “Besides, if this is like say, a bank vault, who knows what goodies might be lurking in it!”

Also, I’d really like to not fight a creature that can pass through objects in a pony-wide corridor.

My eyes scanned across the icy surface of the door. Maybe there was a crack, or a release lever hidden behind the sheet of ic-

“Ah ha!” I exclaimed spotting a narrow sliver of a crack in the door just left of the center point.

It was a pinprick of light. Literally the width of a sewing pen. If there wasn’t some source of light behind the door, I’d never have spotted it.

“What did you find?” Lily asked peering at where I was looking.

“Small crack in the door. Meaning that’s a weak point. Maybe a good lasering can get that crack to be a hole we can crawl through.” I said as I lit up my horn to try burning the gap wider.

“I don’t see anything,” Lily remarked. “You must have great eyesight.”

“Yep. Thanks to Bonnie.” I remarked, firing a thin golden laser into the crack.

“Does she also make eyesight improving candy?” Lily asked, watching me work.

“No, she’s a vampire. Bit me in her sleep.” I remarked.

“Um, what?” Lily asked. “But… You were in sunlight. No wait, how even-”

I sighed and rolled my eyes. I hated explaining this so much!

“Sunlight just shuts some powers off,” I grunted. “As for how, my friend Vinyl happened to have been a vampire for like, ever, and turned her wife Octavia so she wouldn’t outlive her. Then Octavia and Bon-bon got into an argument and Bon-bon unwisely decided to tell the aggravated fledgling vampire to ‘oh yeah, well bite me!’. So she did.

“Then a week later Bon-bon bit me in her sleep, and so Vinyl made us all stay at her Dad’s place for a few months until everypony was over the vampire version of adolescence so we didn’t turn the whole town. Got it?”

“So… You’re a vampire?” Lily asked.

“Yes.” I groaned.

“Und… You haven’t tried to drink my blood. Why?” He asked.

“You’re type O. I hate type O. Also not hungry. Also blood is only needed once per two weeks and I just get stuff from the hospital because I’m not a bucking feral monster.” I said, getting all aggravated as he refused to just drop the issue. It wasn’t a big bucking deal.

“I’m not O, I’m A negative.” Lily exclaimed angrily.

“The hay you are! I can smell you!” I objected, stopping the apparently futile cutting to turn and properly argue with this despicable-

Wait! What the buck am I doing? This isn’t me!

I took a deep breath and shunt my eyes. Yep, I could feel it. A deep pressure right behind the eyes, an electric tingle at the back of my head. That was a psionic attack. Mind magic. Clever girl.

I focused on a counterspell, horn blazing gold before I simply hosed the room with a burst of counterspelling noise.

“Alright, it can manipulate emotions,” I said, the pressure and tingle gone. “Joy… Also sorry.”

Lily bit her lip angrily. Buck! Had I not dispelled-

“Faust verdammt noch mal zu tartarus!” He shouted, gritting his teeth. “This always happens to me! Always! We are turning it into an icecube!”

“Glad to hear you’re onboard with the not-die plan!” I said cheerfully, sticking an eye up to the crack to peer through to try and-

“Oh… Okay.” I said, ears drooping. “Yeah no silent entry for us. This is a bucking pony thick!”

Lily nodded, his horn glowing blue as he summoned a ball of light. “Let’s find the handle then. Now that I think about it, I don’t want to fight a windigo in a narrow passage.”

I gave him a smile. “You know, I’m starting to like you.”

“Uhh, thanks, but I’m sort of seeing Scoots…” He admitted in that awkward first love sort of way.

I snickered. “I don’t think of colt’s like that. I meant as a friend.”

“Oh,” he said in a relieved tone.

He turned around and started to check out the wall behind him, which thanks to the orb of blue light, was now revealed in all it’s detail.

The room we were in was about the size of my bedroom. Tiled with those same odd green tiles, and had a large completely dead lightgem in each corner of the ceiling, with one almost dead one in the center. Aside from the door, the stairs, and the odd guitar in the corner, the only other thing present was a brass panel riveted to the right hand wall.

“Well, this is probably how you open it,” Lily remarked.

I managed to keep the venomous ‘you don’t say’ silent, and blasted another counterspelling aura through the room, just in case that wasn’t really my irritation.

“There’s a button und a keyhole…” He remarked. “You think the door key might work?”

It was a long shot. “Eh, mab-”

“Oh! There’s a key broke off in the lock.” Lily remarked, magic glowing briefly before an audible click echoed off the tiled walls. “Das- Er, that seems to be it. Should I press the button?”

The key being broken off in the lock did not bode well with me. Not at all. Not one bit. Not even one planck length.

There was extreme danger ahead. There was a monster. There was treasure. There was a dungeon.

I repressed doing a little happy dance. “Fifteen.” I said with a grin.

“Huh?” Lily asked turning to look over his shoulder at me.

“Rolled for initiative.” I remarked.

I quickly took my messenger stone from my bag and tapped it, “Colgate. Cole, we found a vault and are moving in. The way back is blocked by the enemy. Wish us luck.”

Nothing.

“Buck… The wards down here block magic from getting out in general. I guess that’s one way to keep a Windigo penned,” I sighed.

Too bad I didn’t think to bring a proper radio. Tech would probably still work… No wait, too far underground for radio.

“I’m opening it,” Lily informed, reaching up with a hoof and tapping the button.

The door creaked with the sound of rust scraping rust. Ice cracked and shattered as the entire door pulled back and away from the center, irising open as individual blade like slivers pulled back and rotated. As the blades parted I could see that the center of the door had been chipped and broken apart on the other side, making a cone shaped, crumbling away, recess ending in that last pinprick of light.

That was very concerning. I knew Cole’s true form was semi-solid. She could fit through a plate sized hole if she squeezed. This windigo could slip through much smaller places. And put a lot of energy into making this hole as small as possible...

That couldn’t be for food reasons. It would want out. It would know there was more to be had on the other side. It was like… Maybe it wanted to leave, but keep something else inside…

Oh bucking tartarus, please let that just be my imagination!

A series of bright lights over the doorway snapped on, revealing a steel walled tunnel heading maybe fifty meters to another large door. There was nothing to do but walk down the icey, but brightly lit passage.

“Stay close,” I instructed, stepping into the tunnel.

Lily nodded and followed along after me, wisely keeping his light spell floating above his head. Who knew if the weirdly intact lights would go out…

On the right side of the tunnel a few meters in, I spotted another brass panel. One button, one lever. Fortunately they were labeled. ‘Door Release’ and ‘Lock current position’.

I gave the lever a quick yank with my magic to the locked position.

“Good call,” Lily remarked.

“You said it sister,” I replied.

“... Brother.” Lily corrected.

“Sorry, sister is just a thing to call a pony you work with. It’s like the Griffonese ‘comrade’.” I apologized, noticing a door ahead and to the left.

“Oh, sorry.”

The door in the side wall was mostly iced over, but I could see it was made from oak timber, tightly fit boards. An odd choice for such an obviously expensive bunk-

Oh dear Luna we were in a bunker! An honest to god Tribunal Bunker! The troopers insisted they didn’t know any of the fallback headquarters. This could be the single worst mistake-

I spotted a sign at the far end of the tunnel, next to a button on yet another brass plate. It read ‘WARNING: Do not enter laboratory without protective equipment.’

Okay, good news. It wasn’t an HQ. Bad news. It was a lab. With a warning for-

“So um, that sign is a warning, und that door is labeled Equipment Room.” Lily pointed out mega helpfully.

“Oh good!” I exclaimed, turning and punching the iced over timbers with a telekinetic burst.

The door shattered like glass. Looks like someone had gotten hungry for door…

“Okay… It’s safe to say that nothing in there won't be frozen to shatterpoint. Know any wards?” I asked Lily hopefully.

He nodded. “Ja, I have a good shield spell.”

“What about passive protectio- oh! Is it a mobile shield?” I asked hopefully.

He shook his head no.

“Damn… Well, we brave it then. We will just have to chug some healing potions later, that’s all.” I lamented.

“Ja… Umm… Nein.” Lil said firmly, shaking his head. “We turn back, we freeze the entire path out, und we leave. I am not entering a hazmat suit area without a hazmat suit.”

I couldn’t really blame him for that.

Lily turned around and started to leave the tunnel. One step. Two… Then Three.

The lights faded to a dull red. A hiss like the death rattle of an old stallion echoed down the tunnel. The shards of ice pealed up off the floor like rose petals in the wind.

With a sound like ripping flesh the steel wall panels on the side of the tunnel we had entered peeled back, pulsing, dripping, blackish red tendrils pouring forth from the gaps, weaving a solid wall of flesh that blocked the exit before twisting and melting into a closed eye.

The eye opened.

The eye dilated.

The eye saw us.

The hissing became a dull pleased sounding rumble.

Lily wheeled around and sprinted for the door. “Bumsen alles und Lauf!” He screamed.

“Whatever you just said!” I scream-agreed in reflexive panic, smashing the door button with my telekinesis.

The other door hissed, screeching as the end of the tunnel sized square door pulled into the right side wall. Lily threw himself at the gap, wriggling through at a speed which would impress a lamia contortionist.

I jumped, passing through the door just as it cleared a pony’s width, and instantly falling down a short staircase to slide along the floor of a massive steel walled, floored, and ceilinged room.

I had no time to take anything in as the still opening door was smashed inwards. Ten tons of steel bending like taffy as a river of fleshy tendrils burst from the tunnel, spreading inwards across the wall, infecting each steel panel like a virus, making the metal rot like dead leaves!

“Food…” A deep, hateful, rumbling hissed.

Lily yanked me to my hooves with his magic, running into the center of the room, only to jump back in terror as the floor blistered upwards, popping as a putrid green ooze erupted from the wound in the floor.

This was so above my paygrade!

Oh bucking Luna, please don’t be real, please be an illusion, please oh please be an illusion!

Yes, that’s it Lyra, it’s an illusion. Find the windigo, ice it. It’s not actual transformed into this evil, it's all an illusion. Yes. Illusion. Hahaha!

The stairs ripped apart with a loud fibrous crunch, broken shards of metal arranging themselves into a mouth-

“There! Fire!” I screamed, immediately slicing a line along the stair-mouth with a blazing gold beam of light!

The room screamed! The infected, rotting, wall tendrils began to bleed!

Something slammed up from the floor, smashing the wind out of me. The floor flashed by, the wall, the ceiling. My skull rang as I smashed into the ceiling. My chest crumpled as I hit the floor a heartbeat later.

A second ear-shattering scream ripped through the room! The blood red light flickered white for the barest glimpse of a moment as a massive wave of cold assaulted my rear legs.

I was in too much pain to move. I just had to get the weakest powers… I could have been turned by Vinyl but nooo… I was stuck with regeneration that would keep me paralyzed here, helpless as the room itself devoured me whole.

“Sterben!” Lily shrieked. “Sterben! Sterben!”

The air was split by more screams, each punctuated by another blast of colder-than-ice air!

“Prey… Die… Consume… You!” The rumble hissed in rage and pain.

The lights flared to an intense unearthly red!

“Lyra!” Lily screamed

I bit my lip and pushed myself up off the ground, chest screaming in agony. Come on Lyra, suck it up. Rise above it. Make it back home to Bon-bon.

I managed to turn my head. I could see Lily now. Wrapped in a wad of black, icor oozing fleshy tendrils, being pulled slowly towards a pony shaped blob of flesh, coated in frost and large crystals of ice.

“Gotcha… plot… kid.” I groaned, putting half my energy into a single dense bolt of crackling lightning.

The bolt struck the flesh-blob, the scream ripped panels off the walls, thick black ooze pouring from the gaps like oil as electrical arcs raced around the floor, seeking anything conductive!

The tendrils vanished as if they had never been. Lily dropped to the flesh-infected rotten floor with a loud metallic thud. An impossible sound, unless-

“Illusion!” Lily exclaimed. “Oh you can just buck right off to Tartarus!”

His horn flashed blue, the air around the blob shimmered, thickened, and a wave of intense cold filled the room as the wendigo screeched again, the rotting walls, tendrils, and blistering puss patches vanishing like dust blown off a countertop.

The room was normal. Perfectly normal. And the sickly yellow pony shaped flame ball crackled weakly, laying on the floor as it crawled towards Lily, dragging it’self with one barely defined hoof.

“You’re … Weak… I… Can… See it… Fooood… Prey…” The windigo whispered.

“I said buck off!” Lily screamed, horn flashing again.

This time I saw the damage. The Windigo’s form pulled itself apart like pulling a lump of clay from a million places at once. It shrieked, the cry going dead silent half way through it’s scream as it’s body dissolved into embers, sparks, and then nothing.

Lily laughed then fall over onto his side. “Adrenaline… So… Much… Hahaha… Oh… Vögeln mich.”

I felt my skull knit itself back together. Man that was a weird feeling… Getting some stability back into my legs I staggered over to Lily and gently put a hoof on his neck. “Ah hay… Just sit there a bit… Heart attacks and other horse apples.” I grumbled, sitting down to let myself heal.

“Ja… Faust’s bloody mane…” Lily groaned. “This place is mine. I bucking earned it!”

I nodded. I’d have to report this, but if we thoroughly explored this bunker, and it was fine, I’d get Luna to let the kid keep it.

“Yeah. You can say that again.” I agreed. “You just saved my plot.”

“It didn’t have… A stake.” Lily grunted.

“Yeah, cause what wouldn’t that kill...” I chuckled. “Magic works too. We’re just hard to kill. Not impossible except one way… I’m nursing broken ribs right now. I’m not Vinyl or her dad, you can’t just stick my bits back together.”

“Oh.” Lily said in the tone of a pony who needed a drink and a nap.

I certainly bucking did at least. Nap, drink, Bon-bon. All at once, not in sequence. But there was still work to do.

Now that the room wasn’t a mass of demon tendrils and sickness, I could make it out easily. The huge chamber was divided into sections. There was a security door behind me, to my right was a pair of large rooms separated by a doorway that was built on the lower half of the bigger area, with the top half open to the air and made into some sort of lounge. To my left was too more rooms with a large staircase separating them. The top portion of those rooms was also open to the air, forming a balcony two upright liquid filled tanks sat on top of.

“I need you to know that I owe you one,” I said in as steady and honest tone I could manage at the moment. “You’ve got the right stuff for this kinda thing. You can be my wingmare anytime.”

“Ha! Ja, but no.” Lily laughed, taking a deep breath and slowly standing up. “I never, ever, ever, want to fight an illusionist ever again.”

I nodded. “I second that emotion.”

“So… It’s midnight, und we just fought an apex predator with illusion powers, emotional manipulation ability, und body crushing telekinesis… I’m tired, und I want to go to bed, but this wouldn’t be the worst night ever… So we need to go search those rooms don’t we?” Lily asked with the most pathetic eardroop ever.

Stop giving me Bon-bon eyes! It’s creepy on a colt!

I nodded.

He sighed.

“Let’s start with the-”, Lily stopped mid sentence. “Embryology Lab?”

“Wait, what?” I demanded spinning to look at the sign he was reading.

Sure enough to my left, on the left side of the stairs was the entrance to one room, and a sign on it read ‘Embryology Lab’.

Lily quickly walked into the room, moving with clear purpose. After passing through the doorway he called. “Ja! It is! Und it’s done the hard way.”

I had to see this.

I quickly moved over, walking into the lab to find Lily inspecting rows of alchemical stations, several freezers, and other serious chemistry apparatuses. “Well… Did not expect to find this here.” I muttered.

“Somepony was using this to do Biomancy the hard way.” Lily said in a professional tone as he inspected an array of small glass dishes set under a complex series of glass tubes. “I recognize this from my history lessons. It’s a Falsch Gebärmutter, this is used to culture an embryo und check to see if it’s correctly developing.

“Und these over here, these would um… This would break the embryo down so you could extract genetic information. The fact they have thirty dishes in the Gebärmutter implies bulk creation und testing… They were artificially breeding something.” He finished, shaking his head.

“Das ist like seeing an early Biomancy laboratory. Before any of the magical techniques were developed.” He added, moving to open the closest freezer.

“So, trying to reinvent a lost art huh?” I asked. “Seems legit. Tribunal agents were supposed to be super tough. Maybe this is where they worked out how to breed…”

I trailed off as I realized something. In the room outside, there were banners. I didn’t think to look at them because the history books said the Tribunal were into hanging their banner all over their bases. Their specific red bordered, black banner, featuring a white star.

The banners outside were gray, with a blue jagged border, featuring a red triangle…

“Or, we are dealing with a totally unrelated group,” I puzzled together. “Who abandoned this lab when the windigo broke out of containment. Hence the key being broken off in the lock…”

Lily made a concerned sound.

“What? I don’t think they will be back,” I said soothingly. “I mean, this place was very abandoned.”

“Nein, nein, nein!” Lily said urgently. “Shadowy unknown organization, ja, sure whatever. No big deal after the windigo. Please be very quiet for a minute!”

He backed up out of the freezer, carrying a single petri dish in his magic’s grip. Inside was a blob of yellow… Stuff.

Oh! Oh no…

Lily set the dish down on the counter and gently probed it with his magic. “Dead… To be expected. Long term cold storage… But what would you have been?”

He continued to analyze the… Tissue. Ears drooping sadly. “Pony… Unicorn… No, nein, pegasus… Wa… I…” Lily looked over at me with an amount of concern I had never seen before.

“This embryo is almost genetically identical to Scootaloo.” He said firmly. “It could be her mother or sibling! It’s not hers, there’s variation, but… There is no way anything else could share the tri-fold chromosome pattern she has.”

I held up a hoof urgently. “Lily… Are you completely sure?”

He nodded. “Ja.”

“So we are standing, in a hidden lab, that’s set up to do genetic engineering, and you are holding a f- a fe… something that would have developed into a sibling of somepony raised by Unicorn Supremacists of the worst kind?” I asked.

Stupid bucking tokophobia… Never thought that would come up in a delve. Half the bucking reason I became an archaeologist right there.

Lily nodded. “Das ist correct.”

There was only one course of action left to us now. “Okay. Lily, I’m sorry, but Luna’s going to have to investigate this… Maybe you can use the penthouse while she does, maybe you stay with Scoots, maybe you stay with me, but-”

“Ja,” Lily said nodding and putting the dish back in the fridge. “I understand. But I’m keeping the building.”

“I’ll do my best. I do owe you one.” I sighed. “We need to sweep the rooms.”

Lily nodded. “This side first, other bottom, then the top.”

I nodded as he trotted out to the next room. He was the expert here, I was following his lead now.

“Splicing lab,” Lily read as he entered the much smaller bookcase filled room. “Ja, very simple chemical tanks in here. Crude, but effective… But what were the splicing?”

“No idea,” I said as Lily picked up a book left on the floor as if dropped and began flipping through the pages with his magic.

He read a few pages, skimmed a few more, then set the book down on the counter and sat down, putting his head into his hooves.

“Do I even want to know?” I asked.

“Nein…” Lily whispered, face still planted into hooves.

Buck… I had to. It was my job… I was reporting this to Luna after all.

“I… I need to… For the report.” I said urgently but hesitantly. “I’d read it, but I know absolutely no genetics terms.”

“You wouldn’t need them.” Lily warned.

“I need to know.” I insisted, this time a bit fearfully.

“They were breeding unicorns…” He said slowly. “For pure strains. Und splicing them together in a fluid derived from windigo essence. Freezing them into a pool of liquid mana. They… They were trying to give unicorns windigo magic… Und, to get their supply of windigoes… They let some embryos develop fully, mature enough to need to eat solid foods und then… Th-the containment cell…”

I had no words.

“I… I don’t…” Lily stammered.

“Yeah… I don’t understand why either.” I said bitterly.

“With all the good that the art can do… Why? Why do people choose to do evil things with it?” Lily demanded. “It’s… It’s barbaric! I can’t even begin to… Her parents! Scoots parents know about this! They know who is responsible!”

Lily jumped up with a violent gleam in his eyes, growling through clenched teeth. “I’ll beat it out of them!”

I quickly wrapped the unicorn in a tight hug. I like history. I’d read about what happened in Germaney. Why all Germanes looked the same and were almost always sick.

This was personal for him on two fronts. He needed the hug.

“Shhh… It’s okay,” I soothed. “We’ll finish here. I’ll get Luna on this, and once we have official permission, then I’ll hold the bat for you while you beat the truth out of those savages!”

“They could have cured a disease!” Lily shouted. “Eradicated it! All this time, money, effort, and they… They… They choose to follow some archaic ideology und pollute the art with another atrocity!

“It’s… It’s our fault. It’s half our fault… If we had shared the art, maybe… Maybe they would have used… Other methods.”

I tightened my hug. “I know. I don’t understand why people choose evil ether.”

“I am keeping this lab!” Lily insisted, making me let go of her in shock.

“Why?” I demanded incredulously.

“Because if there is a last thing I do, it will be to turn all of this cruelty and evil into something good!” He said in an iron tone. “I will take this torture chamber, and use it to cure something, und I’ll give that cure away. Buck money. Buck time. Buck effort. There has been enough evil done with the art I love!”

Buck… I… I didn’t even… Wow. That was certainly an interesting mindset. He would take this place of evil, and de-corrupt it.

I liked that idea. Yeah. That was good. Destroying this place would do nothing to decrease the harm it did in the past, but using it for good could possibly make up for everything that had happened here. Maybe, one day.

“Yeah. That’s honestly a good idea,” I said approvingly.

“We’re checking upstairs…” Lily muttered stomping out the door and turning to head up.

I quickly followed.

Even with me being reasonably sure the windigo was dead, I wasn’t about to be alone in this place… Not for another week at least.

We reached to top of the stairs. The two clear glass tanks sitting on the loft portion were clearly labeled with more brass plaques, but the lettering had been scraped and worn off over time. Each tank had a dull blue fluid washing around the top of it, moving, bubbling, undulating…

“So um, since those run into a dispenser at the bottom,” I asked needing to make a joke, “are those, like, evil water coolers or-”

“It’s cryo fluid. They are probably storing base DNA strands in them.” Lily remarked looking up at the large two pony wide steel door set into the wall in front of the stairs. “Energy Cohesion… Maybe this is the utility room?”

I shook my head as I eyed the frosty ground, spotting a yellow and black caution pattern painted on the floor under the ice. “Uh, you don’t put a hazardous area stripe in front of your crystal chamber… So, if they were making windigoes into a liquid, this is probably where they did that.”

Lily nodded and stepped forward. “There’s a pressure plate here, I think the doors will-”

Mechanisms in the walls groaned as the doors slowly pulled apart, revealing a second set of doors behind them which also were groaning open, and then a third set beyond them, which finally led into the room behind the frankly insane amount of secur-

A unicorn’s skeleton fell, striking the floor and shattering like glass. It had been propped up on the inside of the second door, the remains of a black lab coat fanned out around the former pony. A researcher… Trapped between the sets of doors in a one ponywide space…

“Well, that’s where our windigo probably came from.” I sighed, thinking of sweeping the remains up for burial before remembering what the ponies here had done.

“Ja… Okay, so uh, don’t follow me until I’m all the way through so we don’t close the doors on each other.” Lily insisted walking carefully into the hall, stepping over the frozen solid remains.

I nodded. “Good plan.”

Lily carefully walked down the hall, looking down at the floor, probably searching for more pressure plates. Sure enough as he passed the final set of doors there was another click and the doors began to grind shut. Just before the front doors slammed together I heard Lily yelp in terror, “Ly-”

The doors smashed into one another with a sound of hammer on anvil.

I bolted forward, slammed my hooves down on the plate, and pushed myself against the seam between the doors, surging through the moment they parted enough only to hit the second doors, squeeze through the gap, hit the third doors, force myself through the widening opening, roll across the floor, spring, up, igniting horn-

“No wait! It’s fine! It’s trapped in there!” Lily shouted from just behind me.

I flicked my eyes around the room. It was mostly empty, a few worktables, some equipment, a small force and power hammer for some reason, and the center dominated by a huge dark blue glass chamber. The glass walls were easily a foot thick, it’s floor was a grate leading to a drain, the ceiling had apertures in it with frosted edges, a huge block of warded steel formed the rear side.

Most importantly, cowering on the far side of the tank was another windigo. Smaller than the other one, fiery body much more energetically dancing, and colored a very pale blue, almost white.

This one was far healthier than the other. It had a mane and tail made of a darker sea-green fiery aura, and two burning emerald eyes.

“It’s pretty well fed,” I warned. “This tank looks like it dumps freezing water. We lucked out, where’s the con-”

“Please don’t kill me!” The windigo begged in a female voice. “I don’t want to consume ponies, that’s a waste of natural resources! You make more heat all the time, it’s insane to just kill one! If you leave one in the room the room warms back up. I’m not greedy, I can wait an hour! Besides, you share heat with each other, yes? That’s what hugs are for right, sharing warmth? I can do things to result in being hugged! Ponies like music, right? The radio always has music on it! I can sing! Please don’t!”

I narrowed my eyes a bit. “Yeah… So, your friend sort of tried to eat me while throwing illusions around. Pretty sure you're lying.”

Lily put a hoof on my shoulder. “Lyra, her voice matches the one I heard upstairs.”

“That doesn't mean much.” I objected.

“Tried?” The windigo asked. “You killed him? Good. He always threatened to eat me. That’s why I ‘broke out’ of the lab.”

Well that was true, they could eat one another, but still…

“If you were afraid of the other one, why are you down here now?” I asked.

“Oh gee, I scare somepony accidently and then they re-emerge a few hours later with a pony dressed in what I can only postulate to be assault gear to come in and probably to kill me.” The windigo said rolling her ‘eyes’. “Of course I endeavored to obnubilate beneath the barracks in the concealed sections of the base to eschew death! I… I just forgot that he was… Non compos mentis. His telekinesis is more puissant than mine. He forced me into here to preserve for later.”

“Um, did you just sit down and read a thesaurus or something?” Lily asked for me.

“Yes,” the windigo replied. “How else would I have learned to verbalize felicitously?”

Huh... Point to you windigo. The whole 'locked in here' thing probably meant a lack of Equish classes.

“So um, in laymare’s terms…” I prompted.

“Uh, you are in assault gear, probably here to kill me, so I hid down here in a panic, forgot that my…roommate was insane and more powerful than I am, and was promptly confined to this tank.” It summarized.

That did seem sort of reasonable… And well, not all of them were evil. I gave Lily a slow look of concern. “Are you buying this?”

“It seems reasonable, und I don’t want anyone else to die in here.” He said firmly. “You said you listen to the radio, ja?”

The windigo tilted its head. “What do the words ‘und’ and ‘ja’ mean?”

“He doesn't speak Equish as his native language. That’s an accent.” I explained.

“There is more than one language? Great! As if the system of communication wasn’t already intricate enough, ostensibly nopony can accede on a singular system! How do you communicate congruously!?” The windigo demanded with an angry ‘hoof’ stomp.

“Well, first of all,” I explained, “we use simpler words. Also most ponies know enough simple Equish words to talk to nearly anypony else.”

“Okay. Thank you. So, since you’re verbalizing with me, that signifies you’re not going to kill me, right?” It… Ah buck it, she asked.

She seemed civil, there was probably no need to kill her… But if we let her out and she attacked- Eh, Lily had this. We were a good team.

“Oh!” The windigo exclaimed in realization. “Ponies only harm those they know names of in rare circumstances! My designation is Three-emm-dash-bee-three-arr.”

Three-emm-dash-bee-three-arr? The buck sort of name is- Wait, not a name, a designation, meaning she was-

Lily’s ears drooped before mine. She understood what that implied too. This particular windigo must have been created here. Probably the last one before the place was abandoned.

“Two questions before I’m okay with not killing you to protect myself.” I informed stepping closer to the tank. “First, why was this place abandoned and when? Second, If you could get out of the Lab, why can’t you get out of the hotel?”

“That’s all?” 3M-B3R asked sounding surprised. “They fled in panic thirty one years ago when I broke out of the containment cell after working out that my former self’s bones could be habituated to compose a pry-bar and ergo I could tear away the warding circuitry from an sizeable enough section of the cell through which I could pass after shrinking myself. The Ashes postulated I had developed a puissance which let me vanquish their wards.

“This is erroneous, which is why I was only able to leave the lab. It would seem that the laboratory’s wards are on an independent system from the base's manareactor, as that is still running the wards for the exterior walls. The interior wards however, failed a long time ago. My… non-friend did not know the outer lab door was unwarded however, and endeavored to dig through for some time afore giving up.

“Thus, I had free reign of the upper floors for the last thirty years. The insect ponies were rather nice, but I remained obnubilated from them for trepidation of being harmed. I’ve spent the last fifteen years subsisting on the sun’s warmth via the windows, and composing music. Do you require more information?”

I should start reading the dictionary apparently… Half the words in there I had absolutely no idea what they even meant. That or I should see about inventing a ‘big words’ add on for a translation spell.

“I see.” Lily said in a tone of honest to Celestia comprehension. “That’s why you’re looking confused every time she’s said anything. Uh, number-letter-string, you’re using words most ponies don’t know. I’ve been understanding everything because I habitually put a translation spell on myself in the morning, but apparently it does not include ‘trepidation.’ You need to use more commonly known words.”

“But then my speech is inaccurate and miscommunications ensue!” 3M-B3R protested.

“Miscommunications are happening right now! I have only the barest idea of what your answers actually mean,” I objected.

“Oh,” she said blinking. “I see. Give me a minute to…refine.”

Lily sighed and turned to face me. “She broke out thirty years ago, scared the ponies working here off, and lived upstairs undetected since the changelings owned it. Apparently there’s a arcane reactor powering this place, but the lab wards are on a separate power supply. So she can leave here but-”

“Wait a bucking second, if the lab wards are off, then she’s not trapped here and is lying!” I objected spinning around and readying a spellbolt!

Only to let the energy fade away as I saw the windigo double facehoof and groan in the same manner as Vi upon realizing she’d done something extremely stupid.

“How could I possibly have forgotten that?” She moaned. “I could have just left and warned you not to come down here…”

Right. This was no monster, this was a person.

“Does that button, or that lever open the tank?” I asked.

3M-B3R stood up and walked through the glass, leaving a corner of the tank between her and us. “The lever. The button floods the chamber with liquid nitrogen. You… You won't hurt me, correct?”

“No, we won’t.” Lily said firmly.

Shit, I had to report this. A proper inspection team would find a windigo hiding here no matter how good she could hide. They would kill her.

“So um… About this reactor, how would I shut it off?” I asked.

“Oh no that’s a bad idea! Then the lights and heaters would do off, not to mention the doors! You’d trap yourself in here, since the backup systems are long since dry.” The windigo in need of a proper name warned.

“Yeah, well, you can’t stay here. I have to report this to the Princess, and well… I’m not a racist, but any inspectors will definitely see you as a monster first. You need to leave.”

“Oh. You can shut the wards off in the reactor room. There’s a labeled button you can see through the door. I can’t go in though, it’s got it’s own warding,” she replied.

“How will we hide her?” Lily asked.

Well, I sure as hay wasn’t going to do it. “Uh, you do it. She can be your sister or something.” I decided.

Wait a moment! 3M-B3R, Ember! Ah ha! Name acquired!

“Yeah, you can pose as Lily’s sister Ember, who's visiting from Germaney. I’m sure Sky will be okay with pretending that, and Scoots will um, Scoots will befriend anything so she can help too. That should be enough to legitimize-”

“But I don’t like being white.” Ember (because buck calling someone a string of characters) protested.

“Uh, related ponies don’t have to be the same color…” I said slowly. “Oh crap, um, you can shapeshift, right?”

Ember nodded, her undefined flame shape twisting into a unicorn version of herself, same pale white-blue, sea green, and emerald colors. Fur, teeth, ears, a simple horn, mane done up in a ponytail with two loose bits of bang framing her face… Tartarus she was better at that than Cole!

“Should I add a buttocks insignia? Are those common?” She asked.

I almost fachooved. “They are called cutiemarks, everypony has one, and they signify something you are good at.”

“Ah...” She said, a simple deep purple and blue arcane guitar fading in on her flanks.

“It might not be a good idea to have her claim to by my sister.” Lily mused. “I have friend in town, they know I’m an only foal… Ember, we shall say you are a friend of mine visiting from Germaney. That’s far more, viable.”

I nodded. “Yeah that probably is…” I turned to give Ember a quick look. “Right, so, I’m turning the wards off. You’re free to go. But if I hear of anypony getting hurt by anything remotely resembling a windigo, I’ll find you.”

“I assure you, I won't hurt anypony. You already radiate heat. Sure, killing you would get me plenty of warmth for a few days immediately, but that’s just a bit short sighted in my opinion… Also your foods are tasty and can supplement radiated heat with their atomic motion.” Ember said reassuringly.

I nodded. “Okay, everypony on me. We're leaving. Lily, take her and wait at the entrance, I’ll boop the button.”

“Alright.” Lily agreed, tiredness starting to creep into his voice.

The three of us left the Lab, moving back into the main area. Looking ahead I could see two regular steel doors with a sign reading ‘Reactor control’. Hopefully, that was just a manacrystal compression reactor and not some hybrid nuclear-thaumaturgic reactor. That would be bad.

Lily and Ember split off, moving up the steps into the entrance tunnel.

“So, are you okay with being called Ember?” Lily asked.

“It is a suitably distinct label, assuming ponies do not possess the capacity to vocalize my appropriate label with any efficiency.” She said simply.

“Allight. Und you compose music?” He asked.

“Yes. Is my guitar okay? I could play some for you.” Ember asked.

“Ja, it should be okay. It’s still by the entrance as far as I know.” Lily replied as the vanished into the tunnel, and I entered the reactor room.

This was it. This was the big test. We had split up. Lily could handle himself for the split second… If she attacked him, it would be now…

Nothing. Not one scream. Not one sound of a spell.

I nodded, scanned the wall, noted that this was NOT the dangerous kind of reactor, found the brass panel, and booped the button. As I left the reactor room, I couldn’t help but wonder what music a windigo, who had been trapped in a lab and love hotel for three decades would write.

She had an insane-huge vocabulary. That implied intelligence, and presumably the only music that might be kept in a laboratory would be classical compositions. The guitar was not important, I mean how many different instruments could someone have accidentally left in a hotel?

“Woah!” Lily exclaimed.

“What? I can’t let it look all old while playing…” Ember said shyly. “Okay, let’s rock.”

The answer to my question came as a thundering series of masterfully played notes exploded from the entrance tunnel in a euphoric melody that sounded as if it had been written by Octavia, and was being played by Van Haylen!

A second later a second guitar kicked in, somehow, adding it’s own melody to the first. An instant later, she started to sing.

Well. Very well. Well enough for me to be certain that all this windigo had done for thirty years was practice. Thirty years of nothing but practicing playing and singing Mane Metal!

“Faust gave rock and roll to you, // gave rock and roll to you // Put it in the soul of everypone... // Do you know what you want? You don't know for sure // You don't feel right, you can't find a cure // And you're gettin' less than what you're lookin' for…

“You don't have money or a fancy car // And you're tired of wishin' on a falling star // You gotta put your faith in a loud guitar!

“Faust gave rock and roll to you, // gave rock and roll to you // Put it in the soul of everypone // Now listen, // If you wanna be a singer, or play guitar // Mare, you gotta sweat or you won't get far // Cause it's never too late to work nine-to-five!

“You can take a stand, or you can compromise! // You can work real hard, or just fantasize //
But you don't start livin' till you realize // Faust gave rock and roll to you, // gave rock and roll to you // Gave rock and roll to everypone…”

“Oh buck the hay yes!” I exclaimed.

Best. Ruin. Ever!

11 Something Wicked

Ember - 3rd of Midsummer ‘15 EoH - Midnight

“Thanks again,” I sincerely thanked, levitating a few feet infront of my liberators as they made their way up the lower stairs, “for the mercy.”

“You can stop thanking us every ten seconds,” Lyra said in a tone which I was reasonably sure was irritation.

To be honest, I was intentionally repeating myself to try and work out if it was irritation. But then again, how else would I understand when I was irritating somepony? The space outside of the facility appeared quite sizeable. Who knew how many potential interactions there were!

I needed to work on my social capabilities.

“Ja, it’s getting a tad nerve grating,” Lily added.

“Ah, so that is irritation. Thank you,” I said cheerfully. “I’ll recollect that data for future conversation.”

“Smaller words…” Lyra groaned, before looking up at me irritably. “Hold on, are you still doing that to learn what irritation sounds like?”

I shook my head. “No.”

“I don’t believe you.” Lyra said giving me a bitter look. “I’m going to make you read a book on body language and facial expressions.”

Oh! Well, now that changed everything. Huzzah!

“I didn’t know there were scholarly works on the subject of nonverbal biotic communications! This will make everything so much easier.” I exclaimed cheerfully.

“Ja, it will,” Lily said as she reached the broken button at the bottom of the top stairs. “I understand you are happy to be free, but please, it’s after midnight. Bed time is now time...”

“Bed?” I asked, truly not knowing what he was-

“Oh! That thing you do where you seem to die for a brief period then self-resuscitate?” I asked him curiously.

“How do you not know what sleep is?” Lyra demanded, giving the broken stairs button a smack. “Colgate's a windigo! She sleeps, you have to sleep too!”

I shook my head. “I don’t do that… He didn’t ether. Perhaps your friend is abnormal.”

So she knew another of my kind? Interesting. Perhaps that’s why she allowed me to live.

“Why won't the stairs open?” Lyra groaned.

“The button’s broken,” I explained. “Only the top one works. Please, allow me.”

I set my guitar down, then floated up through the retracting floor, form distorting as I passed through the wood and returning to normal as I reached the other side and gave the button a tap. As the doorway groaned open I retrieved my cherished instrument.

I was too hungry to attempt taking an object through with me. Especially not my guitar. I didn’t want it to break because I couldn’t protect it.

“Well… Good thing you marked the button.” Lily said to Lyra as they began to come up the steps.

Lyra nodded. “Yep. We would have been waiting for backup if it weren't for you, Ember.”

Oh yes. That’s right. Matter is an obstacle to biotics. I was just trying to be polite and get the door… Save them the energy. Heh.

“Not a problem.” I said, hoping that was sufficient to satisfy the social requirement to thank people for thanking you.

It is hard to know if you are socializing properly when all you’ve had to learn from are talk shows on only four radio stations.

My two rescuers proceed to the main entry largely in silence. Presumably for reasons of needing to ‘sleep’.

I personally don’t understand biotics very well. All I had to learn from was the few days there were ponies in the lab, and then the fifteen years when the shifty-buggies were running their emotional energy farm here.

I had liked them. Nice creatures, rather kind, give off plenty of heat. Only well, it’s hard to learn about a species when your best example of it is a shape-changed insectoid pretending to be that species in order to utilise reproductive techniques to generate edible energy.

“Right, so,” Lyra began, “Ember, we need to get you introduced to my friends. That way they know not to hurt you if you blow your unicorn cov-”

“Buck it, Octy, you aren't gonna pick this anytime soon!” A voice exclaimed in what was definite irritation. “Just move over.”

It was pretty impressive to be able to hear that through the door. The speaker was either very loud, or very close to the doo-

“Dynamic entr-” the same voice shouted, a loud thud and crunch booming through the lobby as someone smashed into the door. “Ow! Okay, that’s one hay of a door.”

“See what I was having problems picking it?” Another voice asked, sounding far quieter than the other. “Who built this door? Thestrals?”

Lily turned to give Lyra a…sarcastic look?

“So, that’s our backup?” He asked.

Lyra opened her mouth to reply, only to be drowned out by a loud snap of energy.

Whipping my head to look back at the still standing door I could see rather odd patterns in the thaumaturgic ribbons which rippled away from the door. I was used to spells having shockwaves, but this one looked… Rather unrefined.

“I’m going to say yes,” the louder voice grunted.

Lily walked up to the door, turned the knob to adjust the bolt, and opened it.

“Ladies,” he greeted.

The wood paneling on the other side of the door had melted, revealing the steel behind the paneling. That was rather odd, wood was supposed to burn, was it not? How did it melt like that?

I drifted closer to inspect the door as Lyra and the group of five mares outside began having some sort of conversation. I’d have listened, but this was seriously wood that had melted, an anomaly far more interesting than biotic vocalizations.

On closer inspection, this particular arrangement of matter was indeed wood, or at least, had been wood. Whatever the spell used on it had been, it had most certainly included some transmutation effects as the melting point of the carbon within the wood clearly had been lowered, as if the wood had been heated to thirty-five hundred degrees, it should have ignited.

Their conversation got a bit louder and more urgent. It was rather irritatingly distracting. I almost told them to go away so I could science this properly, but that would have been rude.

Now, in theory, every component of wood could melt under the right conditions, but being a compound of drastically different components, it shouldn’t be able to melt, but rather, combust. How the spell prevented the oxygen in the air and within the wood from oxidizing the cellulose was of far more interest. I didn’t even know how you would go about doing that. A pity, as this spell would be rather useful if you wanted a hole in a building but also to not light it on fire.

Yet, there had to be far many less energy intensive methods to quickly put a hole into a structure than melting wood. Which apparently, was a thing that was possible. As evidenced by the delightfully perplexing hardened ribbons of formerly molten carbon which had formed a beaded stringy pattern as they ran down the door’s face.

Perhaps the pattern of the carbon held a key to understanding how this particular effect had been achieved? It seemed to have been forcefully pushed away from the center of the effect for some distance before gravity pulled it down the surface of-

“Hey!” Lyra exclaimed, waving a hoof in front of my nose. “I’m trying to explain to them that you’re friendly and nice. Could you help?”

“This wood melted.” I said, pointing to the intriguing anomaly of chemistry. “I’ll happily help with whatever you just said, but at the moment I need to understand this.”

“Sonic blast,” the loud voice from before helpfully informed. “Highly focused, high frequency soundwaves.”

“Wait, the wood melted?” Lily asked, turning to look at the door before exclaiming. “Who the buck even invented a spell that would do that? Why not just break it? It’s wood!”

“Ahhh! So many rapid overpressure/underpressure waves at a great volume, focused into a beam. Yes, that might do this. Thank you.” I exclaimed turning away from the now explained anomaly with a content smile.

A somehow less white than Lily mare with a spiky two tone blue on other blue mane rolled her eyes behind a pair of violet tinted glasses. “It’s called Rule of Cool. Yeah I could just break it, but it’s not as awesome, or tactically advantageous. It distracted the hell out of Ember there, right?”

Oooo. Yes. Good point! If a wooden wall suddenly melted nearby me I would most certainly have been too distracted to fight anything coming thru the hole. That was quite brilliant!

Science was now sated. I could now socialize as norms required.

“Okay,” Lyra said, sighing irritably, “now that Vinyl's explained how she melted the door-”

“Vinyl?” I asked, eyes widening as everything clicked.

The name! The voice! Purple hued glasses! It couldn’t be? Was it?

“Are you Vinyl Scratch? The songwriter and Disk Jockey?” I asked eagerly.

She flashed me a smile. “Heh, Lyra said you had a radio. You like my music, huh? Well you can’t possibly be half bad then.”

“Actually,” I explained, “I find your music to be decent. Certainly not bad. However if I recall correctly you are wed to Octavia Melody, correct? Could you introduce me? I’ve been studying her compositions for the last twenty years and-”

Vinyl's ears fell along with the corners of her mouth, forming what I believed was a frown. Oh dear… I hadn’t intended to hurt her feelings. She wasn’t a bad musician, I simply didn’t enjoy her preferred genera.

I also noticed that the gray furred black maned earth pony mare standing next to her had puffed out her barrel a bit and was giving Vinyl what I believed to be a smug look.

“I’m Octavia,” the gray mare said with a polite smile. “I must say, it’s a surprise to hear anypony under thirty prefer my music to Vinyl’s. Oh, cheer up love. You have legions of fans.”

She said giving Vinyl a light elbowing to the shoulder.

I held my guitar out in front of myself and floated to a position where the best composer alive could reach it. “Would you sign my guitar, please?” I pleaded giving her an eager smile.

Before Octavia could respond, a white furred, pink maned unicorn at the back of the group- No, her ribbon patterns were all wron-

Ah! That’s why!

A shifty-buggy currently dressed as a unicorn at the back of the group laughed. “Right, so with no idea who we are, this Windigo’s first reaction on being freed from a prison, isn’t to try and eat anyone, but to ask for an autograph. Heh. I think we’re good here.”

A windigo, currently projecting the form of a blue and white unicorn mare nodded in agreement.

How had I missed her? Especially since Lyra had mentioned knowing a windigo. I waved happily at her. “Hello! Thank you for existing, and thereby providing evidence that members of our kind can be nice too!”

“Yeah, she seems nice,” my kin commented.

Lyra groaned and held a hoof over her eyes. I believed this gesture conveyed frustration.

“Okay, so you were looking at the bucking door the entire time. I’ll have to introduce everypony ag-”

“Well in her defense, the wood is melted.” Lily interrupted, pointing a hoof violently at the damaged door.

“Yeah!” I agreed. “Do you have any idea of the chemical complexities involved in getting wood to transition to a fluid state instead of combusting and converting into gasses?”

Lyra gave the two of us a death-glare. “Yes! It’s weird. But we have important things to do! So, to repeat, Ember, this is Vinyl, Octavia, Colegate, Meep, and Bon-Bon. We work for Princess Luna's personal guards and as a Spec-Ops Unit, Lunar division.”

Lyra said more, but as soon as she mentioned Bon-Bon, the radio advertisement for a candy shop owned by a pony also named Bon-bon played in my head, replacing everything she said with the overly catchy advertising jingle.

Sweetie Drops Candies, we sell candies… And that’s all!

“Okay,” I said as Lyra stopped talking, so she wouldn’t get mad again.

“Right,” Lyra said, sighing in relief, “so, again, As Cole said-”

“I’ll spare you the third time saying it, Lyra,” Cole interrupted with a smile. “Ember, was it?”

I nodded.

“You’ll be staying with me for a week,” Cole said in a matter of fact tone. “You seem like a nice person, but I want to be sure you are before we let you loose to do whatever you like. Also, it will give you an opportunity to learn how ponies work to better pass as one.

“Trust me, most ponies will be very afraid of you. So you’ll want to pass as a unicorn, and I can help with that. And you need help because you’re floating a foot off the ground, and unicorn’s can't do that.”

“They can’t?” I asked in surprise. “But I’ve seen them levitate objects with more mass than their own bodies! Surely a unicorn can exert enough force to hold themselves aloft!”

“Eh, we can,” Vinyl said giving me a shrug. “Well, some can. It’s just harder to do, takes more mana, and you’d be afraid of dropping yourself making it hard to focus on maintaining the spell. Cuz fear.

“But yeah, some of us do it. If you want to pretend to be one who does, put an aura around yourself while floating.”

I nodded and quickly gave my body a unicorn-like light blue-green aura.

“Yeah like that.” Vinyl confirmed.

Cole nodded. “That’s true… Didn’t think about that. Anyways, you’ll need help adjusting. So, do we have a deal?”

I rolled my eyes. “Well if I say no, you kill me. So yes. Obviously.”

“Heh,” Lyra chuckled. “You have to love her bluntness. We wouldn’t kill you if we didn’t have to though. After all, we could always just lock you back in the lab.”

Oooo… That would suck.

Octavia gave Lyra a dirty look. “She listens to classical music, plays an instrument, and has a clear personality, unlike all of Cole’s other relatives. We won’t be hurting her.”

I gave her a grateful smile, and noticed the group of ponies nod in agreement. Good, I seemed to be safe.

Additionally I appeared to be relatively liked by these individuals. Perhaps I could continue to associate with these ponies and acquire friendship status. Then I’d get to perhaps one day play a duet with Octavia!

“Thank you. I enjoy existing.” I thanked sincerely.

“Wait a minute,” Vinyl asked, looking at me over her glasses, “you said you’ve been studying Octy’s music?”

I nodded.

“But you play a guitar.” She said simply.

I nodded again. “Of course. It was the only instrument to turn up in the lost and found.”

“How do classical pieces even sound on a guitar?” Vinyl asked curiously.

“You encounter a motherbucking friendly windigo, and your first question for her is about music?” Lily exclaimed in shock.

“Dude, she’s not hurting anypony, obviously nice, and I literally have sleepovers and parties with my best friend, who is also a windigo,” Vinyl pointed out. “Besides, she’s been stuck in there for what, three decades? It’s not like she’d know anything about her own kind.”

“What she said.” I agreed, mimicking Vinyl's voice as I jerked a hoof in her direction to mimic her attitude and mannerisms.

Octavia’s eyes widened for a second. Vinyl blinked and turned to look at Colegate for a moment then back to me. “Alright, so, maybe I don’t know everything… How come you can shift your voice and she can’t?”

“Our powers seem to vary from individual to individual.” I answered. “As for how my music sounds, I discovered that I can perform classical music utilising the style ‘Mane Metal’ to achieve excellent sound on a guitar.”

“Y-you turn my music into metal?” Octavia asked, looking an odd combination of impressed and upset.

Vinyl grinned at me in a way which made me question the structure of pony anatomy. “Alright, that makes up for before. Heh.”

Deciding an example was in order, I slid my guitar into position, and once it was in my grasp, coated it in the usual illusion. Unlike my counterpart, I had to touch something to change it’s appearance, but the armament in their eyes as the battered instrument seemed to reverse-decay to pristine condition before glowing with eldritch fire was consolation enough for me.

“Here’s your song, the Count of Tuscany.” I announced before sliding smoothly into the overture.

It was a complex piece, starting slowly, looping through simple sequences of notes which slowly came faster and faster, in ever increasing complexity. Exactly how Octavia wrote most of her pieces. It was like she wanted to write rock and metal, but had to compose classical numbers for some reason.

From the first note to the end, all of her composing was present. It was the foundation for my own art, a slight increase to the tempo, a note or three added to allow my one guitar to keep the proper tune, the occasional little bit of flair, and of course, a few simple aura tricks around myself and the guitar to make a little light show.

Nothing major. I was still quite hungry, but I could spare the energy to impress a music goddess.

I continued playing until the note just before the lyrics began, flared the note, let it hang in the air for a few breaths, then stopped letting the illusion fade away. I didn’t have the energy to do that for the full twenty minutes.

“I-I hope that’s not as disappointing as you seemed to think,” I started giving Octavia a small grin.

“Oh no. It’s not even remotely disappointing!” Octavia exclaimed eagerly. “You preserved the music! Translated it flawlessly! I-”

Octavia looked over my shoulder at a very… Damaged? Upset? Ah, no, tired! Yes. Tired.

Octavia looked over my shoulder at a very tired Lily and cleared her throat. “Um, perhaps the six of us should adjourn to Meep and Colegate’s home. Lily appears to need to sleep quite badly.”

Lily nodded. “Ja… Und I’m too tired to not sleep here, even considering everything that’s happened today… How the buck are you six not tired?”

“I’m a little tired… But I’ve been gone longer and longer without sleep since I got my powers.” Cole commented.

“I had some of Coco Bean’s coffee once,” Meep said simply. “Haven’t been tired since.”

“How does that even make sense?” Lily demanded irritably.

“Coffee brewing cutiemark plus potion making degree equals making the everloving shit outta a cup of coffee.” Lyra commented. “And the rest of us are Vampires, so yeah… We sleep like, once a month.”

Everypony nodded.

I realized I had to ask what ‘vampire’ meant, but before I could, Lyra sighed, and an odd look of what was probably apprehension filled her face. “Right then… Meep, can you open a portal for me? I need to report all this.”

The shifty-buggie nodded, her horn glowing a dull green and shedding a rather odd energy wave I was unfamiliar with. Odd. This could be quite interesting to study.

A vortex of green energy swirled to life around Lyra’s hooves, the mare slowly sinking into the… Oh neat! The energy patterns were forming a sort of tunnel! I had to try-

“Good luck.” The shifty-buggie wished to her comrade.

Lyra nodded, vanishing into the space-time bridge with a delightful ribbon swirl.

It was neat to get to see the current patterns of spells I didn’t know. A nice change of pace from the simple repeating ones in the lab.

Cole nodded and laid a hoof on my shoulder, a gesture which while affectionate, felt odd. Had I ever been touched before? No I don’t think so.

“Come on,” she said, “let’s get going.”

“Alright.” I agreed, falling into step behind her and deciding not to complain about how slow walking was.

Lyra Heartstrings - 3rd of Midsummer ‘15 EoH - Early Morning

Sometimes, even if the darkest of moments, I enjoy having a little power. Not physical power. Running, jumping, magic, that’s all fun and stuff, but nothing beats having a bit of real power every once in awhile.

The power to portal directly into the Lunar Court without consequence.

The power to tell nobles to sod off.

The power to be taken seriously by one of your nation’s most powerful rulers.

The only downside is that to use the power, I had to say something very specific, which had to be absolutely true.

“Everypony leave! This is a matter of national security!” I announced loudly and firmly as I stepped out of the portal.

Just once, I’d like to get to get them to GTBO so Luna and I could say, catch a movie or just hang a bit. She was a nice pony when allowed to be herself and not ‘Ms. Prefect, the Military Leader’.

“Now!” I added urgently, pointing with one armored leg towards the doors as the dozen or so nobles angrily packed up their gear.

They quickly hurried out of the hall, leaving a thing or three behind. Probably because my quick gesture showed off the blood stained and cracked status chestplate off pretty clearly.

Princess Luna’s eyes widened as she noticed my armor’s damage. “Chrysalis's survived inside one of the remaining Sapphire changelings, didn’t she?”

I shook my head. “No, Luna… It’s… It’s worse.”

Luna shifted on her throne, frowning in that regal way of ‘hers’. She wasn’t Luna right now. Right now she was ‘the Princess’, the mask she wore for the sake of public appearances. The version of herself which ponies believed her to be, not her actual self.

This wasn’t news for the Princess. This was news for Luna. The real Luna. The one who wasn’t tangled up in political dramas. The one my friends and I sat down and played games with.

“Then deliver your report,” Princess Luna, “so we may respond as quickly as possible to this threat.”

I shook my head slowly, ignoring her confused and hurt look. “Luna, I- This isn’t… I do have a real actual thing to report, and it’s important. But it’s not for Princess Luna, it’s for Luna. I need you to drop the political mind set.

“If I tell this to you right now, I’m afraid you'll make the wrong decision. You were just in court, you were trying to be the Luna everypony believes you are. That’s the wrong mare for this. I need to talk to the blind mare who joined her city’s guard. I need to talk to the first mare to become an Alicorn. I need the mare who single hoofedly stopped the Second Changeling Crusade.

“Right now, Equestria needs Luna Solarus, not Princess Luna,” I said, making damn sure my tone conveyed the seriousness behind my words.

“Why?” Princess Luna asked with a concerned barely-there frown.

“Because if I tell you this as anything other than adventurer to adventurer, there will be lost meaning, and there can be absolutely no miscommunication tonight.” I informed.

I saw the shift. It’s subtle, but if you know Luna, you can see it. Her eyes harden, her posture straightens. Her face takes on a kind, but observant expression. There she was. The real Luna.

“I take it I should shut off the emotion tracking spell Celestia and I share?” Luna asked with all do seriousness.

I nodded. “Your sister is a great pony for domestic policy, but we both know that every time she is involved in combat, things go teets up almost instantly…”

Luna sighed. “I was having a nice night…”

Her horn barely glowed for the most split of seconds. Celestia would no longer be tracking Luna’s mood, at least, not till she let the spell start again.

“I’m sorry…” I apologized, ears drooping.

Luna stood up from her throne and trotted over to me, standing at a comfortable distance. “What did you fight tonight?” She asked.

“A windigo.” I replied.

Her eyes narrowed.

“It was crazed, nearly feral, and very powerful. It’s dead.” I expounded. “I’ll tell you everything, but first; There was a second windigo. She seems to be reasonable, non hostile, and well, person-like. She’s currently staying with Cole for observation, but if you’d rather we des-”

“I trust your judgment, and your capabilities to solve problems in the field,” Luna said dismissively. “If I didn’t, you wouldn’t work for me, much less be my friend. If you believe she’s fine, then that’s the end of it. What else happened tonight?”

I nodded. I honestly didn’t expect she would think that way on the matter. Well, thank goodness for miracles.

“Second,” I continued, “I promised Lily I would do everything in my power to ensure he keeps his property, so-”

Luna raised an eyebrow. “Did he commit an act of treason?”

I shook my head quickly. “No! Far from it, he saved my life- Wait a minute, Lily owns that lot via Land Grant?”

I had sworn he’d purchased the right to use the property, if he actually owned that lot, wait a minute… Wasn’t Germaney a Democratic Republic? Did he even know how property rights worked in a sane form of government?

Luna nodded. “Yes, Twilight decided it would be best for legal reasons to give him ownership of the land- Oh… The two of you fought a windigo in that old hotel. Was it brought in, or spawned? Are we dealing with a cannibalistic serial killer?” She finished, giving me a look mostly angered, but also a little ‘yay maybe I’ll get to do something!’ie.

“I bucking wish!” I exclaimed. A serial killer would make things so much more simple. “Luna, Lily and Scootaloo spotted a windigo in the old building when he went to inspect his new holdings… Uh, right, some pony will need to tell him that the land is his actual property… I don't think he knows how a grant works…

“Lily was directed to me as somepony who could check the building to see if it was a monster or a prankster, and… The building is nothing like what it appears to be. The walls are steel, covered in a stone veneer and fully warded to the point where Cole couldn’t get in, not even through an open door.

“It’s a fortress. I think it could withstand considerable bombardment, mage, artillery, doesn't matter. It’s quite possibly more fortified than your personal keep, Luna. Worst thing is though… We found a hidden basement, that’s about a hundred meters below ground, and made into a proper bunker.”

“Ah, I see,” Luna sighed. “One of those Tribunal facilities I keep hearing about. Of all the things I missed during my banishment… That… That is the most, personal.” Luna said bitterly.

I winced. If she felt bad for being unable to protect her ponies from them…

“No. This belonged to a different group.” I said, using my magic to take the banner I had brought with me from my saddlebag and unfurl it. “It took me a while, because, well, I had to remember from history books I read as a filly, but this banner… It’s not a Tribunal banner, but the red triangle design, that is! This is a separate banner, based on the Tribunal styling.

“And I pulled it off the wall of a dual purpose arcane slash scientific laboratory, built inside of a bunker, a hundred feet below the single most secure building in all of Ponyville. Upside, the bunker has long since been abandoned, three decades have passed since it was in use last. Downside… Is what it was for.”

Luna raised a hoof to stop me. “Lyra, are you telling me that a pro-Tribunal organization has been operating in Ponyville, as little as thirty years ago?”

I nodded. “Yes. And worst of all, judging by how much money had to have been poured into the lab, they are not a small group. Also, they were-”

Luna grit her teeth hard enough for me to hear them scrape together. “Celestia! You… You incompetent… Urgh! Ponyville… That’s how. It’s in Ponyville, her precious little community that is always exactly how she remembers it from fillyhood! Nothing could ever be wrong there!”

“Luna, calm down. Please. There’s more.” I pleaded.

“Every single time something horrible happens, it’s always something from just after I was banished!” Luna growled. “I know she's a pacifist, but could she not allow even her guards to regularly-”

“Luna!” I barked. “They were breeding super soldiers using windigos!”

Luna stopped her rant dead.

“Excuse me?” She asked in a tone that was deadly serious, but pleaded for me to have been joking.

I honestly wished I was joking.

“They were force breeding unicorns, and infusing them with an essence derived from windigoes,” I said bitterly. “To get better windigoes to use, they… They allowed the unicorns to grow for a year, and then ate them alive… Then destroyed the resulting windigo to use as the essence to infuse the next foal with.”

“Come again?” Luna asked, eyes narrowing dangerously.

“This group, killed foals. To breed better unicorns. Because they are a supremacist group.” I repeated, bile rising in the back of my thro-

The left side of Luna’s jaw pulled, as if she were having a stroke!

I could see the entire left side of her face pull back into a boiling, wrathful, livid, hateful sneer. I literally saw her bare teeth sharpen as her left eye darkened, pupil narrowing to a slit, for a brief terrifying moment, during which Luna scored a thick line in the marble floor with a long slow, jerky drag of her hoof.

Luna grit her teeth, took a deep breath, exhaled, and with an extreme amount of effort, the transformation reversed itself.

“Proceed.” Luna prompted in a strained voice.

All of Luna’s knights knew the truth behind Nightmare Moon. Tartarus, Celestia herself didn’t know everything. It was probably best she didn’t.

Dark Magic isn’t inherently evil, but it has a price for every spell. Luna wanted more power than her sister, and she got it. But only when enraged to the utmost extreme, where she would then seek nothing else but to destroy the target of her anger, only for the power to leave her as the life left the source of her wrath.

I flinched at the barely controlled rage of literal doom. “I’m not sure I sho-”

“Lyra,” Luna said bitterly, “it was brought on by righteous fury. You saw that. I’m still in full control. You’ve already told me the worst. Now tell me the rest so I can get to work on finding these monsters, and introduce them to the eternal darkness they have wrought.”

I took a deep breath to calm myself. She’d contained it. She’d heard the worst of it. She had the authority and means to do this properly.

“Alright, here’s the whole story.” I began.

Trottingham, Kimblewick Provence, Equestria - 3rd of Midsummer ‘15 EoH - Afternoon

The guardposts placed at each entrance to the city of Trottingham, are a lonely place. Five roads lead to the storied city, three rail lines, and dock at both rivers all provide places by which one might enter the city. Yet only two roads, one rail-line, and but a single dock ever saw constant use. The other paths, and thus the other guardposts, were places a pony could work where hours, or even whole days on occasion could go by without one pony needing their ID checked, or their cargo inspected.

At these posts, a guard could expect long, dull hours of nothing. The ‘UDPs’ or ‘Urban Desert Posts’ were loathed by those who became guards for reasons of duty and honor, while being beloved by those who became a guard for reasons of benefits and salary.

For another sort of pony, they were more than beloved. They were necessary. They were free secure locations of which one could be certain nopony else would enter for ten hours a day. A location where someone could perform a second job, with nopony the wiser.

As Celestia’s sun began to cast lengthy shadows, a guard in Trottingham’s southern road guardpost raised a messenger gem to her lips, and spoke.

“Scared Shadow.” She whispered, as if afraid in spite of there being no danger of her being overheard.

A heartbeat passed, and a voice came from the small sapphire dodecahedron. It rolled, and bubbled, as if the words were emissions of gas bubbling up through molten rock. “Tee-arr-gee-four, you are late with your report. I trust your cover has not been compromised.”

“No sir,” the mare replied, nervously tucking a strand of pale blue mane back into her helmet. “My report is late as I took the time to confirm a rumor which will be of great interest to you, sir.”

“Then deliver your report.” Scared ordered firmly, in the tone of a stallion who had no time to waste on the trivialities of conversation.

The mare nodded, a gesture meant more to reassure herself than to convey something to her handler. “I have three items, and I shall save the interesting one for last, if it pleases you sir.”

“It does. Begin.” Sacred ordered, tone harshening.

“One of our Forgers reported that he produced a passport for a TR, sir. I can confirm that TR-A0 is back in Equestria. She has apparently spent the last four years in Neighpone, and prior to that had been staying in Drake. Regardless, she is back within reach and was last seen in Las Pegasus.” The agent reported happily.

“I see. I presume you would like to be recalled if she is re-captured?” Sacred asked casually.

The way her face curled into a cruel but delighted smile would have told anypony able to overhear her that this was a matter of personal business for her.

“Greatly, sir,” the mare replied.

“If this item of interest pleases me, then I shall grant your request.” Sacred informed. “What is the next item?”

“Our benefactors within Trottingham University have acquired a sizable plot of land in the Loping Mountains. The acquisition was under the table, and the land is not only remote, but has been donated to our cause, sir. We can begin establishing a safehouse, base of operations, or training grounds as soon as you wish sir. Though as the area is small in size, it may not be suited to any industrial purpose.” She reported.

“Understood. Send the details along our usual channels. I will instruct you as needed. Now, this item of such interest that you delayed your report a full four hours. Tell me, what is so… Intriguing?” Sacred demanded, tone conveying the same sort malice and threatening presence as an enraged father to their child.

The mare gulped. “I assure you sir, this is worth the delay, and I did not dare inform you before knowing if there was any truth to it. It seems that the recent Equestrian skirmish, specifically the Battle of the Badlands, many Equestrian soldiers, and even Celestia herself received care from a Germane Biomancer.

“This Biomancer has apparently immigrated to Equestria. There is some issue with finding out the specific gender, and their name is either Azur, or Lily, however they have been awarded the title of ‘Lifegiver’ by the soldier class. It shouldn’t be too difficult to locate him or her.

“I am certain you know why I wished to verify this information first, sir.”

“Oh, yes. I do.” Sacred said in a tone normally reserved for conveying sexual pleasure. “You have done well. I will not have you terminated for your lateness, and as promised, if we recapture A0, you may participate in her execution.

“I will send you new orders shortly, I require more genetic material and a distraction to reduce the number of Guard in Ponyville which will soon be necessary. For now, answer this question; Some other TRs are…nervous about taking on their assignments. They insist that with how different most ponies appear, that having so many of the same face in the outside world will lead to suspicion, and cause… problems.

“As one of my agents with years of work, what might you say to these individuals?”

The mare rolled her eyes. “Ponies don’t notice it. I’ve stood side by side with two other TRs in public on assignment before. The average pony is too busy to notice or care, those that do are seen as crazy, and told simplistic explanations such as ‘they are obviously sisters’ or ‘some ponies just look alike.’ The modern pony is weak, the safety provided by their nation means they do not look for danger in their daily lives… Exception to Ponyvillians, naturally.”

“Naturally.” Sacred agreed.

“They are not like us. They are weak, foolish, and untrained. There is nothing to fear from them.” G4 finished.

“Thank you, G4,” Sacred said in a pleased voice. “As fire and flame.”

“We are one,” the mare finished reflexively.

“Return to your duties.” Scared ordered firmly.

The messenger gem’s glow faded to nothingness. The clandestine conversation was over.

12 First Date

Author's Note

Hey everyone! Just to be sure everyone knows, I now have a Patreon! If you would like to send a few bucks my way for food, that would be awesome.

12 First Date

Lily - 10th of Midsummer ‘15 EoH - Afternoon

I’ve had a lot of bad times in my life. So has everypony else, at least, that’s what I assume. But I think that the last week is the first time what I would call a bad week aligned with what others would call a bad week. Though there were a few good things that helped me not have a breakdown as the days progressed.

The best thing was that I was in no danger of loosing my new property. Apparently, in Equestria, a land grant actually meant far more than ‘we give you ownership of this land’. Because, duh, this was an Empire of sorts, not a Republic. Therefore ownership meant that I was actually the person who owned this lot, and not simply renting it from the crown. This meant they couldn’t repossess the land, and since I owned it, they also couldn’t tax it.

The worst thing was the inspections. I had no idea that inspectors could be such a mind crushing irritation. I’d slept that first night in the penthouse, I’d been too exhausted to do anything else. I’d woken up only four hours later to a full platoon of Lunar Guard quite literally dropping in to establish a secure perimeter.

Forty two thestrals, geared up for war, and chomping at the bit to purge the entire place of the quote ‘Windigo infestation’ unquote, which their dispatcher had mistakenly told them they were dealing with. Naturally, the Lieutenant in charge didn’t believe me.

After a 5 hour interrogation, the orders were corrected, and everypony apologized, then proceed to investigate, document, and gather evidence. I assumed that was the end of that and I could go back to bed.

Nope.

I owned the land. All of it. And the things in it. Because Land Grant.

That meant I had to stay up and literally personally sign paperwork for each and every single individual item that the guard wanted to seize as evidence. Also, Equestrian Law does not count ‘a stack of papers’ as an ‘individual item’. I had to fill out over three thousand individual forms for things written on loose bits of parchment and paper. By the end of that, my signature was a sort of vaguely curved straight line.

All of that was simply for a cabinet filled with records of one project. Just. One.

Then I had to actually educate all three Staff Sergeants in basic biomantic terminology so they could understand what was evidence, and what was just a textbook, well enough to explain that to their squads so they could then begin to catalog and size the REST of the evidence.

Thank the gods they didn’t have to be replaced by Solar Guard at sun-up. I’d been literally grinding my teeth flat dreading filling out all the paperwork again. I will never be able to express my joy at learning that the Lunar Guard is just a name and not a label based on hours of operation.

By three in the afternoon, the Lunar Guard was finished. All done. Huzzah!

At three oh three in the afternoon, the same day, THEN the Solar Guard showed up with an entire motherbucking company, and THEN I had to do the entire thing all over again because the same frontal lobe-less moron dispatching orders sent the correct orders to the Solar Guard, and their messenger was delayed until twelve minutes before the Solar Guard teleported in ready to fight an entire nest of Windigoes!

At that point I’d demanded to know how many other guard groups I would have to deal with. Fortunately just the two. Royal Guards are apparently a national police force slash army guard sort of thing. Royal Guard apparently being short for Royal Equestrian National Guard. As opposed to Solar Guard, which is short for ‘Celestia’s half of the Equestrian Army.’.

To my extreme fortune, Lyra had called this a national threat, making this a military thing, not a police thing. Otherwise the Royal Guard, and the Ponyville Sheriff's Department would also have been running their own investigations too.

I decided to do my best work for Lyra’s request… And to do it for free. Who cares why and what she wanted. The mare saved me from death by paperwork!

This was the first day of the week. The rest were similar, because, orders having been dispatched, both guard units then had to, by law, carry out a full investigation each… As they had been ordered to do that, and therefore couldn’t not do it without direct orders from a Princess to stop.

I swear the bureaucracy surrounding the entire situation was actually visible around my home. Like a rusty red haze made of my pure, refined, calculated rage at the situation.

The only thing that got me through the week was Scootaloo. I wasn’t allowed to leave my property, because of investigation related paperwork-signing-every-twenty-seconds-or-so reasons, but I was allowed visitors.

Scoots dropped in every day. We talked, hung out as best we could. We swapped stories about our pasts, sticking to the good times for reasons of constant irritation at present.

I loved her stories about growing up. I wish I had had friends like Applebloom and Sweetie Belle growing up. Scoots had a million different adventures with her friends, most of which sounded like complete fiction. I’d honestly thought she was just spinning yarns until a Corporal remarked that he remembered the time the three of them broke into the Lunar Guard training camp to see if their talents were, and I quote, ‘Army Stuff’.

After that, I’d convinced Scoots to write a book about her fillyhood adventures. Make it seem like fiction, and everything in there would make for a good bedtime story.

I’d told her mostly about the times I’d gotten my hooves on some gold, usually birthday money, and the shopping trips I’d gone on with it. Nowhere near as exciting, but I’d managed to develop a healthy interest for antiques, old books, and of course, jewelry.

My father had assumed I was purchasing the stuff simply for it’s value… I never told Scoots about what he eventually did with my collection. I kept things fun. After all, it’s not every day you discover a desk made from ebony with an ivory inlay for sale.

I’d loved that desk. Sure it was on the fancy side, but rather than repulse me, that one desk had a odd charm to it.

Boring as my stories were, at least Scootaloo seemed to like them. Which was good. I honestly hadn’t thought to tell any of my interesting stories. There was more I could talk about, and we were having a good time, when the last paper was signed, and I was free to do things again, I followed up on Lyra’s advice and took Scoots out to Ruby’s Diner.

My first impression of the Ponyville Redlight district was that it was a gated community. Just a normal, regular, gated community. I had expected something more like the Red district in Haymburg; prostitutes with booths to list prices and store supplies, stages for exhibition, adult stores everywhere. This wasn’t like that at all.

This was subtle. It looked like a regular town until you looked closely. Nopony here was underage. None. There were only adults.

I didn’t realize it until I saw the many bars lining the streets, but there hadn’t been any bars anywhere in all of the rest of Ponyville. Sure, restaurants served beer and wine, but nothing hard. Here there were posters in windows offering ‘The best Whisky in Equestria!’.

There were sex shops, but not as many as I would have thought. The ones I did see had as much care and love put into them as any other Ponyville store. They weren't the rundown scuzzy places I always envisioned.

There were restaurants almost everywhere you looked. Theaters for sexual things, and theaters for normal things. Occasionally somepony in fetish gear could be seen through the crowd of normally dressed or undressed ponies, but that wasn’t the focus of this place.

This was a place made for adults. It was more than a place for sexual thrills, this was a place without children. A place where a fancy meal could be enjoyed without a crying foal. A place where adults could indulge in a smoke or a drink without ‘corrupting the youth with bad habits!’, and where entertainment for older people could be found everywhere.

The Ponyville Redlight District was a playground for grownups.

I bucking loved it!

Scoots noticed my gleeful observations and flashed me a bright smile. “I see you like the place.”

“Ja I really do!” I replied. “It’s not what I thought… It’s, well, it’s an adult’s idea of a good time. Ironically enough.”

Scootaloo laughed, and nodded. “Yeah a lot of ponies think it’s like a massive fenced off orgy space or something. Although um, there is one of those down C street.”

I snickered. “Well duh, that’s a saddle shop. There’s got to be something like that close by. It’s a rule of fetlock.”

Scootaloo tilted her head at me in confusion. “What do saddles have to do with sex?”

I raised an eyebrow at her. “Um, are you pulling my legs?”

She shook her head. “No… Like, do you have a clothing kink or something?”

The complete, total, and honest confusion in her voice, stance, and expression hit me like a wave. How could she possibly-

Oh sweet Faust Equestrians didn’t use saddles as bondage gear!

“Uhh, nevermind! I guess it’s just a Germane thing...” I said quickly and dismissively.

This left the question, ‘What do Equestrians use them for?’, burning in my mind like a smith’s forge, but I knew I needed to change the topic.

“So, um do you know where Ruby’s is?” I asked.

Scootaloo nodded quickly. “Yep! It’s one more street down on the left.”

“You seem to know your way around here very well,” I remarked casually.

“Well yeah, I’ve been sneaking in here since senior year in highschool,” Scootaloo giggled. “First time because I thought it was well… Your standard Red District. Then after that to get away from younger fillies, and now I come here for one of the bars… Uh…

“Ah buck it, we’re dating. I also keep coming here because I collect toys as a hobby.”

I turned my head, her remark catching me off guard. “You collect adult toys?”

She nodded, a little embarrassed. “Yeah. I don’t use most of them… I just collect them. It’s kinda neat how many things get invented to scratch that particular itch. Some are super elaborate and just sort of, well, fascinating. Others just look cool.”

It was moments like this in which I wished I had a manual for dating. Or well, it would be, this was the first time it had come up.

What do I do? How do I respond to her when she opens up with something that personal and-

“Let me guess,” I said, “you don’t use most of them because you lack the parts?”

Faust damn it brain! Why!?

Scootaloo giggled, turning a deep red as a blush spread across her cheeks. “Well… Um… Also yes.”

“I’m sorry that was a bit out of line, ja?” I apologized instantly, wishing I could slap my own brain.

“No, no it was funny!” She insisted. “You just caught me off guard… I’m used to ponies, uh… Light trotting around that sort of thing. Don’t stop though, it’s refreshing.”

Taken aback by her reply I simply nodded and uttered, “okay,” then fell into silence for a few moments.

It wasn’t long enough to be an awkward silence, just a second or two. Thankfully by the time it would have been an awkward silence we reached Ruby’s Diner, and my silence shifted into a sort of stunned quiet.

Lyra had explained that it was a Changeling owned restaurant, but she had failed to explain that would look like a place that was owned by Changelings. I don’t mean that in any sort of speciesist way, it wasn’t shabby, or run down, or anything like that. No it was built in what had to be a Changeling architectural style, because A, ponies would never think to build a structure like that, and B, it was apparently made from sculpted chunks of stone cemented together with dross.

The entire place looked like it belonged somewhere else, it didn’t fit the scheme, and broke every single rule on the book that I could remember! It was a ridged bullet shape, perhaps four stories tall, sort of like if you cut a beehive in half, and made sure the thickest part was the bottom. There were windows, but they were circular. In fact nothing about the building was square, or even angled.

It was all organic curves carved into smooth gray-white speckled stone that was polished to a glassy finish. The only non-stone structure on the entire building was a wooden signboard, elaborately carved and painted to have the words ‘Ruby’s Diner: Couples and Herds Eat For Free’ standing out from the carved out recessed backboard and painted a bright yellow.

It was impossible to not notice this building, and I think that was the entire point of it’s design.

“Heh, yeah I remember that feeling too.” Scoots said with a smile as she watched me gawk at the massive structure.

“I… It just looks so out of place!” I exclaimed disbelievingly.

She nodded. “Yeah, It’s weird, we have a clothes shop shaped like a carousel, and even that blends into Ponyville, but the giant beehive building just sticks out… I think it’s because of the roundness.”

“Ja, definitely!” I agreed.

I walked toward the entrance, which had sliding marble doors that were propped open to reveal a very lovely looking interior. The entire building was hollow, at least, at the center. There were two large loft-like rings that formed a second and third floor, leaving the center of the building free for the single massive Wisteria tree to fill the middle of the building, giving the entire restaurant a centerpiece made from its pink flowering branches.

The tree itself was planted in the middle of an artificial pond, that filled the ground level of the restaurant, and appeared to have been what the entire building was designed around as all of the windows were strategically placed so there would always be light reflected off of the pond, and thus the interior would be lit up with a soft, diffused warm glow.

Even more awesomely was that each table and seat was carved out of stone as well, making everything you could see look to be a natural formation unless you managed to spy the almost invisible seams in the rock.

“Woah…” I breathed, staring in awe at the mini grotto.

Then I did a double take as I noticed that every single server was the same exact cinnamon furred, deep purple mane done up in a youthful bun, grass green eyed unicorn mare, with the same exact heart-shaped ruby cutiemark.

It took me about six seconds to realize that they all had to be changelings, but for the life of me, I couldn’t understand why they wouldn’t just walk walk around openly. Jade enjoyed being a pegasus, but she spent most of her time in her real-

“Welcome to Ruby’s!” One of the masses of identical mares greeted. “I’ll be your server today, my name is Ruby. Just the two of you today or are you expecting more?”

“Just us two,” I answered after a half moment. Then with a quick tail swish as I remembered I added. “Right! Lyra Heartstrings said we could use her table.”

‘Ruby’ nodded. “Okay, did she give you the reservation password?”

“What password.” I said after a moment’s thought.

“Eh, close enough,” ‘Ruby’ giggled. “It’s actually ‘the password is what password.’, as in, the whole phrase. If you’ll follow me I’ll take you to the table. You’re fortunate to have a friend with a permanent reservation, we are booked for the next two days right now.”

“If you are booked for multiple days, why do you sell permanent reservations?” I asked curiously.

“Ms. Heartstrings and Ms. Bon-bon are here almost every night, and will often assist our Workers in transporting charged emote stones to our settlement. Most ponies do not get offered a permanent table.” ‘Ruby’ explained as she led us up to the first of the wrap around lofts.

“Oh! So your hive uses this place as a sort of food exchange?” Scootaloo asked curiously.

‘Ruby’ flinched a little bit as the word ‘hive was used. “Yes miss. We grow everything we use here. Your emotional energy is effectively used as a food exchange to allow us a form of agriculture… I-if you wouldn’t mind, please call it a ‘settlement’.”

“Oh! Right, sorry.” Scoots apologized.

‘Ruby’ sat us down on a table with two seats right next to the edge of the loft. From this angle, a thin but sturdy looking quartz sheet formed a railing around the edge. The only reason I knew it was quartz and was even there was the rough top edge’s white line that appeared to hover in the air due to the sides being perfectly smooth and the crystal literally flawless! It was literally almost as clear as the air itself.

“I’ll be back in a moment with water and our complimentary all you can eat baked potatoes. Do you have any idea of what you’d like to order at this time?” The waitress asked politely.

I shook my head. Scoots did as well.

“Then I’ll be back in a moment.” Ruby insisted before quickly trotting off.

The moment she was out of sight I asked, “what was that about?”

Scoots blinked before nodding to herself. “Oh, the hive thing?”

I nodded. “Ja.”

“Rubies are… a bit neurotic. Like, all of them.” Scoots informed with a sad sigh. “They are super shy about people knowing they are changelings. I hear their queen makes Fluttershy look like Pinkie. The ones that can openly work like this are the brave ones… and even they can’t not be shifted around non-changelings.”

“So… They know we all know they are Changelings, because they openly run this place as a changeling owned diner, but can’t handle people knowing that they individually themselves, are in fact, changelings?” I asked incredulously.

“Yes.” Scoots said nodding.

“That’s like... Literally crazy!” I exclaimed.

“Yes.” Scoots said again. “So don’t be a dick about it, they can’t help it.”

“Sorry, but, first time hearing about it.” I objected. “I think I’m allowed to be surprised.”

“Well, yeah, but still seriously… They give out free food. Be nice.” Scoots said with a sigh. “Let’s take your mind off of it… Ummm… Why don’t you tell me about your friend? You know the one you said you gave shifting powers too. That sounds cool!”

Well, at least that was a good story. At least, a good story in my opinion.

“Alright,” I agreed thinking back for a minute to try and find the right words.

“Around two months ago,” I began, “I was living in a tiny town in Stalliongrad. I’d moved there after college to get away from my family. I had figured that as a proper wizard with some general knowledge, I could make something of myself there… It’s a notoriously poor and underdeveloped nation.

“Turns out they are poor because they have jack shit in terms of resources to trade, and they are underdeveloped because they are a superstitious bunch of idiots who think high arcana is unnatural… So basically after being run out of three towns I decided to just be like ‘buck it’ and joined a town guard.

“I mean, if you can’t use your skills because ‘Teh heresy!’ you might as well take the job anypony can do und hold a stick while looking at things in the distance.”

“What’s this have to do with your friend?” Scoots asked curiously.

“Well, I met him there.” My captain knew I wasn’t at all happy with the job. So when he wanted someone to escort two people out of the country as quickly as possible because he believed, und rightly so, that the Swarm would burn a kilometer wide swath of land in a straight line looking for them, he picked me. Er, that is to say, he discharged me under the condition that I escort them out of the country.

“Now the friend in question is technically a Diamond Dog. His name is David, he’s a really nice guy. Not at all the brutish thugs you picture. He doesn't talk about his past too much, but well… He’s not from around here, like at all. I guess the Diamond Dogs where he’s from are much more civilized.”

“Huh… So he’s not from Canidia?” Scoots asked as our waitress returned with glasses of water, a huge plate of baked potatoes and chives, and two menus.

I shook my head. “Nein. He never said exactly where, but it’s not on this continent.”

“R-really?” Scoots asked in surprise.

“Ja! I was surprised too. But that’s not important,” I continued. ”What is important is he’s a short, skinny, oddly proportioned Diamond Dog who is very nice. Personally I think because he was a soldier und surgeon. Uh, Combat Medic he called it.

“You know that military bearing of a proper soldier? He’s got it. He also acts a lot older than his age… But well, Diamond Dogs here are near-feral tribals who if I remember correctly still raid even Equestrian border towns for food and prisoners…”

Scootaloo nodded with a wince. “Yeah… A tribe of them used to have a mine near Ponyville. My moms’ friend Rarity was captured by them once… It was a close call. She’s lucky her talent lets her magically locate gemstones.”

I nodded. “Ja, that would be a boon. But David… He’s like a pony in a Dog’s body. Und as we traveled, well, he was treated with suspicion. Und I knew that he would never be allowed to settle here if he remained a dog, or if he would, the justified speciesism would follow him for the rest of his life.

“So I had to fix it… I thought about changing his species, but I dont have the mana to do that in one go, und we didn’t have the year it would take me to do it safely given my low manna reserve. Now, the other person, whom I also befriended, is a changeling. Her name’s Jade, you probably recognise the name. Cux Politics.”

Scootaloo giggled. “Actually, no. I don’t keep up with that silly stuff.”

I gave a sage nod. “Ah, well anyways, she’s a changeling. Which made me realize that I could easily create and graft a new organ to David in a single spell, und that if the organ was whatever allowed a changeling to shapeshift, that I could potentially make a simpler version, und give David a single other body to call his own.

“The problem was I didn’t know what made changelings tick, und I knew that it would take me a very long time to work out how they did even if I had a tissue sample to work from. This is where I got lucky.

“On the same ship the three of us were taking to Zebrica, I ran into an Old Biomancer, one of the ones forced to work on… Er, well, one of the ones which were forced to make the spell which bucked up our entire nation. He offered to teach me some new techniques and spells, und I agreed.

“While this was going on the ship was attacked by a siren, und Jade managed to kill it, but got a leg shot off in the process. I had no idea that changelings could regenerate entire limbs given enough love to fuel their magic, und so I stashed her leg to reattach when she regained consciousness.”

“Why didn’t you just reattach it while she was unconscious?” Scootaloo asked curiously.

“Because, changelings,” I replied with a flat face. “Their anatomy is very alien compared to a pony. Without seeing it working properly, I didn’t dare connect anything together. But, the upside is I came out of it with a preserved changeling leg.

“My mentor und I used her old leg to work out the arcane biology behind a changeling’s shapeshifting. It’s…very very complex, but we were able to work out how to make a simpler version of it like I had hoped. It took a month to get ready und I never would have been able to do with without his help. His two hundred years of experience was a gift from Faust.

“But, after a month of hard work, und then some fine tuning, I managed to create und graft the new organ to David’s spine, with his permission of course. Und now, he can take the form of a unicorn at will. Only that one same unicorn, but it works. The best part is since he’s not quite shaped like your normal Diamond Dog, ponies think he’s a werewolf. Which hilariously, appears to be no big deal here. What’s with that?”

“Huh? Oh! That’s because of Hollow Shades. It’s a supernatural monster rehab center. Most werewolves you’ll see in cities and stuff are perfectly safe and sane people.” Scoots answered, giving me an odd look. “You said you explored the basement with Lyra… You know she’s a vampire, right? Some ‘monsters’ are just people.”

“Well, yes, I did know that, but I only meant that the physical differences between a werewolf und a Diamond Dog are very small. You’d think the fear response would carry over, but it doesn't seem to.” I explained.

“Oh… Well, yes I guess that is a bit weird. Then again who said the world's supposed to make perfect sense?” Scootaloo mused thoughtfully.

“No one I suppose…” I mused with her.

I guess I could track down Dusk and ask her if everything was supposed to make sense. If anypony knew that for sure, it would be her. But that was something to do later.

“Oh hey,” Scoots exclaimed suddenly, “I know that you weren't allowed to talk about what happened while the investigation was going on, but I’ve been dying to know, what the hay did we run into?”

Oh. Um… Buck. This was a very bad place to talk about that.

“Well… Whoever owned the building originally was doing some…very cruel experiments. Und well, one of their test subjects survived for the last thirty years, und we ran into her.” I explained. “But this is not the place to talk about it, und for reasons, she would like to meet you, so we can discuss this when Lyra und her friend say that it’s okay for her to be around other pon-”

“There you are! That time is now by the way.” Lyra’s unmistakeable chipper tone said from over my shoulder.

I jumped, turning with startled speed to find Lyra standing a short ways behind me, with Ember just to her left.

“Ahh! Uh, is saying your name like, a summoning thing?” I asked, heart pounding in my chest.

“No.” She said with an eye roll. “Hey Scoots! Sorry to interrupt your date, but this is a bit important. This is Ember, she’s actually related to you, and you two should hang out because a really bad Dark Magic infused forest fire broke out near Trottingham, and we can’t bring her along while we go deal with that.”

“Wait, related how?” Scoots asked, ears perking in mild alarm.

“Sisters by technicality.” Ember answered. “But you don’t have to see me like that.”

Oh thank Faust she stopped using huge words! On the other hoof... “Excuse me, did you say a Dark Magic infused forest fire?”

Lyra sighed and nodded. “Yeah… Some idiot probably tried out some Dark Magic and bucked it up. Twilight and co have the fire contained, but well… If any of them leave their spots to actually fight the fire containment is broken… They gotta keep a shield up over a huge area. It got too big.

“So, I’m going in… Everypony else is already on the way, Meep’s left a portal open for me at Vi’s house. I just wanted to make sure somepony was watching Ember.”

“Uh, shouldn't you be taking care of the fire, like, now?” Scoots asked with a concerned expression that I honestly had to share.

“Ja, that seems a bit important.” I agreed.

“Hey, the Elements of Harmony have it contained. It’s not going anywhere. If it wasn't for the geometric formation needed to keep a shield that big up, they’d have this done already. I can afford the five minutes of delay,” Lyra said turning around to go. “Right so Ember, you’re alright. Just stick with them and when I get back, Cole and I will get you set up with an I-”

Lyra’s words were cut off as a dark furred earth pony in Lunar Guard armor ran headlong into her as he came up the stairs with a loud clang!

“Ow!” The two exclaimed.

“Sorry ma’am,” the soldier quickly apologized helping Lyra to her hooves, “in a bit of a hurry, have you seen a white and yellow uni- Oh…”

The Guard trailed off as Lyra pointed over her shoulder at me.

“Uh, I don't have to do anymore paperwork, do I?” I asked timidly.

“No, no, no, I’m not on that. Sargent Night Watch, Everfree Response Division. Whole different unit. Hold on.” The guard dug into the collar of his silver breastplate with one hoof, sliding out a small messenger gem strung on a loop of leather to make a necklace. “David. Dave, I found him. Second floor of Ruby’s Diner.”

“Good hunch. He can hear me over this thing, right?” David’s voice said, echoing from the gem.

“Yes.” Night said firmly.

“Ja, I can hear you.” I answered, leaning towards the gem to get within its hearing range. “What’s wrong? Is your graft being rejected?”

“No, it’s fine. Kid, do you trust an old soldier's intuition?” David asked.

I nodded, then remembered the gems didn’t transmit a picture. “Ja, especially yours.”

“Well apparently, most of Ponyville’s guards have been called away to help deal with a forest fire up north. And their big guns just got called away to help with a forest fire… And then later their second biggest guns. Right now, this place is almost entirely soldier free, all because of the same emergency, and all over the last eight hours. I don’t like it. Something’s up.”

Oh son of a bucking timberwolf! That did sound bad… But who would possibly be attacking?

“I understand, but that has to be a coincidence. I can’t think of anyone who could strike the center of Equestria.” I said hesitantly.

Lyra nodded, having stuck around. I’m guessing out of curiosity. “Yeah, well, aside from monsters in the Everfree, nothing can really reach us here without taking major city's first.”

“I don’t know who you are, but trust me, something is up. Lily, It would be really nice if you wouldn’t mind skipping lunch and bunkering down with me. Jade’s up helping Twilight, so she’s out of harm's way. I’m damn sure something’s going to happen, and soon.

“I’d really like to not lose a friend. I heard your dating someone, get her, and get over to me. I’m outside. Look… Just humor me, okay? So what if I’m wrong? You miss lunch.”

I gave Scootaloo a look. “Well… He usually is right about traps.”

“I’m sure he’s wrong, but that’s David, right? He sounds like a fun guy to meet.” Scoots asked.

I nodded slightly, and opened my mouth to reply when to my absolute shock and horror, an alarm began to screech it’s shrill warning in the distance.

“Fucking told’ya.” David sighed through the gem.

13 Engagement

Lily - 10th of Midsummer ‘15 EoH - Afternoon

“Out in a minute, hold position!” Night Watch rapidly exclaimed, quickly tapping the gem to reset it in order to speak to somepony else. “Everypony on me, this is a VIP extraction. We’re heading for the safe room in the palace. Come in Everfree Command. Command, this is Sergeant Major Night Watch. I’m escorting VIP’s to Ess Three. Requesting status report.”

In the seconds between Night stopping speaking, and the other pony replying I noticed most ponies here just continuing to eat lunch.

This shocked me to the core. There was danger here! And yet the ponies just to the left of the stairwell were exchanging bits!

“I really thought it would be five months this time.” A cherry colored stallion muttered, sliding a few bits across the table to a cerise colored mare.

“Sergeant Major, this is Command.” Night’s stone informed. “We have multiple packs of Timberwolves inbound from the west. They circled around our perimeter without being detected, and have ignored bait. We are currently mustering the militia. Once the VIPs are secure, if you can make it to the west wall top, we are establishing a command post above the gatehouse.”

The five of us made it down the stairs, and headed for the door.

“If it’s just Timberwolves, then it’s mostly a problem for everypony outside the walls.” Lyra mused. “Sargent, you know who I am, right?”

“Yes Ma’am. Do you want to invoke Command Privileges?” Night asked carefully.

“Possibly. Depends.” Lyra sighed, and retrieved her own messenger stone with her magic. “Vinyl. Vi, Ponyville’s being hit by a large group of Timberwolves, is it safe to leave the fire for an hour?”

“Buck no!” A mare’s voice called back. “The thing just flared up! Nopony told me that they were containing it with their bucking Rainbow Powers. Lyra it just breached their shield, we had to close the portal because this stuff is jumping through any thaumaturgic link. We’re stuck here till it’s gone!”

Okay, David had some kind of psychic power. I’m calling that right now…

“General Advisory!” Night’s messenger suddenly exclaimed. “Eastern perimeter has been breached, two Hydra are inbound!”

“Yeah… Lyra, you deal with that. Don’t teleport up here, it might follow the link back through!” Vinyl exclaimed as Lyra’s gem cut off.

“Wait, two?” Scootaloo asked curiously. “Is that a Ponyville record?”

“No, we had three of them once a hundred and fifty years or so back.” Night said quickly before turning to Lyra. “Ma’am, I wouldn’t have noticed it if David hadn’t suggested it… But we have monsters flanking the city. With our big guns conveniently distracted.”

“Definitely enemy action.” Lyra agreed, moving up to take the lead. “Everypony on me. Where’s this David? I want a quick vote.”

“He’s easy to spot.” I mentioned, looking around as we stepped out of the diner.

Yup. Easy to spot, almost instantly in fact. As a pony, David kept his fur patterns. Multiple coat colors in a pony are really rare, so his Rusty red and cream border collie pattern might as well have been a neon sign. Also his dark brown mane was pretty shaggy and rough looking, not that pony like.

Come to think of it, he was less a pony, and more a pony shaped Diamond Dog… Maybe my spell wasn't as good as I thought it had been. At least his horn was okay…

David noticed us instantly and trotted over, frowning slightly. “I did not expect this many people. How many of you can fight?”

“David?” Lyra asked.

David nodded.

“I’m Sir Lyra Heartstrings, Knight of the Rampant Moon.” Lyra informed, “I’m thinking the six of us should help push the Timberwolves back, because Scoots has no combat training. But she is a Ponyvillain, we know how to keep our heads down. The Ponyville Militia are basically a well intentioned joke who I really should see about getting non-crap equipment. Those ponies need help, and we might be some of the best troops in the town right now. I want to put it to a vote.”

David nodded slowly. “I understand, and I agree. But tactically, and as a friend, Lily here is worth more alive than dead or injured. We will need a medic so-”

I gave David a glare. “Hey! I saved your plot from the griffons in Stalliongrad! I’m not totally useless.”

“Yeah that’s true… Just trying to look out for you. You have the start of a life going on now,” David objected.

He was right. I could hang back and be safe. I did have somepony I loved. But I also was a healer, and people were going to be hurt.

I turned to look at Scootaloo, giving her a grim but determined nod. “I’m of more use close at hoof to everypony getting hurt.”

Scoots nodded back. “Yeah, you are. I can help keep his flanks clear. It’s not like Timberwolves can fly, and I’ve always been okay at making lightning.”

“Alright, but what about the mare with the guitar. I don’t want to take a civy into a combat zone if they can’t look after themselves.” David said with a concerned frown.

Lyra, Ember, and I immediately snickered.

“Yeah, she’ll be fine. Everything’s fine.” Lyra said with a dismissive hoof wave.

“But the Timberwolves?” Scootaloo asked in concern.

“It’s fine… It’s fine.” Lyra dismissed again.

“Are you sure, cause it seems like she has zero adventurer training.” David asked with a thoughtful frown.

“Yeahyeahyeahyeah it’s fine, she’ll be fine. Weh-eh-eh it’s fine, it’s fine it’s fine it’s fine…” Lyra said as she flailed her hooves erratically.

“What was the thing those units say in that game you showed me, Lyra?” Ember asked before nodding in recollection. “Oh right!”

Her entire voice changed, a creepy enough thing without it shifting to a male voice with a mechanical tinge that included an odd hiss of air. “Ghost report’n,” she intoned, fading out of sight. “Never knooow what hit ‘em...”

“Oh... Well shit.” David and Night chorused said amid a double eyebrow raise.

“How the flying buck did you do that?” Scoots demanded. “I didn’t even see a spell being ca- wait, is she still here?”

“Yeah, I just stopped being visible. I’ll tell you later.” Ember said in her normal voice.

“Right, so everypony here is golden.” Lyra said nodding to herself. “Except… David, we are pressed for time. In one quip, summarize your idea of combat!”

David tilted his head slightly. “Uh, why a-”

“We are pressed for time! I don’t get to explain my methods, just do it!” Lyra barked in a tone that David must have found especially commandery.

“Sir, a shotgun to the face is the perfect cure for being an asshole, sir!” David instantly shouted.

Lyra grinned. “I like you. One minute.” Lyra quickly fished her messenger stone from her bag and taped it. “Everfree Command. Command, this is Sir Heartstrings. I’m taking command of the situation. Is Spike here or with Twilight?”

“I’m here.” A reptilian sounding male voice replied.

“Spike, take one of the Hydras down.” Lyra ordered. “All Royal Guard on this channel, redeploy into two units. Alpha unit to cover Spike, Bravo unit to engage the second hydra. All Militia Ponies on this channel, deploy to the west outer district and evacuate everypony you can behind the walls. All Lunar Guards on this channel, move to engage the Timberwolves, I’ll be joining you shortly.

“All Solar Guards on this channel, I would be very happy if you would hold the wall tops, and if I can get ahold of your CO, expect to be ordered to do so anyways. The enemy may send more forces soon. Everypony not affiliated with those groups on this channel, you are free to listen, but keep it clear of chatter.”

I gave Lyra an impressed jaw drop. “Where the buck was this you when we were investigating the lab in my basement?”

Lyra rolled her eyes. “One pony does not an organized fighting force make. David, how’s your spellcraft?”

She started to rush down the street as she spoke. Her thundering hoofsteps seemed like she could be going a lot faster if she wanted. It was nice of her to let me keep up.

“Crap.” David admitted. “I’m more of a weapons guy.”

“Are you armed?” She asked.

“Well, he’ll have his knife on him.” I pointed out helpfully.

“Knife, nifty deploying shield, knuckle duster. I’ve got a ranged weapon, but it’s in Twilight’s keep. Haven’t gotten my weapons license in the mail yet.” David grunted. “Don’t worry about picking up weapons for me. I’m crap with bows.”

“The buck nation are you from where you can be a soldier, but suck with a bow?” Night demanded.

“An industrial one.” David shot back. “What about you? Night’s unarmed.”

“Night’s got hooves.” Lyra said quickly. “My house is right outside the gate, I got a small supply cache. We pick it up, and book it for the west outer dist- Wait, the hay is a knuckle duster?”

“Bit of metal you hold onto while punching. Forces all the impact onto a few small points. Force multiplier basically.” David grunted.

“You use elbow and knee strikes?” Night asked curiously.

Oh yes, these ponies didn’t know anatomy. I should probably remove the confusion so everypony’s on the same page.

“He’s not talking about carpal or tarsal joints,” I said, chest heaving from the long sprint. “The joints between talon and finger bones are also called knuckles.”

“You have hands?” Lyra ask-exclaimed, whipping her head around so quickly she almost fell over.

“Yeah. Technically a werewolf but not really.” David replied. “I don’t fight in this body… It moves to different from my real one.”

“Well, our odds of doing something just improved.” Lyra said relieved. “Uh, so, what kind of hands you got?”

“The kind I know how to use.” David barked back, “What kind of question-”

“She studies bipeds for fun,” Night interrupted. “He’s got some odd ones, a lot like a monkeys, but with shorter digits. Powerful with one hay of a grip, he almost beat me in an arm wrestling contest.”

“Wait, how do you know he’s actually a biped?” I asked giving night a confused look.

“He’s the only person in town I can use as a sparring partner,” Night grunted. “Everypony else just breaks.”

“Yeah Night’s got a hell of a punch. I’d hate to be hit by you going all out.” David said with a wince.

“Nopony wants to get hit by an earth pony.” Scootaloo interjected.

“Doubly so when your special talent is being a strong colt, and you spent your first fifty years laying railroad track.” Night said with a grin.

“Ohhh so that’s why you’re not carrying a weapon.” Scoots noted with a slight flinch.

“Uh, what am I missing?” I asked, ears drooping.

I knew that earth ponies were strong, but-

“You’ll see.” Lyra called back from her position in the lead.

I smiled, doing my best to catch my breath as we continued to run. I was in okay shape, but we seriously had just sprinted full tilt about four hundred yards! The gates were just a few meters ahead. How did everypony have this much stamina?

As we passed through the gates, Lyra nodded to the small nicely decorated candy shop to our immediately left. “All right, that’s my pla-”

“Sir Heartstrings, warning red, repeat, warning red!” Lyra’s gem crackled, a male voice shouting to be heard over the crunch of stone and hiss of spellbolts. “This is Sergeant Anvil Thunder of the Solar Guard, acting XO. Hostiles have breached the walls. Repeat, hostiles have breached the walls. They burrowed up through Spur Street. Requesting reinforcements.”

“Hold on Sargent, that’s on our way. Keep them busy for five minutes.” Lyra instantly replied.

“You know, you never mentioned you were adept in the school of psionics.” I said to David in a bitter tone.

“It’s been less than a month since Chrysalis. I’m still on edge. Seeing enemies everywhere.” David grunted as Lyra threw the front door of her house slash shop open.

“What wars were you a part of?” Lyra asked. “For the sake of trying to understand what you can do.”

“Just one.” David replied, as we all quickly ran into the actually very nicely decorated candy shop.

I felt a bit bad that the first time I was seeing this place was during an attack. It seemed like the neighborly thing to do was to send the place a gift basket, not use it as a staging area for an assault.

“Must have been a hell of a war then,” Lyra noted, “you have the face.”

“Almost a hundred nations. Six years and a day.” David grunted, popping his neck in what I recognized as a nervous gesture. “It happened a very long ways from here. We can talk about it some other time. Right now, we have an enemy literally down the road.”

“It’s fine.” Lyra said as she moved over to a book case and gave it a push backwards with her magic, opening a secret compartment.

I instantly gave her a glare. Nopony hides things behind a bookshelf because ponies use bookshelves huh? I see what you did there!

“At the worst, we have a half hour until any Lunar guard not fighting that fire makes it to a teleport circle and can transport here,” Lyra informed. “We have a Class Five emergency here, Command will have reported it since the Hydras appeared, reinforcements are inbound.

“Yes we are in danger, but we have time to talk as we act. Which is good because I would like to know what you can do, so I don’t get any of us killed.” She said as she opened a floor panel, which had its latch hidden by the book case, and revealed a compartment filled with a few sets of armor and a few arcane weapons.

“Ah, that’s different.” David admitted. “Hold on.”

David was consumed by a burst of green light. Not the one I’d been expecting. It didn’t look like a changeling’s flare, it was more focused, a simple pulse of green as if from a mage light, not a fire. I frowned in concern, eyeballing the aura’s intense and focused nature critically. Something had definitely gone differently than planed…

Especially since he shifted and suddenly had his jacket, and even a pair of pants!

The flying buck? He should not have been able to conceal equipment and clothing in a given form! That was not something I had designed into the spell. I’d made an error someplace. Apparently a beneficial error, but who knew what consequences could come from it?!

On another note, I was very happy to see that David had been lying about his gun being in Twilight’s keep. I was pretty terrified of the fact that he could take it with him when he shifted, because Faust only knows where that mass went between shifts, but grateful he’d done that at the moment.

“Uh, David, after this, I think you need a checkup, you shouldn’t have been able to store things like that.” I said quickly.

“Eh,” he said giving me a dismissive wave of his hand. “Don’t sweat it kid, I worked this out myself. I can take about twenty pounds with me… Man it’s good to have pants again. I don’t know how you ponies do that all the time. It’s so uncomfortable.

“Anyways, Lyra, if you’ll look at the ribbon bars, and the patch on my shoulder here, I’m a well decorated Lieutenant. I have tools I know how to use, just tell me what needs doing.”

Lyra turned around, having just picked up some sort of spell amp, only to drop it, sputter something incoherently, then jump at David to grab his shoulders! Impressive considering he was now twice as tall as she was.

“Where the buck did you get this jacket?” Lyra demanded urgently and barely coherently.

David very gently reached up, grabbed the frenzied mare’s hooves and removed them from his person, setting her on the floor with a grunt of, “Oi! Get off. It’s my jacket. Military issue. I’m sure someone can make you a copy if it’s that good looking, but there’s a fucking war on! Get your head in the ga-”

“Buck the jacket! The flag on it! Red and white field, with a blue canton featuring a field of stars device. I dig that out of ancient ruins all the bucking time! It’s on EVERYTHING! Where did you get it?” Lyra demanded in the same urgent tone most doctors reserved for telling people to move out of the way while wheeling a dying patient to emergency surgery.

“I was given it when I enlisted! There’s a fucking war on! I can hear explosions down the road! We can deal with this later!” David screamed.

“Seriously Lyra, it’s a bucking flag! Talk later, save ponies now!” Night added firmly.

Lyra flinched. “Y-you're right. I’m sorry. There’s no time… Mark my words if you die before we have a conversation, I will find a way to force your spirit to answer every last question!”

Well. That was creepy.

Lyra quickly began tossing everypony things from the hidden compartment. “Scoots, put that harness on. It’s got shield charms and managems to fuel them. Should last you a dozen or so direct hits before you’re vulnerable. Don’t rely on it! David, you have a knife a punching thing, and what looks like a musket. Take these grenades.

“Lily, you know how to use a spellbow? I’ve got two and I’m taking one.”

“The hay is a spellbow?” I asked curiously.

“Dirt simple unicorn weapons.” Lyra said pulling a small silver rod about half a pony tall from the compartment and holding it out to me.

The weapon looked like it would focus your magic through three crystals, and some simple technoarcane mechanisms along it’s length.

“Ah, you push your magic through here and it… Amplifies your spell?” I asked.

“No. Hold it with your TK, point at the enemy, push some extra magic into it, and it fires a spellbolt faster and further than you can. Impacts almost instantly, nearly no travel time, can do about five hundred yards.” Lyra informed turning the weapon over to me. “Super illegal for a civy to use one, so um… Congrats you’re getting a field promotion to Squire for the duration of this conflict.”

“Shit! Right, do you have any mana crystals?” David asked quickly. “Apparently, my baby has a charge time of about a week, so it’s dry. She’s a conjured weapon, built in ammo supplying spell.”

Lyra nodded and tossed David a small lightly glowing piece of quartz. “There you go. If that thing’s conjured, it won’t last for more than a few months. Take it to Pattern Steel after this mess. That mare can make anything made of metal. Everypony ready? Shit, Ember, you still with us?”

“I’m here.” Ember informed flicking back into visibility for an instant, showing up just behind Lyra, before vanishing again.

“So, could you turn all of us invisible?” Night Watch asked hopefully.

“Sure, for about three seconds. Then I’d die due to running out of energy.” Ember said in the most casual matter of fact way possible.

That tone made her word choice all the more horrifying.

“Okay, good to know,” Night replied. “Ma’am, if we sprint and you don’t object to me taking out a few fences, we can be on Spur street in less than a minute.”

“Buck the fences.” Lyra said turning to head out the door before her head turned back to face David as if she were fighting doing so with every fiber of her being. “So, what is your homeland called? Why are they using ancient human symbols? Do you have any ruins you reverse engineer- Sorry, let’s go!”

I saw David’s eyes almost literally pop out of his skull the very instant Lyra said the name ‘humans’. I frowned, come to think of it, he’d never told me the name of his species…

I knew that he wasn’t originally a Diamond Dog. I knew he’s been reincarnated. But I never asked him what he used to be. That seemed…rude. He didn’t like talking about his old life.

My eyes widened in sudden terror, as I realized that he just might, possibly, actually be a-

No! Bad Lily. Danger now. Focus on conspiracy theories later.

No, scratch that, just ask Dusk once this was all over. You’ll want a drink anyways.

Everypony ran out the door. Night taking point, then Lyra, then David, then Scoots, and finally me. I’d made it ten steps before I felt an icy chill on my back. Barely keeping from yelping in terror, I looked back, only to see nothing.

“Sorry!” Ember whispered. “I want to keep close. Nothing knows I’m here, so I can whisper things to you.”

Oh, now that was an idea. Except…

“I appreciate the thought, but you are extremely cold!” I said, doing my best to keep up with the group, who apparently had bionic legs or something.

“Sorry… We can apparently warm up, Cole dose it, but I’m still learning how.” Ember apologized. “I’m not going to hurt you, and I can see magic, since the monsters can burrow underground…”

I nodded. “I get you point. Just… If possible can you hover over me?”

“Of course. Sorry, I didn’t think of-”

Ember was interrupted by a loud crack and thud as Night watch plowed into and through a wooden fence. Into and through being one single smooth motion. A single motion which left behind a pony and a half wide hole through the smooth planks on each side.

“One more fence to go. Everypony get your shit in gear!” Night called as he turned slightly to ram the fence across the now accessible street.

As I passed through the ruined section of fence, I could hear the sounds of battle. A sort of general noise had filled the air since the alarm began, but it had been a dull roar. Background noise. The sharp cracks of stone, screams of pain, and shouted orders which I could now hear blocked out almost everything else.

Every few moments I could see the flashes of light reflecting off of the buildings as a spell shrieked through the air. Each flash of light hit me as if the spells were being thrown my way. This was a real battle. This was happening. I was about to fight.

My heart sped up. I did my best to push the fear aside, I’d done this before. I’d faced a swarm of changelings. I could do this.

Yeah… My limbic system didn’t care about logic. Stupid emotions… Always with the fear.

Night Watch leveled his shoulder as he neared the simple plank fence, grunted, put on a burst of speed, and smashed into the fence. An instant later, the hole left behind was empty. Lyra and David rushed through with a practiced motion. Scoots tentatively moved through, blocking the entrance almost long enough for me to run into her before Night’s hoof reached from the left and pulled her aside.

The instant I was through, I saw the entire battle. The lot in front of us was empty, a building’s foundation filled the majority of the space, not destroyed, but under construction. The street in front of it looked to be a pile of rubble stretching as far as I could see from side to side.

Large ruptured blister-like protrusions of cobblestones and earth heaved up out of the street. Patches of molten rock glowed dimly in the afternoon sun. A group of golden armored unicorns were holed up on three separate rooftops to my left, desperately firing spell after spell into a writhing mass of three pony long, terrifyingly huge centipedes.

They were slate gray with blood red legs, mandibles the size of my head, and busily chewing the buildings the unicorns were holding up on to rubble.

Lyra instantly threw up a shield, a shoulder high series overlapping golden hexagons flashed into being. David crouched down, pulling his rifle up and resting it on the edge of the shield, immediately starting to fire into the rolling mass of monstrous insects.

There had to be a thousand of them. They swarmed over, under, and along one another, moving like a grotesque wave of scaly flesh.

Being soldiers, Lyra, Night, and David, began to pick off the spawn of Tartarus one by one in a tactical fashion. Unlike the professional soldiers present, Scootaloo and I had the appropriate reaction.

I screamed, firing every single last dangerous spell I knew into the horror before me. Ice crystals, flashes of fire, electric arcs, and plasma blooms shredded and burst hoards of the centipedes, forming mounds of gore and viscera which were far less horrific and grotesque than the creatures which they had been, and who's kin began to feast upon their twitching remains.

Scootaloo screamed, reflexively taking to the air in a panicked jump, forcing a storm cloud to coalesce in her hooves, and throwing a blinding bolt of lightning into the mass of pure disgusting evilness! A line of fire chased the bolt as grass ignited behind the flash of energy.

Night Watch vaulted the shield, had our blanket of death screech over his head, and immediately vaulted back over the shield and dive behind us. “Watch your fire!” He shouted urgently.

The mass of writhing way to fucking big insects turned surging towards our position like the arm of a single organism, lunging hungrily forwards!

“Everypony, fire into their flank!” A Solar Guard shouted as they monsters turned towards us.

Spellbolts of every color started to pepper the enemy, dropping the occasional monster, but the tide remained. Lyra shouted something as the creatures closed in. David pulled back from the shield edge as it flowed up into a dome.

A centipede leaned in over the shield edge as it closed. Night reared up, throwing a straight punch into it’s face, popping the monster’s upper body like a balloon!

The shield closed. The monsters swarmed over the shield, jiggling jelly-like eyes hungrily staring at us as they clawed at the barrier!

White!

Everything white!

Eye stabbing wh-

The rolling booms of twelve nearly simultaneous thunderclaps slammed into my head, sending it ringing as my brain finally registered the dozen bolts of lightning which had just struck directly in front of the shield.

Not the small bolt a pegasi could coax from a stormcloud. Real lightning. The natural kind. White and blue ribbons of pure electricity from the stratosphere.

Over the next twenty seconds an uncountable number of lightning bolts literally scorched the earth around us as if mother nature herself had decided, ‘Buck this area in particular!’ The constant streams of lightning hummed and crackled almost musically, drowning out the thunderclaps from each individual bolt as the five of us hunkered down beneath the shield, screaming as the smell of burnt meat seemed to displace the air itself.

Then, silence. As if the sudden bombardment had never been.

I looked out of the shield, noticing the carbonized remains of a few centipedes still clinging to the hardlight shield, and past that, hovering in the center of the now literally glassed patch of earth that was formerly a lot, was Scootaloo.

A blue-white glow slowly faded from her eyes as I watched, awe struck, as it dawned on me that the entire sky was covered in rolling black storm clouds, and she had done that. The eyes gave it away. The Eyes of Meadowbrook, a sure sign that a pony is or has just expelled more power in one moment than most could in an entire month.

My awe turned to horror as the glow vanished, a thick oozing trickle of blood ran from Scootaloo’s nose, and she dropped from the sky like an anvil, crashing in a heap atop a pile of ash.

“Holy bucking crap, Scoots!” Lyra exclaimed, her tone starting out awestruck but becoming horrified halfway through.

She dropped her shield. I sprinted forwards, pushing aside a Solar Guard who had also been rushing towards her who immediately tried to shove me aside as ell.

The two of us let out simultaneous cries of “Move I’m a medic!” before giving each other a professional nod and skidding to a halt on the actually melted into glass dirt to kneel at Scootaloo’s sides.

For a second, I thought she was dead. No moving, no breathing. Then with a loud gasp as if she needed to inflate her lungs from absolutely empty, Scootaloo jerked upright into a sitting position, immediately grabbing her forehead with both hooves and screaming in some of the worst pain I’d ever seen firsthoof!

“Ahhhhhh! Ow! Ow! Ow!” She began to loop, rocking back and forth for the three seconds it took for both the other medic and I to quickly cast painkilling spells.

“Scoots, can you hear me? What hurts and how?” I demanded.

“Brain! Brain want’s out… Of… Head!” She gasped, clearly still in great pain despite my efforts.

I looked over at the Solar Guard, giving him the look. The look which said, ‘I have nothing for this.’

The white furred unicorn gave me a small nod in return. He knew. And fortunately, he immediately began casting a few spells. “Don’t worry ma’am, this shouldn’t be… Ah. Right. Not to worry, I can fix this.” His horn glowed a deep lime green for a few moments, his aura sliding around Scootaloo’s head for a long moment before vanishing.

“Better?” He asked in concern.

“Yeah… Just throbbing now. No… No trying to push brain out of my head…” Scootaloo groaned.

“You gave yourself a hemorrhagic stroke. You’re very lucky you didn’t kill yourself outright. I recommend you eat lots of protein for the next few days. My spell’s fixed everything up, but definitely eat as well as you can for a while… And if you’re missing any memories, there’s sadly nothing I can do. Are you okay to move?” He asked.

I winced instantly. “Thanks. I don’t have any experience with the brain.”

Scootaloo nodded slowly. “I… I think I’m fine… It’s just a migraine now.”

Lyra stepped into view on my left side. “Damn Scoots… I’d say next time lead with that, but how about no?”

“Sounds great… Don’t even know how the buck I did it… Was really scared.” She mumbled, shakily climbing to her hooves.

I felt an icy hoof tap me on my shoulder. “Um, Lily, are the leather armored ponies on our side?” Ember asked.

“What leather armor?” I asked looking up, and then around, frowning. “I don’t see anything.”

“Special Operations use leather armor,” Lyra said looking as well. “We could use a few of them to trace where these holes came from. I didn’t know there were any in… Wait where are they?”

“Um, by the house across the street,” Ember said before quickly going. “Ohhh right, you can’t see thaumaturgic currents so-”

The door on the house creaked open, just enough for a pony to slip through.

“-okay that one’s carrying a foal.” Ember informed.

“Guards, stunbolts! Dust that doorway!” Lyra barked, thrusting one hoof towards the closing door.

The almost simultaneous volley of white lancing bolts of energy formed a sheet light. The concussive thuds of the bolts striking home sounded like a hail storm made from hatred. Around the doorway, a sea of red sparks shot out in all directions as a bright red wall of force intercepted the shots, aside from a patch of blue white sparks as the cloaking spell hiding a unicorn dissolved in a violent spray of magic as it dropped to the ground!

The unicorn was dressed in a full body leather jumpsuit, dyed literally pitch black. Most of the body was concealed under a voluminous slate gray cloak made of thin leather, and trimmed in crimson embroidered with silvery white arcane markings. The only hint of the pony beneath the leather was a slender azure colored horn poking through a slit in the cloak’s hood designed to keep the hood up at all times.

Immediately as the unicorn hit the ground, five identically dressed unicorns shimmered into existence behind the red shield wall! I had just enough time to notice each wore a full face silvery-blue metal mask under their hoods before their rapid vollies of ray spells made me dive for cover.

“They are moving to retrieve!” Somepony shouted.

“That downed foe stays the buck here!” Lyra ordered over the screaming hisses of spells whizzing overhead.

The spells flew overhead for a full minute, a thick haze of residual mana began to form a fog like cloud that hovered near the ground glowing slightly as the spells sliced along its upper level.

Then suddenly, over the noise of the firefight, a few shouted words drifted over the battlefield. “Sister, we can’t reach you.”

“Can’t… move…”

“We shall see you later in death. Farewell.”

“Oh like hell you are!” I heard David shout, the sharp crack of his rifle punctuating the sound of a spell being fired, and the tell tale glimmering, tinny sound of a teleport spell being cast.

“Great shot!” Lyra exclaimed, “Somepony make sure that one’s dead.”

“You heard her! Get moving!” A stallion’s voice bellowed.

I looked up in time to see the Solar Guards fanning out to secure the area, and to see an absolutely huge stallion in Solar Guard armor walk over with Lyra towards the two unicorns.

The dusty red and brown earth pony was seriously massive! Not just in muscle, but in height. The stallion was definitely using some sort of enchantment for the battle. There was no way a normal pony would be almost two ponies tall!

“Nice work there.” Lyra commented. “... Luna’s mane those storm clouds are still sticking around…”

I looked up, the rolling black storm clouds still covered the sky, hanging there as if pinned in place. Damn, the hell did she do? Earth pony magic mixed with pegasi perhaps? Whatever it was, that was powerful beyond my reckoning.

“Same for you. I’d offer to take charge of the prisoners, but I think the pony with direct access to a princess should have that honor,” the Stallion rumbled.

A messenger gem attached to a helmet that lay on the ground near me crackled to life. “Attention everypony! This is command. The enemy just broke ranks and is in full retreat. Do not pursue, repeat, do not pursue. Hold position and wait for reinforcements. Civilians listening to this channel, please remain in shelter until the all clear.”

“Oh thank Faust that’s over…” I groaned.

Scootaloo nodded. “Yeah… My place is close, and I’m so incredibly hungry now… Wanna make some sandwiches?”

“That sounds lovely.” I agreed. “Then we should go for a drink, and forget those giant centipedes exist.”

“Alcohol is a no go for the next few days ma’am.” The other medic said bluntly.

“Well that’s not fair at all!” Scoots mumbled.

I agreed. Battle was one thing. But a literal flood of hundred legged eating machines? Some things called for a little brain bleach.

“How about we talk until we forget this whole thing instead?” I offered.

“I’d love that.” Scoots said sincerely, giving me a shaky smile.

That smile went a long ways towards making the day okay again.

14 Darkness

Lyra Heartstrings - 10th of Midsummer ‘15 EoH - Evening

Some days I feel like I should get somepony to set up a permanent portal to Canterlot for my friends and I to use. Or maybe invest in a teleport circle. Sure, the mana use would be more than I could supply myself, and would probably tax the house’s crystals beyond their capacity, meaning I’d have to shell out for an upgrade, but it can’t be good for Meep to keep opening portals for me every few days.

I swear, if I didn’t have a life firmly established in Ponyville I’d just move back to Canterlot. It would make everything so much easier.

Especially when transporting a prisoner.

That didn’t happen much, but when it did it was a world of annoyance. There’s all sorts of safety protocols that have to be followed, even by me, and even when I’m direct lining that prisoner to an interrogation cell in the Canterlot dungeons. I’d always considered the protocols to be a pointless hassle. Not anymore I didn’t.

As nopony available could teleport myself and the unnamed prisoner that far, we had to take the train. Alright, no problem, there’s military trains kept in reserve at all towns for emergencies. First problem, the unicorn I was transporting was in fact able to teleport.

Fortunately a Solar Guard noticed her attempt to vanish and was able to prevent her from leaving with a quick ward. That guard basically had to come with us, and continuously apply her anti teleport charm to the train car.

Most times I took somepony prisoner, the chains and restraints seemed like an unneeded cruelty. If I was able to take somepony alive, they probably had surrendered. This unicorn, on the other hoof, literally attempted everything in her power to escape, at every opportunity.

Breaking the bolts holding her restraints to the train car via brute force. Somehow completely shorting out three separate anti-magic collars. Three separate attempts to kill me through various means. Using equipment concealed within her armor (which we couldn’t remove because she was arcanely sealed in the suit) to melt a hole in the bottom of the train car in an attempt to drop down and vanish into the distance.

It took me, two Lunar Guards, and a huge stallion literally named Buck Brickbarrel, all constantly watching and foiling each and every single attempt at escape this single Unicorn made as they came.

By the time the train had pulled into Canterlot, I was done. Mana reserve, empty. Patience, gone. Wits, firmly at their end.

It wasn’t the the constant escape attempts that made it a hellish ride. It was her literal nonstop preaching. From the second we had her in chains until a guard forced a gag into her mouth when I finally arrived at the dungeon, she spewed a torrent of religious bullshit.

No pauses. No stops for any reason. It was like if Pinkie was a viciously hostile and hateful sack of horseapples and wanted to tell everything within hearing range that she found them to be inferior collections of eye-crud. And yet, at the same bucking time, also wanted to scream to everything within earshot that her situation at present was a sick perversion of the natural order.

If it wasn’t extremely important to actually get information out of her, I think I might have beaten her to death in the train due to the pure bullshit spewing induced rage. This mare was lucky, so very bucking lucky, that my sense of duty and honor outweighed my emotional side.

She should buy lottery tickets. She’d win every time.

Thank the bucking moon that the interrogation cell she was now in was literally escape proof. Never before did I ever even remotely think that having those cells that warded would ever be justified or necessary. They felt like a hold out from an earlier less civilized age.

Ha! Nope! Here comes Mask McBiggot to make the entire goddamn thing feel totally justified and necessary! Ah-ha ha!

At least I had the breather of delivering my report to Luna before having to actually question the prisoner.

“So, that’s your field report.” Luna said slowly, leaning forward in her throne as if doing her best to not fly into a rage.

“Yep.” I answered.

I just didn’t have the energy to use the ‘proper’ words.

“Ponyville was attacked by three groups of monstrous creatures,” she continued.

“Yep,” I answered, getting a glare from Luna due to mistaking a short pause in her sentence for her stopping her sentence.

“You stopped the attack as swiftly as possible, killing a few hundred never before seen centripetal monsters,” Luna continued.

“Dead.” I confirmed.

“Then the windigo you discovered last week spotted invisible agents via their auras in the midst of kidnapping a foal for reasons unknown, and you managed to capture one.” Luna finished.

“Yes, do you need me to go over the entire thing again?” I asked, seriously wondering if I’d been speaking oddly or something.

I was drained enough to say something like ‘mumble-fumitch’ instead of ‘sleep’ after all.

“No. I just want to crystallize everything in my mind.” Luna said bitterly. “Now then, this prisoner attempted to escape from custody thirty six-”

“Thirty seven!” I corrected.

“Thirty seven times.” Luna apologized. “Implying she’s absolutely dedicated to her cause, and has equivalent training to any member of our own security forces.”

“Yes,” I agreed.

“Why the flying buck does some serious national emergency level problem come out of Ponyville every four to six months?” Luna demanded of the otherwise empty throne room. “Was it cursed while I was banished or something?

“Nothing used to happen there, and now a thousand years later, it’s a bigger trouble magnet than a town which was literally built atop a natural rift leading to Tartarus!”

I triple blinked. “Wait, Muster was a real place?”

“Yes!” Luna grunted. “And it seriously caused fewer problems than Ponyville.”

She sighed and shook her head, standing up. “The fire’s been extinguished, and by now Bonbon will be home. I imagine you want to be home as soon as possible.”

I nodded. “Yes.”

“Then, shall we interrogate our prisoner now? Because if your report is at all accurate, I imagine we both will want a drink afterwards.” Luna asked.

“Trust me, we’ll want ALL the drinks.” I grumbled.

Luna rolled her eyes, stood up, and with a quick flash of light, teleported us to the dungeons.

The Canterlot Dungeons are not as bad of a place as everypony thinks. Everypony pictures rough hewn stone bricks, held together with hardened sewage and mold, with water dripping down from the ceiling to pool on the floor, which is made of plague rats who have malaria.

That’s not at all how the dungeons are.

They are white, flat, square, completely clean, perfectly angled, and absolutely maddening. Everything is white, and perfectly angled. It literally will drive you mad. That’s the entire point.

Everywhere you look, every wall is glowing the same exact shade of white, so you can’t even tell where the edges of any given room are. The entire place looks like a featureless white void. You leave somepony here for a month at most and they will tell you absolutely anything you want to know just to get to see something blue.

You don’t stick normal prisoners here. It’s not for keeping people confined, the dungeons are for breaking the mental barriers of dangerous prisoners. No other torture is used. You just stick them into this white nothingness, into a place where if they do break out of a cell there is no actual exit without teleporting.

Cruel? Yes. Necessary? Also yes. Spellcasters willpower can easily go off the charts. Since everypony decided that mind control magic on prisoners is not okay, room of white nothingness it is.

When I first heard about it, I didn’t think that would work. But then, well, I learned that the guards stationed there get enchantments which let them see an alternate decorated version of the dungeon. Because the guards were literally going insane.

I didn’t have that.

As far as I could tell right now, Luna had just teleported us into the void.

It was honestly already getting to me.

“Uh, so, I’m seeing the white version.” I said giving Luna a hopeful look.

“Don’t worry, we won't be here long.” Luna replied, beginning the walk down a hallway that I could only barely tell was even there.

“It would be pretty nice to get that spell the guards here have.” I remarked.

“Yes, it would. The trick is to squint, then the very edges of the walls can be seen.” Luna replied simply.

“Hold it, you don’t have it?” I asked incredulously.

“No. Just the guards. Nopony else.” She said in an honest tone before suddenly turning right. “Cell one, correct?”

“Yeah,” I agreed.

The cell appeared on my right, literally looking like space had just sort of, unfolded, revealing the new room. Even though I knew that I had been walking down a hallway, and now was looking through a window, it still felt like space just… warped.

“Who even built this place?” I asked aloud to myself.

“Celestia wouldn’t tell me.” Luna grumbled. “To be fair, that was three months after my return, and I haven’t asked since.”

I couldn’t help but notice that the unicorn was still in all of her armor. I didn’t feel quite so stupid for not being able to work out how to get it off her now.

Luna gently moved her right hoof along the wall, searching for something until there was a click. Almost immediately, a Solar Guard in full armor teleported to Luna’s side.

“Yes, your Highness?” The guard asked, giving a half-bow.

“Sir Heartstrings and I need to interrogate this prisoner. Can you restrain her for the duration?” Luna asked.

“Aye, Ma’am.” The Guard replied, quickly pressing a series of hidden mechanisms which doubtlessly she could see clearly.

“So, uh, what do I have to do to get that enchantment you guys have?” I asked the guard.

“Sign on to serve as a Dungeon Guard, Sir.” she replied.

Great…

“Is there anything I can do to prevent headaches then?” I pleaded.

“Aye, Sir.” The guard replied. “Cross your eyes a bit. That will make the optical illusion fail, and you’ll see the walls clearly. That should help you for a few hours.”

I quickly crossed my eyes. Sure enough, the borders between wall, floor, and ceiling all suddenly came into view.

“Thank you.” I sighed in relief.

“No problem, sir.” The guard said, tapping one final spot on the wall.

A flash of gold light flared from beyond the window. I spun, ready to throw a punch or three at what had to be the thirty eighth escape attempt. A completely unnecessary move. The flash had materialized shaped shield spells which formed restraints around the prisoner, forcing her into a standing position.

The Guard observed something on the wall before making a small concerned noise. “Mmm… Your highness, the prisoner is unusually powerful. While the cell wards will be able to contain her, I don’t think we can keep her restrained for more than an hour.”

“Perhaps it’s a property of her equipment. Is there any reason she was left with it?” Luna asked curiously.

“It very likely is,” the guard responded. “Unfortunately nopony on staff has been able to remove it. It’s very well sealed, both arcane and physically. Will you be going in now, Ma’am?”

“Yes. Open the door please.” Luna asked.

The guard pressed the button. Thanks to the cross eyed trick I saw the door slide open into the wall. By chance the prisoner was facing it.

“Abomination! I will destroy you!” The unicorn screamed with every last drop of malice available for at least a hundred miles.

Luna rolled her eyes and stepped into the cell. I followed, mentally kicking myself for not packing a manabar, and bracing myself for the next wave of-

“The horn upon your head is an insult to all true heirs of arcane power!” She continued. “The second I am able, I will snap these bonds, and remove your eyes with your horn before presenting it to father as penance for allowing subequine slime to lay eyes upon me!”

“That’s nice.” Luna said calmly.

“You dare to patronize me!?” She scream-shouted.

“No, I dare to mock you.” Luna replied. “Patronize means something entirely different. Perhaps you would enjoy some tutoring in grammar? By the way, that was patronizing.”

I swear I heard a few blood vessels burst behind the mare’s mask. The next fifty strait seconds were filled with a sputtering rage filled nonsense. Sounds that could have been words, yet were distorted beyond all recognition due to their sheer venom. Until the last few sentences managed to ring loud and clear.

“-and as the unicorns at last stand free from the notions of being equal to the inferior species around them I shall slit your throat so your last living moment is spent knowing the false utopia you built is a failure!”

I couldn’t help but take a hoof step back in reflexive fear. Luna leaned down and gave the unicorn a slim smile.

“Now, that might be intimidating, if well…you were intimidating. Or if I was my sister.” Luna said standing back up. “I think you have me confused for Celestia. She’s the one who shaped Equestria into this form. All of this was done after my banishment.”

“It doesn't matter which of the four abominations you are! All are the same! All shall perish as father demands!” The unicorn scream-nounced.

“Heh… You know, Celestia never was good at solving problems through violence.” Luna mused, turning to look at me. “For instance, this particular brand of zealotous bigotry she’s spewing, was quite popular when we were fillies. Watch this, I’ll poke her ego a bit and within five insult’s we will get something like ‘The world itself bows to the will of the unicorn, that is why we are the supreme beings!’.”

“Those who mock the truth shall feel the wrath of the righteous!” The unicorn screeched ear-bleedingly.

“I should have made bingo sheets for this,” Luna laughed, “As I was telling you, Lyra, Celestia is… A pacifist. She will fight when she must, but she isn’t very good at it. She tends to seek to capture, disable, or rehabilitate the enemy.

“As noble as that is, the idea has flaws… Ever notice how every major threat which returns is from ‘a thousand years’ ago? Nothing is ever from before a thousand years ago. Not. One. Thing.”

“Spare me your pathetic attempts at intimidation, slime!” The unicorn spat. “I can see your aura, you’re half as powerful as I am!”

I seriously doubted that particular assessment. She might be a bit more powerful. I mean, she did give me a real hard time keeping her captive. Definitely had one hell of a reserve, but twice as powerful as Luna? Yeah, rig-

“Oh, no no no…” Luna chuckled, “That’s simply me being polite. I was briefing nobles on the matter of a certain fire. No need to frighten them. Aura sensing is such a silly thing to rely on. Lyra, did anypony ever teach you any advanced sorcery, particularly transmutation?”

“No, not that I can remember.” I replied slowly.

Then it clicked. I knew what Luna was doing. I’d seen her do it only once before. Which was good, because that meant I wouldn’t panic.

“Pitty. Now, as I was saying, Celestia is a pacifist, and that’s the difference between she and I. She likes to talk, I on the other hoof…”

A pulse of raw, unrefined, cracking mana exploded outwards from Luna, leaving her standing in what looked like a pillar of blue flames, which hid the quick flash of magic as Luna cast an illusion spell in order to step out of the flames as a pseudo-Nightmare Moon.

“I prefer permanent solutions to my problems!” Luna roared, lunging forward to grab the mare by her face. “You can talk, or you can talk. I’ll let you choose how that comes to be.”

“Perfect!” The unicorn exclaimed eagerly. “For father!”

I barely had time to jump out of the way as the space around the unicorn erupted into a sea of lightning! Waves of heat flashed over my body, radiating outwards from the sparking, shrieking, mass of energy!

Then, a heartbeat later, the firestorm of electrical arcs was gone.

“Ow… That kinda burned a bit.” Luna said disgruntledly.

Blinking the white spots out of my vision, I stood up, turning to see Luna, illusion disrupted by the attack, looking only slightly singed.

The unicorn, on the other hoof, hung limply in her restraints, ash from several large holes burned through her cloak and armor drifting slowly to the ground.

Luna frowned and placed a hoof against her neck. “Huh… First time one of these zealots has tried a suicide attack.”

“Are you okay?” I asked, coughing on the super ionized air.

“No. I’m quite livid. But I’m used to dealing with anger.” Luna said bitterly. “I’d thought this millennia old barbarism was long dead. Casual speciesism, simple dislike of other kinds, that I can accept.

“But the evil that drives a pony to raise their children to become this… I thought I’d killed the last of them two thousand years ago. It seems I’ve missed a few, a mistake that we will be rectifying as soon as possible.”

I flinched. “Do we really have to kill them all?”

“Yes.” Luna insisted. “I know you grew up under Celestia’s exclusive rule… I don’t expect you to fully understand… While I admire Tia’s ability to create this paradise of a nation, and keep it running smoothly… Her methods depend on dialogue, diplomacy, civility.

“These…monsters, they won’t listen. You can show them scientific proof they are wrong and they deny it. They will scream and gnash their teeth, resist any attempts to persuade them that their position is wrong. Nor will they compromise.

“All these people ever do is force their beliefs onto others, and become more and more violent over time. If you don’t want to deal with their insanity, the only way to be rid of them is to kill them. Because they will never listen to reason.

“That’s why Equestria exists today, Lyra. Celestia can do the talking with the civilized peoples, while I can put monsters like this into the deep dark hole where they belong. Now, come on, with her being dead this gear should come off. There could be a clue on it somewhere.”

Luna removed the mare’s mask. She had blue fur, though it was quite charged from the electrical discharge. I couldn’t help but frown, I could swear that I had seen-

My heart skipped a beat. “Trixie?”

Luna’s ears twitched in surprise. “You know her?”

I nodded slowly. “Yeah, Trixie Lulamoon. Didn’t I mention the time she-”

“Ah yes. The mare who was briefly possessed by the Alicorn Amulet.” Luna mused. “Odd… Did she seem this…evil?”

“No not at all!” I replied immediately. “She was arrogant, a bit bombastic, but… Well, that was just her stage persona. I talked to her after one of her shows once. She’s actually quite nice! Though her speaking in third person constantly is irritating.”

“Third person?” Luna asked, looking back at the charred corpse. “Now this is interesting… Perhaps this isn’t the mare you think it is. Did she mention having a sister?”

I shook my head. “No.”

“Do you remember her cutiemark?” Luna asked in a serious tone.

“Yes, she used it as a signature. It’s all over her pamphlets and autographed things.” I replied as Luna sliced the leather armor off of the mare’s left flank with a thin ray of energy.

A swash of violet energy shaped like crescent moon, with a star-like gemstone of a pale blue centered within the crescent. Not Trixie’s, but very close. Twin’s close.

“This isn’t Trixie. But given the mark’s general arcane theme and overall look, along with the identical face shape, this mare is definitely related. Probably a twin.” I informed.

Luna nodded to herself. “Lyra, would you have any problems with finding this Trixie and getting her to agree to talk to me?”

I flinched slightly. “We don’t have any solid evidence. I’d rather not arrest somepony on suspicions of being involved with a… Death cult.”

“She’s not under arrest. As far as we know she’s a honest citizen. I’d rather have you find her and bring her in willingly and quietly, than alert the enemy by sending out a Battalion to check every city in Equestria.” Luna said with a sigh. “If she is related, and suddenly the military was looking for her, the mare would be found dead in a river within days.”

“Ah.” I hadn’t thought of that. “That sounds about right for ponies who bred windigos and kidnapped foals for who knows what…”

“So you’ll look for her?” Luna asked.

“Yes. First thing in the morning I’ll get on checking to see if she’s got a show on. She’s a traveling magician, shouldn’t be hard to find.” I sighed. “But right now, I need a drink.”

Luna nodded. “I could also go for some tea, or perhaps a Sarsaparilla.”

I gave her a long critical look. “You…don’t feel the need to have something hard after that?”

“Lyra my friend,” Luna chuckled, “you would not have fared well in the Classical Era. Besides, I’ll be saving my proper drinking for after talking Celestia about all of this. Before I do that, would you like to get dinner?”

I nodded eagerly. “Yeah! Oh, hey, how about you port us to Ponyville, and you, Bonbon, and I go get a pizza or something?”

“That sounds wonderful. Just a moment.” Luna walked over to the door, the Guard immediately opening it for her. “Gather up her gear and send it to my armory, along with instructions for my Artificer to reverse engineer it. I want to know how all of it works.”

“Aye, Ma’am!” The guard said, snapping a salute.

I walked out of the room with a sigh. Thank Moonbutt that was over. I needed bonbon, food, and a drink. And not necessarily in that order.

The Hearth, Deepwoods, Everfree Forest - 10th of Midsummer ‘15 EoH - Night

Deep within the Everfree Forest, where the trees are as ancient beyond measure and not even a single glint of light can pass through their branches to reach the earth below, lies a city.

A place where even the most learned and astute of individuals would have no way of knowing if they sat above or below ground. A city difficult for even it’s inhabitants to find within the ever shifting maze of the Deepwoods. The aptly named Hearth, where the Ashes smoldered like the remnants of the evening’s fire, ready to be rekindled with but a single breath to burn anew.

The Hearth was not like any place else within the world. Even the most impoverished people seek to make the space they live their own. Every place has a certain feel to it, even if all that can be found is scratches in the walls of a cave, illustrating some past event. Every place that is, except the Hearth.

The Hearth would give anyone who visited it perfect understanding of the words ‘spartan’, ‘utilitarian’, and ‘pragmatic’. It was the inverse of comfort and luxury. Every stone was placed with purpose. It was a place designed in the way an engineer might seek to create the perfect city, if they forgot the purpose of a city was to house people, and designed everything around industry, economy, and efficiency.

If a sewage pipe passing through a mess hall at head height improved the Hearth’s sanitation system, then that pipe passed through. If an area was rarely utilized, it was torn down and incorporated into a higher traffic area. If workers could not reach their work from their barracks, their sleeping quarters were merged into their workspace.

Nopony not born within the Hearth could ever live within its labyrinthine walls. Without being raised to find walls painted even just one uniform color to be a needless extravagance, the Hearth would destroy one’s spirit within days. But for the thousands who lived within the hidden city, the Hearth was the one sane place in the world. A place of logic, reason, and truth in a world that sought to disguise the harsh realities of existence with smiles and garish decorations.

Within the very center of the Hearth sat the King. The King had no name, there were none alive who remembered it, not even himself. The King ruled the Hearth by Right of Creation. The city was his, built by his own sweat and blood. It’s people were his, grown by his magic and at his desire.

Few of his children had ever seen him. They only existed for express purposes, and thus only those who distributed his orders needed to see him, and so that is the way it was.

The King sat upon his throne, literally and figuratively the heart of the city. The throne was made of solid gold, but it’s square, unadorned, blocky nature told you the gold was not for decoration, or to display wealth. No, the gold served a purpose.

As did each and every last rune and circle carved into the floor, walls and ceiling of the room itself. Visible lines of magic flowed from all corners of the room directly into the throne, and the dusty, hunched over, unimposing suggestion of a creature upon it.

Along with the ribbons of magic, tubes, wires, and pipes ran into the throne as well, feeding energy, strange liquids, and gels into the throne, and perhaps into the King himself, though none knew for sure.

The throne and it’s apparatuses filled all of the throne room, save for the space for a single pony to stand before the throne. This single spot sat directly behind the unassuming door which led to it. The only point from which one could enter or exit the room, magic or not. The only point from which one could get a glimpse beneath the black blanket which adorned the King.

The only point at which the unprepared would see the slimy tendrils of flesh, stuck to the petrified skull beneath the cloth in a manner which suggested they were crawling out wards from within the eye socket, illuminated only by the dim red glow of the King’s single unblinking eye.

Standing in that spot, and staring unblinkingly into that eye was a unicorn dressed in a suit of plate armor. The normally silver arcanite had been dyed Vantablack, making the armor so dark that it seemed to drink in the light around it, turning the unicorn’s forest green cloak the gray of decaying leaves, even where the cloak should have covered the armor completely.

This was Sacred Shadow, the King’s loyal proxy. The only creature under his control permitted to act with the King’s own authority. A creature cloned from the King’s very flesh, the one being that the King knew would never betray him, nor even act in a way which would displease him.

Sacred Shadow; the power of a demi-god, the calculated cunning of the King himself, and the loyalty of a three year old to it’s mother, all rolled into one package. Just as the King designed.

“Father,” Sacred said in a tone both apologetic and yet strong, “I have failed. A TR was captured during today’s harvest. I do not have any information regarding how the team was spotted, but I have agents working on it as we speak.

“Fortunately, our harvest brought us nineteen of the targets successfully. They have been processed and the resources have been sent to the laboratory, all as per normal.”

The King’s eye slid mechanically to center itself on Sacred’s head. “I see.” He whispered in a voice one might mistake for a death rattle.

Sacred nodded. “Perhaps I got cocky… I did not think the Princesses would develop new countermeasures so soon.”

“Such thought is useless.” The King hissed. “Only the present matters. We have been exposed… As I knew we would be after the Ponyville lab fell. Though the cause is different, I have planed for this day.”

“What do you wish of me, father?” Sacred asked, bowing low enough to scrape the floor with his helmet.

“Give the Princesses time. Allow them to investigate. Let them discover what they will about us. Deceive them only in this, allow them to believe you are the leader of my Kingdom.” The King commanded. “When the time is ripe, you will take half of my forces, and attack the princesses head on. Convince them this is your last ditch assault. Let them think they have forced you out of hiding.

“There will be no retreating. No surrender. You will fight them until every last soldier and you yourself lies dead upon the battlefield. The Princess’s will believe us to be no more, and we shall have the next millennium to continue our holy mission.”

Sacred nodded. “As you wish father.” He accepted.

There was no fear in his eyes, stance, or tone. Only delight at being able to help a loved one with a problem.

Sacred stood up and turned to leave, but hesitated, turning to ask one final question, “Father, will you be lonely?”

“Don’t ask foolish questions.” The King ordered.

Sacred nodded, bowed again, and left the chamber.

15 Serendipity

Lily - 11th of Midsummer ‘15 EoH - Morning

It was good to have all the problems tossed out of this place. Despite the events taking place under my new home and clinic, I still liked the building a lot. Without the possibility of ghosts haunting the corridors, and with the inspection over and done with, I could finally get to establishing my business.

True, there was still whatever organization which had used the lab on the loose. Frankly, that wasn’t my problem. They clearly didn’t want the place back, not after abandoning it for three decades, and the guard was busy looking for them. It was out of my hooves and into the proper ones.

It was also true that the ‘ghost’ was in fact back in the building. Because for some reason she was attached to the place and I quote, ‘Outside is too big. I tried to fly up and find the track the lights run along, but it started to get too cold to live and I still couldn’t find it… Can I come back in please?’

I decided to not inform the possible agoraphobe that ‘outside’ is literally an infinite area, and offered her a job as my receptionist. After all, with a place this big I would need employees.

Fortunately for me, Equestrian law provides salaries for the first three employees of any medical facility. Meaning I didn’t have to pay anything out of pocket to get Ember officially employed. All I had to do was take her to city hall and fill out a notice of employment, all she had to do was present an ID she somehow had that I didn’t see fit to question, and boom. The Ghost mare gets two thousand bits a month for helping me keep patient in and out records.

Mostly, I was happy I didn’t have to pay anything out of pocket because I was officially broke. I’d commissioned a sign last night, and the stallion had me pay upfront. This did bug me, as I assumed I would be out of bits for the week with nothing to show for it for at least two weeks. I was wrong.

The sign showed up this morning, and it was better than I asked for.

I asked for a sign with a medical insignia emblem that labeled the clinic as ‘Lifegiver’s’. I figured using my title would be good press, and it worked as a name. All I had expected was a simple painted sign made from some sheet-wood. What I got was an elaborately carved double sided sign board made from laminated red oak boards.

It featured an odd emblem, a winged staff with two serpents coiled symmetrically around it. I liked it, and assumed it was an Equestrian symbol. It was very elaborately carved, and featured some paint to highlight and shade, but was largely colored through the use of carefully brushed on wood stains.

The lettering was also elaborately carved in a calligraphic script which unfortunately made it impossible for my translation spell to actually read. On the plus side it did remind me I should probably get around to actually learning to read Equish. It felt odd to be illiterate in only one of the languages I could speak on my own.

Always tell an artist the bare minimum you need and let them do their craft, you get far better results when you don’t tell them how to do their job.

Also, Ponyvillian carpenters are apparently minor woodworking deities. All the stallion said when I asked how he worked so fast was an ominous grunt and, ‘Kid, it’s Ponyville.’

Unfortunately, he wasn’t going to be able to help me hang it. Understandable with how many ponies homes and how much public property was damaged in the attack yesterday. I did feel a bit bad getting my sign done when so many ponies had much bigger issues.

That’s why I had expected it would take a week. Perhaps because it was a sign for a clinic he got it done first. I mean, there had to be a lot of injured ponies. I was expecting something of a rush today as ponies rejected from the hospital due to injures not deemed severe enough to treat until the critically injured were done with flooded into however many clinics there were.

Frankly, I was astonished that the sun had been up for three hours and nopony had stopped by.

“Lily! There’s a pony here for you!” Ember’s sudden shout snapped me out of my thoughts.

I quickly left the meeting room, where I had been pushing tables into a makeshift operating theater, rushing out into the lobby.

“Yes? What is it?” I called, frowning slightly as I spotted an apparently perfectly fine green and orange pegasus mare standing in the lobby.

“Hello, I’m Autumn Leaves with the Ponyville Disaster Response Team,” she greeted. “I didn’t know anypony was living here again, so I didn’t stop by yesterday. Was anypony here injured yesterday? I have healing potions.”

I tilted my head in mild confusion. “No, no one is injured. Ponyville has a door to door healing potion service?”

“Yes miss,” Autumn said with a nod. “There are generally two or three of these sorts of disasters in a given year. Ponyville General decided the best way to prevent a flood of patients was to assemble a volunteer force to take healing potions door to door, and direct emergency services those a potion wouldn’t help… So, here I am.”

I winced. “So I was right in expecting a ton of injured ponies.”

Autumn nodded and turned to leave. “Well, see you next time. Hopefully you won't need me then.”

“Wait!” I exclaimed as she left and a thought occurred to me. “This is, er, or rather, will be, a clinic as soon as I put the sign up. I don't’ suppose I’ll be seeing many patients then? I mean, if you can afford to send potions door to door.”

“This is a clinic?” Autumn said turning and smiling immediately. “Thank goodness! That means the Redlight District will finally be able to have Five Minute service! I’m a Nurse at Ponyville general, trust me, we can’t afford to give out these potions.

“This comes out of the city’s sales tax and a special disaster relief account that some colt with a finance talent manages. At our best PGH can manage three thousand patients in one year… And last I checked, we were about to hit nine thousand residents.

“So any clinic is welcome!”

I nodded, grateful that I would have work, but at the same time… “It’s sad that you can’t find the funds to treat more than that. Is that a product of the Crown’s funding?”

“Oh no, not at all!” Autumn objected. “It’s mostly space, how much resources we can get, and of course, trained professionals. There’s a shortage of healers these days. Few ponies without a medical cutiemark are going to go into the medical profession, and the most recent to mature generation has an oddly low percentage of healing talents.

“But enough of that, before I go, may I ask what sort of practice you are establishing? Just so I can spread the news correctly. We wouldn’t want gossip to get it wrong and say, have a bunch of ponies with broken femurs show up for healing when you’re an orthodontist.”

I chuckled, her joke was a bit funny. It was a joke too, but you’d only know it if you heard her tone.

“Ja, we wouldn’t want that. I will mostly be performing simple acts of healing, if only because I don’t expect there to be a large market for cosmetic alterations, or bioengineering in a town like this,” I informed. “I specialize in biomancy, which as I hope most people are aware was recently legalized.”

Autumn nodded. “Yes we received the legal update in the mai-” her eyes suddenly widened. “Oh my gosh! You’re the pony who healed Princess Celestia’s horn after the Battle of the Badlands!”

I nodded. “Ja, that was me… Why-”

“How do you do that?” Autumn demanded. “Alicorns are lucky, they have that slow regeneration the Princess would have been fine in a century or so, but thousands of unicorns right now are suffering permanent arcane crippling due to-”

I held up a hoof to cut her off. “Miss, I’ll be happy to share medical knowledge with anypony who needs it. Perhaps I could exchange letters with your hospital so there is a written copy. If you must know, to repair a horn, I first establish a thaumaturgic link with the patient's adipose tissue. Then I instruct it to convert into stem cells, und convert them into embryonic stem cells. I then direct these cells to the horn, und using a variety of techniques, then inform those cells to form the various tissues which make a horn.

“If the horn is simply cracked, chipped, or mostly intact, this will regenerate the damaged portions within an hour. If it’s completely missing or very heavily damaged, the horn should be restored within a few weeks to a month… Or longer if they do not possess much body fat.”

“... You’d probably make more money teaching that Germane magic of yours.” Autumn said with a slow shake of her head.

“Ja, perhaps. But I like to help people.” I returned honestly.

“Good! Far too many ponies in it for the easy money,” Autumn sighed. “Well, I have to go, my shift starts soon. Good luck to you, and I’ll definitely be in touch!”

I gave her a wave. “Auf Wiedersehen.”

Autumn nodded and turned to leave, stepping aside with an, “Oh! Excuse me.” as a light blue furred mare in a purple star spangled cape happened to be coming in at the same time.

“Trixie excuses you.” The icy colored mare said, scrunching up against the doorframe to let Autumn by.

Everything about the new mare screamed ‘stage magician’. The design of her cape, her stance, tone of voice, and of course the instant off the fetlock joke she just made. Total showmare move.

“Hello ma’am,” I greeted, “I’m not open yet, but if you are injured I will help as best I can.”

After a half second, unable to hold it back, I added. “Und you seem to be missing your floppy cone hat.”

She gave me a quick smile. “The Great and Powerful Trixie is not performing today, so her hat remains in her cart… Besides, she would be far easier to spot with it.”

“Uh, then, why the cape?” I asked, ears drooping as I realized speaking in third person had to be her stage persona’s bit…

“... Trixie has lost her saddlebags at sea. Her cape has pockets. Besides, the Great and Powerful Trixie is a Mistress of Illusion! She simply made herself appear as somepony else’s problem,” Trixie answered before looking around slowly. “Trixie was told this was a hotel, but you tell her you offer medical services, did the mare at the store tell her wrong? Trixie has…a history with Ponyville… She would understand if some ponies were…unwelcoming of her.”

I shook my head slowly. “No, I’ve only owned this place for a week. They probably thought I was making it a hotel again. I’m actually a biomancer, and this is a clinic now.”

Trixie nodded, purple eyes looking around the room still. “This place will need some renovation before it feels… Hospitality.” Suddenly her head snapped to face me. “Did Trixie hear you say you are a biomancer? As in, a wielder of the Germaney’s secret art?”

“Ja, I am,” I said frowning curiously. “I take it your uninjured, but is there anything you want? My services are now legal in Equestria. I do sell cosmetic and practical alterations.”

Trixie nodded quickly. “Trixie is here on some… Unsavory business. She heard her father is ready to do things which… Trixie feel obligated to try and stop. But she is not in top shape anymore.

“Trixie has…scars. Old injuries she healed herself, and not very well. They slow her down. Trixie went to Germaney and Neighpone to try and get help, but found none. She can not pay much, traveling has drained Trixie’s pockets, and Trixie has a… Well… She is only here because she must be.

“Princess Twilight will probably object to Trixie’s presence here… So she can’t put on a show to raise money,” Trixie admitted, tapping her hooves together nervously.

I winced. Old injuries could hurt a lot if they healed wrong. My rear right leg had felt like fire for three months due to one of my mistakes many years ago.

“Ma’am, it’s medical treatment to relieve chronic pain, so it’s covered under Equestrian Health Rights. You don’t need to pay.” I informed before turning to Ember. “Ember, could you help her fill out an in form?”

Ember nodded. “Sure. Uh… How do I do that again?”

I rolled my eyes. “How about I do this one und you watch?”

I briefly filled out the form, getting Trixie’s full name, gender, sex (apparently those terms were not synonymous in Equestria), age, and other basic information down on paper. Fortunately Ember was a quick learner, I didn’t think I’d need to explain it to her ever again.

Once the paperwork was filled out, not wanting to take my first customer into a dirty, barely-work-ready room, I asked, “Would you mind if we did this in the lobby? The other rooms are not sterile to say the least.”

Trixie thought for a moment then nodded. “Trixie is fine with this. She remembers the magic working quickly. It’s not as if she will be here for hours.”

I nodded in agreement. “Ja, we shouldn’t be more than ten minutes. So, what exactly is the problem? Poorly reattached muscle? Pinch in the skin?”

Trixie cleared her throat. “Trixie wouldn’t complain about such trivial matters. Allow her to drop her illusion…”

Trixie swept her cape off of her back and rested it on the stairs. Then her horn glowed for a fraction of a second, and a literal full body illusion around her melted away. I suddenly yelped and jumped backwards, almost booking it far far away from the mental whiplash induced micro-panic!

Mistress of illusion was right! She had looked perfectly fine! I’d brushed against her while doing the paperwork, she had felt fine! She was not in any way okay!

For starters, she was missing her left eye. Entirely. Empty socket, no glass, filler, not even stitching to keep it shut. Lots of scarring around the socket too, making animal attack the obvious cause of the injury.

Then there was the horribly mangled scar down her right foreleg which had healed over resulting in what looked like a trench running down her body. Her left ear was missing it’s top half and the right was notched.

Then there was the entire back, all of it. Nothing but crisscrossing perfectly straight scars covering the entire surface. No fur.

“Faust’s bloody mane! Why the buck are you… Who prevented you from getting to a hospital?” I demanded in horror.

Trixie cleared her throat, her voice still sounded normal. “Trixie’s own stupidity and…notions of superiority.” She admitted.

“How long have you been like this? What the buck even happened to-”

“Trixie lost her eye fighting a Roc over a fish,” she explained. “Her ears… Trixie forgets, the arm is from a duel she lost as a filly, and her back… Trixie was flogged for questioning authority. She then learned that salt and lemon juice is a lie, not a healing sav.” She answered, “You can fix everything, right?”

“Ja!” I exclaimed, nodding firmly. “I can, and I will, right now!”

I closed my eyes and reached for my magic. While horrific to look at, her injuries were relatively minor. I could do this easily enough and it would make a world of difference for the poor girl.

Who the buck flogs anypony? Honestly! There’s cruel and unusual, and then there’s maiming for life!

As I felt my magic connect with her, I slowly began to map out her body, searching for any other damage which wasn’t noticeable from the surface. That would probably take the longest of everything I’d need to do. It was also a simple enough matter, so I felt the need to talk to keep her mind off of the admittedly invasive procedure.

“Just a warning,” I began, “I’m not at all able to work with the brain yet. If your speaking in third person is the result of a head injury-”

“No, Trixie’s mode of speech is not injury related,” Trixie informed with an amused smile.

“So it’s just a bit for the stage?” I asked. “Why do it when you're not performing?”

Ah ha! A few mangled muscles in the right flank… Poorly healed arrow wounds from the looks of it. Perhaps she was a guard once, drummed out for some infraction or medical reasons. Did the Equestrian military still use flogging? I didn’t think so.

“Trixie… Prefers to keep the mystery going.” Trixie said after a moment. “But she will tell you, she feels you are owed something for the help. After Trixie had to leave home, she foolishly stayed in the Everfree forest for some time. One day she happened upon a flower, a bright blue, with a darker strip centered in each petal.

“Trixie knew that this was either the rare Blue Dragon Blossom, whose leaves are said to make a tea so delicious it’s heartbreaking! That, or, it was Poison Joke, which bestows a curse upon those who touch it.”

I almost broke the spell as what she was saying dawned on me. “You didn’t!”

“Trixie did!” She laughed. “She did not know much about herbs in those early days… Trixie is much better at woodcraft now!”

“So how’d it taste?” I asked curiously.

“Blue,” Trixie returned in a joking tone.

“So you’ve never thought to find a cure for the Poison Joke?” I asked, almost finished with my analysis of her biology.

“Trixie likes speaking as she does. She feels it makes her unique.” She said decisively.

“Big family?” I asked casually.

Trixie snorted with laughter. “You have no idea!”

I closed my eyes to reflect on everything my magic had found, so I could catalog a list of problems to fix in the next few moments. There was everything I had noticed, but also…

“Trixie, are you aware that you have dozens of small mana crystals implanted all across your body?” I asked.

“Yes, Trixie knows about them. Please don’t remove them, they are Trixie’s secret weapon. She had that done in Neighpone, and has four years of her mana stored in them… Perhaps she should have told you that before. Will it be a problem?” She asked fearfully.

“No, they appear to have been implanted very skillfully, and muscles are mostly working around them… I’ll just tidy up the surgery. Any reason you wanted to boost your reserve?” I asked, preparing my first regeneration spell.

“Yes… But it is personal. Trixie would prefer not to talk about it,” Trixie said firmly. “Trixie would like to know why you're wearing a single contact lens.”

“You can see it?” I asked in surprise, horn flaring as I began the spell to regenerate her eye. “That eye is green. I can’t make it blue, und I don't like having green eyes so I got a colored contact.”

“Why not?” Trixie asked suspiciously.

“No idea. I’ve been trying since colthood. It wont change. I’ve replaced every single part of myself at least once, except for my eye, und my brain.” I informed. “Um, close your socket, your eye should be coming in soon, und everything will be very bright if you-”

“Thank you.” Trixie said, clamping the socket shut a split second before the skin began to push out as the tissue reformed.

Next was her back. I was working in order of energy required, and after the eye, this was certainly the most damage.

I reflexively flinched as I felt my magic penetrate clear down to the spine as it sought damaged tissue. “Ooo… That’s probably the pain right there. Please tell me that the Royal Guard didn’t do this… I’d have to leave a country that flayed somepony to the spine.”

“Trixie’s Oldest Brother did it, at the behest of her father,” Trixie said after a long moment. “It… It took her a long time. But she realized he is not a good pony. So she tried to leave. He took offense at that.”

“I had a horrible father too,” I said, sympathy pains flashing across most of me. “He lit me on fire once. For liking dresses.”

Trixie’s ears drooped sorrowfully. “That’s terrible! A colt as effeminate as you shouldn’t be faulted for trying nice clothing.”

“He’s not a good pony,” I grunted. “But I’m free of him now, and I think I’ll spend some of my first month’s income on a nice wardrobe.”

Trixie shivered as my magic rippled outwards, new fur sprouting up along her back in a wave, “Ack! Itchies! Urnn! Trixie… Trixie recommends, the Carousel Boutique. Across town. Best designer in Equestria. Don’t mention Trixie! There could be… Bad blood. Rarity is friends with Twilight.”

“Okay, what did you do?” I asked, curiosity getting to be more than I could possibly bottled up. “You don’t need to worry, I’d heal my own dad if he was hurt, I won't stop just because of a crime you committed.”

Trixie shuffled a hoof on the floor for a moment. Then nodded slowly. “Trixie is… Boastful, brash, and arrogant on stage. It’s her persona. Fifteen years ago, when Trixie just started her act after leaving home, she stopped in Ponyville for a show.

“Twilight objected to her stage persona, and Trixie may have pushed the issue by not backing down… She was new to performing. The book said to never break character. There were some hostilities, an Ursa Major was involved, and Twilight humiliated Trixie beyond measure…

“News of this spread. Trixie was known to everypony as a joke. She couldn’t make anything preforming for a long time. She was hungry for months before ponies forgot about Twilight’s sort of duel with Trixie. So Trixie held a grudge, she doesn't now, but she did.

“Trixie has…experience working with enchanted items. She sought out something to replace some equipment she lost before becoming a magician, which would allow her to have a rematch with Twilight, and out perform her as a mage. Trixie found such an item, but… It was cursed.

“When she put it on, Trixie found herself possessed by another entity… And she was used to literally seal all of Ponyville under a dome, banishing Twilight from the town… Trixie basically went full Overlord for a while… But the amulet was removed, Trixie returned to her normal self…

“But Trixie ran. She was afraid of ponies holding a grudge. They didn’t know she was possessed at the time. Who knows how Twilight feels about Trixie? And she’s a Princess now! If Trixie didn’t have to be here to wait for…for any sign of her father, she would have never come near Ponyville.” Trixie finished with a sigh.

“From what I’ve seen of her, Twilight wouldn’t hold much of a grudge. Besides, she definitely would have studied that amulet and learned it was cursed.” I said soothingly.

“Perhaps. Perhaps not,” Trixie shrugged. “Oh! That didn’t hurt!”

“Yes, your back should be fine now… Once I have your arm done the rest should be over with a standard spell. You can open your eye now. It should be finished.” I informed, concentrating on the new spell.

It was a simple matter to finish repairing Trixie’s damaged body. The entire process was fairly trivial to be perfectly honest. The hardest thing was regrowing the eye, but everything else was simple enough, mostly just telling the body to heal itself properly and supplying it with energy to do so.

Aside from the eye and missing chunk of muscle, a standard healing spell would have helped her a lot. I could only imagine why she didn’t seek help. Perhaps she didn’t think normal healers were up to the task? Many ponies underestimated what healing magic could do, or objected to non-natural healing after all.

Whatever her reason, it was nice to see her healthy and whole for what had to have been the first time in decades. Even nicer was her happy smile when I asked her to take a few steps.

This was why I worked in medicine. Seeing the smile on someone's face after you fix something ailing them is the entire reason I enjoy doing this. Knowing your work is appreciated is one of life’s greatest joys.

Trixie picked up her cape and fastened it on with her magic in preparation to leave. “Trixie thanks you very much!” She exclaimed happily.

“You’re welcome,” I said, returning the smile. “Now, there is something important you should know. A lot of your body is made up of new cells that exist due to my magic. Within a week or so everything will settle down and return to normal. Until then, you need to avoid as much stress as possible or your body could reject the kinda foreign tissue.”

Trixie winced. “Trixie understands, she will relax as much as she-”

The door suddenly opened! Twilight, Luna, and Lyra filed in, in the middle of a mutual conversation.

“I’m sure he won't mind letting me see this bunker,” Twilight said, looking over at Luna as she entered. “You know, since I haven’t gotten to yet, and this is imp-”

Twilight stopped mid stride, staring directly at Trixie, eyes filled with mild surprise. “-Trixie?” She questioned.

“Holy crap that was easy!” Lyra exclaimed, eyes widening.

“That’s Trixie?” Princess Luna asked. “Ms. Lulamoon, we need to talk-”

“Eeep!” Trixie squeaked, ears laying back flat in a panic!

Oh no no no! I had to do something! Too much stress and that eye could go full auto-immune response! “Wai-”

In one fluid motion, Trixie reached under her cape, and hurled a hooffull of sand at the three mares with a cry of, “Pocket sand!” Then dove forwards, sliding under the sputtering in annoyance Luna and out the door.

It was going to be another one of those days… Wasn’t it?

16 "Trixie needs no narrator! Stand aside!"

The Great and Powerfull Trixie - 11th of Midsummer ‘15 EoH - Morning

The Great and Powerful Trixie felt her heart slow as the two princesses, and presumably one of their concubines, walked into the doorway. A quarter hour ago, Trixie could have walked right past them, unnoticed due to her Somepony Else’s Problem spell. But Trixie had lowered her illusions to allow the young Doctor to work on her.

Trixie was exposed!

Thinking fast, the Great and Powerful Trixie reached into her pocket for a smoke bomb, but was dismayed to discover she had reached into her pocket of silica dust instead. With a grim heart she threw the expensive sand, wishing to avoid resorting to combat in her getaway.

All that would do would be to damage this young stallion’s establishment. Trixie had already spaced his name. She should at least not damage his property...

“Pocket sand!” Trixie shouted, throwing the hoof full of sand in an arc and bolting forward in one swift and fluid lunge.

The phrase was more distracting than Trixie’s actual sand. The three mares flinching at the expectation of more sand than was coming gave Trixie the opening to slide under Luna’s belly, respectfully avoiding a peek upwards (Even though Trixie loves to gawk at a pretty mare, there is such a thing as being rude.), and sliding out the door to the safety of the yard!

Safety? What in Tartarus is Trixie thinking? There’s an open doorway to her plot, not a wall!

Trixie scrambled to her hooves, and immediately noticed a pile of old rotten cloth and furniture, presumably having been recently removed from the old fortress. She sprinted, dove, and slid into place between a moldy futon and a pile of moth-eaten drapes. Then she quickly wrapped her cape about herself and cast a spell, projecting the appearance of a soiled pile of rags over herself.

Illusions were the Great and Powerful Trixie’s special talent. Not only the sleight of hoof tricks, but all forms of illusion, even the School of Magic. Not even Twilight Sparkle would be able to detect her-

The three burst from the door! Looking for any sign of Trixie’s trial. Fools! There wasn’t one to fi-

“There she is!” The minty colored presumably-a-concubine mare exclaimed, pointing directly at Trixie! “Scent trail stops right there!”

Motherbucker!

Trixie jumped, flipping over backwards to land atop the futon as Luna’s telekinetic grip engulfed the spot she had been a second before!

It was as Trixie feared, she remained a wanted mare. Long range teleportation would have been nice, but sadly, Trixie had never been able to wrap her head around the math. Trixie had no choice but to escalate her game!

As her rear left hoof touched down, Trixie threw her forelegs to the sides, sprang off the broken chair, somersaulted to the left, spawned three doppelgangers of herself with a quick spell, then immediately focused and teleported to the house built upon the fortress’s roof! At least Trixie could teleport places she could see…

“The real one went to the roof!” Twilight exclaimed, leaping into the air, wings beating to send her rapidly into the sky.

Curses! Of course Ms. Talented in All Magic would have sensed Trixie’s spell. The Dopplegangers had no reason to teleport, what was Trixie thinking!?

Trixie took a deep breath, she didn't’ want to fight anypony, and the two Princesses swiftly bearing down upon her showed they were quite serious about capturing her. Trixie knew that Twilight could teleport anywhere she wished, she would not be able to outrun her. As for the Princess of the Moon, Trixie knew she could track a falcon over bare stone on a cloudy day.

Trixie sighed. She hated fighting. It was so boring, to easy, too simple. There had to be some avenue to avoid such tedium, the game couldn’t end just yet, Trixie was having fun!

In a burst of inspiration, Trixie reared up, reached beneath her cloak, burned a little mana to make her aura flare brightly, then threw a spread of illusory daggers, ten from each hoof, spraying them air in front of her with the non-substantial weapons, making them burst apart into dozens of tiny metal shards in mid air!

The two princesses immediately threw up shields! Trixie dove forwards, taking advantage of the shield raising induced split second of blindness to vault over the rail around the roof before dropping into the courtyard below. She landed amidst her doppelganger's each of whom was busily performing random actions.

All Trixie had to do was blend in and allow them to think she was gone.

“Got her!” The minty mare shouted.

A pair of legs wrapped themselves around Trixie’s barrel with far more strength than should have been possible!

Trixie’s doppelgangers vanished as her concentration was broken. With an alarmed yelp, Trixie did her best to throw the crazy-strong mare from her back, but to no avail! Even worse she noticed the two Princesses circling overhead, forming a ceiling on the tiny courtyard.

“Let her go!” The young doctor's voice shouted. “She can’t get too stressed! I just heal-”

Trixie was not stressed! Trixie was having fun. Well, okay, she was a little afraid, but Trixie had been in worse places. She could still get out of this.

“Bees!” Trixie shouted, throwing up an illusion to make it appears as if she had exploded into a pony sized swarm of bees!

The minty mare let go of Trixie with a horrified shriek, allowing Trixie to sprint for the open archway towards freedom!

Only to let her illusion drop and skid to a halt as two ponies suddenly walked into the archway. One was the Element of Laughter herself, and the other was a burnt orange pegasus stallion with extremely handsome features.

Blast! The Purple Terror had called for reinforcements!

“Woah! Part three!” The stallion exclaimed, ears standing up in a gleeful surprise.

“Hi Trixie!” Pinkie greeted with a cheerful halfwave, like the creepily permanently happy mare she was.

“Sky! Do something!” The doctor called as Trixie dodge rolled to her right to avoid a telekinetic grab from Luna.

The stallion, Sky, nodded. “Right!” He said firmly, reaching back for his saddlebags and retrieving a boombox, which he immediately set down and activated.

The sounds of a dramatic choir and orchestra filled the courtyard. “Pinkie, popcorn me.” Sky ordered.

“Here ya go, Triggie.” Trixie heard Pinkie say as Trixie reached into her cape and threw a smoke bomb the minty mare’s way.

“Faust verdammt! I meant stop them! Trixie can’t get too stressed! Medical reasons!” The doctor shouted.

“Sorry Lily, but we need to talk to her, National Security!” The minty mare shouted back.

Trixie was not liking the current odds. At the present rate she would have to use more than illusions and implied danger. Not only would that be boring, but it would make life even harder as the Princesses might have her prosecuted. At the same time, Trixie could not afford a prison sentence now.

She had to stay free so she could assassinate father. The Great and Powerful Trixie therefore also couldn’t use too much mana escaping. Her upgrades only let her save a day’s unused energy for the future, they didn’t allow her to generate more mana faster…

“I’d stop her, but you wouldn’t appreciate the mess,” Sky called. “So... We came over to take you to breakfast, and I was thinking of building you a few odds and ends for your clinic.”

Ah ha! So Twilight hadn't called for them! Trixie had an opening.

“Demigods are fighting one of my patients!” The doctor shouted angrily.

“Yeperooni!” Pinkie called as Trixie leapt over the minty mare’s head with a telekinetic assist. “This is the third time too! Last time it was a magic-off.”

Twilight whistled, prompting Trixie to look up and see the barrage of stun bolts screaming her way! Trixie teleported to the opposite side of the arena, arriving next to the junk pile once more. The stun bolts thudded to the stone in a shower of lavender sparks!

Taking advantage of the disorientation, Trixie drew upon her magic, spawning a second group of doppelgangers, and teleported again, swapping places with the one to the left.

“Hell yeah! Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!” Sky exclaimed exuberantly.

Trixie blinked in surprise. An audience? For her escape? Well then, it was only fair for her to give them a show!

“Sky, help, please!” The doctor pleaded.

“No, Sky, don’t help!” Twilight begged as she dove downwards, firing a volley of ray spells which dispelled several of Trixie’s doubles.

“Sorry little bro, you heard the Princess,” Sky replied causally. “They’ll be fine. Look, pull up a chair, this is awesome! ”

Trixie looked upwards, Luna was diving down, forelegs outstretched to grab. There was no time to dodge! Trixie felt the Princess’s hooves grip her shoulders as her own hooves left the ground!

Thinking quickly, Trixie leaned forwards and kissed Luna on the nose with the best romantic kiss she could manage! Luna sputtered, dropping Trixie in confusion, giving her enough time to roll behind the junk pile for a quick breath of air to soothe her burning-from-a-serious-workout muscles.

“Luna! Why?!” Twilight demanded.

“She kissed me!” Luna exclaimed in shock.

“That’s no reason to drop her!” Twilight shot back angrily.

“Yeah! Romantic flights are the best flights!” Pinkie agreed eagerly.

With breath regained, Trixie raced around the side of the pile, moving for the archway. If she could get into the street, there would be an open door or a window she could see and teleport through. Trixie could do this! Trixie could-

Be blocked by the minty mare standing between her and the archway! Curses, foiled again!

Trixie juked to the side, dodging a triple blast of golden stunbolts with a smile, coyly moving at the last possible second with all of her speed to make it a better show for her audience. Even if it was only for two of them.

Reaching under her cloak, Trixie retrieved a length of rope, and gave it a whirl in preparation to throw!

“You’re not fooling me with another illusion!” The minty mare exclaimed, refusing to budge.

Trixie threw the rope, animating it mid flight to coil about the mare’s legs in a tight knot!

“That one’s real!” Trixie called with a laugh.

Trixie was free and clear! She bunched her legs beneath her, dove under another telekinetic grab from the cute Princess, used her own telekinesis to give herself a burst of speed, blazed a trail towards the archway, jumped to clear the air above Sky-

And smashed into something with a crunch and shower of blue-gray static, stopping her dead in her tracks!

“Urgh…” Trixie groaned, getting back up to her hooves.

“Shield generator in the saddlebag buckle. Blocked the archway.” Sky said through a mouthful of popcorn, preempting Trixie’s question with the answer.

Trixie staggered to her feet, temporarily dazed by the impact. So dazed in fact, that she forgot she had hooves instead of feet. A very weird thing considering Trixie never had feet in her life!

Trixie had just enough time to worry she might have gotten a concussion before Princess’s Luna’s aura tightly engulfed her body, lifting her a short distance off the ground!

“Enough!” Luna shouted. “It’s over, the day is ours, stop struggling!”

It would certainly seem like that, but Trixie had one trick in her cape for this sort of thing. Though she would rather not use it. There was but one thing to do.

“Trixie will cooperate if she is allowed to leave after being interrogated and not imprisoned.” Trixie promised.

“Awww!” Sky sighed, turning off his boombox. “I wanted to force an aerial exit…”

“It’s okay Triggie, we’ll just wait for part four! It gets better every time, so next time will totally be a fight on top of an airship or something!” Pinkie soothed while patting him on the back.

Trixie nodded to herself. Yes, an airship battle would be fun, but why not have it take place hopping between the tops of TWO airships? That would be far more dramat-

“Wait!” Twilight demanded landing a short ways away from Trixie, looking at her in total bafflement, “You thought you were under arrest? Luna, you said she was wanted for questioning, she didn’t commit some crime I haven’t heard about, has she?”

“Based on her fleeing, I’m guessing she has,” Luna said firmly. “We can’t talk about this in public… Baron von Maresburg, may we use your business's privacy for a short time?” Luna asked looking at the white stallion.

“Yes, if I am allowed to remain near her to ensure you don’t cause an autoimmune response- Wait, Baron? What?” The doctor asked.

Von Maresburg? Now that was interesting… Very interesting! Trixie had a question for the ‘good’ doctor now, one she could reasonably leave until they were inside.

“Celestia has finalized your recompense for saving her from crippling injury, while not officiated yet, you have been granted the title of Baron. As such, I included it in the required formal request to use your property.” Luna explained. “I also accept your terms. Doctor Trigger, Lady Trigger, Sir Heartstrings, I’m afraid you must wait here until we are done… And no eavesdropping, spying, or otherwise observing the goings on!”

“I make no promises.” Sky and Pinkie chorused.

Twilight facehooved. “Luna, if you’d said nothing, it wouldn’t have been a problem, now it will be!”

“Trixie would like clarification, is she or is she not under arrest?” Trixie asked.

Luna grit her teeth. “Must you speak in third person?”

“Yes...” Trixie answered in a deadpan.

She must also think in the third person, but that is neither here nor there.

“Luna, trust me, she does that all the time, she’s not mocking you.” Twilight said as the two, began to take her inside.

Luna nodded. “Very well. Ms. Lulamoon, you are wanted for questioning regarding a possible sibling of yours in relation to her criminal activities. Activities which your fleeing suggest you are an accomplice to.”

Trixie felt she may as well be honest. “Trixie has many sisters. If you caught one, then she understands why you sought her out. Trixie has nothing to do with her family anymore… Also, Trixie ran because she thought Twilight was going to press charges for her… Amulet fueled rampage.”

Twilight gave Trixie another baffled look. “Why would I do that? You were possessed by a piece of King Sombra’s Regalia! A litch was slowly transforming you into itself! You literally couldn’t have been prosecuted for any of that if I’d wanted to. Sure, at the time I’d thought you had done everything under your own accord, but you seemed genuinely apologetic and it was clear the power had gone to your head.”

Trixie did not comprehend what Twilight meant. “Trixie doesn't understand.” She said as Luna brought her back into the ‘clinic’ and Twilight closed the door, leaving her along with the Princesses and the doctor of ironic relations.

“Uh, I forgave you for that. It’s water under the bridge.” Twilight elaborated with a frown.

There was that word again. Forgave. Forgive. Trixie didn’t understand that word. It’s concept felt alien… It didn’t mesh with any of her experiences.

“Trixie still doesn't understand…” Trixie said with an apologetic frown.

“S-seriously?” Twilight asked along with Luna, the doctor, and his secretary.

“Oh! Right. Ember, can you give us some privacy please?” Lily asked.

“Sure.” The blue almost cute mare agreed, trotting off deeper into the clinic.

Trixie nodded. “Yes. She knows not what you mean.”

Twilight triple blinked. “You don’t understand the concept of forgiveness? That a pony can have ill feelings towards you, but later, over time, those feelings go away, and they put the issue behind them to allow you a second chance?”

Trixie shook her head. “No… Trixie’s not dumb. She knows the word, but… She’s never experienced it’s meaning. You can know a word, but if you don't think you’ve ever seen what that word means it’s… It’s not something you understand.”

“You’re saying that in your entire life, nopony has ever forgiven you for anything?” Luna asked Trixie incredulously.

“Trixie has lived away from her family for fifteen years. She has traveled all that time, she’s not been to the same place twice more than a dozen times,” Trixie explained. “She hasn’t had friends. She doesn't understand a lot of social things ponies do because of that… And she’s very sure her father doesn't know even the word forgive.”

Everypony grew silent for a few long moments. The doctor eventually broke the silence.

“It’s even worse when you know she came in here to get her back healed from a flogging…” He mumbled while looking upon the floor.

Why do ponies do that? The floor is not a conversational partner! Ah well, a question for another time.

“Trixie will answer your questions,” Trixie said, hoping to be let free of Luna’s telekinetic grip as she was not a fan of immobilization, “but first, Doctor, are you related to Herzog Verhärtetes Herz von Maresburg?”

The white stallion flinched with an intensity Trixie had not expected. It looked like his mouth wanted to rip open to stretch even more!

“Ja, let’s not talk about my father. I have abandoned that family.” He said slowly.

“Is this true?” Trixie asked.

“Ja… I told you, he lit me on fire once. Why would I have anything to do with him? Why do you think I’m here and not in Germaney anymore?” He asked bitterly, kicking a hoof against the floor.

“Trixie is sorry for bringing it up. But it’s rather ironic because your father knows Trixie’s father.”

“It’s not ironic, it's just coincidental!” Sky's voice exclaimed irritably.

All heads turned to the direction of the voice in time to see pink and green hooves pull the speaker out of sight accompanied by a loud,”SHHHH!”

Twilight sighed into her hoof. “Told you… I swear, those two...”

“Anyway... Trixie knows this because she once inspected inbound freight, and Herzog Verhärtetes Herz von Maresburg sent much of the cargo,” Trixie explained.

Trixie turned to Luna. “Will you let go of Trixie please? She is on your side… Assuming you also wish her father to die.”

Luna nodded slowly. “Assuming we are talking about the same-”

“Whoa! Hold it! Why would you want to kill your own father? How can you even think of doing that?” Twilight exclaimed in shock, jaw hanging slack.

“Trixie’s father is evil,” Trixie explained.

“Uh, Twilight,” Luna began, “I didn’t give you more than the basic information-”

Twilight swelled slightly, anger building as she exclaimed. “Just because he’s evil doesn't mean you need to kill him! Everypony deserves-”

Trixie let her ears lay back, as she gave Twilight an angry glare. “Equestrians like you are almost idiots! Trixie understands that you abhor violence, but you are pacifists to a fault. My father wants nothing more than to see your head on a stake in front of his throne as he rules over all Equestria, with all Pegasi and earth ponies merely disposable slaves under the unicorns.

“He sees this as the natural order. As good, just, and fair. He has held his beliefs for many thousands of years and the longer a pony holds onto a belief, the harder it is to change it. He will not stop unless he is killed. He would happily wait out a thousand year banishment and then simply begin again from scratch. He has already done that very thing once before!

“Trixie understands your objection. Though designed for battle, killing bores her. She doesn't like it. But sometimes it’s necessary and proper to destroy somepony, and that’s how it is with Trixie’s father… It… It breaks her heart.

“He’s evil. Trixie knows that now. It took many things. Her flogging. Being made to fight a Roc to prove she was worthy and losing her eye… He never cared. Trixies are disposable. Tools. But even…even now she still loves him. We all do. But she knows he is evil, delusional, and a threat to others… And there is only one way to stop him!”

Trixie had never opened up to anypony completely before. It felt… Liberating.

It also apparently put other ponies into horrified silence. See this is why Trixie never talks about her past in detail. The conversation just stops dead…

“Well… It's safe to say that you are related to the terrorist we captured.” Luna said at last breaking the silence.

“You said you captured a terrorist, not an indoctrinated pony carrying out the will of an ancient and evil person!” Twilight objected, ears drooping as she gave Luna a horrified look.

“Twilight, we were in the middle of the street! This is a national security matter.” Luna hissed.

She nodded slowly. “I...I know but I wasn’t prepared for-”

“Trixies are not indoctrinated,” Trixie said objectively. “That implies being taught not to think of other ways of thinking critically. Trixies are taught that… We are also taught logical proofs dismantling those viewpoints as fallacious. We are taught that all beliefs are meaningless and arbitrary, Trixies believe nothing, so we only want to make father happy. It’s probably worse than indoctrination.”

“Wait, Trixies?” The doctor asked. “As in plural?”

He gave Trixie a suspicious look. Ah yes, he was a biomancer. He knew, or at least suspected.

“Trixie is…a pony. We can all agree on this?” Trixie asked, turning to look at everypony with a concerned frown.

“Um, obviously,” Twilight said with a suspicious eyebrow raise.

“Well, you could be a changeling,” Luna mused.

Trixie giggled. “Trixie wishes she was a changeling! She’s always wanted to be with ponies who don't like Trixie because of her sex. Being able to change that when Trixie wanted to would be wonderful. But no, Trixie is a unicorn… Sort of.”

“You’re a clone.” The doctor said decisively, giving Trixie a little nod.

“Oh please! That’s not even remotely scientifically or arcanely poss…” Twilight trailed off, a look on her face suggesting she realized she was talking to somepony who would know better than she did on the subject. “Germaney has made viable equine clones, haven’t they?”

“Ja. We have. Und it’s not very hard,” He answered. “You just need to know biomancy. I could make a clone if I liked… But I have no reason to. It's also not very ethical... Individual organs sure, but there's no point to cloning an entire person. Other than to mass produce people. Who are you a clone of, Trixie?”

“Trixies are not a clone of anypony. Trixies were designed from scratch. The Great and Powerful Trixie is the first Trixie.” Trixie explained.

“This is why third person speak is so infuriating!” Luna growled. “What do you mean by that.”

“The Trixie you are talking to,” Trixie explained again, “is called the Great and Powerful Trixie. She is the first Trixie, and was created in a test tube. This is the original and best Trixie.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold it!” Twilight exclaimed holding out a hoof in a stop gesture. “You mean that ‘the Great and Powerful’ is actually part of your name?”

Trixie nodded and smile. “Yes. This Trixie is the prototype. She was too expensive, so the other Trixies are less powerful, thus, this Trixie is ‘the Powerful Trixie’. This Trixie is also the only pony ever to leave the Ashes, and follow her own will, thus, this Trixie is greater than her sisters. Therefore, this Trixie is ‘The Great and Powerful Trixie’.”

“... So… Your uh, family, called you the Powerful Trixie for your entire fillyhood? No wonder you're a bit arrogant.” Twilight mused in a not-intending-to-be-rude tone.

Trixie shook her head. “No they called this Trixie TR-A0. There are too many Trixies to have names. They have numbers… When Trixie left there were over three thousand of us.”

“This is very important information,” Luna said with a sigh. “But please, can you stop the third person?”

“No,” Trixie said with an irritated pout.

“She drank Poison Joke tea,” the doctor explained.

“Ohhhh,” Luna said ears drooping apologetically. “I apologize. There are cures for Poison Joke, I could fetch you one before we conti-”

“Trixie likes being different from other Trixies, and thinks her speech makes her endearing,” Trixie dismissed. “More questions about her family, please.”

“How powerful are you compared to your sisters?” Twilight asked curiously.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie was four times as powerful as her sisters. She has since been augmented, and believes she could match Princess Cadence or maybe Princess Luna in magical power… For a short time at least,” Trixie replied.

“I think not,” Luna said with a dismissive snort. “You are excellent at evasion, but there is no way-”

“Trixie did not once attack anypony other than your concubine. Despite easily being able to. Violence bores Trixie, it’s too easy, so she prefers to make a game of avoiding-”

“Concubine?” Luna asked wide eyed.

Twilight snickered. “Lyra’s only her friend and in her service as a Knight.”

“Oh…” Trixie embarrassedly tapped her hooves together. “Trixie just assumed, since well, if she were a Princess, she’d have pretty mares and stallions follow her around all the time, so, you know... She thought you would also do that.”

“I would. If Celestia wouldn’t be steaming mad over it…” Luna admitted with a light blush. “But Lyra’s a married mare. Completely devoted too. It’s a good thing she’s not here to hear- Oh tartarus… She’s listening in with the others…”

“Sorry Lady Lyra!” Trixie apologized, not wanting to be smacked for misunderstanding her hierarchical position.

“Anyways!” Trixie said loudly. “Trixie’s sisters are probably a third of Twilight’s strength, before she became a Princess. They number at least three thousand, and are one of four lines. Trixies are father's Shock Troopers. He also has spies, engineers, and mages. Our family is perhaps eight thousand in total.

“They are deep within the Everfree Forest, in a place known as Deepwoods, in the city of the Hearth. Trixie can mark it on a map for you. The city is underground, but there are many entrances. It’s supplies come from donors who would see farther assume Equestria’s throne, it is not self sufficient, but attempting to starve them out would only result in open warfare…

“Though that’s unavoidable. You found a Trixie, father will know, and so he will enact a standing order. Trixie’s Oldest Brother, Sacred Shadow, will mostly likely be told to take half of our family and openly attack a city, probably Ponyville… He hates Celestia greatly and knows she loves this town.

“Shadow will pretend to be in charge and happily die on the battlefield… We all would… The point of this is to trick you into thinking the organization is no more so he can work in peace again.”

“Why?” Luna asked.

“Why what?” Trixie asked back, hating the question game with the flaming passion of a quadrillion toaster ovens.

“Why tell us all of this. I know you want him dead, but you realize that whatever we do, it will result in the deaths of much of your…family,” Luna rephrased.

Trixie sighed. It was hard for her to say this, perhaps the hardest thing. But she had to, because it was true.

“My family shares my father's madness. I could not shake anypony out of their beliefs once I lost mine…” Trixie admitted. “They are all like he is. All but me… Killing them is the kind thing to do. All they can do is hate.”

“But what makes you so different?” Twilight asked, clearly uneasy with all the talk of violence. “You are more like us… Not entirely… I don’t think anypony would ever be so… Casual about plotting a murder, even a necessary one… What let you see the light?”

This was a story Trixie liked to tell! She got to tell it once before… To a squirrel who was being friendly… And not the people kind of squirrel, the rodent kind. She still liked the story though.

“Trixies are taught how to forage for food in the wild as soon as we can walk and speak,” Trixie began. “This Trixie was the first Trixie, so she was being taught by other lines. They didn’t like her much, so they let her stray from their position. Trixie had three lessons before and knew she liked peaches, and knew there was a grove with a peach tree nearby, so she went to get a peach.

“When she arrived, a pegasus stallion, who Trixie now knows to have been a forest ranger, happened to be camping in the clearing. Trixie thought he was asleep, but he wasn’t, so when she went to get a peach, but couldn’t reach any, he got one for Trixie.

“This…blew her away. She couldn’t understand why an evil person would help her. This was the foundation for Trixie’s life. Every time she was above ground and alone, she would try to find forest rangers. They always were kind and helped her, while her family was cold and indifferent. This left Trixie confused, and with lots to think about.

“Then, one afternoon, Trixie sat on the top of a tree, thinking, and something somewhere exploded. Trixie doesn't know what, but it sent a prismatic shockwave across the entire sky. It was the most beautiful thing Trixie ever saw, and it made everything click. The kind, colorful, joyous world outside of home was where Trixie should be, not with her family.

“It… It took many more years for her to get the courage to leave home. The day Twilight and Trixie first met was months after Trixie finally left, but that rainbow explosion-”

“Wait. What?” Twilight asked, ears standing upright. “Did you say ‘rainbow explosion’?”

Trixie nodded. “Yes.”

“I knew it!” Twilight exclaimed eagerly. “More ponies than just my friends and I were effected by the Sonic Rainboom! This confirms several parts of my theories! So you saw the rainboom, and then understood your purpose and drive in life. Did you also gain your Cutiemark then?”

Trixie shook her head. “Trixies are ‘born’ with our marks. Trixies are designed and grown in tanks using genetic material harvested from various sources to introduce slight variance between Trixies. Trixies are never Foals. They start life equivalent to a twelve year old filly. But that was when Trixie understood that she would rather amuse others with her skills than kill.”

Twilight nodded, seemingly quite satisfied. “Luna, we can trust her.”

Luna nodded. “I read your paper on the subject.” She gave Trixie a nod. “Ms. Lulamoon, you are free to go if you wish, after showing me on a map where the Hearth is. If you wish to help with the military operations, you may.”

Trixie shook her legs as Luna let go of her. They had fallen asleep on Trixie and it was most irritating.

“Uh, not to get off topic, but Equestria has an explosive device that can give ponies the inspiration to discover their special talents?” The doctor asked curiously.

“Oh! No no no, my friend Rainbow Dash can break the sound barrier and the hypersonic barrier at the same time, causing a large magical discharge that rides the shock wave. The first time she did this, she earned her cutiemark, and that particular instance of the Rainboom seems to have carried residual cutiemark related magics with it, affecting at least my friends and I and now we have a confirmed case of it effecting somepony else too. It’s a science mystery I’ve been working on for years.”

“Ah. I see, und that sounds actually interesting. I would love to talk about it when there isn’t a death cult of clones literally a few kilometers away!” The doctor said bitterly. “You all seem very calm, considering the situation.”

Luna laughed. “Lily, we would be in trouble if we didn’t have Trixie’s intelligence. As it is, I’m already planning a surgical strike to occur when this Sacred Shadow is dispatched. Hit them when they have half their forces to use… Of course I will need someway to protect Ponyville… Ah well that’s a problem I probably have time to think over. Er, or do I?”

Luna looked at Trixie with concern.

“Oh!” Trixie exclaimed. “Father's plan calls for one or two months to allow you to discover parts of the operation. To make it look authentic. There is time.”

“See? We have intelligence and time on our side. Everything is far better than I expected,” Luna said to Lily.

It was good that somepony said his name. It was starting to get very awkward that I forgot it. Especially since I remembered that biomancers could do far more than heal. There were several things Trixie would enjoy getting done, and here was a pony who could do them, and most definitely would help Trixie because he would hate that his father was helping her father.

“I suppose…” Lily mused.

“Right then… Lily, you're a part of events and you can enhance ponies,” Twilight said decisively. “This is a royal order, work on some form of enhancement for anypony you can think of. Find a volunteer, and see if you can’t upgrade somepony’s magic, or whatever it is you can do. If we will be fighting on two fronts, we will want more heavy hitters… We have what, twenty?”

Luna nodded. “Clever idea, I wouldn’t have thought of that.”

“Trixie has a few things she would like augmented.” Trixie said eagerly.

Lily nodded. “I’ll help, and gladly… It feels nice to be proactive instead of reactive for a change… It’s sad that it’s war related though.”

Trixie understood those feelings. Fighting was too easy to be fun, and therefore, fighting was sad. This made sense. Trixie liked Lily. But not like that. She wasn’t into girly-colts.

“Do what you can for her, but find somepony else. Trixie is already good enough. She’s better than anypony on the other side at least.”

Trixie quickly shook her head. “Trixie is only the best Trixie. There are better ponies than Trixie in the Ashes.”

Sacred for instance. He was father's own clone, and thus our Oldest Brother. Or at least, the current Sacred was. There had been a lot of Sacreds.

“Ah, so you want me to make a hero from scratch… And I have a month. I will do my best.” Lily said adamantly.

“Good, then we have a plan,” Luna said in a satisfied tone. “Here comes the worst part of the day. Trixie, will you please come with me and repeat everything you told us and anything you left out so my sister can hear it?”

Trixie sighed. “Yes, Trixie can… But can she do what she came here to do first? Trixie wanted to search the old Ashes Lab hidden under this fort for any equipment she might be able to use.”

“We found that lab,” Lily mentioned off hoof.

Luna nodded. “All of the equipment is currently in Canterlot.”

“Oh,” Trixie said with a sad ear droop. “Well… Trixie will need some good armor then. Can she borrow some?”

Luna nodded. “I’ll see what can be arranged.”

Trixie smiled happily. “Then Trixie is happy to serve the Equestrian Princesses.”

Trixie didn’t think she could possibly be more happy, and yet more sad than she was now. With the Princesses firmly on her side, she knew the chances of the kind and joyous world she’d come to love would have the best chance of surviving. On the other hoof, she knew it meant her father would most likely die. And that broke her heart, and not just because he had made her heart feel that way, but also because she knew that he would never be able to feel happiness. His heart was too black and bitter.

Not wanting to get depressed Trixie decided to reflect on the fact that she had kissed Princess Luna today, and thus could check that off her bucket list. She spent a lot of time focusing on that as the day marched onwards into the brighter future.

Author's Note

... Man, Trixie's way better at writing than I am. Way to go girl!

17 Planning Ascension

Lily - 11th of Midsummer ‘15 EoH - Late Morning

Here I was, sitting down in a hole-in-the-wall diner, minutes after learning that barely month after facing the last horrible threat, and now I was supposed to face another. Last month; insane Changeling Queen and slave minions. This month; ancient sorcerer with clone army. An old saying about frying pans and fires came to mind.

Despite the immediate danger, my brother and his wife were continuing on like it was any other day or time! Dragging me off to this hole-in-the-wall, bare bones decor diner for breakfast!

“We should be preparing,” I said aloud, looking at Sky oddly.

“Yep! That omelet bar will be open soon… Probably gonna have to sprint for it like last time. It’s kinda packed today,” he replied cheerfully.

Pinkie giggled. “We're right behind it Triggie. You can just turn around.”

“True, but it wouldn’t be the first time some unicorn’s floated half the bar to their table...” He mused eyeing the other tables suspiciously.

“I meant for the upcoming attack!” I hissed, trying to keep my voice down to avoid starting a panic.

“Oh yeah, that,” Sky mused. “Pinks, tell Twilight to take care of it.”

“Okay!” Pinkie exclaimed cheerfully before flipping open her menu. “Ooo! They have cream scones today!”

“There, problem solved. Book Princess is on it,” Sky grunted. “Now relax, get some food. It’s Neighko’s, everything’s great!”

I sputtered a bit. “I- But, there’s no way she can possibly-”

“Demonic Centaur Kaiju...” Sky said giving me the most serious look ever. “That ate souls like tic tacs. She kicked his plot. Then put all the souls back Hohenheim style. Trust me, it’s all good. Now grab some noms, I’m buying.”

“Be that as it may... That legend, if true, means she was able to stop one super powerful opponent. But what about thousands of merely powerful ones? A hoard of Jungle Ants can eat a cragodile given the right-”

“Ooo! I remember those!” Pinkie exclaimed, jumping up and giving me an eager grin. “This one time, a really really really big hot lava cake monster erupted from a bakery in Trottingham, and it got trapped in a zoo by the Batty-bat guards, but they couldn’t get it out or make it stop being all mean so they asked us for help, and there was a huge display thingie-bingie of Jungle Ants which Dash crashed into and broke!

“So there were ants EVERYWHERE, and they were all super grump from having their home broke and were all super bitey. So Fluttershy tried the stare on them but that didn’t work because ant’s don’t like to see things, they like to smell them, which meant Twilight had to turn them all into jelly beans before they ate us! There was SO MANY jelly beans! … But all of them were salted black licorice and cinnamon flavored for some reason.”

Pinkie finished her story with a smile and flopped back into her seat to resume reading the menu.

“Um… Okay… But-” I began.

“Oh yeah, wasn’t that last year? After the time Discord accidentally read a supervillain from a comic book into existence?” Sky asked with a confused frown.

“No, that was after that, but before the after that,” Pinkie said cryptically.

Were they actually serious right now?!

“The Everfree is filled with danger!” I exclaimed, thumping a hoof against the table.

“I see your brother-in-law finally learned about the Everfree, Pinkie. “ A light-cinnamon and Strawberry unicorn mare dressed in a simple apron said. “It’s the Everfree, it’s always dangerous. A few more monsters changes nothing… Has everypony worked out what they want to order?”

Sky nodded.“Think so. I’ll have the omlet-”

“Oh-my-gosh!” Pinkie exclaimed, eyes widening to the size of dinner plates. Literally. It was amazing and terrifying all at once. A split second of ‘Ah-wah?!’

Pinkie wheeled around and begged. “The Chimi-Cherry-Changa! I must try it! It has been sitting in my head for years!”

The waitress nodded. “Yeah, I think Burnt Olives whipped that recipe up after hearing you mention it… It’s not already a di-”

“No!” Pinkie exclaimed.

“Right, one omelet bar, one Chimi-Cherry-Changa, and for you…” The waitress trailed off, looking at me curiously.

Sky turned to look at me as well. Then Pinkie joined in. I felt my ears flick back in annoyance.

“We are in danger!” I objected. “We shouldn’t be-”

“This is Ponyville,” the Waitress interrupted, “it’s always in some kind of weird danger. Don’t worry about it, it’s pretty much always wrapped up in a few hours… Also somehow we have the lowest death rate in all Equestria.”

“Right, that,” Sky agreed turning to eye the other tables again.

“Yeah! My friends and I got this!” Pinkie exclaimed with a compassionate smile. “So why not try some pancakes?”

I frowned indignantly. “I just-”

“Paaaaannnncakkkkkessssss…” Pinkie intoned, waving a spoon back and forth like a hypnotist’s watch.

“... Fine… One stack of pancakes,” I mumbled.

“Alright,” the waitress confirmed, scribbling down our order. “One omelet bar, one Chimi-Cherry-Changa, and a stack of pancakes.’

“Are you sure you're not blood related to him, Triggie? ‘Cuz he’s got your stubborn,” Pinkie asked thoughtfully.

“Well, technically we are. Because genome edits,” Sky and I said together.

Pinkie bit her lip to choke back a laugh while Sky grinned and shook his head. “Right… We have food coming, now we can get down to business. So, lil bro, what do you need for your clinic?”

I sighed and slumped in my seat. “... Plenty. But there’s more pressing matters at hoof than-”

“No there isn’t,” Pinkie disagreed. “We all heard Princess Luna and Twilight ask you to help, and to help, you need to do your magicy changey stuff, and Sky wants to help you get stuff to do your stuff better.”

“Right,” Sky agreed, “but not only for that reason. I have a nice lab myself, it’s only fair to help you get the start of one.”

I frowned. They were right, I would need some proper equipment if I wanted to do anything truly major… And I would most certainly need to do something of that sort to help in any relevant way.

One month. How much could I do by hoof in one month? Enhance the strength of maybe a dozen ponies… Yeah not exactly a battle winner.

But on the other hoof, everything I did need that would be of any use would be massively expensive.

I shook my head slowly. “I… I can’t ask you to foot the bill for my equipment. Everything of immediate help is quite expensive and may not even be made in Equestr-”

Sky facehooved hard enough for many heads to turn at the resounding crack!

“Ow… I’m trying to do a brotherly thing, you derp!” He exclaimed, dragging his hoof down over his face. “Money isn’t an issue. You not being able to comply with a royal order, is! You not being able to help ponies to the best of your abilities, is also a problem. This is what family does, help with each other’s problems!”

“Yeah!” Pinkie exclaimed eagerly. “We’re Appl- Oh, no wait! Wrong family. Um, no hold on, I’ll work something out.”

I watched in stunned disbelief as Pinkie took a pencil and parchment from her mane and started to compose an actual song. With my jaw dropping in amazement, I turned to look at Sky to plead for an explanation.

“It’s Pinkie. She’ll melt your brain. So, stuff, what need?” He asked firmly.

Shaking off the fact that I’d just seen a pony actually launching into a musical number, only to abort and then go to write an appropriate musical number, I decided to be honest with Sky. After all, once he understood the costs involved, he would probably just donate a bit instead of foot the bill and I wouldn’t have to feel guilty for making family pay for hardware.

“Alright,” I began, “first, I need precision ground rose quartz crystals no bigger than 3 millimeters und cut into cone shapes. These need to be housed in an arcanite ring, spaced so as to allow a petri dish to fit snugly against the tips of the crystals. The ring itself needs a power supply, independent from the house’s power field, und it MUST be absolutely clean and as efficient as possible. The arcanite will need to be enchanted with a detection spell capable of reading things at a molecular resolution.

“This entire assembly needs to then be attuned to an auto quill, or other printing device, so as to record the sequence of DNA into Biomantic notation. Optimally, it would store a copy of the information on a crystal so I could simply transfer the data to another device when-”

I trailed off as I noticed Sky had snatched a piece of paper from Pinkie and was taking notes.

“How much storage space are we talking about?” Sky asked. “Also, we are not limited to arcane only here. Tech solutions work too. In fact, I could probably build this into a bench containing everything else… This is a gene sequencer, right? I’m not a biologist but you probably need to make the gene edits, so you would want a synthesizer as well. What goes into that?”

I sighed. “Sky, you know this is going to cost a lot. Und no, tech solutions won't work as I don’t know how to work them.”

“It’s not going to cost me one bit,” Sky said with an eye roll. “Arcane it is. I’ll machine it, and Anya can enchant it. She’s better at pure magic than I am. I mean, duh. I don’t have a horn,” Sky rambled tapping pencil to paper in eagerness to continue notetaking.

“... I don’t believe you understand,” I said after a second of silence.

“Sure I do. You need precision equipment to assist in a delicate task,” Sky said with a confused frown.

“Ja, I do! Und the crystals alone should cost upwards of six thousand bits! I don’t care how you are planning on financing this, my own business plans allow for five years of customers before I get any proper equipment at all!” I exclaimed. “I don’t want to bankrupt you or anypony else to get it done now!”

Sky took a deep breath, letting it all out through his nostrils. “Hokay…” He said standing up on his rear legs before turning to push his cutiemark directly into my face! “Do you see the assmarkage?” He demanded.

There was no way to not see it. The wrench and crossed soldering iron beneath what looked like a tech based light gem almost filled my entire field of view! I nodded, "Ja."

“I am an inventor!” Sky exclaimed sitting back down with a loud thump. “I’m fifty two years old-”

“Fifty three.” Pinkie objected without looking up.

“Not for two months I’m not!” Sky said without missing a beat. “Look lil bro, I’ve had a whole youth to get established and set up. I’m a dual citizen, Equestria by marriage, Emerald Hive by birth. Do you know what I do for a living? I’m the Chief Engineer of a tech based changeling hive.

“If I want something, I literally go to my boss with a list of materials, and I get those materials. No questions asked. You know why? Because I keep the lights on, the heat up, the hydroponics running, and pretty much everything else that isn’t magically powered. I know you’ve seen the hive, but it’s way bigger than you think it is, we have a TON of industry down there.

“How much? Well, we are still Equestria’s number one supplier of refined materials, and ponies are looking into working out a teleport system to get trade flowing even faster. You need stuff? No bucking problem, I tell my boss I made some medical equipmentment for Equestria, boom, we get refunded the raw materials. That, or we produce them on site. Price. Isn’t a bucking. Problem!”

“Oh…” I said, ears drooping in embarrassment. “But I don’t want to inconvenience yo-”

“Oh. My. Luna!” Sky groaned, face thumping into the table. “I can’t even… Azur, I’m the you of technology! You do stuff most think is impossible with biology, I do the same but with technology. I’m a technomancer. My half breed status has my magic all bucked to hell! If I can imagine it, I can build it, and I can make it work like a normal pegasi would make a raincloud. Honestly, that’s why I decided to be more brotherly towards you in the first place. We got a nice ‘same coin different sides’ thing going on.

“Want to know how much trouble one clinic of medical stuff will bother me? I’m actually banned from doing independent contracting in Equestria. Celestia’s orders. Why? I collapsed their entire steel industry in a single year. Stallion who owned the Haymbridge Mining Company asked me to automate whatever I could of their operation five years ago. One year of work, entire mining and smelting operation fully automated, no pony labor required, everything working in near-perfect efficiency.

“Did such a good job that nobody can sell steel anymore. It’s literally free. I personally ensured that twenty thousand miners had to change jobs, and drove an entire sector of the economy into the dirt. There’s only one company selling steel anymore, but it’s got nothing but worthless material to sell because the supply is effectively infinite.

“Did I know that would happen? Yes. Did I do the work anyways? Of course. Why? Because I can, and because the world is honestly better off now.

“Blacksmithing is making a comeback because anypony can just get basic metals to work with for only the cost to transport them, meaning more ponies can work doing what they love and almost everypony can get cool custom metalwork. All buildings can have steel frames and reinforcements making all new buildings safer. All because I tricked a greedy CEO into making his product worthless just to spite that motherbucker!

“So don’t you dare tell me that a few gizmos for a clinic my kid brother operates is an ‘inconvenience’! That’s a weekend project for me at best, not a job. All it’s going to take from me is my time, and guess what? I have as much of that as I want. Because science! Rant over!”

“Oh,” I said.

And that’s all I could say, just, oh.

“Now there’s something else I really think you should know. You’re getting some nice medical things whether you like it or not!” Sky said, verbally putting his hoof firmly down. “So, what do you need? Hell, what would you just like? I’m setting my little bro up so one day he and I can build an even better world for all Equinity. You get the squishy meatbags, I’ll get the clunky whirry boxes.”

It was impossible for me to argue with that.

Giving Sky a nod of understanding, I closed my eyes and did my best to recall every detail about the equipment I had used in college. “Well, we got the sequencer. We will also need a plasmid breeder. It’s got to be self sustaining, harvesting plasmids from individual bacterium is very labor intensive. It will need…”

Scootaloo - 11th of Midsummer ‘15 EoH - Noon

When your two best friends in the world come over and demand you talk about your latest special somepony, there isn’t much else you can do other than put on some tea and talk.

Personally, I hate tea. I’m a coffee kind of mare. But Sweetie and Bloom were always tea lovers, and forget make two kinds of drinks. Especially when you’re going to have to be talking about your personal life.

“Alright,” I said setting the tray of tea down on my dinner table and taking a seat facing my two friends, “start the questionathon.”

“I sort of figured you would fall for… him right?” Applebloom asked with a small frown.

“Yeah, he’s a guy,” I replied evenly.

“Okay, well,” AB resumed, “I figured you would fall for him, since he fixed your wings and all. But you’re sticking with him for more than a week. No offense but most of your other ‘colt friends’ were one night stands-”

“Well yeah,” I said rolling my eyes a bit. “I’m sexually attracted to stallions, but not romantically attracted to them… So after a good rutting it feels… over.”

She nodded along with Sweetie Belle. Belle gave me a slim smile. “Do you think that Lily will be any different?”

I nodded quickly. “Oh totally! I actually enjoy spending time with him… Sorry for vanishing for all of last week on you guys. But well… He feels like a mare, when you are just hanging out. It’s like dating a pony with both genders, only the female bits are thoughts and actions instead of biology… Also Lily isn’t a total ass.”

Ugh. My first special somepony was the biggest jerk ever. ‘She’ nearly ruined all intersex people for me, regardless of species. Talk about a toxic relationship!

“Humm… So then you two haven’t had any fun yet?” AB asked with a look of concern. “I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m tired of watching you go through breakup after breakup. It would be nice if you could have a relationship last for more than six months.”

“Lily is different,” I said as honestly as I could manage. “He gave me my wings, it’s not like I’ll ever stop appreciating the gift of flight. But, well, there’s more than that. He’s a genuinely nice pony who wants to help. That’s a very endearing trait. He didn’t decide to help me because he thought I was hot or anything, he just did. Because a flightless pegasus didn’t jive with him and he could help.”

“Yeah, that is entirely different from the usual ponies you date,” Belle chuckled. “Remember Swift Star?”

Everypony groaned, flinching instantly.

“Oh Celestia!” I moaned holding my head in my hooves. “Why did I ever think that speaking in movie-version old Equish was even remotely romantic?”

“Because she has great eyes,” AB said honestly.

Belle gave her a suspicious look, to which Applebloom laughed. “Oh hay no! Not with a ten foot pole, and not even if you asked me to! I’m just saying, her eyes are like looking into a vat of caramel.”

Belle nodded. “That’s true… You’re not into Lily because of his accent are you?”

I gave them a nervous smile. “Well… A little yes. But mostly it’s because we’re a lot alike. Both of our early lives sucked, and we both laugh to get over it.”

“He can’t possibly have been as bad off as you were though… I remember thinking you were joking when you said you slept in an ally under Rainbow Dash’s house,” AB mused.

I took a sip of the tea, pretending to like it to be social, like I always did. “I don’t know if he ever ran away or was homeless. But I do know that his dad tore out one of his eyes.”

I paused long enough to watch my friend’s ears stand up and eyes widen in horror.

“So our parents were on par with each other,” I added once the point sunk home.

“Which eye is the glass one?” Belle asked after a few moments. “They look very real!”

AB gave her the ‘why did I marry you?’ look any loving pony gives their spouse after they said something stupid. “He fixed Scoots wings. You don’t think he just fixed his own eye?”

“It’s the right,” I answered, just to throw AB off her game.

“Wait, he DIDN’T heal his own eye?” She asked, almost spilling her tea in surprise.

“Oh no, he did, but the right one isn’t actually blue. It’s green. But Lily can’t make it blue for some reason, so he uses a contact,” I explained.

“He can make you fly, but he can’t turn his own eye blue?” Belle mused to herself. “Weird. There’s got to be a reason for that.”

“If there is, he doesn't know it,” I said.

The instant I finished talking AB suddenly blurted, “what about those piercings though?”

Ah ha! That was it. They saw the piercings and thought I was dating him for kink reasons.

“For the record, what I may or may not be into is none of your business… Unless you're open to doing the herd thing now,” I said firmly.

“No,” Belle said gently holding up a hoof.

“Yeah… Sorry but… That felt weird when we tried that,” AB apologized.

“Well yeah, I mean, it’s an orientation. Either your want multiple lovers or you don’t. You can’t force it,” I dismissed. “But back on point, while I know how to use those piercings of his, he didn’t get them for that.

“Apparently he got them while drunk and his friend David, a doctor, refused to take them out because he didn’t want to touch another guy’s junk unless it was medically necessary, and also well, you know how it takes months to heal those up. You don’t want an infe-”

I frowned to myself. “Wait, if he got an infection, he could just fix that.”

“He does seem to be a bit of a derp,” AB giggled. “But in a cute way.”

“That or he wanted them on some level,” Belle mused, looking about half a second from going full Psychology Major.

“Yeah, maybe, but anyways, he keeps them because he claims it feels more comfortable. Also the poor colt has this thing where he wants to look and act female but be called male. So I guess the female styled piercings help with that.”

“Huh… You seem to be pretty happy with Lily,” Belle said thoughtfully, sipping her tea.

“Yeah. I am,” I said truthfully, giving her a smile. “This is different. I don’t feel the urge to also search for someone else as strong as I normally do, I’m completely happy spending time with him, he satisfies the part of me that likes colts and the part that likes mares… I think I could be happy with just Lily for a long time.”

“You’re that sure after only knowing him for two weeks?” AB asked, eyes widening slightly.

“Oh no!” I laughed. “I’m not thinking of proposing or anything, but I am definitely am going to keep dating him for as long as he likes.”

“Isn’t it weird though?” Belle asked looking at me in an odd sort of way. “I mean, you drug me to those LGBTH clubs with you. Your little community is all about ‘Herders are an orientation’, but you seem totally cool with just having Lily.”

“No it’s not weird,” I answered honestly. “Orientations are just your ‘normal’. Everypony has exceptions to their orientation. That doesn't mean they are not normally a certain way. You can’t pin a label to anypony and have it fit perfectly all the time. We’re too complicated for that.

“Maybe his sort of presenting as two genders fills that niche for me. Maybe he’s just such a good match that I don’t care. Whatever the circumstance, I’m pretty sure that I could happily be with just him… Doesn't mean I wouldn’t also like another pony just as kind and cute to be with us too.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Belle said, giving me a satisfied nod. “I always did think that orientations were kind of silly.”

“Yeah, but you don’t find a pony’s plumbing important at all,” AB objected. “I remember you said you’d want to marry me no matter what I was. You just have no preference there. I on the other hoof, kinda get grossed out thinking about colts. So yeah, definitely a complicated issue.”

“Which is why I keep saying we should get Twilight to update the sex-ed curriculum to cover orientations other than the standard three,” I agreed. “But were off topic, I believe you were evaluating my choice of special somepony.”

“Oh no,” Belle said giving me a gentle dismissive hoof wave. “We’re done with that.”

“Yeah, you definitely actually love him,” AB agreed. “Everypony else you’ve dated you went on and on about how hot they were, Lily, you call sweet and talk about stuff you have in common. That’s love. We’re done here.”

Huh… Was it actually as simple as that? I guess I could see my friends as experts. They had been in love since middle school, and stayed faithful until today as far as I knew. Heck, their parents had been planning their wedding years before they were legally old enough to marry.

Yeah, they definitely knew what they were talking about.

“Huh… So this is actual love,” I said to myself. “No wonder changelings like it.”

Everypony’s heads turned as three gentle knocks echoed from the door. Odd, as I wasn’t expecting to see anypony else today.

“Hold on,” I said, getting up to get the door.

As I reached the door and pulled it open, I instantly smiled, spotting the familiar white, yellow and blue colt I understood I’d come to love.

“Hallo, uh… So… I forgot that I hadn’t bought groceries, and I spent the week’s budget to get a sign for the clinic… Could I have a sandwich or something?” Lily asked adding quickly. “Or if not, could we talk for a little bit?”

“Sure! I’ll happily make you something. Why didn’t you say anything sooner? Just stop by for meals till you get paid next week,” I said standing aside so he could trot in.

As I moved I noticed AB give Belle a look of ‘We should give them space.’

“Oh, hi… Applebloom und Sweetie Belle, right?” Lily said as he noticed the two.

“Yep! Don’t mind us we were just going,” Belle said cheerfully, standing up along with Applebloom. “See you later Scoots!”

Normally, I’d have told them to stay, but Brook was out today, and well, my coltfriend was here and hungry and cute… “Yeah, I’ll see you girls later,” I said happily.

“I hope I didn’t interrupt anything,” Lily remarked, looking at the tea set out on the table.

“No, just some tea. We do this all the time,” AB said as she let Belle trott outside in front of her, “Oh but, Lily…”

“Yes?” He asked with a curious frown at her negative tone.

AB opened her mouth to say something, only for her face to melt into an expression of pure horror midway through as she clearly forgot what she was going to say. “Uh… Um… Something something something be nice to Scoots or vague threat?” She finally said, instantly blushing in embarrassment.

Lily smiled, raising a hoof to suppress a laugh. “I understand. Don’t worry, I’d feel horrible if I ever did that.”

“Good!” Applebloom exclaimed, quickly zipping out the door and closing it behind her.

“You seem to have good friends,” Lily chuckled. “I’m serious though, I’d feel horrible if I did anything to hurt you… We should talk sometime, work out subjects or actions to avoid with one another.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” I agreed. “But first, sandwhich.”

“Yes, sandwhich!” He agreed with a happy smile. “Sky und Pinkie took me to breakfast just after sunrise… They are still at my clinic measuring things. Sky offered to help with equipment, und apparently that means he needs measurements und blueprints.”

I nodded and trotted into the kitchen, purposefully accentuating my step to try and do a sexy walk. “Needed to get away from them? I get it, they can be a hooffull.”

“Ja, totally,” Lily agreed. “Oh, und your normal walk is sexier.”

I laughed and started to take sandwhich stuff from the cupboards. “I’ll keep that in mind! Speaking of minds, what’s on yours? I imagine you're excited for the new equipment and all the cool things you probably can do with it.”

Lily paused for a moment, then slowly nodded. “Ja, there is plenty I’d like to do, but it will have to wait… Twilight requested I well… There’s a problem. I don’t know if I’m allowed to talk about it.”

A problem? I frowned and turned to look over my shoulder. “Something related to yesterday’s attack?”

Lily nodded. “Yes. Twilight wants me to do my best to enhance a few ponies to help around Ponyville. I don’t know what to do yet. I have a month though, I’m sure I’ll think of something. Probably not until I find a volunteer though.”

“Wait,” I said eagerly, “Princess Twilight literally ordered you to make heroes to protect Ponyville?”

“Ja, you could put it like that,” Lily agreed.

I couldn’t help but smile. Ever since I’d seen Rainbow Dash saving the world as a filly, I’d wanted to do the same thing. I could fly now, almost as fast as Dash could even. Hay, I was apparently a wiz with lightning!

“Well, you have one volunteer!” I said proudly. “I’ve always wanted to help protect my home.”

“Oh, nein, nein, nein!” Lily sputtered, waving a hoof urgently. “I can’t work on you again so soon! There’s the can-”

“Oh please,” I interrupted. “you could just cure it!”

Lily paused, bit his lip and nodded. “Ja… I could, if I caught it before it spread too far. Cancer is… Hard to treat, even with biomancy. I hear necromancers can cure it without a problem, but well, I do not know more than a few spells to reverse rot.”

I triple blinked. “Germany dosen’t ban necromancy?”

“Nein. It’s highly regulated, und only really used for niche medical und archeological purposes. But that’s neither here nor there,” Lily sighed.

“So, you could definitely cure any cancer if you caught it early? How early?” I asked.

“Within two weeks of it having occurred.” He responded, before his ears drooped instantly, “You’re going to say I can just check you weekly, aren’t you.”

I nodded. “Yeah.”

I gave him a no nonsense smile. “Come on, I can call do some amazing lightning as is! All we need to do is work out a way for me to do it safely. It can’t possible be too big a change, and I trust you. You can do this.”

“Ja, I can, but that doesn't mean I should,” Lily said, shuffling his hooves nervously.

I sighed and gently lifted his chin with a hoof so I could look into his eyes. “Dear, my moms are two of Equestria’s greatest heroes. It would mean the world to them, and also me, if I could live up to even half of their legacy. I understand the risks, and I’ll understand if you say no, but I know you could do it if you tried, and I want you to do it.”

More importantly, if I could stand on my own as one of Equestria’s heroes. If anything happened to Lily, I could personally make sure he survived, and beat that darkness back into whatever crack in Tartarus it crawled from.

“Ah scheiße…” Lily sighed, ears drooping slightly. “Alright… But I’ll only try to work on improving your weather control, und only if you let me check your health daily for four months!”

“Daily?” I asked raising an eyebrow. “Were you understating the danger?”

“Nein… I … I just really don’t want to hurt you. You promise you will let me check daily?” Lily pleaded, genuine fear in his eyes.

I felt my heart flutter. He loved me. The same way I did him.

“I promise, you can check anytime you feel worried even, not just daily.” I said, leaning down to give him a kiss on the nose. “Thank you.”

“I love you,” He said shyly as I pulled back to return to sandwich making.

“I love you too dear,” I replied happily. “Now, let’s get you a sandwich.”

18 Normal, Weird, Horror

Lily - 18th of Midsummer ‘15 EoH - Afternoon

By ‘Weekend project’, Sky apparently meant ‘a week’. Not that I was complaining, I was getting far more than I asked for. However I had been hoping for even, lets just say, the sequencer far sooner. As it was, over the last week I had been working on a general use strength enhancement.

It’s rather hard to create a general use spell for Biomancy. It’s not the magic’s fault, but rather the extreme variations in individuals physiologies which make such things hard. For the most part, each spell has to be custom tailored to the person it will be used on. Which is why the simple twenty percent increase to raw strength my spell had in tests imparted to the test mice was more than satisfying to me.

If I could also work out a better endurance booster to go with it, I could probably instruct a few mages in the relatively simple spells in time to upgrade a few companies. But unfortunately there were problems. Two to be specific.

First, volunteers were not exactly chomping at the bit. I understood why, after all my magic was not exactly familiar to most ponies out there. Aside from Scootaloo, who doesn't count because I had helped her once before, I had only one volunteer. Sargent Night Watch.

He had decided to, and I quote, ‘show those cowards there’s nothing to fear from someone the Princess trusts to do a job.’ I was very grateful for his convictions and faith in his leader. So grateful I decided not to tell him that the spell might not work properly on ponies yet as I could only say for sure it worked on mice. So simply said I’d need to have him stay at the clinic for a few days in case of ‘complications’.

The second problem was Sky.

He wasn’t intentionally creating a problem, in fact he was still fixing my ‘no equipment problem. He just had not told me that he would be dropping by with a dozen of so changelings to install everything. Nor did he tell me that while working out his plans he had also included renovations to install things inside walls. And ceilings… And floors…

Which meant that at the moment, the entire building sounded like a construction site. Constant power tool shrieks, spells humming, and hammers pounding. That was my day today.

And I also had to take care of Night Watch today, because the only possible time he could spend three days off began today. He had to train some new recruits starting next week, so even if he wanted to ask for medical leave after today, it would be ‘morally irresponsible until they have finished basic.’

Soldiers… What is it about them and making very convincing arguments? Is ‘how to argue’ a part of modern military training? Because it seemed to be big a part of it.

“You don’t get it, kid.” Night said, leaning against one of the few walls which wasn’t currently being worked on. “Getting data on how much I can lift right now is pointless.”

“Nein!” I objected. “We need strong data based evidence to convince others that this-”

“No, we don’t,” Night sighed. “Maybe in Germaney ponies focus more on the numbers, but here? No, they need a good story. Besides, I’m not here for the strength, I can benchpress six tons. You won't help me much.”

I felt my face twist into a confused knot. “Then why the buck did you even-”

“Because I don’t show off my strength in full,” Night said in a calculating tone. “You zap me with your magic, get to see if it’s okay to use, fix the problems if it’s not, and then I go back to the barracks, crush some steel bars, and claim that’s all your doing. Then a ton of volunteers want your upgrade and your assignment is complete.”

“Oh, well that makes sense,” I mused brushing a hoof over my chin in thought. “But why do that for me? Just to show your peers up?”

He shook his head slowly. “No, because then you owe me a favor, right?”

Ah… Here we go.

I nodded slowly. “Ja, I suppose. What is it?”

“My son’s transgender,” Night mentioned. “He’s got a collar enchanted to make him look male, but his birthday is coming up and I heard through the grapevine that you could actually make his brain and body match. Seem fair?”

I started at Night for a few short moments, doing my best to give him that ‘thousand mile stare’ of a medical professional being coerced into doing something they would do anyways.

“Um… That’s a medically necessary procedure. I’d do it anyways,” I informed slowly.

“Yeah, sure… But would you let him detail everything he might like, or just swap bits around?” Night asked.

“Ah… So cosmetic changes und also a sex change. Okay, that’s a bit different. We have a deal,” I said holding my hoof out to shake and close the deal.

Night nodded and grabbed my hoof, shaking it, and also sending a shooting pain through my entire leg!

“Ah!” I yelped.

Night laughed and let go. “Sorry! I told you I didn’t need more strength. So, what do we do?”

There was no reason to hold hard feelings over a too-hard hoofshake. Even if I did feel a little urge to get even.

Shaking my hoof to get the throbbing pain out, I gave him a smile. “Just hold still. This one is easy.”

I reached for my magic, applying the simple spell in what Night Watch probably assumed was a Telekinetic boop. Aura flash on, aura flash off.

Night blinked, frowning slightly. “Did you flub it?” He asked curiously.

“No. It’s easy magic. I simply instructed your muscles to develop as if you had worked out for several years, und gave them the energy to change,” I explained.

“That fast?” He asked skeptically.

“Yes. I didn’t have to add anything to your body. The trick was working out how to apply the energy. Over the next few hours you should see a slight increase in muscle mass, und your existing muscles will be considerably strengthened.” I elaborated as I wrote down the time for science’s sake.

“Ah, so it’s sort of like combat charms,” Night mused. “Takes a while to kick in.”

“Ja. It’s much simpler to accelerate a natural process, und I want to teach others the spell.” I said raising my voice to be heard over the sound of a circular saw. “I made sure Sky doesn't mess with the room furthest down on the south side. Do you need me to show you where it is?”

Night shook his head, black mane rippling enough to make me wonder if he used mane gel to get it to flow like that. “No need, I instinctively map places I go to. You don’t get to be an old soldier without learning to keep a good head map.”

I nodded. “Okay, but at least let me walk you to the lobby. To make sure there are no immediate problems. I’ll check on you every few hours.”

Night nodded and fished his messenger gem out from his saddlebags. “You got one of these, kid?” He asked.

I shook my head no, and before I could talk he pulled a second one from his bag and tossed it to me. As I reflexively caught the small emerald sphere with my magic Night gently tapped his own gem to the one he had tossed to me and commanded, “Attune: Azur Lily.”

The two gems glowed dimly, and Night gestured for me to do something-

“Oh!” I exclaimed, realizing I had to repeat the command but for him. “Attune: Night Watch.”

The green gem’s glow intensified for a moment before vanishing, the magic having done it’s work.

“There you are, keep it. They run ten bits or so. It’s no loss to me and I keep a few extras on me to give to recruits anyways,” Night said giving me a smile. “Call anytime you get nervous and if a real problem occurs, I’ll call you.”

“Danke,” I thanked, opening the temporary office room’s door to walk Night to the lobby and instantly unleashing a deafening cacophony of noise.

Night flinched. “The hay is he setting up for you?” He asked as we walked down the hall.

“I have no idea. I asked for a list of biomantic equipment, und he comes back with it und also a ton of supplies und a work crew…” I muttered irritably.

“Sterilinade out!” A changeling’s voice shouted!

“Oh sweet Luna no!” Another’s voice screeched from off in the distance, just before a dull boom that sounded as if someone dropped the world’s largest saucepan, as it rang out through the hall.

Night and I glanced at eachother and sprinted towards the doors at the end of the hall, ready to check and see what part of the building had just collapsed!

“Bucking hell, Iriek!” Sky groan-shouted. “I told everyone not to use any sterilinades!”

“Why is atomically clean so itchy!?” Someone lamented.

“Because now all of us are lacking our outermost layer of skin!” Sky growled.

Night and I shared another glance. A glance of, ‘you know on second thought, how about no.’

Pushing the lobby door’s open, I let Night walk ahead of me, noting he went right for the staircase to get to his room. He did know where it was. Good.

A split second later I saw the door on the far side of the lobby open, Sky and six green shelled changelings tumbling out as if being poured from a container. A container filled to the brim with way too much lemony freshness!

Gagging on the super clean smell I called. “Was zum Teufel did you do to my dining room?”

“Can’t talk now!” Sky shouted, running up the stairs, workers hot on his hooves. “Must roll in dust. Too clean!”

I had just enough time to facehoof, groan, and decide to trot over to see what they had even done when the front door opened, the little bell Scoot’s friend Applebloom had made for my clinic jingling as the door struck it.

Turning to see who had entered, I blinked in surprise. I had expected one of the changelings working outside to come in due to the noise. I hadn’t expected Trixie to be back.

“Hallo, Miss Lulomoon. Is something wrong? Did a spell fail?” I asked walking over to her urgently, fearing the worst.

“Trixie’s last name is pronounced, ‘Lulamoon’,” Trixie corrected, straightening a pointed floppy peaked hat which matched her cape’s starry pattern as she closed the door behind her. “And Trixie is quite fine. In fact-”

Trixie reached under her cape and with a dramatic flourish produced a large canvas bag. Which she held up on the flat of her hoof as if reaching for a high cabinet, only for the bag to vanish as if it were never there! A heartbeat later, she reached behind my right ear and produced the bag, which I could now hear clinking as it moved.

It would have been impressive If I hadn’t seen her skill at illusion spells beforehoof.

“-she would like to do more business!” Trixie finished with a happy smile

I frowned in thought. While it would be nice to have more money, my living stipend was literally only enough to support myself after all, I wasn’t quite sure Trixie was safe to work on yet. It had been a week since I’d last worked on her, and nothing I had done was too major. And I did have the first attempt and augmenting Scootaloo’s Weather abilities to do later today… Although I could simply use a manabar...

I nodded slowly. “Well, if you are healthy enough to work on, I suppose we can make a deal. May I check?” I asked, looking Trixie over for any sign of medical problems that might be apparent.

“Trixie feels wonderful! She is certain she is fine, but go ahead and look. After all, Trixie is no doctor,” she admitted with a giggle.

“Did you just laugh at your previous injuries?” I asked with a grin as I gently probed her with my magic, checking for any signs of biomantic induced instability.

“Yes. Trixie no longer hurts when laying down, so she laughs at the old pain,” she confirmed, jingling the bag of coins in one hoof. “Trixie has four more of these. Princess Celestia is most generous with rewards it seems.”

I nodded. “Yes she definitely is. What did she reward you for, the information?”

Trixie nodded. “Yes, but Trixie also gave her a recipe for Blue Velvet Cake. Which got her an extra bag of bits.”

“Do you even know how many bits you have total?” I asked as my sweep neared its completion.

She nodded. “Nineteen thousand bits. Lyra said you would make her able to be bipedal for six thousand, so Trixie thinks she has more than enough to indulge in a few… Whims. And then reverse them later if she finds she dislikes them.”

Something about the way Trixie said whims made me raise an eyebrow suspiciously. Oh boy… What was it going to be?

“Well… You seem to be fit for more,” I said carefully as my sweep finished. “Let’s go into my temporary office and talk. I don’t have all day, I have an appointment in-” I quickly glanced up at the lobby’s clock, “an hour.”

“Oh…” Trixie frowned sadly. “Trixie was hoping for some major enhancements… And had an idea for improving her nopony to hug situation. What could Lily do for her in an hour?”

A major enhancement would definitely take more than an hour. As for the other thing… Probably less. Hay, maybe she just wanted a new face so she wouldn’t look like her fellow clones and wanted to be extra pretty. Please be that. Please don’t be something weird. Today was too stressful a day already to be something weird!

“I can probably do the small thing,” I said evenly. “But we should talk in private, there’s a work crew-”

“Whew!” Sky called from atop the stairs. “Much better… Oh, hey Trix. Gonna fight Twilight again? Can you push that back a few hours? Me and my crew are renovating this place and I’d like to-”

“Not yet,” Trixie replied in a pleased tone. “Trixie is still looking into renting a pair of airships for the occasion.”

Sky grinned ear to ear and walked past the two of us back into the dining room. “Well just put some adverts up a few days in advance. We could sell tickets. Right, everyone, back to work!”

Trixie and I stepped into the small non-work-in-progress room Night and I had occupied moments before just as the sounds of machinery fired back up.

“Sorry about the noise,” I sighed, leaning against the wall due to the lack of furniture. “So, what would you like?”

Trixie sat down, giving her cape a little pull with her magic so it fell across her rear legs like a skirt as she sat. “Trixie mentioned she likes both stallions and mares, yes?” She asked.

Oh boy… here it comes.

I shook my head. “Not to my memory… I’ll say upfront that while I will perform alterations for an individual's fetishes, it makes me a little uncomfortable and I will charge extra.”

“Trixie finds that fair enough, she charged more for private shows after all,” Trixie said before clearing her throat. “As she was saying, Trixie likes all sorts of ponies, but she keeps finding that those she finds the most pretty or kindest, always like the gender Trixie is not, be that stallion or mare. Trixie is…a bit lonely. This distresses her, so she came up with a solution!

“If Trixie had both gender’s parts, then nopony could object to her lack of the set they prefer, as she wouldn’t lack them. Therefore,Trixie would be able to get anypony she liked to snuggle!”

I almost laughed. Almost. As it was, my professionalism was able to contain everything but an amused squeak.

“Ms. Lulamoon, I think you will find that will drive off more ponies than it would attract,” I informed. “While most intersex ponies outwardly seem to have both sets, making such a look quite common, few ponies are attracted to them.”

Trixie nodded and gave me a coy smile. “Trixie understands. But she would still like to try. Maybe you are wrong.”

“Well… It might be different in Equestria,” I conceded, “but if I modified you that much, you would be stuck like that for at least a month. Also, gender dysphoria is a concern. If your body doesn't match to your self image you could become very depressed.”

“Trixie can simply hide the extra parts until you can remove them, if they bother her that is,” Trixie said dismissively. “Besides, she tried the look out before with illusions and rather likes it.”

I facehooved as she said ‘before’. “You have thought of this for a long time, haven't you?”

Trixie nodded, blushing lightly. “Yes… Trixie is… She… She needs somepony. Not just a friend. She’s seen couples and herds everywhere she’s been. The loving looks, the hugs, leaning up against one another as they walk. She needs that. So she wants to try her idea to get that in her life.”

I sighed. “Trixie, I understand wanting love. I have for years and years, but if you can use illusion to make yourself look like you have a stallions and a mare’s parts, then haven’t you used that before?”

She nodded. “Yes, Trixie has. It didn’t work, but she thinks that’s because she isn’t good at illusory smells and couldn’t duplicate the pheromones she would have.”

Buck! She had sound logic on her side. Smell is a very important part of gender, I wouldn’t be mistaken for a mare so often if I didn’t happen to smell like one. However, her plan was still dumb.

“Ms. Lulamoon, I have an ethical obligation to tell you I don’t think your idea will work,” I said as honestly as I could.

Her ears drooped sadly. “Please let Trixie try?”

I opened my mouth to say no. Trixie widened her eyes to pleading-puppy-dog size, lip trembling in genuine, barely contained sadness.

Buck! She genuinely believed that would help her. It wouldn’t. I knew it wouldn’t, not unless she got very lucky… But at the same time, sometimes a pony just had to learn for themselves.

“Oh, alright,” I sighed. “I’ll do it… For six thousand bits. And that will cover the removal whenever you want to be a regular mare again. But remember! With such a big change, I won't be able to work on you for a month. Are you sure you wouldn’t rather wait until tomorrow so I have the time to do the other things you wanted too?”

Trixie shook her head. “Trixie can wait a month to be faster, stronger, and more agile, as well as slightly taller. She would rather not wait another month before finally getting to go on a date.”

I bit my lip. She’d be doing that anyways.

“Trixie knows you think she will be anyways,” Trixie said slowly. “She’s glad you are looking out for her, but Trixie can accept the consequences of her own actions. She’s a big girl.”

“So when this fails, you won't be sad?” I asked seriously.

“No more than she is now. What does Trixie have to lose? Thirty more nights alone? That isn’t much,” she said in a very honest tone.

“Alright…” I sighed steeling myself for the job. The things I would do for money… “Fortunately for you, I’ve performed several sex changes for intersex individuals before. It won't be hard to reverse-”

“Can Trixie pick her sizes and shapes?” Trixie asked hopefully.

“Uh… Well… Yes… But I’d rather not-”

“Trixie can pay… An extra two thousand?” Trixie reminded with a small, shy, grin.

I facehooved again. “This is more than just a means to get a lover, isn’t it?”

“... Trixie is also curious about what it would feel like to be that…” She admitted, shyly looking up at the ceiling for a moment.

“Alright. Let’s do this.” Best to get the bad idea over with and get those bits put to use buying some beds for the observation rooms…

An hour later all of the details had been hammered out, and my spell finished. It had been an, experience, one I would rather not dwell on, primarily because helping somepony with a… Personal desire like that felt weird as heck to me. Now maybe if Scoots had wanted something in that more pleasure oriented vein done…

I shook my head. “Alright… It’s done. Everything’s hidden by your tail and legs from behind as you asked… I’m not sure if everything else is right, and no disrespect, but I’d rather not know.”

Trixie giggled, then wiggled her hips slightly. “This feels oddly comfortable… So, care to make a bet with Trixie? If she gets a date because of this, you owe her a free agility improvement!”

I snorted. “Pfft, deal!”

As Trixie and I shook on it, somepony knocked on the door. Assuming Sky had directed Scootaloo to the room, since she should be here now, I called, “come in dear!”

The door opened to reveal a short green shelled changeling with a long, slender needle like horn, and a pair of glowing green stripes along the edges of her shell. If I remembered correctly, that meant she was a harvester.

“Huh, well, good to know I can get a meal off you,” she joked, flashing me a grin. “But no, your marefriend is here. She and Sky got to talking, so I thought I would fetch yo-”

She trailed off as she noticed Trixie standing next to me, the bright spots in her eyes widening a little “-Uh, hi!”

I felt my heart fall a thousand meters. Trixie didn’t deserve to have weirded somepony out so soon! Literally the second she was able to live out her little fantasy-

“Hello! Trixie’s never met a changeling before, or, so she thinks,” Trixie said, returning the bugpony’s smile. “Are they all as shiny as you are?”

“No, not all of us, I buff my exoskeleton with metal polish. Are you here for gender stuff?” She asked, frowning slightly.

I watched Trixie’s nod, her eyes shrank a little, seeming to also lose a little color. Wow… Seconds. Literally seconds. I would have said ‘this is why I didn’t want to do it, Trixie’ but that would only twist the kni-

“‘Cuz you’re very pretty as you are,” the changeling added.

What?!

My eyes almost popped out of my head in shock.

Trixie broke out in the biggest grin ever.

“In fact, if you have a few hours to spare, would you mind letting me learn your shape? I wouldn’t mind looking like that sometimes! It’s neat, and interesting,” the changeling asked.

“Trixie would love to! Just let her pay for her newest features and she will happily let you do that!” Trixie exclaimed, as she conjured a bag of bits with a dramatic flourish and held it out to me with a hoof.

“Trixie told you so!” She exclaimed, sticking her tongue out at me as I took the bag, doing my best to ignore the unbearable waves of smugness rippling off the icy colored mare.

“This would never happen again in a billion years…” I muttered. Then a thought occurred to me, and I turned to look at the short changeling. “The two of you set this up, didn’t you?”

She shook her head. “No. I’ve never seen her before… Which sucks. So, Trixie right? Did you mean to imply you came here to become dual gendered? Because that’s pretty cool. I’ve shifted like that a few times to try it out. It can be pretty fun, but I prefer being pure female.”

Trixie nodded and eagerly headed for the door, “Trixie did! And she just won her bet that somepony would find her attractive because of it! Er, what is your name?”

“It’s Ayna, or if you can’t pronounce that my full name translates to Scrap Wizard,” Anya said as the two trotted down the hall.

I groaned and slid down to rest on my haunches and cradle my head in my hooves. Today was not shaping up to be my day. Like, at all. Do some work that’s a bit weird for me, instantly lose a bet… I should call Night Watch and make sure he hadn’t caught fire or anyt-

“Motherbucking son of a centaur!” I shouted angrily!

No duh a changeling would find that particular thing attractive! They can change their own biology at will however they like. Of course they would like weird things! Simple overexposure would mean the more exotic something was the more interesting it would therefore be to them. The bet was lost from the beginning, and Trixie had to have known that! That sneaky magician stacked the deck to get a free upgrade she wanted by getting something kinky she wanted to try out!

“That magnificent bastard!” I grumbled.

She was keeping that stallionhood! Buck it! That’s the price for rigging the game like that. My eternal spite on that one area!

“Uh, something wrong?” Scootaloo asked from the doorway.

I looked up to see my favorite pony looking at me with concerned eyes.

I nodded. “Ja… Trixie just pulled one over on me is all.”

Scootaloo walked in and closed the door with a wing. “Want to talk about it?” She asked gently.

“Nein… Nein… I won’t be a foal over it. I’ll just be more careful in the future… And also probably less accommodating of ponies wanting fetish upgrades…” I grumbled.

“Wait, what did she want?” Scoots asked curiously.

I blinked in surprise. I’d expected her to ask suspiciously, not curiously.

“Uh, you're not mad that I did something of that nature?” I asked in confusion.

“Nope. Hon, your shop’s right next to the Red Light district. You’re going to get a lot of ponies wanting stuff like that. It’s just business… But if you ever sleep with a client, well, that’s when I’ll be upset,” Scoots informed through narrowed in seriousness eyes.

“Noted… And why Would I? I have you,” I said giving her a smile, before frowning. “Und I would like to keep it that way… Are you sure you want to do this still? We can back out now.”

“I’m sure. Besides, do you want the last thing you did at work today to be whatever it was she wanted?” Scoots asked.

I grimaced and shook my head. “Nein!”

“Then let’s do it!” Scoots said with a big grin.

“I’d love to, but my brother might walk in,” I joked, hoping to stall long enough for her to change her mind.

Scootaloo giggled, leaned forwards and hugged me tightly to her barrel. “Come on hon, we can do that too, but later. Right now, let’s give me not-hurt-self-using-weather-powers powers!”

Right. She’d had a small stroke last time. This was as much for her safety as it was for protecting Ponyville…

“Okay,” I said solemnly. “Stand in the center of the room, please.”

As she moved into the center of the room, I fetched the scroll I had prepared from the top of the room’s desk and moved to her side. “Alright, I’m going to check to see if it’s safe to work on you first.”

As she nodded, I reached out with my magic and connected with her as gently as I possibly could. Having worked on her so recently and so drastically, even the simple act of directly probing her could lead to issues.

I spent longer than I needed to checking. Everything about her seemed to be in good health. My fix for her wings was taking nicely, no signs of degradation or cancer in her where older parts had been replaced. My magic still worked at replacing parts of her, and I could see a ton of Twilight’s magic as well, following mine and sort of supporting it.

That was odd, but it didn’t seem to be hurting anything. Quite the contrary, it seemed to be helping. Maybe that explained her absurd weather powers. If so, it would mean the scroll I had prepared using her genome from last time would work better than I had hoped.

“You seem to be fine… Are you sure you don’t want to back out?” I asked one last time.

She shook her head. “No. You said earlier that nopony else was volunteering. If I’m the only one, then I can’t back down.”

“Okay,” I sighed. “If this hurts tell me an I’ll stop immediately.”

As she nodded I slowly focused my magic, targeting the most stable areas of her body as I got ready to activate the scroll.

I gulped nervously.

I felt my heart twitch in fear.

I focused, built the delivery lines, anchored them, checked the flow. I took a deep breath to make sure I was working completely calmly, and activated the scroll.

The magic burned along the delivery lines, sinking into muscle and bone, quickly making the slight adjustments I had planned out. She drank in the magic greedily, as if her body needed it. I almost stopped casting as Twilight’s residual magic flared, but kept going as I noticed it went to help fuel the transformation I was guiding.

Then, seemingly too quickly, it was done. My magic’s blue glow faded, leaving Scootaloo standing freely in the middle of the room.

I let out a long breath as she turned and smiled at me. “Do you feel alright?” I asked. “Nothing burns?”

She shook her head. “Nope! Everything feels great, the headaches are even g-”

Scootaloo stopped speaking mid sentence. All of her muscles sized and cramped in unison. She toppled sideways. I dove with a cry of pure fear, catching her as she fell. To my horror, as I held her her muscles started to degenerate! Withering away like a plant in an oven!

“Nein! Nein! Nein! Ficken nein!” I shrieked.

I couldn’t tell if my heart was beating. I didn’t know if I was breathing. All I knew is that she was dying horribly, and it was all my fault!

I couldn’t think. All I could do was feel. Feel as I threw every single ounce of magic I had left at her with nothing behind it but all of the anger, self-loathing, fear, and desperation within my heart.

I don’t know how long my spell lasted. I didn’t know what it was even doing as the blue energy crackled over her rigid body. But just as I felt the last drop of magic leave me, the withering death stopped.

As my own vision started to dim from exhaustion and mana burn, I saw her muscles start to heal themselves. As I collapsed I could only hope they would heal enough.

19 Apotheosis

Scootaloo - 18th of Midsummer ‘15 EoH - Afternoon

A thousand million lights stretched out in every direction. They were every color ever named, and every color yet to be named. They were still, in motion, and sometimes transcended such simplistic ideas. They were alone and entangled, forming points, clusters, and constellations.

They formed a whole which undulated and heaved chaotically, yet each light itself moved in a precise order with it’s peers. The chaos was imaginary, the outcome of millions of thousands of points of lights all moving differently. Every part simply influenced every other part, and their ordered movements added up to the chaotic cacophony around me.

There was no fear. No anger. No worry. Only curiosity.

This place felt like home, not like my actual home, but the mythological version of home. The place of joy, wonder, and one’s oldest memories. It felt safe.

I reached out and touched one of the lights, it’s pale yellow glow twinkled, responding to my touch as if it were a pet, delighted to see me come home. It’s companions twinkled as well, moving towards me just a little, and in turn, changing the entirety of the chaos within the whole.

I smiled, watching the waves flow through the light’s patterns. It was better than any fireworks show I could imagine. Nothing but the light in the darkness, moving and undulating in all it’s complexity.

I gently touched another light, this one on it’s own, and watched as the green speck drifted away, pushing other lights out of it’s path, it’s wake rippling through the swarm in a way that I simply understood. Of course those patterns would emerge. They had to, it was only natural.

Yes, it made sense. If I were to brush the red and gold swarm aside, the whole would heave up and to the left. But what would that-

The patterns shifted, folding and rolling in upon itself. I hadn’t done this, what had? Perhaps I bumped something?

The movement stopped, leaving behind a large flickering flame like patch of whiteness as the whole returned to it’s orderly chaos.

The flame didn’t seem to notice me, it lurched and rolled as if damaged, moving past me to prod at a patch of silvery lights. The lights around it moved, waves flowing from it as it kept prodding the silvery, slowly dimming patch of lights.

I wasn’t concerned, or afraid. Such emotions felt silly. I was simply intrigued. What was this? Could I move it too?

I reached out and gently touched the flames.

“‘Ey!” The flames objected in a drunken slurred female’s voice. “I’m talking to my friend!”

I blinked.

The darkness vanished, replaced by the world I remembered. The small dusty, junk filled room in Lily’s clinic I had been in…however long ago simply appeared, replacing the space that had been, but the lights remained. They still hung in the air, but not obtrusively, I only really sort of knew they were there, they only appeared when I focused on them.

Shaking what felt like a lifetime of morning grogginess out of my head, I only vaguely became aware of the pale, almost totally white earth pony mare in front of me. Her fur and mane were almost the same shade of white, both of which were different from each other, but would vanish into a snowstorm. The only color on her was her black eyes and the yellow in her shield held in an aura cutiemark.

“‘Ey… Lily… c’mon. Get up.” She slurred, poking my coltfriend with a hoof as he lay slumped on the floor for some reason. “You gotta come meet my marefriend. She’s cul! Ciul? Er… uh… She’s astounding!”

Finally shaking myself out of the stupor I asked. “Who are you?”

The mare turned, wobbling as she moved, and attempted to glare at me, but only managed to make a flirtatious eyebat combined with a disapproving frown. This was not the drunkest I’d seen somepony, but it was close.

“Ma’am!” She barked. “I’ll fight you in like, a decade. Okay?”

As I tried to process what she just said and why, the pale mare turned back to Lily and prodded him again. “‘Cmon… Stop sleeping. We’re at Butterscotch’s Pub, and she’s asking about my friends and we like, are only barely friends so I forgot stuffs about you and i need to know things… For raisins.”

“Reasons,” I autocorrected.

“Ugh, for whatever sundried fruit ponies do things for!” The mare grunted before her hind legs failed and she fell over onto her plot.

That’s when I realized that Lily was not just laying on the floor because why not.

With a yelp I jumped forward and put a hoof to his neck to check for a pulse. “You never told me you could hurt yourself doing this!” I exclaimed in shock, searching for a spot on his silky soft neck where I could feel his pulse.

I found it after a few dread filled moments. It was there. But weak, and irregular.

“Oh hey, help. Cool!” The pale mare hicked. “No like… I tried pokes. He’s not getting up to pokes. We have a bucket of water? It’s cool you're helping. So like, you’re gonna give me that decade? Cuz… Marefriend. She’s waiting… ‘n stuff.”

“Go be drunk somewhere else!” I hissed as I rolled Lily onto his back.

“I can’t… Like, she doesn't believe that I have a male friend that looks like a mare. So I gotta bring him to the bar,” the mare said as she struggled back up to her hooves. “He’ll go, he’s cool… Just like, wake him up quick.”

How the buck did she even get here while being that drunk?

“He’s not asleep, he’s bucking dying! GO get some help!” I demanded angrily, before doing my best to remember how you did CPR.

The drunk mare waved one hoof and sputtered. “No he’s not! If he was I’d know. I’m like.. You know… Oh… Wait… I don’t do that anymore… Shit.”

Ignoring the incapacitated drunk mare I set both hooves on Lily’s chest and gently pushed down three times. That didn’t feel like what you were supposed to do, but time was of the essence here, right?

“Uh…” The mare stammered. “Just like…zap him okay.”

“I’m not a unicorn!” I growled.

“Well duh,” She grumbled. “So like… Are you my replacement? You know, for the whole death job?”

“My coltfriend is dying! Ether shut the buck up or go get help!” I shouted angrily.

The pale mare triple blinked. “Coltfriend?”

I ignored the drunken albino as best I could and did another round of chest pushes. “Come on! Get up, you can do it. Please don’t kill yourself trying to do something for me!” I pleased, tears starting to flow down my cheeks.

“Wait… Like… Oh. So you don’t know? How?” The drunk mare asked in surprise, one eye dilating larger than the other. “I’m too drunk for this… Hold on.”

I snapped my head up to demand she go get help, only to yelp in alarm as she literally seemed to vanished into a fold in space, like the universe itself just drew a sheet over where she had been standing!

“Ah! What the buck?” I yelped, jumping back and pulling Lily into my arms protectively.

A second before I could react further, the room’s door flew open! “Heard yelling, what’s the prob- Oh shit!” Sky exclaimed literally as soon as the door opened. “Medical Emergency!”

If I could have described the chaos of the next ten seconds, I could probably have described the entirety of the world. Between the vanishing, possibly hallucinated drunk mare, the half a dozen assorted ponies and changelings flooding the room in a frenzy of activity. Worried orders, sounds of furniture moving, it was all a blurry mess.

Why didn’t you tell me you could hurt yourself? I would never have let you do it if you had. What was the risk to me? Getting a condition you could fix? But this? Why?

He laid there limp in my lap. A soft wad of almost totally still soft fur. Barely breathing. Why didn’t you tell me? I can’t have you die because of me!

“Ma’am,” someone said, “let go of h-”

The sharp crack which cut off the speaker almost simultaneously aligned with the splintering of wood. It took me a full second to realize I had punched someone. It took me another second to realize I had punched them through a wall into the hallway!

“Eep! I’m sorry! I didn’t even know I was going to hit you! Are you okay?” I asked, realizing my left hoof was still extended in the straight arm punch I’d reflexively thrown.

The room stayed silent as the battered changeling pushed herself up, sparks of green magic regenerating cracks in her shell. “Ow… Bucking ponies… With their stupid questions… ‘Are you okay?’ I just went through two four by fours!”

“Ayna, cool it! She’s already stressed enough,” Sky ordered. “Scoots, I know you're panicking, but you need to let him go. We have to do first aid. Okay?”

I bit my lip and slowly let go of Lily, allowing Sky to gently set him on the floor. “For the future, Scoots, never move an injured person. You don’t know what’s wrong. You could hurt them more, okay?”

“Okay,” I acknowledged, before turning back to Ayna. “I’m sorry. I didn’t even know I could do that.”

“No, it’s fine, I get it. I’m just pissed at that stupid bucking question. It’s a button issue. Also, stop working out, you don’t need it anymore,” she groaned, spitting out a line of green fluid.

I flinched again. “Super sorry.”

How had I even done that? I’d boxed with Applebloom a few times but I’d never managed to do more then knock her over.

An electronic beep jerked my attention back to Sky as he glanced at a watch-like device on his wrist with a frown. “Okay, so, I don’t know what this means. Anyone here have medical training?”

A taller changeling quickly grabbed his watch with her magic and pulled it off his pastern gently, but quickly, to check whatever was on the screen. I felt completely helpless, unable to do more then watch and dread the news.

Suddenly a hoof gently touched my shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “Trixie understands your pain. It will be okay,” Trixie soothed gently.

“He channeled too much mana at once,” the changeling said finally. “He’ll need to be force fed a nutrient slurry or two, but only if we can stop him attempting to digest himself to replace the lost mana.”

“Great! How do we do that? I only brought a basic medical kit,” Sky replied.

“I don’t know, changelings don’t use calories for mana!” The changeling admitted with an apologetic shrug.

“Fuck!” Sky cursed, the foals version of buck making me blink in surprise, and thankfully preventing me from falling into despair at the news.

“Wait,” Trixie asked. “He’s burning from over channeling? Is his horn fine?”

“Uhhh…” The changeling tapped a few watch buttons then nodded. “Yeah, it looks fine. I think. I’m just a nurse I don’t exactly-”

“Trixie trusts you,” Trixie said as she let go of my shoulder and stepped forward. “Trixie should be able to give him some mana, old soldier's trick… Trixies are expected to burn out in combat.”

Trixie closed her eyes, bent down, and touched her horn to his as her aura started to shimmer into existence. She kept her aura shining for five seconds then stopped, taking a step back in surprise.

“That’s it?” She exclaimed in shock. “That’s his entire mana reserve? That wasn’t even two percent of Trixie’s power! He must be a master of energy efficiency!”

“Is he okay?” I asked pleadingly.

The nurse tapped more buttons, and nodded. “Yes, he does not seem to be self-cannibalizing… But he will need medical attention and a few days of bedrest. We should take him to Ponyville Gen-”

“Buck that!” Sky objected. “We’re taking him to the Hive. He’s my brother, he gets a doctor I trust.”

“Uh, security might object to that,” the nurse said with a slight frown.

“He’s been there before. It’s fine. Scoots you can keep your mouth shut right?” Sky asked giving me a serious look.

“Uh, yeah,” I replied with a confused frown. “Why?”

“We Emeralds may be allied with Equestria, but we’re also kind of instinctively want to stay hidden. So we ask ponies who visit to keep quiet about all specifics of our hive.” The changeling I punched explained.

Sky looked over at her. “Speaking of which, you invited Trixie over for dinner… Did you get permission for that?”

“Uh… Point. I’ll do that,” she admitted with a shy blush. “You go ahead, I’ll stay back till I have clearance. Trixie, you don’t mind answering a few questions, do you?”

I had a million questions, but unfortunately for me Sky superseded them by grabbing my right hoof tightly.

“Hey, seriously, don’t let go. I have no idea what would happen if you did,” he informed, fishing a thick brown leather bracelet out of his saddlebag. “Right, first live trial run of the VM,” he muttered, slipping the bracelet on. “You guys finish up here, I’ll check your work in three hours.”

“Uh, what are you doing?” I asked with a tinge of fear.

“Using a prototype portable teleport device to get us to a real doctor as fast as equinly possible.” Sky informed, flipping a cover on the bracelet open with a wingtip as he grabbed Lily with his other hoof.

“That doesn't seem-” I started to say.

The world exploded into a fern shaped shower of purple sparks! A loud pop accompanying their sudden appearance, which lasted for mere seconds. The sparks drifted away from the three of us, revealing a hospital room I could only describe as a sci-fi movie set.

It had things I recognized as medical equipment, but the entire room was designed in an odd way. No traditional materials, all steel, plastic, modern…. Sterile. It just wasn’t something ponies would build. But I guess that made sense for a changeling hive.

“-safe.” I finished.

“Sky!” A female voice exclaimed. “No teleporting into my medbay unless it’s an emergency!”

“Do you not see the deathly mana burnt pony to my left?” Sky demanded irritably.

“Oh! We’ll get him to a bed,” the voice said, stepping into view.

She was a short, scrawny, extra-glossy green shelled changeling. She had a short cropped mane and tail with no real styling to them, glass-bottle-green eyes, and a painted on cutiemark in the shape of a red cross on each flank. The most interesting thing about her was a teal sash running from her right shoulder, under her left arm, and wrapped around her barrel that had a small arrowhead shaped pin clipped to it.

“Um… What should I do?” I asked suddenly noticing lightly scorched fur on Sky’s pastern. “Uh, Sky, your thing vanished.”

“Hmm?” He asked looking down and immediately glaring at the scorched fur. “Well shit... It teleports you but not itself. Oh that’s just stupid!”

“Really stupid...” I agreed.

“It’s Ayna’s cloaking blanket all over again!” Sky grumbled, “Fuck it, I’ll deal with that later. Right! Medical things... T’ilk, Yri’la said we need to get him-”

“An intravenous drip of protein and bed rest,” the nurse replied, levitating Lily up onto a very utilitarian bed with practiced ease. “What about you ma’am. Family, or are you also injured?”

“Uh… I don’t know? He was casting a spell on me when I we collapsed. I feel okay though,” I explained as best I could.

“She’s also his marefriend,” Sky added.

The unpronounceably named changeling nurse nodded to herself. “Alright. Let me check to see if anything is wrong with you.”

“Okay,” I said uncertainly. “What do I need to do?”

The nurse picked up a small pad with her magic, tapped it’s face with a hoof, frowned, tapped it again, and then again. Finally with an exasperated sigh she held it out to Sky. “If you could have someone fix this later, that would be great. Hold still miss, I’ll have to do this by hoof.”

As the Nurse retrieved a stethoscope, Sky tapped at the pad himself. “Huh… Yeah it’s not registering her as being a lifeform. Weird. Probably residual magic from whatever Lily was doing. It’s picking everyone else up just fine.”

“We were trying to improve my control over my weather magic,” I explained. “Last time I used it I gave myself a stroke.”

Sky winced. “Ahh. Yeah, messing with not totally understood bodyparts is not a good idea.”

“He didn’t tell me it would be dangerous for him…” I lamented again, ears drooping.

“Eh, he’s a bit of a derp,” Sky said with a shrug. “Probably just spaced it.”

I felt a cold disk of metal press against my barrel as the nurse started to check my vitals.

“Uhhh… You don’t by chance have Situs Inversus do you?” The nurse asked, giving me a concerned look.

“And that would be?” I asked with a frown.

“It means your heart is on the other side of your barrel. It’s a rare condit-” She trailed off as she moved the stethoscope to check the other side of my barrel.

With a concerned frown, she gently placed a hoof on my neck. “I can’t feel or hear a pulse… Are you light headed? Dizzy? Nauseous?”

I shook my head. “No I’m fine. Can we please get Lily everything he needs?”

Sky snickered. “So a half cup of remember better?”

I shot him an angry glare. Thunder rumbled overhead, making me smile at the dramatic irony.

“Sheesh,” Sky said rolling his eyes, “I was joking. You know, to lighten the mood. He’ll be fine… Unlike whoever just made whatever that was fall over in the warehouse just now.”

“Uh, that was thunder,” I said with a frown.

“Like hay it was. We’re in a desert. Underground. Two kilometers deep. No way we’d hear thunder this far down if there was any,” Sky said with a dismissive hoof wave. “Some idiot probably knocked over a pile of crates.”

“I assure you, your mate will be fine, ma’am,” the nurse promised. “I inserted a feeding tube and gave him a mild sedative while you were talking just now. He just needs a day or two to absorb it and some rest. Is she cleared with security?”

“No, but he is, so she’s covered as family,” Sky informed. “You can go anywhere with a green stripe on the wall, you know, if you want to leave this room that is. I know I wouldn’t if it was Pinkie.”

I nodded firmly. “Yeah… I’m going to stay here.”

Sky nodded and turned to leave. “Well, I should go see who broke what and if I need to fix it. I’ll come back later to see how you’re doing.”

“Okay… Uh, how will we get back when he’s better?” I asked quickly.

“Same way we got here, only without the crappy doesn't teleport with you hunk of junk…” Sky grumbled, ears falling back in annoyance. “Anyways, see you later Scoots.”

As Sky walked out the cool auto-opening doors which I really wish Ponyville was allowed to have, the nurse tapped my shoulder. “I’ll be doing a full medical exam on him, to make sure I won't need to do anything else. Do you know if he has any allergies to medications?”

I shook my head. “No I don’t. We’ve only been a couple for a week.”

Her wings twitched in surprise. “Realy? That’s amazing! Your love for him tastes, well, refined. More like an older couples.”

“It does? Is that weird?” I asked, eyes widening a bit. “Oh no that doesn't mean anything bad, does it?”

She quickly shook her head. “Oh no, not at all! Some people bond very quickly, others take time. My mother once saw actual love at first site for example. It’s just rare for love this tasty- er, refined to develop so soon.

“Back on topic, he’s gelded, was that recent? Is he on any medication for-”

I shook my head. “No, he’s not gelded. The piercings just tuck everything up.”

She frowned. “I’m not sure that would work… Unless he’s smaller than normal.”

“Well, that’s what he told me. He said it happened while drunk.” I relayed, frowning myself as I realized something. “You know… Sky is right. He is a bit of a derp… Uh, maybe you should check.”

“They’ll show up on a cat scan if they are there. And if they don’t, uh, we just don’t tell the poor colt. I don’t want to be responsible for that sort of psychological damage.” She said dismissively, “You mentioned drinking, does he drink a lot?”

“Not that I know of,” I said, feeling a bit frustrated at the sudden barrage of quest-

“Nah, he only drinks socially,” A mare’s voice suddenly said from behind me.

The nurse and I yelped. As I spun around, the Nurse demanded. “How many other ponies did Sky teleport here with?”

As I turned around I found myself face to face with the same pale white mare from before!

“You! I didn’t hallucinate you!” I exclaimed, pointing a hoof accusingly. “How did you vanish like that!?”

She raised an eyebrow at me. “Uh, same way you teleport… Obviously.”

“I can’t teleport, I’m a pegasus. Obviously!” I retorted. “Are you still drunk?”

“No, I slept it off. Is Lily okay?” She asked with actual concern.

“Are you related to him?” The nurse asked, a bit hostile.

“Well, we are best friends. So I’d like to know what’s wrong with him and if he’ll be okay,” the pale mare said in an honest tone.

“He incurred a deadly level of mana burn, but he should recover fine. Please leave my medical bay,” the nurse demanded.

“Yeah, fine, I’ll go… But first, before you medic things, Lily’s got chimerism going on. He absorbed his sisters in utero, so you should be aware that he’s a blend of like… Five genomes. Plus whatever tinkering he’s done on himself via biomancy. I’m not a doctor, but that seems like an important thing to know.” She said casually, reaching behind her ear into her mane and retrieving a pack of cigarettes.

“That’s actually extremely vital to know. Thank you. Light one of those in here and I’ll run you through with a scalpel,” the nurse informed.

The pale mare waved a hoof. “Yeah yeah, I’ll be out of your mane in a moment. So… You,” she pointed to me, “your name is?”

“Scootaloo. I’m his marefriend,” I said, giving her a dirty look. “Also seriously, smoking in a hospital? Not cool!”

“I’m not going to light it! It’s just kind of reflex to smoke while I talk. Sheesh!” The mare grumbled. “Also, given your tone there, I should probably say I’ve never slept with him, nor do I want to. Besides, I’m dating somepony awesomer. Anyways, we apparently need to talk… Mind if I teleport us to the surface?”

“I really, really don’t want to be teleported by technology again,” I said shaking my head no.

That really had not felt safe at all.

“Uh, okay? Look, can I talk to you or not?” She asked in a serious tone.

“Fine… Let’s just take-”

Space seemed to fold in on itself. The lights I had seen upon waking up flickered into existence for a brief moment, following the folding space, and gently pushing me and the mare up until we were standing atop a large sand dune. It had taken place in literally no time at all, but I had still seen every part of it.

“I- wha- how?” I exclaimed, wings flaring in shock and surprise.

“I only look like an earth pony,” the pale mare informed. A silver lighter appearing out of nowhere to light the cigarette she had retrieved earlier. “It happens to be the shape I feel at home in.”

“What are you?” I asked, taking a half step backwards.

“You don’t need to be afraid of me, I’m no threat to anypony. Except for assholes,” she soothed. “My name’s Dusk. As for what I am… Your accent is Equestrian, so this explanation will work. You can think of me as Discord’s great great great great great granddaughter. And no, I’m nowhere near as powerful as he is. We’re just the same type of being.”

I had, several, questions. But first... “How the buck did Lily befriend you?”

“He attempted suicide and I talked him out of it. Then we went for drinks at a nearby pub, got smashed, and I can’t remember anything after getting into a hoof fight with a mirror,” Dusk answered. “Go ahead and ask them all.”

“Discord has a family?” I asked, wondering why the hay that hadn’t been my first question.

“Eh, sort of. It’s more like an evolutionary family. We’re related, but in the same way that ponies and zebras are related through a common ancestor. There’s a few thousand beings like us… But most of us don’t ever interact with mortals. We have jobs that focus on larger scale things, or just don’t care,” she replied, taking a drag on the cigarette and instantly sputtering. “Holy crap this brand is terrible!”

I nervously shuffled my hooves in the sand, my next question filling me with a bit of dread. “So um… the Old Religion… It’s right then?”

Dusk laughed. “Ha! Nah. We made that up. Your species was young and mom thought she might be able to steer equinity onto a certain path, so she made the whole religion up. So well… It’s gods are real, but the rest is bullshit. You don’t have to worry about being trapped in tartarus for all eternity.

“When you die, your body simply rots, and your soul, all of the memories and experiences that make you, you, they get their own little mini reality. It’s karmic. The afterlife is only as good as you were. Nothing you do will make it better except for being a kinder person.”

“But what is kinder? There has to be some standard of morals or ethics!” I pleaded, needing to know.

“Oh yes, in fact there’s a trillion trillion different ones, all equally valid.” Dusk said simply.

“There are? How?” I asked with a confused but hopeful frown.

“I’d rather not get into the details of my former job,” Dusk sighed. “Basically, you are your own measuring stick. Sometimes, I would judge based on my own feelings and standards, but usually, a mortal's heart knows if it’s being good or not. Even if they themselves do not consciously notice their moral state.”

“So uh… Do we have to worry about a hundred Discord like beings just attacking?” I asked, watching her throw the cigarette off into the sand with a look of disgust.

“Nah… They seriously don’t care. Like, at all. They care for you about as much as you care for bacteria. Except for me because I like you guys and find your company enjoyable, my brother because he’s a sadist and likes to torment other things and yes I’m working on stopping that, Discord because he doesn't have to have a reason being Chaos and all, and apparently you.” She said, locking eyes on me as she finished speaking.

“Uh, what?” I asked, taking another half step back.

“You’re not a pegasus. You’re not one of my former kin either, you’re like me. Halfway between mortality and immortality. Maybe you’ve never met another of our kind before. Focus on me, you should see my aura. Mortals are simple ovals of light, immortals are like holes in space, and we, are like white fire,” Dusk said firmly. “Or, in other words, I can literally see you are not a pegasus. So cut it out. Who are you, what are you doing, and why does it involve my friend?”

My brain refused to accept what she was telling me.

“I’m a pegasus you crazy pony!” I barked. “I was born in Ponyville, raised by totally evil jerks, ran away at twelve, and lived in an alleyway for most of my life until Rainbow Dash adopted me after learning I lived in a box under her house because she always kept the rain from falling on her place! Do you want me to show you ID, or are you the kind of crazy that doesn't accept evidence?”

Dusk took a deep breath, and slowly let it out. “Alright… Maybe I was mistaken. Maybe you were a pegasus at some point. But you are not one now, and I can prove it.”

“No you can’t,” I said rolling my eyes.

“Yea I can,” Dusk said with a smirk. “Could a pegasus make it rain in a place like this?”

Could a pegasus make it rain? Yea sure, but not in a desert like this. I could feel the dryness with my tongue.

“No. Well, maybe if they went really high up to gather water vapor,” I conceded.

“Right. But you can. Right now. Right here… Assuming I’m seeing you correctly,” Dusk said, retrieving a second pack of cigarettes from her mane.

Rolling my eyes I opened my mouth to object.

“Humor me,” Dusk said in a pleading tone.

“Fine… What do I do?” I asked with a sigh.

“You know those lights you can see?” Dusk asked. “Push them. You’ll know how. The knowledge is simply a part of you.”

I blinked. “How do you know about the lights?”

“Because I see them too. I also know what they actually are, and once you understand I’m telling the truth, I’d be happy to teach you. Because apparently, some how, a random mortal becomes a minor weather god,” Dusk grunted.

Weather god? I stood in stunned silence for a few moments. We had been trying to work out a way to improve my weather control… Alicorns were basically gods, and magic turned a normal pony into one. Had Lily done something similar by accident? Did I have power over the winds and rains like no pegasus ever had?

Yes. I did.

I could feel it, now that I thought about it. That’s what the lights were telling me, and what their movements meant. They were every single last individual factor leading up to what the weather was like in this place and why. As if every single part of an impossibly complex machine were labeled for easy use.

But could I actually make it rain in a desert?

Yes, easily! All I had to do was ask.

I closed my eyes, and asked for rain. The sky darkened almost immediately, thick gray clouds forming in what had been a clear sky, and within a minute, a pleasantly warm shower began to sprinkle the desert sands.

“Wow…” I breathed.

“Yeah. You’re lucky you have a cool domain,” Dusk sighed.

“How much can I do?” I wondered, looking up at the rain and asking it to stop.

“Judging by your power level, the weather within about four klicks of you is yours to command. In all, pretty weak for one of our kind… A natural spirit would be able to control all of the world’s weather at once. But you weren't ‘born’ as one of us, so well... Who knows.”

“Lily was trying to improve my weather control. It had to be an accident. Maybe he stumbled onto something like the alicorn transformation!” I exclaimed excitedly.

“If he did,” Dusk mused, “then it wasn’t just his own magic fueling the transformation. He’d need a god’s help… Or perhaps divine magic had affected you in some way and was still in your system. Whatever the reason, if he did it, I doubt he will be able to reproduce it… Or would want to. Work like that is why he’s in that hospital, isn’t it?”

I nodded slowly. “Yeah… He hurt himself helping me.”

Dusk turned her head as if looking for someone before stepping closer to me and whispering. “He’ll be okay. I used to be the Goddess of Death, and he was my friend when I had the job.” She hissed.

I blinked, decided to skip over the ‘Goddess of Death’ part for sanity’s sake, and went with: ”Uh, I don’t know what you mean.”

“Dying is a part of life,” Dusk explained. “But death is a different state of being from life entirely. Not everything that is dead is ‘lifeless’. Viruses for example, do not count as alive, yet act like living things. There is overlap between the realms of life and death. Each can touch upon the other slightly, as long as it’s within the rules. Which means, I found a loophole to hide my one friend in my entire very very long life in. If he dies, he’ll be okay in a week or two tops.”

“Still confused,” I admitted, ears drooping.

“Well, to take the metaphysics and put them in a way you might understand; I shredded his file. If he dies, whoever has my job now has no idea of when he’s supposed to die, and by the rules of the universe, will have to send him back. He’s got three or four deaths before they figure out,” she giggled.

“You mean to tell me you gave him extra lives? Like a bucking videogame?” I demanded eyes bugging out of my skull.

“Yeah. It’s only fair. He did absorb his sisters in utero after they died. So really, if you think about it it’s only fair to give him a few extra shots since they died before they got to live,” Dusk chuckled. “What? I do that to a lot of people. Sometimes just to fuck with my brother, sometimes because they’ve earned it, and in Lily’s case…

“I’d never had a friend before and as an immortal, his existence is going to be very brief to me. So I quadrupled it because I could. Just don’t tell him, I’d rather he die of old age four times than use them to take bullets… Mortal lives are short, and I’ll miss him a lot.”

I sat down, unable to wrap my head around the fact that I was talking to a being that could just twist the way the world worked like that.

Dusk stepped over and took a seat beside me. “Look… I know it’s a lot to take in right now.”

“You can say that again…” I muttered to myself.

“Look… I know it’s a lot to take in right now,” Dusk repeated.

I gave her a sideways glare. “Seriously?”

“Yep!” She giggled.

“What do I do?” I asked.

“Now that you’ve gained power over nature itself?” Dusk asked.

I nodded.

“Well, if you were like me, I’d say do your job. But you don’t have any feeling pulling you to ensure some part of the universe is working properly, do you?” She asked.

I closed my eyes and did my best to calm down. Trying to feel for any such ‘pull’. Opening my eyes a moment later, I shook my head. “No.”

“Awesome!” Dusk exclaimed happily. “You’re free!”

“Free?” I asked with a frown.

“Fun fact. Most gods are not free to choose what to do. Most of us are bound to one task. You are free to choose, and that means you get to live just like you were before, if you want. You could go through life simply treating your new state of being like a simple power increase, or anything else you wish.”

“Well… The whole reason I asked Lily to improve my weather magic was I wanted to protect Ponyville and be a hero like my moms,” I said after some thought. “I guess that’s what I’ll do.”

“Well there you go!” Dusk said standing up. “Now you have the power to do that and do it well. Your domain is weather, but we all have a few shared abilities. I can teach you how to use them over time. For now, work on controlling the weather, and do remember this one thing. We can still die.”

I blinked. “We can die?”

Dusk nodded.

“But we’re gods, right?” I asked frowning.

She nodded again. “Yes. But we are the lowest tier. It’s possible to destroy us, and while mortals can be resurrected, barring extremely good luck and prep work, we can’t. We’re powerful, immune to time, disease, and conventional weapons, but enough force will destroy us.

“Hell, enough force might destroy upper tier gods too. The ocean eventually turns rocks to sand and whatnot. My point is, yeah, you're powerful now. A thug in a bar in Las Pegasus who decided to threaten your marefriend, he’s literally no threat to you. But say, if you pissed off Twilight, she could kick your ass into the ground.

“The word god is misleading because of cultural notions your kind has. It’s best to think of yourself as a hornless alicorn with weather powers instead of unicorn magic. Got it?”

I nodded slowly. “I think so. You’re saying that I can still die, it’s just harder to be killed?”

She nodded, stepping away as if to walk off. “Exactly. Just remember that, and work on getting to understand how to make the weather do what you want. I’ll stop by in a week or so, and we can work on other things.”

Oh my gosh! That changeling I punched reflexively! What if I accidentally hurt other people?

“Wait!” I exclaimed, jumping up. “I accidentally punched a changeling through a wall. Do we have super strength? How do I not hurt somepony? Oh bucking Luna! What if Lily and I are having sex and I just break him?”

I cringed at the thought. I might legitimately never be able to ever even cuddle with anypony ever again!

Dusk laughed. “Yeah, we’re as strong as an alicorn is. Or at least I am, you could be a bit more or a bit less. Don’t worry, you have to want to use that strength. It’s like how you can pick up an egg without breaking it. You probably were just really mad at that changeling and wanted to hurt him or her. What did they do?”

“She asked me to let go of Lily when he was lying there hurt,” I said slowly.

“Ah, well, no shit you wanted to punch her then. Any lover would be pissed at being told to let go of a hurt mate,” Dusk said reassuringly. “Trust me. You’ll be alright. I’m dating a pony, and after uh… Twenty eight hours or so of fun thus far, she’s perfectly intact.”

“Oh,” I said sighing in relief. “Good… It would have sucked to never be able to touch anypony ever again.”

“Yeah it would. Oh! Derp! You don’t know how to teleport yet,” Dusk chuckled to herself. “Here, let me put you back by Lily.”

Space warped again, moving me back into the medical bay next to Lily, making the poor nurse jump as I materialized next to her.

“Ahhh!” Her wings snapped into action, sending her buzzing up to cling onto the ceiling.

“Sorry! She didn’t give me any warning that I was going back…” I apologized.

“Ugh! I swear that nopony who can teleport has any sort of consideration for the people they materialise next to!” The nurse grumbled, letting go of the ceiling and flying back to the ground. “Just… Just stop suddenly appearing out of thin air and sit next to your mate, or use the damn door! Okay?” She begged.

I nodded and moved to Lily’s side to sit next to his bed. “It’s okay. I don’t know how to teleport.”

“Good,” the nurse muttered. “Because I have Apperateophobia… Here, hold this up like this so I can start doing the CT scan.”

She passed me a long thin glass rod with a few arcane sigils carved into one end. With a nod I held it up like she indicated, and continued helping her make sure Lily was okay. Even with everything that had happened today, making sure he would be alive and well and snuggleable still felt like the most important thing in the world right now.

The rest could wait.

20 Medic 3: The Repunchening

Lily - 21st of Midsummer ‘15 EoH - Evening

Sometimes when I wake up, there’s a good five minutes of time where I can’t move, or even open my eyes. It used to scare me, but it’s happened so much now that it’s a non-thing. Just a thing that happens on Tuesdays.

Actually the fact that it almost does happen every Tuesday is a bit worrying. But only in that ‘did I leave the oven on?’ way.

What was actually concerning is that I could feel something going down my throat. I could feel the same thing poking out of the left side of my mouth. The last time I had woken up with something thin poking out of my mouth, it had been because my college roommate had tied a large dildo to the end of a cord and gotten me to swallow it in my sleep, which he magically induced...

I hate pranks. A lot.

While spending about five minutes paralyzed wasn’t terrifying, the looming dread of having to once again pull two kilograms of silicone out of my stomach was almost more than I could bear. A mini eternity of fear. All because of one bucking asshole.

Which is why the second I could move I immediately pulled on the tube. This was a mistake.

The tube moved easily and immediately, sliding along my throat in a way which indicated nothing was tied to the end of it. Given how much force I had put into pulling, expecting there to be a thing, I immediately turned and doubled over, dry heaving over the side of a bed I didn’t know existed, and so instantly fell off of it.

The fall pulled the tube out completely, which triggered my gag reflex again. The sharp twisting in my throat accompanied the dull crunch of hitting the floor, sending spikes of pain all along my spine as I coughed and heaved for at least a minute, unaware of anything other than the steel bucket which had seemingly been in front of me the moment I fell.

Finally, after that worst wake up all year was over with, I pushed myself up every muscle cramping up a bit, each protesting the slightest movement. I had been laying down a long time. A long long time.

“There you go, it’s all right now. Stan on up,” a familiar-ish changeling voice soothed. “Sorry I missed catching you, I was reaching for the bucket after you pulled on the tube.”

Feeding tube? That meant I was in a hospital.

Blinking my eyes a few times I realized that everything was too bright. Effectively for the moment, I was blind. Just as I started to panic, I noticed that darker patches were starting to fade in, indicating I could still see, but something was messing with my ability to do so. Probably a drug, being that I was in a hospital.

But why was I in a hospital? The last thing I could remember was going to sleep after the everfree monsters had attacked Ponyville…

“What happened?” I asked, not wanting to assume anything.

“According to the paperwork, you drained yourself completely attempting to cast a spell, and your body self cannibalized to try to make up the energy loss.” The doctor or nurse said, her tone simple and explanatory at first but turning to one of concern as she asked. “Can you see?”

“No,” I answered. “But things are starting to slowly show up.”

“I see. I’ll make a note to not use thiopentone on you in the future.” The decidedly female voice said as the sounds of pen on paper reached my ears. “It can cause temporary blindness in a small minority of ponies. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find medications that will work on someone with your genetics? A full third of medications I commonly use would kill you.”

I laughed, a genuine, smiling laugh. “I’m sorry. I know I’m a patchwork, but this is the first way I found where I’m still my original genetics, but stable.”

“Frankly it’s amazing you found one at all,” my unknown nurse or doctor grumbled.

“I know. But it's a good thing I did. Because I’m not dead,” I pointed out.

It was her turn to laugh. “The more I see of you, the more like Sky you turn out to be. If I hadn’t seen your scans I’d swear you were proper brothers.”

I frowned. “We’ve met before? Where am I?”

“Yes, about a month ago. You’re in the Emerald Hive, specifically the Aft Medical Bay on the Engineering Deck. Do you remember me? I’m Ensign T’ilk, I treated you once before,” T’ilk said calmly, in that medical professional trying to examine you way.

“Yes I remember you… But not by name. Sorry,” I apologized. “Are we working out if I have memory loss?”

She chuckled, “Yes, we are. It’s interesting to work on another medical… individual.”

“Individual?” I asked curiously.

“I don’t mean to offend,” T’ilk started instantly telling me she did mean to offend a little bit, “but I personally can’t call you a professional. For example, your Marefriend explained you injured yourself while enhancing her, during a recovery period.”

“Wait, I did what?” I demanded, ears perking up in alarm and anger.

“Do you not remember that?” She asked in a serious tone.

“No! I most certainly don’t. What the hay was I thinking? Is she alright?” I exclaimed, pleading for an answer.

“Well… Medically speaking I’m unsure if she is fine,” T’ilk said slowly. “However, she seems to be okay. It’s not really a medical question as to whether she is alright or not. A mage or a psychologist could give you a better answer than I could.”

“What did I even do?” I asked fearfully.

Please tell me I hadn’t almost killed her while trying to fix something going wrong with her wings!

“Uh… I honestly don’t know. She knows, and was here until an hour ago… But was called away to talk to Princess Celestia about this exact thing,” T’ilk said sadly. “I’m certain that if it wasn’t for the royal order, she would still be here.”

I let out a held breath. “Thank goodness.” I’m certain she would have been here if she could too. I wasn’t going to be mad at her for leaving me. Especially since I was happy she was alive.

“She claimed you had been planning to do…whatever you did for a week, and she convinced you do do it. Can you remember any of that?” T’ilk asked carefully.

I shook my head no. “What day is it? I remember it being the tenth yesterday.”

“It’s the twenty first,” T’ilk said in a deeply concerned tone. “I wish I knew more about you… You should get yourself checked by a psychologist as soon as possible to see if you might be missing any other memories. However, medically speaking, you are mostly fine.”

“Mostly?” I asked with a frown. “What’s wrong? I’ll help you fix it.”

“Well… You appear to have suffered damage to your thaumaturgic system,” T’ilk said slowly and carefully. “Now, again, I’m not a mage and I don’t know if anyling knows the exact biological basis for a unicorn’s magic, but I can tell you that your mana seems to be limited to around seven kilohugs of energy, which as you probably know, is not even close to nor-”

“I don’t know your scale,” I apologised.

“Oh! Right, sorry. I’m used to people who live here... Let’s see… Well its a little less than the changeling average, and our best top out at a third of a pony’s power.” T’ilk explained.

I blushed and turned my head away from the sound of her voice. “Uh… That’s actually my normal amount…”

“A-are you serious?” T’ilk asked in an astonished tone of voice. “H-how did you fix her wings? She told me you repaired severe trauma to her wings in minutes!”

“It’s a Germane thing,” I explained. “A lot of my people lack the capacities of other unicorns, and well, we always have. By necessity, our spells are very efficient in terms of mana usage. My worst spell wastes only two percent of the power invested into it, und by wastes I mean ‘isn’t used to optimal efficiency’.”

“That must take a long time to develop any spells at all,” T’ilk mused.

“Ja,” I nodded. “But when an hour of constant telekinesis tires you, you make better spells.”

At this point, I could see enough of my surroundings to tell where T’ilk was, and notice her head tilt to one side as I spoke.

“Are you aware you sometimes use Germane words in place of Equish ones?” She asked.

I nodded. “I’ve always done that. I can avoid it if I’m concentrating on it, but I don’t do that for casual conversation. It’s not evidence of a stroke or anything.”

“Ah, good,” T’ilk sighed in relief. “Now… There’s another possibly more sensitive subject. I was told you got your piercings drunk, is that correct?”

I nodded again. “Is one getting infected? I could have sworn I was cleaning them properly.”

“No, far from it. It’s pretty clear that whoever did them used Neighponese tools for it, the holes might as well be natural,” T’ilk said reassuringly. “It’s just that well… According to medical scans, some tissue has been removed to make the skin fall into shape as it does-”

My ears flicked up in alarm!

“-not that tissue. You’re not gelded. I meant skin and some fat!” T’ilk said quickly.

“Oh thank Faust!” I exclaimed. “It’s always so hard to regenerate those…”

“Right… Talking to a biomancer,” T’ilk reminded herself. “My point is… Er- you’re not upset by the surgery?”

I shook my head and gave her a little smile/ “No. I like the look, I’m not in pain, and Scoots was right. I do feel better not trying to prove I’m male all the time. So it’s not like I need to be constantly presenting.”

“Ah, well, good. My point is, recalling that you got the piercings drunk, I decided to make sure nothing was wrong… A few of our scouts have returned with stories of getting piercings done too deeply and getting tangled up with- Er… Well I’m sure you can imagine,” T’ilk said, a slightly bioluminescent glow flashing across her cheeks.

“Hey! I saw your blush. Eyes are clearing up nicely,” I mentioned to steer her on her way.

“Ah, good! Well… In the process of checking I was able to determine that you, er… Well you’re sterile.” She finished with a nervous hoof shuffle. “I’m sorry I always hate to tell people bad new-”

I held up a hoof gently. “It’s fine. I did that. I don’t want kids yet, so I turned that off. Just in case I ever did find somepony and they happened to be female.”

“Oh. Well, that’s good then,” she said in a relieved tone.

“Is that all? Am I free to go?” I asked curiously.

“Well, no,” She said decisively. “You have been in an induced coma for three days. I’ll need at least another two hours of observation to know you are well enough to leave. Also, there is a slight matter you may wish to make a decision on…”

“Er, what?” I asked with a frown.

“Trixie had an idea for ensuring you wouldn’t drain yourself again. While I personally am not knowledgeable of the procedure, it seems simple enough and you yourself would be able to correct any mistakes as time went on, so I couldn’t object to her idea,” T’ilk started to explain.

“Uh, who is Trixie?” I asked with a deeper frown.

“Uh… Ah, you met her less than a week ago. Right,” T’ilk mused. “She’s a stage magician, or claims to be. I doubt that, she’s got ‘soldier’ written on her body. You can tell when somepony’s trained for combat, even if they don’t act like it… Er, regardless she claimed to be a patient of yours.

“She’s also currently your adopted half-sister’s mate-”

“Wait, what the flying buck?!” I demanded. “Since when do I have a half-sister?”

T’ilk laughed. “Sky said you had a family dinner? How did you miss… Sky’s parents adopted a changeling nymph a long time ago… A seriously long time ago. Frankly it’s a miracle she’s still living most harvesters don’t make it to fifty and she’s almost sixty, still looking like twenty.

“Anyways, Sky has an adopted sister named Ayna. Meaning Trixie is dating your sister. So you should probably meet her for that alone. Not just because she had an idea to fix your magic problems.”

I triple blinked. “I have a sister?” I asked again.

“Yes. You do,” T’ilk replied slowly. “Is that surprise or brain trauma?”

“Surprise,” I clarified giving her an eager smile. “So does she like fashion at all? It would be amazing to go shopping with a sister sometime! I’ve always wanted another hoof to help with picking out some nice-”

I stopped speaking as my still improving vision registered T’ilk rolling on the floor in a silent laughing fit.

After a few moments of me standing there embarrassed, T’ilk stood up and cleared her throat. “I mean, no. She’s not big into feminine things.”

“You didn’t have to put it like that…” I muttered, ears drooping.

“Yes. Yes I did,” T’ilk chuckled. “Would you like me to get Trixie for you? I understand her proposal well enough, but it would be better for someone more familiar to explain it.”

“How about you get Sky?” I askmanded. “I’d like to know why he didn’t tell me!”

“I can save you time,” T’ilk said as she floated a small tablet to herself with her magic, “you didn’t ask him.”

I rolled my eyes. Yeah, right… Like that was the reason. “Please?”

“Alright. Hold on. This works like a messenger gem, only you get to see whomever you are talking to. Hold it so the image faces you or he won't be able to see.” T’ilk said as she tapped a few spots on the tablet with a hoof tip.

A half second later the tablet glowed slightly. “Hey T’ilk. Is Azur up and about?”

“Yes he is,” she answered, passing me the tablet. “He’d like to speak with you.”

I took the tablet in my telekinetic grip and had to smile at the device. It was a lot like a scrying mirror, but the image was much more clear. I could see Sky, and a really huge open room behind him filled with an incomprehensible mass of various mechanical bits and bobs, all in perfectly crisp detail. Not bad!

“Hello,” I greeted, “so-”

“Hey!” Sky interrupted. “Good to see you're better. I’da been there to be there when you got up since Scoots had to leave but-”

In the distance something exploded with a sharp pop. Sky’s ears fell back flat in irritation.

“-apparently telling the food replicators to make kale will make them explode… So I’m fixing that,” Sky finished.

“No, that’s fine. Don’t worry. I understand, life happens… Speaking of life, why the buck didn’t you tell me I had a sister!?” I demanded.

“Uh, because I don’t know your side of the family tree...” Sky replied. “How would I know if you had a sister?”

“No! You have a sister, so since we are related, I also have a sister. Why didn’t you tell me about her?” I asked indignantly.

“Oh, Ayna?” Sky asked.

“What?!” A female changeling’s voice cried from off behind Sky.

“No not you!” Sky shouted back.

“Good! Cuz this thing is on fire!” The voice returned in an irritated but oddly calm manner.

“Yes, her!” I said again, doing my best to maintain my indignant look in spite of the apparent fire happening out of view.

“You didn’t ask if I had a sister,” Sky said simply.

“Told you,” T’ilk giggled from off to my right.

“Faust VERDAMMT!” I swore. “Fine! What other relations do we share?”

“None now, but give our sis and her new squeeze a few months and she might accidentally lay an egg or five. I kinda wish our rooms were not adjacent… Oh yeah, Sai, remind me to install better soundproofing in my room later tonight,” Sky said, looking off to his left.

“Fine, whatever,” a male voice grumbled.

“Speaking of Trixie,” Sky continued, “are you calling about her idea? Because I got the gems all synthesized. Pretty neat idea too. I never thought to see if Technoarcana could do cybernetics.”

Cybernetics? I frowned, tail swishing uneasily. “Uh… I think I should call her next. I was mostly upset that you didn’t mention I had a sister through you.”

“Well no shit I didn’t! You met her when we all had dinner,” Sky said with an eye roll. “If you’re that much of a lightweight, you shouldn’t drink. You’re probably the worst drinker ever, of all time...”

“So um, how do I get to talk to this… Trixie?” I asked.

“Woah, wait, ‘this Trixie’? You don’t remember her?” Sky asked in surprise. “You made her a new eye! She also saved your life when you collapsed by filling your mana back up.”

I winced at his statement. The fact that I couldn’t remember somepony I owed my life to hit me hard and deep.

“I’m afraid he’s lost a week of memory,” T’ilk said in that ‘professional doctor’ sort of way.

“Ah… Well shit. So then you will remember none of…” Sky sighed. “I got you to agree to let me build you medical equipment, and I did, and it’s installed in your clinic. I did it so we could collaborate on making the world a better place, and I REALLY hope your memory loss is temporary because I gave an epic rant and I like to think you learned a life lesson from it.”

“I’ll do my best,” I promised. “But I think I need to talk to Trixie now. How do I get a hold of her? Do these things work like a messenger gem?”

“No. You dial a number into it,” Sky said shaking his head. “But it doesn't matter, Trixie’s still going through immigration-”

“What?” T’ilk exclaimed in surprise. “She’s decided to stay?”

“She seems a bit simple. I said she couldn’t just visit anytime because of security and after explaining how the hive works she applied for residency so she could come and go as she liked… I hope she really understands that means she’s signing on to a work crew too. Eh, I’ll pull some strings, get her on entertainment staff making ‘ling food. But anyways, Azur-”

“Lily,” I corrected. “I prefer the second half of my name, remember?”

“I do. But big bros are supposed to be a bit dickish,” Sky said seriously. “Now, Azur, Trixie doesn't have a number or communicator yet. And Ayna’s here, so someone will need to go to Ayna’s room and get her. Just sit tight, I’ll have an ensign do it.”

“Trixie will be right over!” A bombastic mare’s voice called.

Sky jumped slightly, “How the hay did you get in here?”

“Trixie asked the door politely, and it opened,” she said in what I was certain was crazy talk.

“Seriously, Sai?” Sky said glaring off to his right.

“She said please. What was I supposed to do?” The same male voice grumbled from before.

“Why did you even want to come to my lab?” Sky asked, walking off camera.

“Trixie was bringing Ayna lunch,” Trixie explained.

“You had better just be talking about food, hugs, or a kiss! This is a clean environment!” Sky exclaimed as the tablet went dark.

I spent about twenty minutes sitting on the bed waiting. During that time my vision came back completely. I think the light from the tablet helped my eyes readjust.

I couldn’t remember much about how the hive had looked the last time I had been in it, but I did remember enough to know most of it looked the same as any other part of it. It was quite interesting, to say the least. The metal everywhere was an interesting look. Not especially nice in my opinion, but certainly sturdy. The lack of windows was also a bit depressing.

Still, it did feel safe. The enclosed, but open areas had a warm welcome to them. A sort of warm welcome at least.

I looked up from my thoughts as the doors hissed open, confirming my suspicions that everything in the hive made some kind of sound. Through the doors walked an ice blue mare. She had purple eyes, and a light blue and pale blue mane, giving her a winter theme. She also had on a purple cape covered in stars, which clashed so horribly with the hive’s surroundings that it was almost painful…

“The Great and Powerful Trixie once again meets with her favorite doctor in a clinic!” The mare announced dramatically. “She only wishes it wasn’t because he was hurt.”

I triple blinked. “Uh, do you have to talk in third person?”

Trixie frowned immediately and turned to look at T’ilk. “Is he all right? Trixie told him about her speech before.”

“He lost about a week of memory as far as I can tell,” T’ilk reported, looking up from some sort of experiment.

“Ja, I can’t remember anything after the tenth,” I said. “That includes you… Sorry.”

Trixie nodded to herself and trotted over. “Well… That is very sad. Trixie counted you as a friend. Oh well, that simply means she must start over again!” She exclaimed with a smile/ “Trixie will start by thanking you for healing her injuries, though you don’t remember, she was in great pain, and you fixed that! You also improved her love life, Trixie’s current and first marefriend loves your hoofwork! … And Trixie probably wouldn’t have gotten her attention without it.

“So thank you! You changed Trixie’s life for the better, because now she might get to live in the most sensibly made city in all Equestria! Seriously, why do ponies build above ground? There are dragons up there…”

“Uh, because it’s spacious, roomy, with nice views…” I said slowly.

“And dragons! Timberwolves, Cragodiles, vampiric Jackalopes… Er, Trixie is getting off topic,” she said quickly. “Since you helped her so much, Trixie would like to help you… She knows you have very little magic of your own, and she also may have acquired some very impressive Neighponese technoarcana while they were looking away from it.

“Trixie’s point is she can show a doctor how to implant special mana gems at key locations in your body, which will let you store more magic than you normally would. She even knows the spell to make them work properly, and your brother was able to make the gems. We could multiply your magic reserve by a hundred fold this very day!” Trixie finished, beaming me a proud grin.

I put a hoof to my chin in thought. While that would be a real game changer for me, there had to be some sort of risk…

“What’s the downside?” I asked carefully.

“Well, Trixie has a set,” Trixie said, shuffling a hoof against the ground. “She hasn’t noticed anything too bad… But sometimes if she’s completely charged her pee glows a bright purple, and that’s very frightening late in the night.”

“Sooo excess mana is diverted into your digestive system and expelled?” I asked, musing over what the consequences of that would be in terms of health.

“That’s what the doctor who implanted them said happens,” Trixie confirmed. “She’s noticed nothing else and it’s been a long time since she had them… But that one thing can really make you jump.”

“Well, if there are any real problems, I can fix them as they pop up,” I mused. “You’re sure there is no problems with the gems themselves?”

“Oh!’ Trixie exclaimed, one ear perking up. “Yes… There is. If you were hit with a powerful damage dealing spell, they could explode. But Trixie has been hit with many spells since she got them, and is fairly certain that by ‘powerful’ they meant ‘alicorn powerful’ and by ‘could’ they meant ‘there is a small chance.’ Because she’s been hit, A LOT...

“Besides, that risk is if the gems have flaws, and Sky said he can make atomically perfect ones! Trixie is thinking of seeing if her’s can be replaced.”

So… Greatly increased capacity for magic in exchange for a risk of exploding if hit with a powerful attack spell… Which would probably kill me anyways.

“Alright, let’s do it!” I said firmly. “I’d like to know that I can work on my marefriend without risking my own life.”

Trixie nodded. “That’s what Trixie thought you would say.”

She trotted over to T’ilk and pulled a small metal box out of her cloak with a flourish. “Here they are! Trixie will direct you with where and how to implant them. Don’t worry about the magic involved, Trixie can do it.”

“Wait, we’re doing this right now?” I asked ears perking up in alarm.

“Yes,” T’ilk said gently. “Because you’re still under the effects of the painkillers I had you on, and it was a nightmare finding one that would work on you, the one I did was only rarely used, and so we are out of it now… I figure we have three hours left before we would be waiting months for a fresh batch to be synthesized and delivered from Trottingham.”

“Oh…” I said slowly. “Well, alright then. It’s just a little weird, going to sleep so soon after waking up.”

Trixie and the nurse walked over to my bed. “Oh no, “Trixie said shaking her head. “You need to be awake so Trixie can link each gem to you. Don’t worry! No cut is too deep.”

T’ilk nodded. “It’s about as damaging as extracting a fatty nodule. Small cuts, a quick spell, dab with healing potion to close. Nothing major. The hard part is the spells to get them to work.”

“Oh,” I nodded firmly, steeling myself. “Well then, let’s get to it.”

It wouldn’t be the first time I had been awake for surgery. At least this one wouldn’t be too bad. It was still weird to not be working on myself though. Especially since it was to improve something I couldn’t improve on my own.

“Are you okay?” Trixie asked with a frown as I lay back on the bed.

“Ja. Just realizing how weird it is to not be doing my own work,” I explained.

“Trixie can imagine that would be weird for you… Okay, the first one will be in your left hind leg. Hold still. T’ilk-”

I heard the changeling nurse jump. “How the hay did you say the ultrasonic part of my name?”

“Uh… With Trixie’s mouth?” Trixie said in confusion.

“Ponies shouldn’t be able to hear ultrasound, let alone make it…” I said looking up and over my shoulder.

“Trixie is not a standard pony,” Trixie said with a smile. “Her senses are very sharp. We should start, because the drug is wearing off.”

I nodded. “Yeah… That’s a good plan. So. Left leg. Here you go.”

As the gems were implanted, despite the lack of pain, I found myself uncomfortable. It’s odd to watch your flesh be cut open but feel nothing.

In order to distract myself I turned my thoughts to Scootaloo. The sooner I could see her the better. I had a whole week to be told about. Faust only knew if we did anything major… I hoped my memory loss wouldn’t upset her.

Oh gods if we shared our first actual date and I couldn’t remember it!

No, it didn’t matter. She was alive, and I knew that the moment she was free she would come back here to see me. Everything would be fine. If I missed our first real date, I would simply take her out on the best night of her life or die trying!

On second thought… I’d already come a bit close to dying this week… I’d take her out on the best night of her life or fail trying. Yes. That was much more reasonable.

21 Tea

Scootaloo - 21st of Midsummer ‘15 EoH - Evening

They say that you can never forget how Canterlot looks once you’ve been there. It's true. It’s hard to believe that most cities in Equestria used to have soaring domed towers, gold everywhere, and narrow winding roads. Canterlot is a city out of time, and I’m saying that as a pony who lives in a historic architectural preserve.

Canterlot existed long before Celestia made it Equestria’s capital. Maybe she knew when it was first built and by whom, but I don't think anypony else would. Except Twilight of course.

I’d gotten to see the city a million times, I’d had a friend going to school here after all, but what I hadn’t gotten to see before was the Celestial Palace. Tartarus, I didn’t even know that was it’s proper name until a guard welcomed me through the way too huge gold plated doors!

Well… I had gotten to see a little bit of it when Princess Cadence got married. But that was sixteen years ago, and honestly, I remember Chrysalis's invasion more than anything else about that day. This was the time I’d remember the palace itself.

Unfortunately, all of the decor sort of flowed together. Long stretches of red carpets, tapestries made from fancy silks on every wall, gold inlays forming elaborate patterns to trim the floors and ceilings… If I just saw one room, I’d have seen everything.

As the guards took me through the palace, the truly impressive thing wasn’t the fancy decorations themselves, but how big the building was. That’s when it hit me, the fanciness of the Palace wasn't the point, but rather how much fancy there was. The building and decor was here to show off Equestria’s wealth and power.

That took the wind out of my sails just a little… I would rather the palace have been just awesome for the sake of being awesome rather than be designed to impress. You could tell that’s what it was for too. Unless Celestia was really into ‘display all the expensive things possible’ as a home decorating scheme.

If the swirling gold trim did something other than look pretty, I’d have gotten a completely different impression. Why couldn’t it from little pictographs depicting Equestrian history? Why not have the tapestries depict fallen heroes, or great moments, or hay even just be pin ups? Anything would be better than geometric patterns meant to look impressive.

Maybe I was a bit jaded from getting to visit Twilight’s palace, but honestly, everything here just looked like a theater. A stage if you will.

I guess that made sense as well, this was where foreign diplomats would come and you’d want them to get an impression of wealth and power but… We lived here! Couldn’t you make it look fancy, powerful, impressive, and also homey?

Hay, the bucking Emerald changelings did that! Their hive’s main entrance was a huge tram that took you right into a huge park located in the middle of their hive. The whole ride down you got to see murals depicting their ancestors journey through the desert, finding the ancient ship within the Boseman caverns, their slow repairs made to their home… But then again, they didn’t really have diplomats come in.

Was that the key to understanding this? Was there some sort of political reason to give off the impression the Celestial Palace was going for? Were other species just shallow? Perhaps homey decor would make us look weak?

“Announcing Scootaloo Dash of Ponyville!” One of my escorts called, startling me out of my thoughts.

Oh! Here it was! The throne room was where all of the homeyness was hiding!

The sun shone through the stained glass windows, projecting images from Equestria’s past onto the reflective polished marble floor. Each tapestry here bore the rest of an Equestrian Provence. Each of the quartz columns were decorated with relief carvings which made it seem as if vines crawled up their sides.

The throne itself was framed by the tapestries and columns to draw the eye to it’s golden face, the metal lit just right to shine like the rising sun. Or rather, like the rays of the shining sun.

Because the sun herself was sitting in the throne.

Oh. That’s why everything outside looked bland. To ensure that Celestia herself made your jaw drop clean off.

I’d seen Princess Celestia before. Anypony who ever attended a Summer Sun Festival had. But here, on her throne, with the rays of the sun shining across her, surrounded by the shimmering gold, with her purple eyes that at once burned into you in judgment and forgave you of your deepest faults…

Here she was, the definition of a god.

“Thank you, Lance.” Celestia said in a motherly tone to the guard on my left. “Everypony, please leave us. Court will resume in two hours.”

I blinked as a selection of finery clad ponies began to walk past me as they left the throne room. I hadn’t even noticed the half dozen various other ponies in the room! Celestia’s mane, no wonder we almost got everything we wanted in diplomatic meetings!

“You too, Lance. Please wait outside. No one is to enter until the two of us are done,” Celestia ordered.

The guard snapped a salute, wordlessly leaving in unison with his partner, and closing the doors. Sealing me inside with the Princess with a dull boom as the door fell shut.

Instinctively, I dropped into a bow, turning my head down as far as the floor would-

“There’s no need for that, Scootaloo,” Celestia said kindly.

I gulped nervously and stood back up. “I um… but-”

Celestia nodded, and stood up from her throne, walking down the steps from the dais to the floor, moving to stand a polite distance from me.

I grinned nervously as she smiled. “I know it’s tradition to bow, but there’s another tradition amongst us immortals. We do not bow to one another.”

“But you’re… You move the sun!” I exclaimed, still blown away.

Celestia nodded. “I do. And if you and Captain Skriit are to be believed, you hold dominion over the winds and rain.”

Oh yeah… That’s right. I did!

She smiled a bit wider. “There we are. Take all the time you need to get used to talking to me, Scootaloo. You are not one of my little ponies any longer. We are equals, and you’ll need to see me in that way.

“There are many ways in which a pony, or even some other species, can come to live forever. Few ever achieve immortality, but those of us who do know we must live with the others for all time. It’s best to treat one another as equals… It prevents problems.”

The way she said problems sent my mind into a dark place. She said it bitterly, and with disgust. Like how you might say ‘plague’.

“So um… If you knew already… Why am I here?” I asked.

“I didn’t know,” Princess Celestia answered. “I’m not omniscient. But I did feel a surge of power when you…changed. But I didn’t know what it was until the good Captain sent me his report.”

Celestia chuckled. “Poor Twilight sensed it too. She had half of her guard searching door to door for whatever caused that thaumaturgic wave. And now that I can see you with my own eyes… I know that wave was made by you.”

I bit my lip and nodded slowly. “Okay… So um… What do we have to do now? My coltfriend is in the hospital and-”

Celestia flinched. “Yes, I know… I do feel sorry for taking you from his side, but it’s very important we have a conversation. But we can only have it properly once you can ask me a question without stumbling over yourself.”

“O-oh. Okay,” I said taking a short breath. “Can we talk somewhere else then? Because um… Yeah in here you sort of… Ooze magic.”

“Of course we can,” Celestia said as her horn glowed gold.

A soft scrape reached my ears, allowing me to turn my head in time to see Celestia’s throne seat-back slide into the wall and vanish into a rippling lavender portal. She turned and moved towards the massive alicorn sized opening in the wall and nodded her head towards me. “Would you like to see my house?”

“Uh, don’t you live here?” I asked curiously. “Like, is that a portal to your bedroom or-”

Celestia giggled. “Oh no! Luna and I both have our own personal residences. While I sleep here sometimes, I also keep a place where I ca get away from it all. We can have a more…level sided conversation there.”

“Alright,” I said as Celestia vanished into the portal.

Quickly moving towards the throne, not wanting to make the Princess have to wait on me, I stepped through the portal and-

Appeared in the livingroom of a small ponyville style house!

I had apparently walked out of the fireplace and into a very nicely decorated, willow floored living room which was decorated as a rustic garden house. Everything was obviously hoof made with great care, top quality, and quite expensive materials. But rather than a crystal surfaced coffee table, this room had a smoothly polished log.

Honestly, the place reminded me a lot of Sweet Apple Acres, only with more houseplants, and a persistent smell of rum cake.

This couldn’t possibly be where Princess Celestia lived!

As my eyes flicked across the rustically decorated room I spotted a dull-yellow pegasus with a two toned purple and pale purple mane, humming happily as she prepared a tea pot.

I knew her! That was Sunny Rays, she worked backup for the Ponyville Weather team.

I gently cleared my throat to get her attention. “Ahem… Uhh, hi Sunny… Portal accident, I’ll just get out of your house n-”

“Oh! I forgot about that illusion spell. I’m still Celestia, Scootaloo,” Sunny said with a giggle.

“Um, what?” I asked.

“The portal, it’s enchanted to disguise me when I come through it from the Canterlot side, and to remove the disguise when I go through it from this side. Sunny Rays is my way of getting privacy… After a few hundred years you may wish for something similar. I’ll be happy to help find you a means of avoiding the public eye.”

“So… Sunny’s fake?” I asked.

She nodded. “Yes. Every pony who has ever owned this house in Ponyville has been me. All the way back to well.. When I bought it as a summer home before I had my wings,” Celestia informed, still messing with the tea set. “How do you take your tea?”

“So… You spend your days off being Sunny… Um… I am super sorry about the time Sweetie Belle and I broke your front window!” I apologized, ears drooping flat as I realized all the times I accidentally endangered-

“Yes I know. You apologized for that years ago,” Celestia said smiling. “Tea?”

“... Right. Uh, two sugars I guess,” I said, nervously shuffling a hoof.

“So then um… That time I snuck hard cider from mom’s basement and uh… Flirted with you… Also sorry…” I apologized again, doing my best to stem the tide of horrible realizations.

Celestia laughed. “Don’t apologized for that! I still find it quite hilarious. Besides, if you had been a colt, I likely would have agreed to a date. Nopony has dared to ask me out in four centuries now.”

I frowned sharply. “But if you’re Sunny… She’s married, I mean, aren’t you?”

“No. Birch Chip is simply my coltservent… And is actually three different changelings. They keep this place clean and warm for me, and keep up the illusion that ‘Sunny’ is here when I am in Canterlot.” Celestia said as she set a simple tea set on the coffee table and took a seat on a cushion.

I was taken aback at just how…well, normal Celestia was being. She was just…there. Serving me some tea. Like I’d come over to ask how she grew her lilac bushes to be so nice looking!

“Please, have a seat,” Celestia said gently nodding towards a cushion.

I sat down after a moment, instinctively accepting the teacup as she offered it.

“Last question… So that time Sunny came into Miss Cheerilee's class and talked about weather creation as a guest speaker… Was that you?” I asked curiously.

“Yes, it was,” Celestia confirmed with a nod.

“So then… You’re the pony who showed me how to make a thundercloud,” I said to myself.

Celestia nodded. “I am. I may have been born a unicorn, but I’ve always loved playing with the weather.”

I could talk to the pony who taught me how to make a thundercloud. “Okay, I’m ready to talk. What are we talking about?”

Celestia set her teacup down. “We are talking about you,” she said gently. “There are many ponies I keep tabs on. Those whom I think might have the potential to ascend to a higher state, discover an elixir of life, or otherwise gain power beyond the average pony. But I never expected you to become something more.”

I felt just a little insulted by her words. “It’s not because I’m a pegasus is it?”

Celestia’s eyes widened, a look of genuine hurt crossing her face. “No! Not at all! Nor was it your status as a cripple. Luna was a pegasus before her ascension-”

“She was?” I exclaimed in shock. “How the hay do unicorns get the impression of being superior then?”

Celestia groaned. “Let’s please not get into over ten thousand years of racial politics… Suffice to say, few alive read history books. Simply put, Luna was a blind pegasus, and look at her now! It may interest you to know that while I am older than her, Luna has been an Alicorn for longer than me… If only by a few days.

“She was?” I asked frowning. “I must have not paid much attention in history class…”

“Oh no, you probably did. I don’t think even Twilight knows that Luna ascended first. Everypony assumes that as the more powerful of the two I must have been the first… But I wasn’t. She was, and she did it because she believed it would allow her to protect ponykind… I only did it to prevent my sister from stealing my spotlight… We were not the best of sisters in our youth,” Celestia admitted with an ashamed sounding sigh.

“You seem to get along well now though,” I pointed out.

“Yes. We do. We have Luna’s banishment to thank for that. You never realize how much you truly care for somepony until they are gone,” Celestia said slowly. “But, we are off topic. I never expected you to ascend because you are not an adventurer or a scholar.

“Despite being a… Rambunctious filly to the point of me having heard of you, you seemed content to live here with your friends. You have an adventurer’s soul, but you do not feel the need to delve into old tombs. Nor are you a scholar or mage. You simply are not the sort who normally obtains power.”

“Oh… Yeah, I guess that’s right,” I decided, nodding gently.

Celestia nodded in agreement. “I don’t mean that as an insult. I know enough about you to know you have a good heart. But despite this, you are a… Loose thread in a tapestry I have been weaving for millennia.”

I gulped, fear slowly creeping onto my face.

Celestia gave me a reassuring smile. “I’m not going to hurt you, or send you away. Equestria is my pride and joy. I have taken a dozen kingdoms and unified them into a single nation, from which I continue to sculpt a utopia… And if I do say so myself, I think I’m getting quite close to obtaining that goal.

“Naturally, this means I plan things out very carefully. You becoming somepony who for the first time since Discord has the potential to best me in a fight naturally could put my plans for paradise in jeopardy. I simply need to know what you will do with your newfound power. “

I triple blinked, one particular statement echoing in my ears. “You think I could beat you in a fight!?”

“Potentially. I can feel your power… It’s unrefined, untapped, but vast. In a few millennia, with training, you could be a match for me.” Celestia said in one of the most honest tones I had ever heard. “And like I said… Such a thing is rare.”

“Yeah… Discord, Tirek, Chrysalis… Am I really that powerful?” I asked.

Celestia smiled. “Not now. Having power is nothing if you do not know how to use it. But you could be. One day. So, I ask again, what do you plan to do with your power?”

“I want to protect Ponyville and make my moms proud,” I answered without hesitation.

Celestia triple blinked. “Is that all?”

I nodded.

“You seek nothing more than to be a hero?” She asked again.

“Yeah… Why? Is that weird?” I asked.

“Yes, very!” Celestia said, looking rather shocked. “Most wish to further their own power, or shape the world to their desires. That was how I was upon ascension… Although… It was a mistake to increase my personal might.”

“How so?” I asked curiously.

Celestia paused, lips moving as she mulled over her thoughts. “I suppose I could use that story to further my point. Very well.”

She looked into my eyes, her serious expression making me realize that Sunny’s and Celestia’s eyes were in fact the same.

“I am the sun, Scootaloo,” Celestia said. “I do not mean this metaphorically. All Alicorns are the embodiment of the force or object we represent. Twilight is magic. Cadence is love. Luna is dreams, though we call her night so she and I can have the sun and moon motif. And I, I am the sun.

“I can move the sun because I am the sun, it is as easy as walking across the room. But at the same time… I am also a pony. In my youth, through dark magic, I sought to unify my pony self with my stellar self, and I did. The Celestia you see day to day is only a fraction of myself.

“I don’t mean that I have multiple bodies. I mean the reason I fell to Chrysalis is because I have to lock most of my magic behind several wards for the safety of everypony. If I had fought her at full strength, there would be no Canterlot today. Without those wards, the pony me and the star me become one. My very presence will set creatures aflame. My sister leads our armies for the simple reason of I never had to learn to command an army. Because I am the sun.

“My arrogance in my youth created Equestria as it is today, but it did so through many many wars, and with lots of suffering… And not only were those times dark, but I live with the regrets of countless things even to this day.

“Which is why I want you to tell me the absolute truth, what do you want to do with your power? Because if you want to reshape the world, or to gain even more power, not only is my Equestria in danger of horrors I have eliminated returning to her lands, but you are in danger of an eternity of regrets for your actions.

“I do not mean that as a threat. I mean it as a warning. The path of the conqueror is paved with regrets. As time goes on, if you truly make the world better as I have, those regrets will fade, but they never vanish completely.”

When Celestia finished talking, I realized that I had stood up and taken a few steps backwards.

“I don’t want to do any of that,” I said, voice just a little shaky. “I have never wanted to rule anypony. I have wanted to hurt a few ponies… But well… Diamond Tiara was very cruel when she was a filly… I don’t like the idea of being in charge. I also don’t really like to follow, but well… There are some ponies like my moms, Twilight, Luna, and you that make me feel… I respect you.

“You are the reason why everything good in my life could happen. You shaped Equestria to be as it is. I don’t feel like I owe you, but… I do feel like I should support you. I don’t want to overthrow anyone. I just want to live here, and protect the home that I love from monsters, evil people, and everything else.

“Because it would give something back to everypony I care about, and it would help the ponies I respect… You know? But also because… Well… I’ve always just want to be a hero. Now I can be.”

Celestia stood up and stepped over to me. I flinched as she lifted a hoof, fearing that I had angered a pony who it was clear I didn’t even begin to know the power of! She reached around me, and pulled me close in a hug.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized. “I frightened you, and you didn’t deserve that. You’re selfless and kind. Exactly the sort of pony who deserves to have power. Can you forgive me for misjudging you?”

I froze. “Y-you want me to forgive you?” I asked.

“I do,” Celestia replied.

I thought about it. To be honest… I didn’t know how powerful I was yet I didn’t even know. I could understand throwing my weight around to see what sort of a person an unknown powerful person was.

“I forgive you,” I said honestly.

“Thank you,” Celestia said, letting go and returning to her seat. “Let’s talk about more pleasant things… Would you like some tips?”

“What sort of tips?” I asked.

“Immortal tips,” Celestia said taking a sip of her tea. “Living forever has…consequences. I can help you avoid a few of them.”

“Oh!” I exclaimed ears standing up on end as I sat down. “Yes! Please!”

“First… Come up with an alternate identity for doing your heroing,” Celestia said sighing around her teacup. “Notice how I have this home here, and am sitting under twelve illusion and transformation spells? The longer you live, the more… Locked in your public perception becomes. Equestria sees me as the perfect pony whom all should ascribe to be.

“That is… Well it means that I can not be myself as myself. Which is very discomforting. If I could do it again it would be Sunny who was the Princess, and Celestia who lived in Ponyville.”

I nodded, frowning slightly. “That's… That’s a good point. I’m sorry. That has to be hard.”

“It is, but I’ve had plenty of practice,” Celestia dismissed. “Next tip, change your hobbies every few hundred years. I don’t care how much you might love cartography. If you do not learn something new or rotate what you do… You’ll lose love for your well, loves. Luna knew that long before I did… She has a certain…fascination with games, but she makes sure to never focus on playing any one kind too much.”

“I suppose I’d want to go back to school every so often too,” I said thoughtfully, tapping a hoof to my chin. “I’m bound to get out of the loop eventually.”

“Yes! Definitely continue your education. You do not want to look like a fool when an astronomer comes to you and asks if you will help fund the construction of a deep space viewing telescope and you ask ‘What is space?’ … That is one of the worst embarrassments I have ever had…” Celestia admitted with a light blush.

I triple blinked. “But doesn't Luna control the night and the stars? How could you not know what space is?”

Celestia cleared her throat. “No, Luna controls dreams. Either of us can move the moon, hence why it kept moving while she was banished. I was doing it. The night sky looks wonderful when Luna is here because she puts everypony into a daydream… Er, Luna loves the night, and shares her vision of the stars with everypony. But she doesn't truly control the night, only dreams.

“Think of the night sky like a massive illusion spell. Luna’s true power is using the magic of dreams to give them substance, like an Illusionist whose illusions can affect real things as they have gained a semblance of reality.

“Which as they are associated with the night, and since Lulu has always been a night owl, had her decide to call herself the ‘Alicorn of the Night’ so the two of us could have our sun and moon theme.”

“So then her true power is her dream walking?” I asked, actually interested to learn a little about Princess Luna.

“No. Remember what I said before? Alicorns are their bonded concept. Luna IS dreams. She can visit your dreams because she IS that dream… Sorry if that’s a bit metaphysical. Um, her dream walking is a very minor thing for her. She can create dreams and give them to anypony or anyone. She can literally make dreams come true by taking things from dreams and making them real… Though that does put a heavy toll on her and won’t always work. I think it has to be a particularly strong dream.”

“That’s pretty cool! But well… Why the night thing? Was it just because you asked if you could do a sun and moon theme?” I asked in confusion.

“No, not at all. She loves the night, the first thing she ever saw was the stars. She’s loved them ever since,” Celestia said slowly. Her mouth opened as if she was about to say something else but froze. “I-I’d rather not talk too much about the past… Let’s discuss the future instead. I imagine you might want to talk with me more.”

I nodded quickly. “Yes! I have a lot to learn.”

Celestia smiled again. “Yes, you do. You can visit me here anytime that isn’t between noon and four, or a diplomatic function. Just tell ‘me’ you would like to have lemon tea. It’s the code phrase. I’ll come over, and we can talk.”

“Thanks!” I said, trying to remain calm about the fact that I just became friends with mother bucking Princess Celestia!

Celestia’s face turned sad for a moment. “Oh yes… You mentioned a coltfriend. Who is he?”

My lips stretched into a smile. “Azur Lily.”

Celestia smiled gently at me. “You’re a lucky mare. I know him. Here’s another immortality tip… Love him as dearly and keep him close. Every second you have a lover is precious… Although… He is a biomancer. Perhaps you will be lucky and he will find a way to stay with you through the ages.”

I felt my heart hit the floor. “Oh… I’m immortal and…”

“He’s not.” Celestia said sadly. “Don’t dwell on it. Just love him, cherish your time together. Over time the short lives others lead won't hurt you as much when they pass. You’ll learn to appreciate their memories and they will live on in your heart. But the first one always hurts. So please, for your sake, don’t let time get away from you. Be sure you two lead a full life.”

“I will!” I said half firmly and half fearfully. “Oh Celestia! He’s in the hospital and I’m not there for him and he’s not going to live as long as-”

Celestia gently set a hoof on my shoulder. “Scootaloo, would you like me to teleport you to him?”

“Please!” I begged.

“The Emerald hive, correct?” Celestia asked, closing her eyes.

“Yes,” I confirmed.

“There he is. I can feel his energy now. Goodbye Scootaloo,” Celestia said, the air where a horn would be on a unicorn flashing gold.

A heartbeat later I was standing on the shining steel floor of the Emerald Hive, in the circular room filled with beds and blinking lights had basically been my home for the last few days. I knew every last inch of it, Lily was behind me and to my left.

“That’s it. Trixie is all done!” Trixie’s voice said as I turned around.

“Good, that one stung a bit I think the painkillers are about to- Scoots!” Lily exclaimed, happily standing up as he noticed me.

The nurse yelped. “Argh! Why won't they let me ward this place!?”

I zipped over, hopping up onto the bed and pulling him into a tight hug. “I love you so much! I’m sorry I had to go I wish I had been here to see you wake up!” I blurted rapidly, pulling him tightly against my barrel.

Trixie cleared her throat. “Uh… Trixie thinks that she and T’ilk should give these two space.”

“Yeah… I think I’ll go get lunch,” the changeling nurse agreed.

“Yes! Lunch. Let's go get something nice to eat! We need to celebrate you being better,” I insisted.

“That sounds like a great idea.. Can you loosen your grip please?” He wheezed.

Blushing deeply, I gently loosened my grip. “Sorry hon. I love you…”

“I love you too,” he replied, giving me a gentle kiss on the cheek.

Celestia was right. This was too nice to let worrying about my lifespan spoil it. Instead, I decided to worry about how to get a table at the nicest restaurant in Ponyville on short notice… And how to get from here to there.

Because that’s what was really important. Spending time with the person I loved.

22 Second Date

The Hearth, Deepwoods, Everfree Forest - 21st of Midsummer ‘15 EoH - Night

Hoofsteps rang against the stone, echoing off the smooth chiseled walls, transforming the lone sprinter into a charging cavalry. Sacred ran with an urgency rarely seen in the world, that of a true believer delivering news of the utmost importance to an unquestionable authority.

Those who dared to be by chance in his way were swatted aside with a pulse of crimson, their fates ignored. Their cries of pain unheard. Not out of malice, or callousness, but out of duty and loyalty. Father demanded news as soon as possible, and so he would get it with all possible speed. Consequences be damned.

Sacred only slowed when the iron doors leading to the throne room resolved from the darkness of the corridors. A shower of sparks and a shriek of metal on stone accompanied his sudden stop, and the creak of the iron doors opening with a pulse of crimson light came but a second after.

Sacred passed over the threshold and bowed in unison, helmet nearly scraping the stone as he closed the doors behind himself, taking care to do so with a respectful quiet.

“Father,” Sacred said urgently, “dire news from Trottingham! EUP forces have found and seized the regional training camp. I did relax security, as per your instructions, however those stationed there failed to activate the camp’s self destruct. Many of our records and much of our equipment is now within the enemy's hooves.”

Father sat silent for several moments. The red light within his eye socket rolling between deep crimson and bright red.

“For what reason did this failure occur?” Father asked at last, voice dripping with deadly venom.

“We greatly underestimated the recon capabilities of a group known as the ‘Knights of the Rampant Moon’,” Sacred explained. “It is quite clear that one of their number is a changeling capable of mind reading. A key operative appears to have been completely and flawlessly replaced by such a creature, and prevented the facility’s destruction.”

“Once again, our failure comes from inadequate information of our enemy,” Father said decisively. “My Chief Researcher in charge of espionage agent development is consistently unable to perform his function properly. Replace him, and do not recycle the remains.”

“I agree completely with replacing Arrex-seventy-eight, Father. But is it not wasteful to execute an agent with a battle scheduled two weeks from now? Surely he could be of some service in a shieldwall,” Sacred mused, his thoughtful tone echowing slightly amid the low hum of arcane machinery.

“You are correct, however, progress has been slow in recent years. My children are overdue a fresh view of failure’s consequences,” Father said amidst a slow shuddering breath.

“As you wish, Father. I will pass on your orders,” Sacred accepted, lowering his forelegs in a bow. “What shall I do to counter your enemy's move? I have several ideas, if I may-”

“You may not present them,” Father said icily. “The Trottingham camp was in your hooves, and the failure is therefore yours. As our enemy now knows the locations of at least two other Forges, we must advance our deception to today. If we do not react to this blow, they will know we seek to fool them.

“You will prepare Munitors to create fresh troops to make up for the day’s losses, gather half the legions, and strike at Ponyville today. You are to try as hard as possible to slay Twilight Sparkle in battle. If you accomplish nothing else today other than your death, make her fall. Go.”

Sacred bowed low once more, taking the care and effort to leave the room as silently as possible to do as commanded. He took his time walking through the twisting halls of the Hearth, as if to examine the crystal, metal, and glass conduit festooned stone. Sacred’s expression behind the impossibly black helmet remained hidden from the world, but the way his gaze lingered on, certain walls carried a nostalgic weight.

Regardless of personal thoughts, the loyal servant went about his duties, carrying Father's words to his children.

Over the next few hours, Father's will was done. A thousand crystal chambers filled with a thick pungent fluid. A hundred mages began their duties. Scores of engineers began to create tools and weapons anew. Four legions assembled, and poured forth from the bowels of the earth to form up in preparation for the day’s march.

Sacred watched as the ranks of his warriors marched, rolled, and slit forth, personally ensuring each and every last member of every legion called, and all of their supporting personnel left the Hearth. All but one, who sat at his side in the red cloak and black armor of a TR. After they passed the armored pony stood still, hesitant, spending a great time staring out of the cavern's mouth at the line of dappled sunlight of the forest. His cloak rippled as he finally stepped forwards, slowly moving to the line of light and stopping just shy of crossing over into the sun’s rays.

Sacred paused again, the armored pony at his side simply walked into the sun, taking a few moments to realize Sacred’s hesitation before turning around.

“Sir, it’s only light,” the red cloaked pony said.

“No. It’s her light. I can see it,” Sacred said slowly.

He reached out with an arcanite clad hoof, putting just the very tip over the line, and waiting another moment before at last crossing over the barrier.

“Sun burn only happens if your in harsh light sir…” The red cloaked pony said supportively. “And only if you are not covered.”

“That wasn’t my concern, Arrex-seventy-eight,” Sacred said, tilting his head back to look up at the dense forest canopy overhead. “So… These are trees then?”

“Aye, sir,” Arrex replied. “Have… Have you never had foraging training, sir?”

“No. Command training is different,” Sacred answered, still looking up, eyes flicking from place to place amongst the treetops. “I rather like these. We should put some in the mess halls.”

“They would add a little color, but perhaps too much,” Arrex disagreed.

“Mmm… Maybe you are right,” Sacred sighed, turning back to look at the amassed legions beneath the trees.

He stepped forward, walking towards the front of the army, and biting his tongue to avoid speaking further on the subject. There was another's will to be done by his hooves.

Lily - 22nd of Midsummer ‘15 EoH - High Noon

It would have been very nice to know that the Emerald Hive ran a small air transport service a couple months ago. Sure, Stalliongrad didn’t have any radio system, or even an arcane messenger network, but I’m pretty sure David could easily have built a transmitter from parts in Zebrica. It would have been nice to just wait in a hotel room and then get picked up via airship.

Though, given the situation, that still would have been impossible. I would have had to have been to the area to know about it beforehoof. At the least, it was nice to know that getting home to Ponyville was a short 4 hour flight.

It also would have been handy to have gotten a hold of those gemstones. Trixie barely had to explain how they worked to me. Yesterday I hadn’t cast a single spell, or really made little use of my telekinesis, and I could feel that energy still there! The normal limit to my daily supply was simply gone. A mind blowing concept to internalize.

Also a bit of a problem, as without knowing what my upper limit was, I couldn’t quite determine how much of my own energy would be used. Which is a thing many of my spells required me to know. Some experimenting was in order.

Fortunately Trixie showed me a spell which could transfer stored thaumaturgic current from a given object into the gems. With the reactor in the hidden lab under my clinic, working out what my maximum energy was now would be a sinch.

But all that could come later! I had a week of missed memories to catch up on, and a marefriend to go out to lunch with.

Scootaloo took my memory loss well. She was most happy I wasn’t dead, and fortunately it seems that all I really missed with her was lunches and conversations. Interestingly, she insisted I was acting the same towards her as I had been before attempting to improve her weather control. This implied that I could subconsciously remember that week, which gave me hope of being able to eventually remember.

Scootaloo had taken the airship ride to do her best to retell everything she had shared about herself to me during the last week. How she got revenge on her fillyhood bully by tricking her into signing up for the Solar Guard, but later regretted it. Only to ironically find out that said bully had really been changed for the better by boot camp. How she had done her best to enter motocross clubs to try and impress her mom with some kind of racing career, only to fail because she was terrible at biking. The time she got stuck to her bed via static electricity and nearly lit the house on fire with the spark from her being pulled out of bed by her uncle Big Mac. Good stories, all of them.

But while she was telling each story I could tell that she was avoiding talking about something. I knew in part what it was as well. I had operated on her during a recovery period. Why? More important, why was she not talking about that? Surely that was the biggest event to happen in either of our lives last week!

I didn’t press the matter for the ride over. Nor did I press it as we debated on where to go for a nice lunch date. It would have been rude to push the matter when she clearly wanted not to speak of it. However, it could be disastrous to put the matter off entirely. So I decided to ask over food. Nopony I had ever known would abandon food over a desire to avoid a serious topic.

After some debate, the two of us decided to go to Scootaloo’s favorite restaurant, the Quesadilla Shack. I remembered the converted bridge and canvas tent fairly well. I wasn’t about to turn down a chance to eat there, especially since I remembered the food being very good, but even more so since my marefriend loved the place.

And how could she not love it? The Quesadilla Shack had a homey sort of feel to it. They way the sunlight shone through the orange tarp-tent’s roof gave every table a relaxed homey atmosphere. Even better, the tarp trapped the scents from the kitchen, letting the smell of Ponyville’s ubiquitous fresh flowers mix with the scent of Mexicolt food. Few smells were more appetizing than that, and it more than made up for the simplistic to non-existent decor.

After all you go to a restaurant to eat something, not to look at things. That’s what art galleries are for.

Our simple conversation continued all through the line, and a few minutes after sitting down at a table. I was tempted to ignore the question further and enjoy my plate of Panucho, but there are some things that simply fester over time and cause problems. This really felt like it would be-

“So uh, you know those things have meat in them right?” Scootaloo asked.

I nodded, taking a bite of the tortilla wrapped goodness. “Ja I do. I need to eat meat, remember?”

She nodded, blushing slightly. “Right! Sorry. I’ll remember that eventually. It’s because you can’t absorb enough vitamin B-twelve from plants, right?”

I nodded, taking a second bite, and resisting the temptation to lick some juices off of my hoof. “Ja. Pernicious anemia is the name of the condition you’re thinking of.”

She nodded. “Right… But um, if you know what prevents your from getting enough B-twelve normally, why haven’t you fixed it?”

Ah this question. I’d expected something like it to come up eventually. After all no Equestrian was required to pass Germane Ethics exams.

I set my food down on the plate, and held up my hoof. “Notice how I’m eating with my hooves?”

Scootaloo nodded/ “Yes. Are you using this as an example, or do you not want to talk medical things while eating?”

“As an example,” I clarified. “I could easily have lifted my meal with my magic. But I didn’t. Because it’s not necessary to do so, und I have no real advantage in using magic over my hoof for it.

“I don't need fine control to eat. Nor do I need to hold many things at once. My hoof can grip this easily, and it’s very simple motions to get it into my mouth. So I used hooves, and refrain from the use of magic.”

Scootaloo’s eyes brightened a little, recognizing my point. “Oh I get it! Since you can get a hold of meat easily and it’s not hurting anypony you don’t feel a need to change your condition, even though technically it’s broken.”

“Ja… But also nein,” I said slowly.

I took a minute to pull the right words to mind. “It’s more like I don’t see anything which isn’t impairing a pony’s life as being something which is ‘broken’. Ja, I have to eat meat but well, so do pegasi unless they can afford protein supplements and hate the flavor. It’s not a real problem, to me this is just part of who I am.”

“Okay, I think I understand you,” Scootaloo mused.

“Why did you ask?” I asked inquisitively, picking my food back up.

It was too delicious to ignore for much longer.

“Well, you’ve mentioned lots of problems your people have, and I know you still have a few of them. I’ve been trying to work out why you didn’t heal them. You’ve got a pretty good reason for it. I mean, I wouldn’t fix something I didn’t think was broken,” she said, taking a bite of her own dish.

“It doesn't bother you, does it?” I asked. “My diet I mean?”

“No. But it’s not normal for a unicorn to eat meat regularly. Just wondering why you weren't well, conforming to the norm,” she explained. “I’m not saying you should conform, I mean hay, I gave you the, ‘be yourself’ speech. I just like to understand ponies, and well… You’re my coltfriend. I should be able to understand you.”

I nodded, satisfied with her answer. “Ja, you should. Und I should be able to understand you… Und I do a little bit. Enough to know that you want to avoid talking about why I modified you so soon… But, I think you know that it’s important I know why I did something that’s a breach of ethics…”

Scootaloo's ears fell, a wave of sadness washing over her features. “Yes… But can it please wait? You had a panic reaction, and well, it’s really not a big deal. That kind of thing happens all the time here. I’d like to have a nice lunch with you and just be happy you’re okay. Please?”

I bit my lip as I looked into her pleading eyes. It was very very hard to choose. I knew she would tell me if I asked, but at the same time, would that hurt her? And yet, I really needed to know! It was eating away at my insides.

Perhaps it would be best for a light version, something to tide me over until a full explanation? Yes. Yes it would.

“Can we compromise?” I asked.

“How so?” Scootaloo asked hesitantly, frowning suspiciously.

“If you promise to tell me the details later, I promise to not ask anything about it until this evening,” I promised.

Scootaloo blinked as her ears perked back up. “Oh! Yeah I guess that would be fine.”

She tapped a hoof to her chin, leaning back in her chair in thought for a hooffull of seconds before finally nodding. “I think the best way to put it, is that Twilight gave you a royal order to try and improve the local defenses in anyway you could, and I volunteered because my weather powers were pretty good and if we could just fix that ‘causes a stroke’ thing I’d be able to help defend Ponyville in case of another attack.

“I talked you into it by explaining that one of the few things I’ve ever wanted to do is earn my moms’ respect, and well, I’ve never grown out of superhero fantasies… So you worked on me because of a Royal Order and I convinced you to use me to help fill it.”

“Oh,” I said in mild surprise.

Now that was quite interesting. And also a very good reason to do something. Not the ‘talked into it’ part, but the Royal Order part. After all, if the government requests your services for the public good it’s only right to give them.

“Why would I have had a panic reaction to that?” I asked curiously. “That’s a very good reason, and after a monster attack like that, I definitely understand why you would want to increase defenses.”

“Well… There’s a bit more to it, but that’s the main reason,” Scootaloo explained, ears drooping slightly. “You remember your part of the deal, right?”

I nodded firmly. “Ja, I do. Simply commenting on the core of the matter.”

That was half true. I was still quite curious, but at the very least I knew that I was morally fine. If she had simply talked me into things without any real reason behind my decision other than her words…

As much as I loved Scootaloo it could never be a good idea to become emotionally linked with someone able to convince you to abandon your principles. My heart was singing with joy at the fact my actions had justification in attempting to aid the community. Even more so at the fact that Scootaloo took the risk of a thaumaturgic cancer as an acceptable risk for the sake of protecting others.

“I’m glad to be in love with a mare who would risk herself for the safety of others,” I said happily, giving Scootaloo the change of topic she clearly desperately wanted.

She blushed and turned her head to look off down the street. “You say that like it’s rare… I’d like to think that most ponies would be a hero if they could. I just happen to have someone in my life who can help me become well… Heroic.”

“Oh! We succeeded then?” I asked, ears perking happily.

“Uh, we?” Scootaloo asked, raising an eyebrow. “You did all the work. I don’t deserve any of that credit.”

“Nein! You do. Without you there would have been nopony to enhance. I’m half the equation… Und so you deserve half the credit,” I insisted. “So, how did we do? No more migraines when calling full sized lightning?”

Scootaloo cleared her throat and looked around the restaurant as if not wanting to be overheard. “Uh, well…”

“Why the secrecy?” I asked curiously. “Princess Celestia didn’t classify things, did she? I recall being told she summoned you.”

“Well… No,” Scootaloo answered at last. “But she did tell me it would be best to not advertise how much power you managed to give me... “

She gave me a nervous little smile before staring down at her food for a few minutes.

“Uh… Well… What can you tell me then?” I asked.

She squirmed for a minute before deciding. “Everything… But not here. For now, well, you made my weather control very very good. Notice how it’s a nice sunny day?”

I nodded,.“Ja the weather patrol is doing a nice…”

I trailed off as Scootaloo gave me a knowing grin. “It’s supposed to be raining now. I’m making it sunny.”

“How?” I asked curiously looking at her wings or hooves for any sign of thaumaturgic activity.

“Willing it,” she admitted quietly. “If you look up, you’ll see the weather team trying to make rain clouds, but they keep dissolving into water vapor. That’s me. I’m doing it… I wanted nice weather for our date.”

I craned my neck to get a view of the sky, unfortunately the tarp roof and buildings along the street limited my view to the tiniest patch of sky.

“Go ahead and look. I need you to know I’m telling the truth, okay?” Scootaloo asked.

Her tone held an odd urgency to it. She definitely did need me to know.

“Okay, just a minute,” I said as I got up.

I trotted out from under the tarp-roof and looked up to get a good view of they sky. It was most certainly a good day. Not a hint of a cloud in the sky for miles in any direction.

Hold on a second… I squinted up at the clouds and slowly turned in a circle. Checking twice just to be absolutely certain.

It was perfectly sunny and absolutely cloudless in a perfect circle that spanned all of Ponyville’s walled portion. And outside that line, the tell tell gray lines of a light showering rain.

Frowning at this oddity, but aware that in a nation with pegasi members such a feat could be achieved easily, I looked up to see if anypony was maintaining the ring of clouds. It took some hard squinting, but I could make out small colored dots of pegasi zipping around the cloud ring. It took me a few more seconds to notice them attempting to move the clouds into the ‘hole’ in the cloud bank, only to keep failing as the cloud bits just dissolved.

After a quick moment in which I wondered exactly what the buck I had done and wished I knew enough about the brain to be able to fix memory issues, I took a deep breath, went back inside, and sat down.

“Alright,” I said timidly, “I believe you.”

Scootaloo blushed lightly. “I should stop it though… The poor weather team is probably panicking…”

“Ja, looked like it,” I agreed. “How- er, how much can you control? Und did I mention any of how I did this?”

“Oh, I could do more, but well, plants need water and mom always gets mad when her trees are under watered so I’m keeping it to just Ponyville’s urban areas. … I’m mostly doing it because Princess Celestia and also Dusk said I should practice.”

I had been about to take a bite of my Panucho when Scootaloo’s words slapped me upside the head. “You met Dusk?! Oh my gosh I haven’t even thought to visit her in weeks! Or did I? Ugh! Bucking memory loss! Did I introduce you to her? Because er, well… You know. She’s not exactly normal.”

Scootaloo nodded, smiling slightly. “I know. But no. She showed up when you collapsed, drunk… Wait! How the buck could she get drunk? Is she a delusional mage or something?” Scootaloo demanded, looking irritable.

I quickly shook my head. “No. She’s really an immortal. She was probably at the pub she and I met at, the owner makes a mead which is essentially distilled magic. It’s very tasty!”

“Oh… Huh,” Scoots said with a half frown. “Uh, anyways… Well… You sort of made me similar to her.”

“I did what?” I asked in a calm tone.

This surprised me. I understood the words coming out of her mouth, and their gravity. How had I managed to keep my tone calm there?

“You, somehow, made me, like her,” Scoots said again, looking around. “Not so loud, okay?”

“But… She's… How?” I asked, feeling my brain start to panic.

A deep screaming cry of ‘What the flying buck did I do and how?’ Began to build up within my mind and heart. It slowly welled upwards as I desperately tried to piece together any way that what Scootaloo was saying was true and that I was the cause of such a complete and total break of reality and physics!

Why!?

When!?

How!?

The deep piercing wail of a massive horn slapped me out of my pending confusion meltdown! The single note reverberated off of the walls of Ponyville, as if every single surface was producing the booming note.

“Princess Twilight Sparkle,” a menacing and deep voice called, again, as if the voice came from every surface in town, “the Ashes are upon you! Your destruction is nigh. I am a fair stallion, I shall give you fifteen minutes to prepare your forces for battle. Should you not summon your warriors and meet me outside your walls, we shall enter your city, and it shall be no more. Except for the trees. I rather like them... That is all.”

Another loud blast of a war-horn punctuated the end of the announcement, shaking the ground slightly with it's sheer presence.

“Uhhhhh….” I said unintelligently, the aborted by pure terror confusion-meltdown having broken my brain just a bit.

“Huh, I thought we had two more weeks before this happened,” Scootaloo mused thoughtfully.

“What!” I exclaimed, the confusion-meltdown resuming from where it left off.

23 Nova

Scootaloo - 22nd of Midsummer ‘15 EoH - High Noon

“What!” Lily exclaimed, one ear standing upright, the other drooped, one eye larger than the other, and tail lifted straight up.

This wasn’t your average everyday confusion, this was Advanced Confusion. With a dash of panic on top.

“Hey, can you hear me?” I asked, frowning.

I waved a hoof in front of Lily, flinching as I noticed no reaction to my movement. It made sense that’ he’d panic. There was a lot to take in, but now was most definitely not a good time to lock up like this! What should I do?

“Citizens of Ponyville,” Twilight’s voice said, echoing through the streets as whatever spell she used delivered her message, “a small force of trained soldiers has besieged our community. Please return to your homes and remain there until an all clear has been sounded. Military and law enforcement personnel are to move to the wall tops as quickly as possible. Special forces, please meet at rally point Delta. I apologize for the inconvenience, this shouldn’t take long.”

The tables around me were slowly emptying as ponies grumbling headed for home, or to the walls in the case of a few guards. Nopony liked it when a ‘disaster’ interrupted their afternoon, and if Twilight was asking people to remain in their homes, that meant she was treating this as a serious threat.

Not that I didn’t think an army attacking the town wasn’t serious, but it did make me wonder what I was supposed to do. I had volunteered to help defend Ponyville, and Twilight had to know what had happened to me by now… But nopony had told me anything!

Did I count as a military pony? Should I go to the wall? Did I count as special forces? If so, where was point whatever-she-said?

Worst of all, what do I do with Lily? He was sitting there still, fortunately not looking like he had a stroke, but none the less quite still. Was he to go home? Would Twilight want him at her side to heal her if she got hurt?

“Buck it! I’ll go ask her,” I declared, thumping a hoof against the table in irritation. “Come on, hon. I’m not going to leave you in the streets. Please snap out of it…”

Lily’s right ear twitched slightly. Shaking my head, I walked around behind him to pick him up and fly, and froze half way around. Had his green eye tracked my movement around him?

Ah whatever Scoots, you're stressed, and even if it did, it probably just meant he was snapping out of the funk.

I stretched out my wings, hopped into the air, and wrapped my forelegs under his shoulders. Expecting him to be heavy, I pushed down with all my might, only to zip upwards and smack my back against the canvas roof!

“Oof! Heh… Right, stronger now,” I muttered to myself.

Blushing lightly at my mistake I zipped out from under the roof, circled around to get altitude, and made a beeline for Twilight’s palace. She had to be there, with my moms and the rest of her friends. There was time to come up with a plan, and that’s where she would do it.

As i approached the halfway point, Lily twitched. A second later she yelped!

“Ahh! Falli- No, wait, flying!” He sputtered.

Twisting in my grip he looked back towards me. “Why are we-”

“Danger, army, siege, asking Twilight what to do,” I summarized.

“Okay,” he sighed, “hold on, did you mention you became a-”

“Let’s talk about that when we don’t have to worry about danger, okay?” I asked, tucking my wings in to safely swoop through and open window on the palace’s third floor.

“Yeah… That’s probably for the best,” Lily decided as we swooped into what I guessed must be Spike’s room.

Gently letting Lily go, I dropped to the floor myself and quickly rushed for the door. “Come on, if this is Spike’s room, then the map room is close by and that’s where Twilight will be.”

I heard his hoofsteps as he ran to keep up with my fast pace. A pace which surprisingly didn’t make me feel any real exhaustion. Is this what distance sprinter’s felt like?

“I take it we’re asking how we can help?” Lily asked as we turned right, the entrance to the map room now within view.

“Right!” I agreed.

Two guards in silver armor flanked the double doors. They looked up as our pounding hooves reached them, immediately readying halberds, but relaxing them a moment later.

The guard on the right opened the doors for us with a pulse of lavender magic. “Go! You’ll miss the briefing!” She called urgently.

“Both of them?” Her companion asked.

“Yeah I think so… Buck it, both of you, in, now!” The first ordered as we zipped between them into the massive geode-like room.

Unlike most of the palace, Twilight had never redecorated the map room. It felt like you were inside of a crystal in a way both awe inspiring and unsettling. In the center of the room stood the Map, ringed by the six thrones. And as I had suspected all six of their owners were here, but nopony was sitting.

Dash was busily hovering behind AJ, who leaned on the map table as it projected an image of the army outside of Ponyville. Pinkie bounced from hoof to hoof as she sort of made circuits around the table. Rarity was busy pointing out something on the map, which Fluttershy and Twilight were leaning down to inspect…

Twilight’s ears perked as the two of us entered. Looking up a half second later she flashed from startled to relieved. “Oh thank goodness! The last thing we need right now is for the palace to be breached. Girls, since everyone is here now, we need to finish up out plan. We have two minutes.”

Dash turned around. “So let’s see who we’ve been waiting f- Scoots!?” Dash sputtered as her eyes locked onto me.

“Yes, Scootaloo,” Twilight confirmed.

“Wait just a darn minute!” AJ protested. “She might be speedy now, but there aint way for her to contribute here! Maybe one day, with some training, but the six of us are a team. We can’t let an inexperienced pony tag along with us on a whim, Twi! Er no offense meant Sugarcube…”

“Agreed!” Rarity said, sounding a little stunned. “I sort of understand having the doctor there at least stay near us, but why Scootaloo of all ponies?”

Twilight sighed. “Celestia’s orders. Scootaloo accompanies us and covers our rear. I assure you that she can be of help. Right, Scootaloo?”

I nodded firmly. “Yes. Mom, mom,” I said looking into my mothers’ concerned faces. “I’m really, really good at lightning now. So-”

“Maybe you are, but we can’t just let you tag along!” Dash protested turning around almost too fast to see. “ Twilight, seriously-”

“Dash, AJ. She goes with us. End of discussion. We simply do not have time to explain to you why she’s perfectly safe and why she can help.” Twilight said firmly.

“I promise I’ll tell you everything as soon as this is over with okay?” I said, giving AJ a pleading look. “I really want to help, and I can.”

“But-” AJ protested along with Dash.

“Don’t worry, she’ll be alright!” Pinkie exclaimed, sproinging up between my mom's to give them both side hugs. “See? No tremblies in the shoulders! No CMC getting in danger today.”

Dash groaned and ran a hoof over her face. “Ugh… Fine. I’ll trust the Pinkie Sense. But you need to stay out of the thick of things!” Dash ordered all momishly, pointing a hoof at me firmly.

“She will be quite out of the way,” Twilight said firmly. “Scootaloo, I want you to remain in the air and drive off anything moving towards us. You’ll also need to hit any spells or projectiles headed our way with enough power to destroy them. It takes six seconds for us to channel our Rainbow Forms, during which we are basically defenseless… The ambient magic shorts out any active spells I have on us.”

Before I could ask any questions, Twilight’s horn flashed, and a silver peytral appeared in a flash of magic in front of me. The armor was very simply designed, little more than shaped metal with a small section magically colored to bear my cutiemark in the spot which would be in the center of my barrel.

“Put that on,” Twilight ordered. “Sorry it’s ugly. We’ll get you better armor soon. That’s all I had in your size.”

“Oh come on!” Dash protested. “My girl is going into battle and all she gets is some chest armor?”

“It’s got a level four shield charm on it,” Twilight continued, ignoring mom. “Dodge any big spells sent your way but don’t sweat arrows and other projectiles. If it suddenly gets cold, it’s almost out of energy. So dodge everything you can after that point. But if you have to take a hit to cover us while we’re channeling, you’ll be alright.”

“... Dang it Twilight!” Dash protested again. “I’m trying to mom responsibly!”

“Okay,” I said, picking the armor up in my hooves and puzzling at how exactly it was supposed to-

“Like this, Sugarcube,” Aj said calmly as she walked over and buckled the armor into place for me.

“Thanks mom,” I said half embarrassed, but half happily.

It felt great to finally get to join them in protecting everypony!

“I take it you would like me to stay out of the way und heal anypony who Scootaloo might fail to protect?” Lily asked in a eerily calm voice.

Twilight nodded and walked around the map to point at the large square mass of black and red clad soldiers. “Yes. While we should be able to defeat them in open combat like this, I will give them one chance to resolve this diplomatically… After all their leader gave us fifteen minutes. They may be willing to talk.

“I expect it’s really just a trap, so I want you ready to heal anypony who gets hurt if it is. The eight of us will teleport in right here. You can see this clear area at the base of the wall… The lone pony standing out of rank with the other is probable the leader. That’s where we are going.

“The six of us will appear in a wedge formation with me at the front. Scootaloo, you will appear mid air, get ready to hover. Lily, how far is your healing magic’s range?”

Lily coughed in embarrassment. “About five meters tops…”

Twilight winced. “I wanted you on the walltop… But you’ll be appearing behind our wedge formation. Can you protect yourself?”

“I know a few shield spells,” Lily said with a sigh. “Und most of my piercings are enchanted defensively. If we are attacked, do you want me to try und help? Or am I strictly to heal?”

“Please keep an eye on us and heal. Only attack if you must,” Twilight ordered.

I looked around the room. Everypony had a determined look on their face except for Lily, who just looked nervous. I didn’t know how I looked. Happy? Proud? Afraid? All of those things?

A small movement caught my eye and drew it to Dash’s face. She gave me a wink and a proud grin, then quickly went back to looking determined and focused the nanosecond AJ turned to look in response to my look.

“Okay, is everypony ready?” Twilight asked. “I believe our time is almost up.”

“Um, actually,” Fluttershy asked, “I forgot if we are using plan three or seven…”

“Seven,” Twilight clarified.

“Okay!” Fluttershy said, sighing in relief. “I wasn’t sure if I could do three today.”

“You’ll be fine Darling. Talk, villainous person dismisses peaceful resolution, Rainbow Magic. Just like the last thirty times,” Rarity chuckled.

“Wait, this has happened thirty times!?” Lily asked in shock.

“We can discuss Ponyville’s frequent odd emergencies later,” Twilight said, giving him a grin. “For now, let’s end this one. Teleporting in three, two, one-”

I didn’t see even a spark of magic. The purplish crystal room blinked into an open patch of sky as if I had never been indoors! I dropped straight down, falling more than a few meters before managing to get my wings open and dropping into a hover.

Heart racing from the sudden fall, I looked around me. The sandy outer wall of Ponyville was to my right. The massive thirty meter high wall was about half its height below me, it’s top almost entirely filled with a loose assortment of Lunar Guards and Royal Guard who were doing their best to get good firing positions set up in case the Elements of Harmony failed.

It had happened a few times. It was always good to be prepared.

To my left the Everfree forest stretched out for as far as anypony could see, merging with the frost topped mountains behind it. Three hundred yards from the wall, on the edge of the Everfree, stretching out for almost all of my vision was the enemy. A sea of red cloaks, speckled with bits of black and flashes of silver, upon which a small forest of spear-like golden banner holder things seemed to float.

Each of the…things, held up a single banner, a gray rectangle of cloth with golden tassels at each corner, bordered in a blue sawtooth pattern, with a crimson upside down triangle in the center. I felt my heart skip a beat. This was a proper army. Not bandits, or Diamond Dogs, or even an ambitious but ragged rogue griffon squadron.

No, this was a real, fully equipped army of trained warriors. Not one single pony amongst them moved at all, but held prefect formations and uniform posture. Even a pony like me who didn’t know a motherbucking thing about the military could see that they knew everything about warfare.

I gulped nervously, wings fluttering a bit faster as nervous tension started to bubble up in my chest. I quickly turned to look down, remembering my job and putting all of my attention on the Elements.

Or at least, I tried too…

The six of them stood firmly in a v shape, with Twilight at its point, a mere ten steps away from the lone green cloaked pony who Twilight believed to be their leader. He stole almost all of my attention instantly.

The deep forest green cloak was perhaps the single most plane garment I had ever seen anypony where. I could see the patterns and embroidery on the soldiers red cloaks, it was clear these ponies put care into their uniforms. Yet his cloak was a simple uniform, plane green cloth, adorned only with a simple brass chain to keep it secured around his shoulders.

The armor on the other hoof…

His armor was so black that I swore it was making the area around him darker! It was like looking into a hole in the world. The armor was so dark that I couldn’t see any details at all in it, only the edges of the sculpted plates, and I was a pegasus! Other ponies probably couldn’t even tell that it was armor. He probably looked like a cloak covering a pony shaped hole in the world!

I had about four seconds to take this in before the armored pony bowed to Twilight. It was a simple bow, like the kind a martial artist would give to an opponent they saw as equal in a Kung-Fu movie. Twilight and everypony else took a step back in shock at the slight bow, and then a second as he spoke in a voice that sounded like he was speaking from beneath molten metal, but with enough force for the sound to make it through!

“Princess Sparkle, I am glad you have chosen to meet with me. I had believed you would choose to engage before we had a chance to speak,” he rumbled.

Twilight said something in reply, but her words didn’t carry nearly as well as the leader’s did. I dropped a few meters down to try and hear Twilight’s side of the conversation.

“I am called Sacred Shadow,” he rumbled in answer to her question I didn’t hear. “As your forces have captured some of our classified information, I assume you know of the leader of our organization?”

Twilight nodded. “I do. And I know that he never leaves your home base. We also know of your plan to deceive us into thinking you are no more by attacking us here. Your plan will not work, if you surrender now, I will allow you and your forces to be given trial as a foreign military rather than terrorists.”

“I do not know enough of your legal system to know if this is a boon or not,” Sacred rumbled. “But it is meaningless. I can not surrender so long as my heart declares our cause to be just.”

“Then why talk to me?” Twilight asked. “Why ditch the element of surprise if you are going to fight no matter what?”

“I have within my head the knowledge of all who held my position before me,” Sacred informed in a simpler tone. “I could tell you of a million different times we have tested a new soldier, armor, weapons, and spells. If there is one thing I know to be unshakably good it is testing things to prove their mettle.

“Not once in any memory can I recall an Oldest Brother who tested Father's word. If we are to discard that which is inferior, and rightly so, why do we not do this with values and ideologies? For all of my life I have been told Father's Will is the ultimate truth, and I would put that claim to the test today.”

Oh… Oh that was going to get really bad, wasn't it?

As I winced, Twilight asked very calmly. “I take it that by ‘fair fight’ you literally meant you want to fight me in a duel?”

“I do,” Sacred confirmed. “You are the champion of your master, as I am the champion of mine. It stands to reason that if Father's Will is indeed superior to Celestia’s designs then his ultimate warrior will be able to defeat Celestia’s own.

“As long as there is the possibility that what I believe is right, I will fight. But I will not be as foolish as F- foolhardy in my actions. Agree to the duel and fight me on your own, and if you slay me or disable me, my forces will stand down or self-terminate at their discretion. If you refuse, then conventional tactics will resolve this dispute.”

I frowned in thought, that was an interesting slip of the tongue there… What might that mean?

“I can’t think that your soldiers would agree to that,” Twilight said bitterly.

“All who stand before you have agreed to abide by the outcome of this dule. Those who did not now nourish the forest. Those who refuse to change when presented with the truth do not deserve to live,” Sacred said casually.

Twilight stood silent for several moments. The tension in the air was practically visible as she asked. “What would the terms of this dule be?”

“Dodge any attack you are able to dodge. Take it seriously, no fooling around. Do not hold back. Keep fighting until I am no longer living, or able to do battle,” Sacred announced eerily calm.

“You realize you don’t have a chance in Tartarus… Right?” Twilight asked flaring her wings open widely.

“Yeah!” Dash jeered. “She the Alicorn of Magic!”

“Don't’ be deceived by appearances. In ancient days, there were mages far more powerful than she and I,” Sacred said, head turning to face my mom.

“What proof can you give me that your soldiers will stand down after I defeat you?” Twilight asked.

“Twilight!” Rarity objected instantly. “You’re not going to agree to this, are you?”

“I am. Because it will save lives,” Twilight said calmly.

“If you are already going to agree, what need is there for proof of my honor?” Sacred asked.

I bit my lip, that was actually a pretty good question.

Twilight seemed to agree. “Fair enough. I’ll fight you on one condition. No destructive spell is to be cast which could destroy Ponyville should it miss it’s target.”

Sacred armor creaked as he tilted his head to one side. “Er, why would that be a concern?”

Twilight blinked twice. “Um… So the innocent civilians living there are not injured if the wall’s shields are overwhelmed. So ponies do not die.”

“Y-you can’t just grow more warriors?” Sacred asked, voice carrying a baffled tone.

“We can’t,” Twilight said, one eyebrow raised.

“If I may,” Lily said timidly. “Equestria doesn't possess the arcana or technology to clone organisms. All of it’s population are naturally born. All here are unique individuals.”

“Oh!” Sacred exclaimed in an extremely odd tone. “Then we are agreed. The town is to be kept out of the line of fire. This field shall be our arena. Would you care to cast any ward spells upon yourself before we begin?”

I suddenly felt the urge to gain significantly more altitude and began flying upwards.

From my new vantage point a good two hundred meters above the field I watched as Twilight and Sacred moved apart from one another to stand in the center of the field. The two stood still for a while, Sacred simply watching as Twilight’s horn flashed and glowed as she readied several dozen spells.

Just as I began to wonder when Sacred would order his soldiers to vaporize Twilight’s component molecules while she wasn’t paying attention, Twilight stopped and shouted, “I’m ready. Are you?”

Sacred’s cloak billowed in an unseen wind. A nonexistent wind in fact, I sensed nothing causing the cloth to flutter and wave. In one fluid motion Sacred reared up, crossed his forelegs over his chest, and without any visible glow of a flight spell began to hover a few meters above the ground! A pale gold glow oozed between his armor’s joints highlighting the edges of every last plate as if lava had flowed between them.

I could feel waves of power radiating off of the unicorn as faint lines of smoke drifted up from each glowing line in a few sickly tendrils.

“Yes. Let us learn which ideology is superior, and which is to be discarded,” Sacred said solemnly.

I gulped nervously, and turned to look over at Dash, worried she might do something dumb… I never got the chance to see her. A blinding flash eclipsed the ground below, whiting out everything under the sky for a few seconds.

The duel had begun.

Above the Hearth, Everfree Forest, Equestria - 22nd of Midsummer ‘15 EoH - Afternoon

Princess Celestia stood at the foot of a tree, her golden armor shining like the sun even in the dim light at the forest floor. Her sister stood beside her, her own armor sparkling like the night sky as the two stared silently at the mouth of a cave which jutted up from the side of a hill like a burial mound.

A third pony sat to their left. The Great and Powerful Trixie calmly meditating, her star spangled cape drawn around her for warmth. Even at noon, beneath the thick forest canopy it was surprisingly cold.

“Are you certain this cave is an entrance?” Celestia asked, a bitter tone clinging to her words.

“Trixie is certain. We are above the very heart of the Hearth. Trixie’s Father should be far below Trixie’s very spot.” Trixie insisted fearfully.

“You’ll be perfectly fine, Trixie,” Luna soothed.

“Fear is not logical, princess,” Trixie returned with a sigh.

“No, at least, not always. But it can be banished through force of will,” Luna replied.

“I’m very certain the two of us are more than a match for your former master,” Celestia said, leaning forward to peer into the cave’s mouth. “If you are worried about your former comrades escaping… My soldiers will be able to hold the perimeter.”

“Trixie still thinks they should have accompanied us… Six scouts and three heavy hitters will not be enough to take the Hearth,” Trixie protested.

“We are not taking the Hearth,” Celestia reminded. “We are destroying it.”

“Trixie knows, she meant take as in ‘take on’,” Trixie said, shuffling a hoof nervously.

A patch of light shimmered just in front of the cave mouth! The three ponies jumped into combat stances, relaxing as Luna's Knights emerged from the cave, the shimmer simply being their invisibility spell breaking down.

“Is this the right spot?” Princess Luna asked, giving Lyra a hopeful look.

The minty mare nodded, a look of pure hatred and disgust on her face. “Yeah… Pretty sure this is over the middle…”

“What did you see?” Celestia asked, eyes narrowing.

“We… found out where the foals the monsters kidnapped went,” Octavia said quietly.

“Is there any chance of rescue?” Celestia asked, pleading with her tone for the answer to be ‘yes’.

“I… I…” Lyra started. “I did the right thing.”

Luna’s eyes opened wide at her tone. “Trixie… I never asked you what they did with them… What does he do?”

“Tissue samples from non-clones are needed to introduce genetic stability,” Trixie said, ears falling sadly.

“There were three survivors…” Vinyl informed. “Meep portaled them to Canterlot. She’s with them right now.”

“Do you mean to tell me,” Celestia growled, “that this monster had his brainwashed minions cut apart children!?”

Trixie scrambled backwards as Celestia’s mane began to smoulder. “Trixie didn’t know ponies were born until well after she left! Most of us think everypony is grown like we are, and as we do not value our own lives, Trixies assume ponies also do not value their own. Father has Trixie’s sisters convinced it’s no more evil than cutting carrots for a salad… If Trixie had any idea while she still was with them she would have tried to do something!”

“I believe you...” Celestia said darkly.

Luna flinched. “Girls… I think it’s time for us to leave.”

“Luna, shield this area,” Celestia growled. “When I am done here, we will proceed to Ponyville.”

“His creations do not know any better than to do as they do,” Luna said in an attempt to calm her enraged sister even the slightest degree.

“Trixie is telling the truth. I’ve had a lie detecting spell on her since the beginning. They truly can not question his commands… With few exceptions. So to them we will show mercy should they surrender,” Celestia agreed. “The true evil here is Father, and I will end it now.”

Luna nodded. “Very well. I’ll shield the area. Everypony, gather near me.”

“Trixie objects! We should back her up in any assault, especially if-”

“The air, is about to be on fire,” Celestia explained.

The seven ponies quickly gathered around Luna, and vanished as the Princess of the Night teleported them far from the forest shrouded cave.

Celestia closed her eyes, clenching her teeth as she fought down the all consuming rage. The ancient alicorn had very few things which could drive her to the breaking point left, having meditated for millennia to perfect her control over her own emotions. Intentional harm to a foal was one point she refused to prevent from enraging her.

A few heartbeats later and the dim light turned blue as a massive dome shield stretched over the forest. Celestia gave Luna few more seconds, knowing that if all of her sister’s power was not put into the shield, there would be problems. Though Celestia hated pushing her sister to such extremes so soon after her full power had returned post-banishment, it was needed.

Doing her best to prevent her range from impacting her magic, Celestia began to pick at the arcane threads which warded the world from her. One by one they fell away, until nothing more than Celestia’s iron will held her power at bay. And then it didn’t.

Outside the shield, the sun in the sky dimmed, and Luna screamed. The blue of her magic washed out as blinding white light shot through the shield’s edges! Plants touching the shield’s edge steamed, blackened, and burst into flame! Guards shouted in panic, doing their best to contain the fires, or stumbling about, blinded by the light of the sun.

The light vanished. Luna collapsed. Her shield shattered as if it were made from glass, a great wind dragging the shards inwards towards the center. Each shard dissolving into nothingness. The sun slowly returned to its normal brightness, the minute of unnatural twilight ending as quickly as it came.

Where a forest glade stood, a circular pit remained. A hole in the earth which could swallow a small city whole. Molten stone flowed down the edges of the new depression in the earth. Chunks of glass poked up from the flowing stone, smoking as waves of searing heat escaped the devastated area.

“Sooo…” Lyra said slowly. “That’s why we haven’t had a major war in a thousand years…”

Luna coughed and staggered to her hooves, groaning, the throbbing pain in her skull almost disabling. “That… never… gets… easier…” She groaned.

As her knights shook themselves from their shock, the Alicorn of the Sun appeared in a flash of white light, a charred but intact skull gripped in her magic, a single speck of red light flickering dimly in one of it’s sockets.

“Luna, are you alright?” Celestia asked, her voice returned to it’s normal kind and calm nature.

“Same as…the other times,” Luna moaned.

Celestia gently hugged her sister to her chest. “I’ll take over your duties for a few weeks. You can, go home and rest up after this is all over.”

Luna nodded gratefully, returning her sisters hug and looking at the equine skull within her sister’s grip curiously. “Is that… How did it not… vaporize?”

“I don’t know. But we will soon, as well as this demon's history,” Celestia vowed. “The enemy is no more, and my power is once again contained. As soon as everypony here is treated for wasting sickness, we march for Ponyville.”

25 Beginnings

Lily - 22nd of Midsummer ‘15 EoH - Afternoon

“He’s down! Medic please!” Princess Twilight called, chest heaving and voice showing even more exhaustion than her stance did.

“Psst! That’s you, Mad Mage!” Pinkie whispered into my ear before I even had an opportunity to start walking.

No wonder my half-brother married her. They were equally as endearingly irritating.

“Ja, on it,” I said quickly trotting forward.

I honestly never thought I would be obeying the commands of an autocrat. At least, not before I left Germaney. I had always thought it would feel as if I were being used. In Stalliongrad, it had been. In Equestria, it didn’t. With Twilight, following her orders felt like helping out a friend.

Quickly drawing alongside Twilight I gave her a concerned look. “Are you sure you want me to heal him? It might be better to allow him to die.”

Twilight shook her head, giving me a look that conveyed a ton of experience. “It’s never better to allow them to die. Yes, sometimes you have to… But it’s always best to turn an enemy into a friend. Especially when they are as powerful as he is. My friends and I have reformed an actual chaos spirit before, Lily.

“To me, Sacred comes across as naive but honorable, and he seemed to want to be working for good instead of evil. He deserves that chance, please help me give it to him.”

Well… When she put it like that and even used a please...

“Alright,” I agreed, critically eyeing the armored mage’s dull black plate mail. “Since he didn’t just disintegrate from that blast, I assume this armor’s material is magically resistant. So it will probably insulate him from magical effects to a certain degree. You’ll need to help me remove at least the helmet so I can get to work.”

Twilight frowned and bent down, searching Sacred’s neck for where the helmet began. “This could be difficult. It’s most likely arcanite, if I used telekinesis to just force it off, I’d probably have to use so much energy the force would break his neck. Also when the glow was going I could see that the helmet locks to the neck somehow…”

I bent down as well, helping Twilight fidget with the almost invisible catches and latches that formed a rather complex locking system. How did this stallion eat? He certainly wouldn’t be able to take his helmet off on his own… Then again, as a commander, he probably had a squire.

After a few minutes of puzzling, we finally managed to push one latch up, another down, and a third inwards, then slide all three latches counterclockwise until they lined up at the back of the neck, which finally allowed us to slide the helmet off his head.

“I get why a helmet would lock on,” Twilight grumbled as the two of us set the surprisingly heavy helmet down together, “but who they hay designs it like a puzzle?”

Sensing the question was rhetorical, I decided not to reply but instead to start examining my patient. He was fairly badly burned, which made perfect sense. The armor might protect him from the arcane energy, but not from the fireball that energy turned into, and his helmet had holes for seeing and breathing…

“So… Is he completely burned, or just a little burned with black fur?” Twilight asked in a tone that was only barely hiding distress.

“He has black fur. Most of the burns are around his eyes, nose, and mouth,” I answered, still examining him physically. “You shouldn’t feel bad about hurting-”

“Yes I should,” Twilight objected instantly, “what kind of monster would I be if I liked violence?”

She let out a relieved sigh as I moved aside to let her see his face clearly. “Good. Fire would be the worst way to go.”

“Burning is pretty bad, ja,” I agreed casualty.

Sacred looked like he was mostly fine. The burns didn’t look to be much worse than second degree, the real damage was probably scorched lungs from breathing in the flames. And also his eyes.

What the buck did that spell do to eyes? Face was burned, most fur scorched away, mane blackened. Normal fire damage… So why were his eyes glassy and crystalline in appear-

“Ohhhh!” I exclaimed facehoofing in realization. “They’re both glass eyes. That makes-”

“What?” Twilight asked, sounding very shocked. “He can’t be blind, he was tracking me while I was flying. They have to be arcane prosthetics.”

“Most likely,” I agreed. “Should I replace them?”

Twilight shook her head. “No. Just heal him please. We can ask if he wants normal eyes later. Given his armor, he probably intentionally replaced them.”

“Fair point,” I agreed as I closed my eyes and summoned up my magic.

The probing tendrils of magic revealed much of what I had expected as they spread through Sacred’s unconscious form. Scorched throat and lungs, lots of internal damage from blunt force trauma, shattered ribs. No big deal.

A few minutes of carefully applied spells and he was as good as new. I even decided to be nice and cause his burnt mane to fall out, and a fresh one to regrow. Once my work had finished, I took a step back to make sure everything looked right. After all, I had been working on somepony in a possibly arcanite suit. My magic could have been fooled.

Sacred was oddly handsome for a brainwashed army commander. He had coal black fur that included the shine of coal, a spiky burning coal orange mane with streaks of yellow in it, and with the glass eyes rolled around so they pointed outwards, a pair of dark red eyes which suited the chiseled features of his face and his coloration well. To my amazement, his horn was straight, though a tad slender and long.

“Huh… I expected the dark magic horn curvature,” I mused to myself.

“I should really see about getting him to let me examine his armor. If he was capable of that sort of magic without using Dark Magic for a power boost... ” Twilight mused to herself. With a quick shake of her head she turned to face me. “Theoretical mana battery improvements can wait. Is it safe to wake him up? I need to decide what to do with his forces, and it’s only fair he be a part of that.”

I nodded then blinked. “Hold on a second, his helmet doesn't have a horn sheath! How the hay-”

“Extradimensional space. Some unicorn guards prefer them to a sheath or slot,” Twilight said with a smile. “You don’t know much about magic besides medicine, do you?”

“No, not especially,” I admitted with a light blush, “but, yes, it is safe to wake him.”

“Thank you,” Twilight said giving me a polite smile before moving over to Sacred and giving his shoulder a gentle shake with a hoof. “Sacred, can you hear me?”

As Twilight gave Sacred’s shoulder another shake, two shadows of flying ponies passed overhead. I looked up in time to see Princess Luna and Princess Celestia turn and land a few feet away from Twilight.

“I’m glad to see you have everything in order, Twilight,” Celestia said walking forward with her wings flared regally.

I gulped, internally panicking as I tried to remember what exactly protocol was for greeting somepony of her station!

“Uhhhhhh!” I accidentally said out loud ears standing upright in alarm, as Princess Celestia turned to look at me.

Politely ignoring my distress, Celestia gave me a small smile. “Hello again, Baron von Maresburg. It’s nice to see you here, I take it you have healed this pony post-duel?”

I nodded. “Yes, your highness.”

“Excellent,” Celestia said as she turned back to Twilight. “I assumed their army destroying their own heraldry meant they agreed to a Duel of Champions to settle the matter. I’m glad to see they agreed to terms. Do you have any ideas for what to do with them? I assume they’ve surrendered.”

Twilight smiled, talking to Princess Celestia as if the sun-moving god of a pony were an old friend. “Actually, Sacred, er, the stallion in front of me, is the one who proposed a duel. He seemed like he was questioning his master’s orders… And had been for some time.

“He’s quite powerful, especially with his armor. I think he would make a great addition to the Solar Guard, as he’s apparently known nothing but military life. I doubt he would be comfortable as a civilian.”

Celestia nodded and began to speak, seemingly debating a course of action with Twilight. I wanted to overhear for simple curiosity's sake, but Princess Luna gently tapping on my shoulder with her left forehoof instantly shifted my attention.

“Y-Yes Your High-” I began only to be cut off with an eye roll.

“You saved my sister from serious injury. You’re a friend, and so is your half-brother, and your half-sister as well. So please don’t call me Highness outside of formal discussions. It’s Luna, Moony, or Moonbutt.” Luna objected giving me a small smile which was clearly hampered by physical pain. “I cast a very draining spell a few minutes ago. Do you know how to cure a migraine?”

“Er, well yes, of course!” I stammered, shocked by her statement. “I may not know much about the brain, but headaches and migraines are simple enough. Hold on.”

My horn glowed dimly for a moment as I cast the relatively simple spell, Princess Luna immediately sighed in relief. “Oh thank the Gods! I swore my eyes were being hammered out…”

“You’re welcome,” I said, still a bit shaken.

It was weird that a monarch considering me a friend shook me up despite my being friends with Dusk. But it was even weirder that even though I could acknowledge that fact, it still felt weird.

With a shake of my head I turned my attention back to Princess Celestia and Princess Twilight’s discussion.

“-that would be for the best,” Celestia said, nodding her head. “It would certainly free up a lot of Luna’s soldiers for her use. But we should see if this, Sacred will go along with the plan. I imagine his soldiers will listen to him more than us at the moment.”

“Excuse me, what this about my Guards?” Luna asked, having over heard as well.

“Celestia and I have decided to see if the er, Trixies will join the Equestrian Armed Forces as my own Guards. It’s probably about time I got my own, after all I can’t keep expecting you to provide patrols and troops for Ponyville,” Twilight explained.

“That would be a much needed relief for the Lunar Guard,” Luna agreed. “The Las Pegasus area needs a good monster purge but I don't quite have the numbers free for one right now. This is their commander, right?”

Twilight and I nodded.

“Let’s wake him then,” Luna decided, walking over to give Sacred a shake.

She took three steps before stopping in her tracks, eyes widening, and jaw dropping. “Heavens! Tia, he looks exactly like Mantle!”

“What?” Princess Celestia asked, eyebrows raising in surprise, then widening in shock as she came around to an angle where she could see Sacred’s face. “I… he does. It’s uncanny!”

“Whose Mantle?” Twilight and I asked together.

“Our youngest brother,” Princess Luna answered, shaking herself from her shocked state. “He was the Crown Prince when we were fillies.”

“If Luna and I had not become alicorns and won the people's support, he would have assumed Equestria’s throne… Er, Luna… Mantle was killed by peasants before we took the capitol, wasn’t he?”

Luna frowned. “Probably. It’s been so long… I think they trapped him in the palace with the other nobles present, before burning it down. But I don’t remember for sure. I do remember we spent a few years searching for him just in case he was alive.” Her lips formed a little ‘o’ mid sentence, “The Trixies are all clones.”

“He might very well be a clone too, and if he is, and if Mantle survived… I think we’ve just found the root of this thing,” Celestia said sadly, ears drooping slightly as she did her best to contain her emotions. “I-if he’s been alive all this time, we could have helped him! He would have been a terrible ruler on his own but-”

“We should ask him for confirmation, before we do anything rash,” Luna said, doing her best to keep calm.

“Agreed,” Princess Celestia er, agreed.

I took a sideways step towards Twilight, whispering quietly. “Er- Princess should we do anything or let them-”

“Let them have their moment, then bombard with questions,” Twilight said almost reflexively. “Do you have parchment?”

“No?” I said, tilting my head to one side. “Why?”

Twilight sighed. “It's okay, just remember everything you can, we’ll transcribe this later.”

… Twilight, you sort of scare me.

“Wake up, please,” Princess Celestia said as she gently pushed Sacred’s shoulder with a hoof.

Sacred groaned, shifting slightly with clinks and scraping of metal. The tired, need-coffee way that he moved meant he was mostly likely waking up from pure chance rather than Celestia’s push.

“Okay, alive… Helmet off…” Sacred muttered, pushing himself up on one foreleg. “Princess Twilight, I thank you for providing a he-”

Sacred stopped speaking mid sentence, artificial eyes dilating in surprise and fear as he suddenly had Princess Celestia looking directly into his face.

“Cool! They mimic real eyes!” I exclaimed with a grin, immediately blushing and quieting as Twilight gave me a ‘don’t ruin their possible moment!’ glare.

“Sorry,” I quietly apologized.

Sacred folded his forelegs into a bow, pressing his head against the ground. “Your Highness,” he said reverently. “Your Champion has defeated me, you may do with me and my forces as you will. I am sorry to have worked against your ideology, it clearly produces ponies of a higher caliber than my former master’s.”

“Rise, I have a few questions for you,” Celestia ordered.

Sacred quickly stood up. “As you will, Ma’am.”

“Are you also a clone?” Princess Celestia asked, eyes narrowing in focus as she clearly wanted to be absolutely certain she was not being lied to.

“Yes, all of Father's children are clones. Aside from some financial backers and very rare volunteers, we are all his creations,” Sacred answered, lips pursing for a moment. “I suppose, having surrendered, I should divulge the location of our head quarters. It is located-”

Celestia smiled at Sacred, cutting him off with a raised hoof. “I have just come from it, and have razed it. You and the soldiers under your command here are presumably the last of your organization. Various branches of Princess Luna’s forces began raids on your other bases an hour ago.”

Sacred sighed and looked down. “I knew Father was becoming a fool in his old age… But I did not think he was so far gone as to allow for a total destruction as he did. Though, I suppose most of it is on my head. I was his second… Did you slay him in battle?”

“He went down without a fight. I assume this, Father, was a litch of some kind?” Luna asked, interrupting her sister so she wouldn’t have to answer that question.

“Yes, Your Highness,” Sacred replied. “I am unable to tell you more. Father did not allow me to learn Necromancy.”

“Then the skull we recovered is his Phylactery,” Celestia said thoughtfully. “Luna, remind me to put it into Tartarus for storage later. Sacred, this is important. Who are you a clone of, do you know?”

Sacred nodded. “Yes Ma’am, I am a direct clone of Father. While all of his children share some of his blood, I am made as a copy of him. Hence my name shared with my predecessors, Sacred Shadow.”

Celestia nodded, face shifting to a subtle sadness. “I see… Do you know who Father was in life? Or how old he was?”

Sacred frowned, clearly seeing the same sad look on Celestia’s face that I did.

“Ma’am,” he asked, “this topic distresses you. I do not understand why you would weep for the death of an enemy.”

“Please answer my questions,” Celestia said, ignoring Sacred concern.

“I don’t think even Father remembered who he was before,” he answered. “I have scattered memories of my predecessors. As far as I know, not one of the sixteen of us ever knew his name. As for his age, it is at least five thousand years.”

Celestia nodded grimly to herself. Luna took a step forward, looking into Sacred’s eyes as she asked. “Do you know why he wanted to attack Equestria?”

“Yes Ma’am,” Sacred answered immediately. “Father insisted he was the rightful King of Equestria by birth, which is what got me to question him. If conquering a land would make him it’s ruler by right again, then surely the logic of ‘he who captures land rules it’ applies to other people as well, and therefore… Your Highnesses, did I do something wrong?”

Sacred’s question came as the stallion’s face showed a complete and total lack of comprehension of the concept of someone in power crying.

Lily - 2nd of Faust ‘15 EoH - Mid Morning (One Week Later)

I sat on Scootaloo’s couch, idly rolling my breakfast bowl around in my hooves. I hadn’t been able to sleep well for a week. I just had so many unanswered questions! Thank Faust Scootaloo was more than willing to help with snuggles or I probably wouldn’t have been able to sleep at all.

My mind was so consumed with thoughts at the moment that I almost completely missed Scootaloo walking into the living room, her mane wrapped up in a towel.

“What’s wrong hon?” Scoots asked as she plopped down onto the couch next to me. “I was expecting you to follow me into the shower… Are you still trying to work through-”

“Yes,” I confirmed, cutting her off a tad rudely. “Sorry… Just… The Princesses find out one of their old family was alive too late to do anything to help him, und the vat grown commandos he made are being trained to protect the very city they were ordered to destroy. Meanwhile we still don’t know exactly what the laboratory under my clinic was doing in the whole scheme, so we can’t tell for sure if all of the Ashes were destroyed or not, und then there’s however your parents fit into this an-”

Scootaloo cut me off by wrapping one foreleg around my shoulders and pulling me into her barrel in a tight hug.

“Lily, it’s okay,” she said insistently.

“No it’s not okay! What if-”

“It’s been one week, if any of them survived they won't be doing anything anytime soon. And with Sacred’s help, the Princesses will easily be able to track down any remainders soon enough. The threat’s gone, dear,” Scootaloo soothed.

I bit my lip in thought, but sighed as I couldn’t find a flaw in her logic. “Ja, okay… Granted. But what about the lab und your parents?”

Scootaloo sighed. “Look… This is Ponyville. Something really weird happens every few months, and over time, you get used to it. Nopony is in danger right now, that’s all that matters.”

My ears drooped even further. “But if your parents were hired to carry you to term as a test subject-”

“The Lunar Guard took all the paperwork from the lab, right?” She asked patiently.

I nodded. “Ja… You know they did. You were there.”

“Is there any way the Ashes were not keeping records on who was carrying what for them?” Scootaloo asked. “If anypony else was helping them that way, the Royal Guard will arrest them as soon as the paperwork is all inspected.

“As for my parents… My mom’s dead and my dad is already in prison for life. What can they do? Put him into another jail cell slightly smaller than the current cell so that it can fit inside the first cell?”

“Uh… Well… I guess they can’t really do anything,” I concluded. “But it still feels like there is more to be done before everything is normal again!”

Scootaloo laughed so hard she slipped off the couch, pulling me down on top of her thanks to her tight hug!

“Hon, this is Ponyville!” Scootaloo exclaimed after her giggle fit died down. “It’s never normal here. In two or three months… Oh I don’t know, some living magic fog will roll in and hold the town hostage for hay fries or something. And then sometime next year Lyra will run into herself from another dimension who happens to be that fictional species she obsesses over, or something like that.

“The last few weeks are just what it’s like to live here. If you worry about every little detail, you’re going to go crazy within a year. We teamed up, solved the immediate threat, and now it’s up to the Guard to clean everything else up. We’re done! It’s go shower with your marefriend time.”

I felt my ears droop. “E-every few months?”

Scootaloo nodded. “It’s slowed down a little over the last few years. It was once a month when I was a filly.”

“This kind of craziness, will happen here, every few months?” I asked again for the confirmation.

Scootaloo nodded again. “Yes.”

“Every few months, my special somepony is going to ascend to demi-godhood, and something will attack Ponyville…” I groaned, leaning into my hooves. “What the hay have I gotten myself into?”

“Oh no! It’s not always an attack,” Scootaloo clarified. “Normally it’s just some drama that envelops the whole town. Like Pinkie’s World War Snowball, now that’s something that got out of hoof. And um… Me controlling the weather is weird by Ponyville standards… So yeah, I guess most of the time it won't be anything like this.

“My point hon, is that this incident is done, and life is going to lead us to the next one. Or if there is more to this one, it will happen when it happens and we’ll take care of it. So perk up, have some fun, come take a shower with me because that sounds fun.”

I pursed my lips, trying to find anything I could argue against. Honestly, all I could think of was one thing. “But you just showered…”

“Yes, because I felt all greasy. But seriously, I thought you’d follow me in. I was waiting,” Scoots giggled, booping my nose playfully.

“For what?” I asked, not quite get- “Oh!”

I felt a deep blush covered my cheeks, and shyly nuzzled into Scoot’s neck.

“There ya go, silly,” Scootaloo said, giving me a little kiss on the forehead. “So, are you over worrying about the Ashes? Can you accept that everything’s now in the proper hooves?”

I sat up and winced slightly. “Er, well… Nein. But I’m not thinking about it as urgently. I just… I think I’m used to a more calm normal.”

Scoots sat up and gave me a quick hug. “I understand. Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it. Everypony does. And well… If you can’t, I’ll be happy to move somewhere within a short flight of Ponyville.”

I shook my head firmly. “Oh nein nein nein! You have a lot of friends here, and family, and are a part of the community. I could never ask you to move. I’ll just have to get used to things is all, I guess… This is just the weirdest possible way I could have started a new chapter of my life.”

I paused for a moment and looked over at Scootaloo urgently, ears standing upright in alarm! “One more important question! What did Princess Celestia do with Father's skull?”

Scoots shrugged. “I don’t know! I assume chucked it into tartarus… At least, for now. I mean that’s her brother, right? She’s probably trying to find a way to fix him. Hey, maybe you could help!”

“Ja, maybe, after they find a way to un-undead him,” I muttered to myself.

“At any rate, we’re not the sorts of ponies who would be working on destroying that thing. That’s Twilight’s job…and maybe also moms’ and their friends,” Scoots said with a small grin. “Seriously sweetie, it’s okay now. We can just relax and hang out together. How about we go out to the movies?”

I gave Scootaloo a long blank stare, hoping she understood what she had said.

Scoots cracked a smile. “Alright, fine. Let’s not summon another disaster. How about we stay in, snuggle up, and just have sammiches or something?”

“Well…” I said trailing off, unable to object.

Scootaloo was right. At least, if she was telling the truth about the frequency of weird things happening here. If this was just how it was, I needed to learn to live with unanswered questions and weirdness. Besides, it hadn't been all bad.

Yes, there had been a minor battle, dark hidden secrets coming to the surface, and the possible death of an evil creature. But I had gained a brother, met the love of my life, started my own clinic like I had always wanted, and made friends with the kinds people I had never thought I would have even met in person.

If that is what it was like to live in Ponyville for just forty two days, Faust only knew what a lifetime would have in store for me.

I supposed an interesting life is better than a boring one though, isn’t it? Besides, I knew one thing for sure, no matter what else happened, I’d have Scootaloo there to help me through it, and I’d be there to help her through it in turn. In the end, isn’t that all that really mattered?

Yes. Yes it was.

I leaned forward, wrapped my forelegs around Scootaloo’s shoulders, and gave her a loving kiss.

“Yes. That actually sounds like a lovely morning,” I agreed with a smile. “After that… Let’s just see where the day takes us.”

The End

Author's Note

Stay tuned for some scifi multiverse hopping action in Lyra-7%!

This story has been brought to you by the generous contributions to my not-die fund of readers like you.

List of Patreons

1 Wings

Author's Note

This story takes place in an AU. Here is a brief explanation of how this AU works, should you care to read it. It is not necessary to read this to enjoy the story, this is simply a convenience for readers.

Lifegiver is brought to you by the contributions of these generous donors.

1 Wings

Azur Lily - 12th of Solarus ‘15 EoH - Afternoon

I’m sure a lot of ponies would love to live in a fancy palace. An opulent collection of finery, all arranged perfectly by some professional designer to create the perfectly aesthetically pleasing interior. Every surface and wall covered with gold, silk, hoof carved mahogany, and the best money can buy.

Buck that. I’d rather not be reminded every single day of my colthood. I’ve heard of veterans unable to enjoy camping in the woods because every cedar forest gives them flashbacks. Fancy homes are the same for me.

A friend of mine once told me it’s not fair to say living with my father was as bad as living through a war. He changed his mind after I reminded him that I’d been set on fire as a punishment. My father was the type to maintain the family image with a topaz hoof.

No, not an iron hoof. Iron is far softer than topaz.

Princess Twilight understood why I had to stop staying in her place. It only took me telling her about my sixteenth birthday, then explaining that high-society decor made me extremely uncomfortable. Even though there was an offer to ‘de-opulent’ the room I was using, she understood that I still had to leave since the others still remained.

Princess Twilight is one of the most understanding ponies I know. I’d already gotten my immigration papers fast-tracked through by Celestia’s hoof, but after explaining that to Twilight, she had drawn me up a home owners permit on the spot. She even was a little upset I hadn’t mentioned I was uncomfortable sooner.

I’d said my ‘not-goodbye I’m moving elsewhere in this small almost-city’ to Jade and David only hours ago. It felt much longer than that. By Faust’s left fetlock, Ponyville’s real estate market was crazy!

There were a hundred and twenty five separate laws relating to owning a home in Ponyville. Apparently the entire fiefdom is a historic preserve, sort of like a living museum, but only for architecture. Everything about the place has to retain that late Classical Era look.

It was more than just having to have your home thatched, with wattle and daub walls, and single pane hoof made windows. There were restrictions on how you could keep your yard, what outbuildings were allowed, how to properly disguise radio and television antennae. Even what spells you could use to enhance your home had rules!

Before you could buy a home in Ponyville, you had to pass a test proving you read all of the regulations. Why? Because Celestia is very firm about keeping her hometown familiar to herself.

I can accept that reasoning. If I was around four thousand years old, I’d want someplace familiar to go to when advancing tech just became too much for me too.

Honestly, if Jade and David weren't already going to be staying with Twilight for the next few years while Jade dealt with politics, I’d probably try to find a home in Manehattan rather than put up with this pile of horseapples.

What made it total ponyfeathers is that most of the rules were common sense. Then, out of nowhere, something along the lines of ‘All doorways must be precisely 2.2 meters tall’. Those throw you for a curveball.

There’s only so long that I can slog through rules and regulations before I start to go cross eyed. While I definitely did want to get a home here, there was no way under normal or arcane physics that I was going to be able to learn this in just one day. Why can’t bureaucrats write legal statements in the same format as Scientific Proofs? They’re both Laws!

In college, whenever I couldn’t simply finish something over the course of the day, I split it up over two or three days for the sake of sanity. The time between memorization of that stuff was filled with doing fun stuff, and food. Since I hadn’t eaten yet today, and it was about three hours past noon, I felt like a bite to eat.

I’d done my fair share of traveling even before coming to Equestria. There is an unwritten rule of finding a place to eat in a town you are visiting. A simple three step procedure which will always get you the best place for the sort of thing you want to eat.

First, locate a local restaurant that looks a bit sub-par, in this case it was a place called the ‘Hay Burger’. Second, find a local, in this case a brown and lighter brown earth pony stallion with an hourglass cutiemark. Third, lie about food you had at that local restaurant while using your accent to your advantage.

“Hallo!” I greeted, giving the stallion a cheerful wave, “I just had the best salad at the Hay Burger, but my Equish is nicht sehr gut. Could you tell me what it’s called so I can order it again?”

The stallion looked up from the uh… Science device he had been using and gave me a smile, “Trying the old ‘rile up the foodies’ restaurant finding trick?” He asked with a chuckle.

“Uh, well, ja…” I admitted with an embarrassed blush. I’d never had that fail before, “I’m guessing you’ve-”

“I’ve been everywhere. You’re Germane if I’m not mistaken, you’ll be wanting the Quesadilla Shack. Small place on Spur Street. It’s not far, and they’ll have food you can digest that won’t cost a leg and a leg.” He informed turning back to his, science thing.

As curious as I was about the humming mass of brass gears and glass, I was too hungry to care very much.

“Danke schön.” I thanked heading off the street that conveniently crossed the one I happened to be on.

Well, that old trick had technically still worked. Still felt like a fail to me though.

Trotting down the street I took some time to take in the scenery. Sure, I’d been in Ponyville for a week now, but most of that was filled with immigration papers, getting a spellcaster's license, long boring talks about general laws… And when that wasn’t happening I’d been out with my friends, meaning I’d been talking to them and focused on social interaction. This was the first chance I had to be alone in Ponyville, the first chance to truly take in the sights.

Ponyville was exactly what the tour guides and encyclopedias I had read in Germaney said Equestria was. It was a preserved patch of the old world, looking almost entirely tech-free and arcana-free. It honestly felt like I was back in Stalliongrad, only everypony was happy, nopony was starving because of government incompetence, and if you went inside you could find all the modern conveniences.

It had blown my mind to learn that all Ponyville homes come standard with a suite of enchantments to keep them comfortable. I’d thought the buildings were literally ancient structures, but no! The wattle and daub walls hide fine silver wire and crystals to pick up ambient thaumaturgical current, and simple control boxes inside let the owners keep the interiors as warm, cold, dry, or wet as they liked.

I’d thought mage-lights would be rare, but Equestria pleasantly surprised me with most homes having radios and televisions. It was neat. I’d thought I’d be missing the modern comforts, but they all were. They just were made to look like ancient world things for aesthetic purposes.

I liked it. Cobble streets are much more cheerful looking than concrete slabs, but I enjoy a hot shower too much to be willing to part with them just for cobbled roads.

The ponies here were much nicer over all too. You couldn’t make it more than a dozen yards without somepony saying hello, even if they were just passing by. The tour guide was wrong about Equestrians, they were not ‘a friendly people’, they were ‘maximally friendly people’.

Equestrians: Not your everyday friendly, but rather, Advanced Friendly.

So friendly even, that they understood personal space was a thing, and limited their friendliness to hellos, advice, and conversations in public spaces.

Unlike the Prench, who apparently think ‘friendship’ means ‘incessantly talk to you at such a close distance you swear they are somehow phazing inside your head’. Never go to Prance for a particular spellbook, just put out an order for it…

Another thing I liked about Equestria, or at least Ponyville, was the effort they put into making public buildings look unique. Every single restaurant, shop, or other public space had it’s own unique architectural twist.

That was nice! Extra homey feeling. Like real people lived here, each with unique preferences. Not like the uniformly ‘classy’ nobles homes and government buildings.

The Quesadilla Shack, was not exactly what I had expected. It sat at the end of Spur Street, which was not a cul de sac, but just the simple end of the street, because the Quesadilla Shack was built beneath an old stone bridge that the street would have once simply passed under.

The building itself used the bridge’s bottom arch as it’s roof, and had a nice wood-plank wall to cover up the bridge’s throughway, which turned it into a little room where the kitchen was. There wasn’t any interior dining, there wouldn’t be space for any. Instead, large orange canvas tarps had been set up with one side attached to the bridge, and the other sides attached to a wooden frame to make a large covered area for dining out of the end of the street.

The wall had a single window in it, and the somewhat busy crowd of ponies were either giving orders to a griffon of all creatures, eating at tables under the ‘roof’, or getting drinks from a wooden rack holding three kegs helpfully labeled as ‘beer’, ‘orange cream’, and ‘unknown but not poisonous’. Despite the dubious keg, and what I presumed was a gruff at the minimum waitress, the Quesadilla Shack seemed to be pretty popular.

Oh! Quesadilla Shack, I get it! It’s literally a shack under a bridge, and seems to specialize in mexicoltan dishes!

I elected to not judge the owner upon realizing this. After all, the odds of her having even been remotely related to any griffons who’d attacked me a month ago were pretty much nil. Hay, she’s probably not even from the Griffon Kingdoms. Equestria did have a few Griffon settlements after all.

I got in line and waited as the four ponies in front of me placed their orders. All of the food was simple, things that could be cooked very quickly and had four or five ingredients max. While that sounded bland, everything that was handed back through the window looked and smelled great! Heck, they even had meats, which is good since my messed up biology meant I needed some of that.

I reached the window, gave the harrier patterned griffon girl a smile and asked, “Hallo! Ein- er, one bowl of cocido, with chicken instead of tofu, please.”

The waitress raised an eyebrow at me. “That’s about a kilogram of chicken. Can you eat that much without being sick?”

“Ja,” I answered, “it’s a Germane thing.”

“Alright, but if you're sick later, like the sign says,” she stopped and tapped a small carved wooden signboard by the window, “by ordering all ponies waive the right to sue if they get sick from something we serve with meat in it.”

“I’ll be fine, thank you.” I insisted.

She nodded and to my surprise I was quickly handed a tray with a bowl and a small mug by a short green stallion who was working the small kitchen. The bowl was filled with the familiar thin, tasty stew. The mug was filled with some water.

The waitress must have noticed my surprise because she gave me a smile, a thing I didn’t know griffon beaks could do. “It’s popular. Well, the tofu version. We keep a pot of it up all the time. That’s ten bits, and two bits per mug of anything else you want.”

I paid, found a table and sat down to enjoy the meal. Mexicolt dishes are pretty popular in Germany, so I’ve had cocido before. It was even one of my favorite dishes. This take on it looked particularly good, which with cocido is very important.

After all, a dish’s name that literally translates as ‘cooked thing’, is best described as, ‘This is what I could find in the fridge and some garbanzo beans. I stewed them.’ It sounds like it should be horrible, but it’s not. It is however, pretty different from region to region.

Which is why I like it.

Cocido is a rare dish that anyone can make their own. It’s not defined, it’s fluid. It has only the identity given to it by it’s maker, and some garbanzo beans.

This particular sample was pretty good! Peppery mostly, but with a hint of something interesting in there. It wasn’t amazing, but I definitely would order it again. Especially since they cooked the beans just ri-

“Hey girls.” An orange pegasus mare said as she sat down at the table next to me.

I wouldn’t have paid her any mind, but with just those two words the mare had conveyed more sadness than I thought two words could. It’s like her tone of voice was literally made of depressed.

As such, I felt the need to look up and see what the situation was. If a fight was about to break out, I could hop over a few tables…

The orange mare was a little bulky for a pegasus, closer to an earth pony in build. Perhaps that explained her undersized wings. She had a long messy mane and tail in a solid purple, the same color as her eyes actually. She also looked to be around 30, freshly an adult. Just a few years younger than me.

Her friends, or at least, the ponies she sat down with, were an earth pony and a unicorn. The Earth Pony was a creamy yellow with a red mane done up in a braid, amber eyes, and a green handkerchief tied around her neck. She also had a build like a wrestler, not bulky, but toned, she definitely did a lot of physical labor.

The unicorn was white, but fortunately not Germane white. She was sort of an eggshell, not ‘my fur has no actual color’. She had a long curly mane and tail in a bi-color smokey purple and smokey pink coloring that was rather nice. Her eyes were hidden by a pair of sunglasses with dull kiwi green lenses, which combined with her lean build gave her sort of an athletic-but-not-really look.

All in all, aside from the pegasi sounding depressed, there was nothing which would have held my attention for longer than that one look. Except for the fact that their cutiemarks were exactly the same!

Oh, sure, the emblem on each s]triped badge shaped mark was different, but they three clearly had a linked motif going on. The odds of that were… Well if there weren't these three in front of me I’d say impossible!

My gawking at their cutiemarks went unnoticed thanks to the conversation the three started the second their friend sat down.

“Bad news?” The earth pony asked in a tone suggesting she didn’t need to ask.

“The worst…” The pegasi sighed, flopping over onto the table.

“I’m sorry, Scoots.” The unicorn said, gently reaching out to give the orange pony’s hoof a squeeze. “Want to get it out of your system?”

“It’s total horseapples!” The pegasus growl-sobbed into the table before looking up. “My insurance finally goes through, I’m thirty two, I can finally make my own decisions. No foster care, no pull from my parents. I finally get to try healing potion therapy, but nope! Too old. Won’t work now. Never going to fly… Like ever…”

I felt my stomach twist into a bit of a knot. Biomancy wasn’t a common art in Equestria, but their medical magic and sciences were supposed to be good. They couldn’t fix somepony’s little wings up? Why not? I should investigate their medical comunit-

“Did they at least finally tell you why?” The earth pony asked. “I remember Dash tried to get you to a specialist but-”

“But adopted parents insurance didn’t cover me.” Scoots sighed, blinking back tears. “But yeah, they told me.”

“Well, what is it?” Her unicorn friend asked. “Now that we know maybe there’s a spell I could try to learn, or something.”

“It’s because my mom’s a crackhead!” Scoots spat.

Oh… Yes, that definitely would mess up somepony pretty good-

“And also because my dad cut my metacarpal muscles… And cauterized them…” She added.

Faust’s bleeding mane! I didn’t think two ponies as monstrous as my dad could exist at once!

“So my flight feathers never grew in right. And even if they did, I can’t actually move them properly…” She finished.

Her friends sat in silence for a long moment, then leaned over to give her a tight hug.

“I’m sorry…” The earth pony said sincerely.

“Yeah… I mean, at least he’s in jail, right?” The unicorn added. “I’m sorry your parents had to be unicorn supremacists.”

Oh for buck’s sake! I couldn’t just ignore this whole thing without being the world’s biggest asshole. Well, third biggest, after my dad and her dad apparently.

I cleared my throat to get their attention. “Hallo! Uh, I couldn’t help but overhear-”

“This is a bit of a personal moment, Miss.” The unicorn apologized.

I nodded. “Ja, right, but I’m a-”

“I know it’s a little rude to talk about stuff like this in public, but this is Scoot’s favorite restaurant, and she’s had a really bad day so if you could just leave us alone, that would be nice.” The earth pony added.

“I would,” I informed politely, “but as a trained biomancer-”

The unicorn gave me an irritated look. I understood that I was butting in on a private moment, but I could help!

“Please, just leave us alone.” The pegasus said in the most sad, dejected tone ever, not even looking at me as she did so.

“The hay I will!” I said stamping a hoof angrily. “I’m a healer, and if I can fix a pony who got cut in half before brain death sets in, I can sure as hay fix some malformed wings!”

“Wait,” the pegasus said while quickly looking over at me, “you’re the pony who saved Flash Sentry?”

I nodded. “Ja, und like eighty others… But I was using mana boosting substances at the time und that was not a go-”

“She can’t be,” the unicorn insisted, “Rarity told me that a stallion did that.”

I felt my ears fall back, half in embarrassment and half in bitter frustration. “I am a stallion… At least, physically.”

Stupid brain. Never letting me be okay with people mistaking my gender. And then enjoying things that make my girly appearance even worse in terms of people knowing I’m male.

The three gave me a long suspicious look, before the unicorn blushed deeply. “Oh my gosh! Rarity never met you in person, she totally must not have known your transgender, I’m so sorry!”

I facehooved. “Sure, ja… Let’s go with that.”

That’s easier than explaining I’m just weird. Also it’s what everypony concludes anyways.

“Look,” I asked, “I can help you. It shouldn’t even be hard. I’ve fixed lots of wings. Und not just ones that got cut off.”

“Are you joking, or are you actually able to help?” The orange pegasus asked, eyes half hopeful, half despairing.

I nodded and let my magic’s blue aura blaze to life before gently extending my magic to let me examine her left wing. “Ja, just let me take a look…”

I spent a few moments analyzing the various parts. She had been telling the truth, her wings had been clipped, and fairly early on. But they hadn’t just been cauterized, a small bit of metal had been stuck over the end of the muscle to ensure that it couldn’t ever reconnect.

That had caused a major infection, inducing necrosis of several tissues, which basically meant her wings were mostly paralyzed, only able to flap, stretch, and move at the shoulder and elbow joint. All fine control was impossible.

Not much of a problem there, I could remove the metal bits and just manually clean everything up.

I shook my head slowly. “Your father is a monster… Did they tell you there are metal caps over the muscle fibers?”

She nodded. “Yeah… They said they were too risky to remove.”

I could tell she was heartbroken, assuming I was going to say the same. So I gave her a smile. “I’m using an entirely different school of magic. Ja, it will damage your wings a lot to take them out, but I can just fix them afterwards. I’ll have to rebuild half your wing muscles anyway. It’s not much more work. As for your feathers-”

I pushed my magic deeper, going beyond the macro level to the micro. This was the tricky part, if her mother had been a drug addict, there was risk of all sorts of genetic damage, and since I couldn’t even see primary feathers on her wings…

“Ah…” I said sadly. “Ja, there’s your problem. You don’t have the genes to produce primary feathers, und other flight feathers are... Well… You know, your wings.”

Her ears drooped, tears began to well up. “So it’s hopeless? Why is it always hopeless?!” She demanded sad-angrily, slamming a hoof into the table.

“Uh, miss,” I said deadpanning, “I am a biomancer. If it’s alive, I can repair, deconstruct, or alter it almost any way I like, given enough time. All we need is some donor DNA und I can put it in there and fix you right up. We are looking at about a week’s worth of work from me here, not a big deal.”

“R-really?” Scoots asked in shocked surprise.

“You can do that?” The earth pony asked in a sort of stunned excitement.

“Ja, it’s not even hard. You just need to know how biology works und a few arcane tricks.” I said, only massively downplaying my nation’s signature art by a few hundred orders of magnitude. “Though it does help to have my talent be biomancy itself.”

“Hi, I’m Scootaloo.” Scoots greeted, holding out a hoof for me to shake. “This is Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle. How much is all this going to cost me and can we start like, now?”

“Uh, you sure you want to just let a random unicorn try a school of magic you’ve never even heard about before on you?” Sweetie Belle asked.

Scoots nodded. “Yep. Nothing else has worked. Zecora’s potions and Twilight’s magic only gave me a few hours of flying. Medical science has been useless, and Dash’s therapy can't fix clipped wings. Why wouldn’t I try mad-magic? Uh, no offense.”

She gave me a feeble grin, assuming she insulted me I guess.

I giggled. “Oh, no, I’m definitely a Mad Wizard. I did graft changeling nerve clusters into a friend of mine so he could shapechange after all.”

“Uh, you what?” The three asked together.

“Oh…” I gave them a feeble grin, realizing how that sounded. “Well, I have a friend, and he’s a very nice person, but he happened to be a species ponies really are quite racist towards. So I got some help from a mentor of mine and as I also have a changeling friend, who happened to have had a leg get blown off, and since she was able to regrow the leg, I dissected her old leg to learn what magical organelles enable changeling shifting.

“Then, once I knew what biology lets them use their magic, my mentor and I worked out how to make a synthetic copy of changeling’s arcane-biology. Sure, we could only make it so that it would let him change between a single pony form, and his old body, but still.”

“And… that uh, that worked?” Scootaloo asked slowly.

“Ja! He’s fine, und it seems to work pretty well. He’s even getting the hang of changing back und forth now.” I answered honestly. “It sounds a lot creepier than it really is. All I really did is let him use a single transformation spell. But compared to that, fixing wings isn’t really an issue.” I answered with a chuckle.

“Well, I’m convinced.” Scoots said turning to look at her friends.

“Yeah, if she can do that, she can definitely fix your wings.” Applebloom agreed. “But still, you should never trust somepony who doesn't’ give you their name.”

“Oh! It’s Azur Lily, but I go by Lily.” I answered.

“I don’t want to be mean, uh, Lily,” Sweetie said hesitantly. “But um, Scoots… You know the whole stereotypical evil monster making wizard thing right? Because you’re talking to somepony with a Germane accent who knows the magic needed to mix attributes of creatures together. Uh, no offense meant. Just, it’s a bit creepy.”

I giggled and gave her a smile. “You know, the funny thing is I actually am Germane. I just moved here actually.”

I instantly got the wide eyed stare I had been expecting.

I took a short breath and made sure to give the three of them as serious a look as I could manage. “You don’t need to worry. I’m not my father, or anypony his parents endorsed or worked for. The Art is not an inherently evil tool. Just like any tool it’s what is done with it that matters.

“My people grow up with failing organs und other terrible conditions because of one pony’s misuse of the Art. We all have great respect for what biomancy can and can’t do. I assure you I only use it in ways which help others. I also have obtained a spellcaster’s license, und ja, it has a medical spells stamp.”

“Oh!” Sweetie’s ears perked up. “You are licensed by Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns?”

I nodded, and used my magic to take the small silver stamped license from my saddlebags, holding it where she could see for a moment before putting it back.

“Good enough for me!” She replied, thoroughly convinced. “Go for it Scoots.”

Scootaloo gave her friend an odd look. “You reversed your opinion just like that?”

“Scoots, as a unicorn who went to C.S.G.U., I know for a fact that you only get your license if you pass a pretty strict ethics test. She’s fine.” Sweetie explained.

I bit my lip and looked over at my bowl of stew. No need to tell them it was an honorary license awarded for services rendered to Equestria and that I didn’t actually have to test...

“Yeah, go for it’s Scoots!” Applebloom praised eagerly, then turned to me and gave me a hard stare, eerily akin to my father's pre-beating gaze. “But if you hurt her, I’m the champion of the regional boxing league…”

“Obligatory don’t hurt my friend threat accepted.” I giggled.

Applebloom blinked, cracked a grin, then laughed. “Yeah, okay, she’s fine!”

“So do you have an office or what? Oh and what’s the cost?” Scoots asked.

I tapped a hoof to my chin in thought. How much should I charge? It was a complex process and would take about a week’s worth of work days to do along with two arcane-operations. But, I was trying to set up a business and aside from military members knowing my name and skills I had nothing in terms of ‘brand recognition.’

Additionally, I didn’t exactly need the money. Medical experts in Equestria apparently get a living stipend to ensure they can get by alright and therefore all settlements can ‘afford’ to have at least one doctor.

“Eh, call this one pro bono.” I decided.

Scoot’s gave me a shocked and horrified look. “I uh, look I really do want to fly but I’m not going to sleep with somepony for-”

Applebloom took a breath and held it to try and keep from laughing.

Sweetie belle groaned and facehooved. “Scoots… She said bono, not boner. Pro bono publico, that’s Old Equish. It means ‘for the good of the public.’”

I nodded sharing Sweetie Belle's facehoof. “Ja… It’ means I’ll do it for free. I need the word of mouth anyways.”

Scootaloo blushed a bright pink. “Oh, uh, awesome!”

Applebloom’s masterful attempt at not laughing failed. The mare almost fell out of her chair laughing as Scootaloo asked, “so uh, where do you have your office?”

“I don’t have one yet.” I answered. “I’m still getting my homeowner’s licence und I want to have a home office.”

Her eyes lit up. “Really?”

I nodded.

“Awesome!” She exclaimed. “Then I have a way to pay you! You can stay with me until you have an office! Also that means I can well um… Find you.”

I mulled the thought over in my mind for a few moments. On one hoof, I could afford a hotel room. On the other hoof, it would be best to be close enough to Scoots to get more DNA samples if I needed them while working.

“Will Brook be okay with that?” Applebloom asked, recovering from her laughing fit.

“Who?” I asked in confusion.

“Oh, she’s my roommate.” Scootaloo replied. “She’ll understand, I mean, I need to fly.”

“Huh…” I mused. “Forgive me, but I assumed that the three of you were, well…”

“Together?” Sweetie giggled, “We get that a lot. No, we’re not. Applebloom and I are, but we’re not a herd.”

“We do live in the same building though.” Scootaloo said. “It’s a duplex, and the lease said you needed four people. So they live on their side, and Brook and I live on our side. Don’t worry, she’ll understand, and our couch folds out into a bed so space isn't’ a problem.”

“Well, okay. If your roommate doesn't object, I will accept your offer.” I decided.

“Awesome! When can we start fixing these up?” Scoots asked with a little squee, giving her wings a pathetic, yet adorable flutter.

“Well, in theory,” I began, “I could do the metal extraction and muscle repair today b-”

“Awesome! My place is this way, let’s go!” Scoots exclaimed bolting off down the street.

“Uhh…” I looked after her rapidly vanishing figure, blinking in surprise. “She seems pretty eager to begin.”

“Yeah, she’s only been trying to fly since fifteen like every other pegasus.” Applebloom pointed out. “You should catch up, you’ll lose her.”

Sweetie nodded. “Yeah, we’ll catch up later. We’ll bring dinner too.”

“So you won’t tell me where to go? Because I can’t possibly catch up to her.” I admitted with a blush.

“Do you know where Applecore Lane is?” Applebloom asked.

I nodded.

“Twenty-Six Applecore Lane, apartment B.” She informed.

“It will be the one with the super hyped up pegasus in front of it.” Sweetie said, giving me a half-trusting look. “I wouldn’t want to disappoint her.”

I gave her a reassuring smile. “I won’t. I’ve made pegasi wings from scratch before. A friend’s sister wanted to be a pegasi instead of a unicorn. Took me three months, but I did it.”

Turning down the road, I walked off, whistling as I went. Running through the basics of the spells and procedures in my head as I went.

4 Everypony's Working for the Weekend

Lily - 14th of Solarus ‘15 EoH - Afternoon

I set down my quill to give my horn a break. Even with biomantic notation, there is quite a bit to write down when transcribing a genome. I was about halfway through Scoots transcription, and to save time I was just writing what I saw without focusing on analyzing any of it. That would come later.

At the moment, I had only two things on my mind.

First, I needed to see an enchanter about getting some equipment made. Doing this by hoof would not be practical for a business. It did occur to me that perhaps I could ask Sky for help with equipment, but well, somepony who's parents donated kidneys to your parents isn’t really your brother. Even if you did use that donated DNA to patch so many holes in you you’d probably pass a relationship test.

No… His parents were nice enough to humor me a bit with a family dinner, but there was no way that they really actually considered me family, right? Yeah best not presume to ask for help. I was just some kid their kindness allowed to live. Maybe an honorary family member of some kind but certainly not close enough to request help from them.

I’d have to see what I could do locally. And definitely today sometime. Because hornaches.

Second, Scoots DNA was messed up so badly I could tell it was abnormal just transcribing it. It’s amazing she wasn’t in a worse condition than she was. She looked, acted, and sounded for all the world like a normal pony, except for her wings. So she’d managed to develop properly.

An impressive rarity for somepony unfortunate enough to have an extra X chromosome. Then again, it wasn't the usual extra chromosome. The extra X was only present in some of her cells based on the sample I had. XXX mosaicism is not the form of the condition I was familiar with.

Fortunately, she seemed healthy enough. Though it was odd she didn’t have the normal tall stature of those with the condition. It would explain her under developed wing musculature, except her body would have been all over not in one area, so that was another weird thing. I didn’t know her well enough to see if she had a learning disorder… Perhaps she was just a carrier for the condition? Did this form of Triple X have carriers?

Bah, it wasn’t worth thinking about with a hornache. I could compensate for the condition easily enough. Right now I had more important things to do.

Like… Uh…

I tapped a hoof to my chin thoughtfully before nodding slowly. “Yeah, enchanter. I should at least pick up a dictation quill.”

Getting up from the utility room’s table, I slowly trotted down the hall to Brook’s room. Scootaloo had left home for her shift at some place or another. The name had escaped me. I don’t exactly remember things well when they are shouted at me while I am focused on transcribing all 23 chromosomal pairs by bucking hoof.

Brook’s room had an interesting door. Because it was more of a bead curtain in front of a small area big enough for a pony to stand that was a notch taken out of a large plexiglass tank, with a small ladder and hole above the nearly ceiling high water level.

As I stood there wondering how to knock or otherwise call attention to my presence, Brook slid into view, sticking her head out of the hole enough to talk. “H-hello. Do you need something?” She asked.

“Yes.” I replied, doing my best to ignore her awkward tone as Scoots had told me that was the fastest way to get her to be comfortable around me. “I was wondering if you-”

“Oh no!” She eeped, slipping back down into the water. “I’m sorry! Did I lick you sleepwalking last night? I’m sorry!”

“Uh, well, no.” I answered. “I mean you did the first night I was here but I’ve kept the curtain shut and been using the top bunk since then.”

“I’m so sorry!” She apologized in a distressed tone of voice. “I can’t help it… I um… At least you know I won't actually hurt you in my sleep now.”

“Right,” I said with a short nod, “which is why I don’t care about a lick. I actually wanted to know something else.”

“O-oh. Okay!” Brook said eagerly giving me a relieved smile. “So, what do you… You know…”

I couldn’t help but smile a bit as she awkwardly shuffled her hooves on the tank rim.

“Fräulein der Haifisch,” I began

“Uh, what?” Brook asked, blinking.

Well sort of, it looked like the black outer parts of her eyes were some sort of goggle like lens, with a pony like eye beneath. Not that they were artificial, but rather she had organic goggles. A neat thing I wanted to examine sometime.

“It’s the way I do nicknames,” I explained. “In this language, that is ‘Miss the Shark’, anyways, could you please tell or show me where I can find an enchanter’s shop in town?” I asked.

“Yes. I can tak-take you. I was going to go today anyways. I’m out of mana crystals… D-do you need to go now?” She asked.

“Whenever you’re ready.” I informed, noticing the look of dread in her eyes. “I’ll be in the front room. Take your time.”

I turned and trotted back into the hall. I would munch an apple or something while waiting for her to compose herself.

“Thanks, Syr merlyn-pigfain.” Brook called after me.

I turned around raising an eyebrow curiously. It wasn’t everyday I heard a language my translation spell didn’t know. “What was that?” I asked curiously.

“A nickname. ‘Sir the Pointy-pony’.” She giggled.

I blinked twice in confusion. Not because she referred to a unicorn as a ‘pointy-pony’. But because. “Y-you know I’m a colt?” I asked incredulously.

“Yeah.” Brook asked in an odd tone. “W-wait? Do ponies get confused? H-how? You taste male!”

I facehooved. Faust damn it! I look female, I like girl things, I sound like a mare, and I act mostly mare-ish... But for some reason insist on identifying as male, which I am, and the one way that apparently a pony could easily tell my gender…

“Ponies do not normally taste one another.” I explained. “H-how have you not noticed Scootaloo calling me ‘her’?”

“Aquin lacks gender terms… I’m not good with those yet.” Brook admitted shyly. “Uh, if… You know, it’s okay… Why haven’t you just told her, if she’s wrong?”

“Because… It’s… It’s just easier to let ponies think I’m a mare. Almost everypony thinks I’m one anyways… Back when I cared more I’d have to lift my tail and just show somepony I wasn’t female.” I explained.

“It couldn’t possibly be that hard to convince them.” Brook said slipping out of her tank and sliding to the floor as her tail shriveled and split into a pair of rear legs.

I shook my head no. “It actually is. I act like one in most of the important ways anyways. Body language, personal likes, everything but thought process really. And if that sounds sexist, it’s not! I’m a biologist. I know what the baseline sexually dimorphic behavior sets are!

”I also know that ponies work a lot on visual, social, and scent cues… I smell, look, and act feminine. So I get labeled a mare, or a transmare, who's a bit of a tomcolt by about ninety-eight percent of ponies.” I finished, grumbling irritably with my ears laying back.

“Oh.” Brook said with a small nod. “I understand.”

“Do you?” I asked raising an eyebrow half sarcastically.

“Yes.” She nodded. “I use my cloak and scarf to hide my teeth and eyes. But ponies still see my legs and my voice sounds a little of out of the water. Most ponies think I’m a burn victim… I don’t tell the truth because it’s easier and saves time not to. Also they would probably run away… Then never ever go near me again… And I need to be able to buy things…”

Oh, crap, she did get it. And then some.

I gave her a sympathetic nod. “I’m sorry.”

“Me too.” Brook replied. “L-let's go to the store.”

“Alright, lead the way, Fräulein der Haifisch.” I said stepping aside to let her pass through the narrow hall.

“As you wish, Syr merlyn-pigfain.” She replied with a full-size smile.

Lily - 17th of Solarus ‘15 EoH - Late Evening

Two days of work isn’t that bad for getting an entire genome recorded. Sure, the notation system helps a lot, but I hadn’t done this in a while. I was a bit rusty.

Which is why I wound up doing it twice. The first one was garbage. I got a quarter of the way to the finish line before realizing I’d made a mistake and couldn’t find it. Meaning I had no idea where the sequence began to go wrong. So I just started over.

That’s the downside to biomantic notation. Sure, you can use it to record and express the information of all three billion-ish bits of a given genome in a reasonably readable text without losing anything, but if you get it wrong somewhere, everything thereafter will be wrong too.

I had to tripplecheck the new copy, and I’d even gone ahead and done Rainbow’s sequence to make sure I was doing it correctly, because Scoot’s genome was… Wrong.

Not in that I’d gotten the sequence wrong. I’d done it perfectly the second time. It all checked out.

Meaning the impossibilities on paper, were realities in life.

Scootaloo didn’t have XXX mosaicism, not in the normal sense. About fifteen percent of her cells contained the extra X, which is a normal ratio for the condition. However, in one percent of her cells which were not tripple X instead of the two X chromosomes which made up the majority of her genome, you had one X from one of the majority ‘donors’, and one from an entirely different genome from either of the two big donors.

This mystery X seemed like it should be the extra X in the fifteen percent of tripled cells, but it wasn’t. The extra X was always either one of the majority doner’s doubled up on one cell. The mystery X never appeared in those cells.

The mystery X was also never bonded to either of the other chromosome sets. It was bonded to a copy of itself. That shouldn’t be possible, for a number of very complicated reasons, and also some very simple reasons. But it was absolutely true.

When fully examined by taking the chromosomes paired with all of the X’s, you had three entirely separate genomes, two of which made up ninety nine percent of Scoots, and one percent which made up the rest.

Forty-nine percent from a unicorn. Forty-nine percent from a second unicorn. Both almost pure-blooded unicorns. One percent from a half-pegasus earth pony.

But the mystery did not end there! Almost all of the unicorn genome was recessive, and all of the mystery genome was dominant. Ensuring that it’s Germane level mess of a genome would be the primarily expressed traits wherever those cells wound up. Yet the dominant traits in the healthy unicorn Genome would keep everything from being a total genetic failure.

Scootaloo’s entire genome was not natural. It couldn’t be.

It was impossible for any unicorn’s genes to be that purely unicorn! A point point-zero-zero-two percent ‘other’ was mathematically impossible given the reproductive and romantic history of our species.

It was impossible for the sex chromosomes of one cell to be from the same donor! At least in ponies it was, if they were changeling cells that would be perfectly normal. But they were not shapechanged changeling cells, I checked for the organelles which would enable shapeshifting. Not there.

It was impossible for somepony to have a three parent genome! At least naturally it was. I didn’t know how to do it myself, or even if biomancy could do it. But I did know that three hundred years ago a germane doctor did it in a petri dish. He called it mitochondrial donation, and won a prize for the medical novelty. I didn’t know it had ever been done a second time.

It was in fact possible for a pony to have multiple sets of DNA. Chimerism isn’t too rare. What is impossible is for the percentage of ‘other’ cells to be just one percent! Chimerism happens when one twin absorbs another during early cell division, making the ratio closer to fifty-fifty.

As Forelock Combs once said, ‘When you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains has to be true. No matter how bizarre.’

The conclusion was inevitable. Even at a cursory reading. Scootaloo’s genome was artificial, probably created the hard way via in vitro fertilization, for some reason used three sets of chromosomes, and was either the work of a cruel artist, or the work of the luckiest amateur.

“-und that’s the problem as simply as I can explain it.” I said, finishing explaining my discovery to Scootaloo with a weary sigh.

She made a confused sort of face. I’d expected that.

“Okay… So, I’m not exactly the most educated pony.” She said slowly in a frightened but diplomatic tone. “What does this mean for me?”

“It means that your parents likely chose for you to be the way that you are.” I explained. “The underdeveloped wings, any other issues you may have had. That sort of thing.”

Scootaloo nodded slowly. I could see the anger behind her eyes, it wasn’t directed at me, but it burned hot and bright. “Alright. But, again, aside from being very enraging,” she paused to take a short breath, “what is the problem with fixing my wings?”

Fortunately, it wasn’t a big problem. Not for me. It would mean twice the manna, that’s it.

“It means that replacing one of your chromosome sets won't be enough.” I answered. “That’s my fault. Remember how I used earth pony DNA to build up your wing muscles?”

Scootaloo nodded.

I continued. “Well, the only earth pony DNA you have is from that weird batch. I didn’t know that at the time… I assumed you simply had a percentage of-”

“I know. Please, I’m trying to stay calm, and it sounds like you’re going to tell me you can’t help me because you messed up. I need to know. Can I fly?” Scootaloo interrupted urgently, ears laid back.

I held up my hooves in defense. “Oh! Nein, nein! You will be able to fly. I can fix this, it’s not an irredeemable mistake!”

Scootaloo sighed in relief, eyes closing as she shifted on the bench across from me, tension visibly leaving her muscles.

“Good.” She said firmly. “What do we need to do?”

“We need to get an earth-pony to donate a DNA sample as well.” I explained. “I’ll need to replace two sets of chromosomes. Because das- er, the weird sequence of cells now makes up your wings, und I have no idea what will happen from that. So we need to replace that, und also one from the unicorn cells.”

Scootaloo shook her head slowly. “I still don’t get how I am ninety-nine percent unicorn, but am a pegasus.”

I nodded in agreement. “Ja, that’s really weird! Almost all of the unicorn DNA is recessive, letting those one percent of cells dictate most of how you developed. Without, er, hold on.”

I grabbed Scoot’s genome text with my magic, pulled the stack of parchment over, and flipped through it until I found the page I was looking for.

Pointing to a specific sigil on the page I asked. “See this? This bit of DNA is the only reason any of you other than your digestive, circulatory, und reproductive systems are not unicorn.”

“Right, and that’s my… what?” Scoots asked in the tone of somepony who knew absolutely nothing about-

Oh. Right. Bad Lilly. She isn’t also a biologist.

“Ah, well this is the bit which produces your body’s stemcells.” I answered. “Not the adult ones, but the special ones that construct your body’s specialized parts while in utero- er while you’re in the womb.

“Based on your genetics, it had only a ten percent chance of being developed from the mystery DNA, but it was. So your body’s ‘scaffold’ so to speak, was built from earth pony and pegasi ‘blueprints’, but using unicorn materials. As a result, you have an earth pony like skeleton, but are otherwise pegasus, but all built from unicorn cells.

“You’re lucky our species is polymorphic!” I finished with a grim smile.

“Poly what?” Scoots asked, one ear flopping down.

“Er, unicorns, pegasi, earth ponies, we’re all the same species, just different subtypes. Meaning most of our cells are compatible with one another regardless of which of the three we are.” I explained. “I suppose thestrals would also be on that list, but I’ve never met one, nor examined their genome…”

“Right… So, I’m a mess because my parents wanted me to be a mess. So we need an earth pony to donate some DNA too.” Scootaloo summarized.

I nodded. “Ja. Oh, I do have a theory about why this was done to you. If you want to hear it.”

She nodded firmly as could be imagined. “You’re bucking right I do!”

“I think that your parents wanted a pure-blood unicorn foal,” I said as neutrally as I could manage, “so they used the services of some doctor or another to try und synthesize pure unicorn. Likely by removing or replacing elements of their own genomes. That can be done easily in a laboratory without biomancy.

“But, something contaminated the batch. Meaning after your zygote was implanted, the mystery DNA caused you to develop into a pegasus, und your parents, which I recall being mentioned are unicorn supremacists, therefore hated you.”

Scootaloo nodded, eyes looking down bitterly. “That seems about right.”

I looked up at the clock. It was very late, I hadn’t eaten yet. Like, at all. Unless I’d had breakfast… Did I have breakfast?

No. No I had not.

I gently reached out and tipped Scootaloo’s chin up and gave her a smile. “Don’t be sad! You’ll still be flying by the end of the week. Also Apple Bloom told me Rainbow is married to her sister, meaning uh… Apple Cinnamon?”

I flinched as the mare’s name entirely escaped me.

Scoots sputtered as she held back a laugh. “It’s Applejack! How the hay do you forget a name that distinctive?”

I blushed lightly. “It’s not distinct sounding to me. My full name is Azur Lily von Mareburg the Third, esquire… Applejack sounds close to Apfeljack, which is a common Germane name. Und well, Equestrian names are not even close to Germane names, making it hard to remember Applejack when thinking about an Equestrian.”

Scootaloo blinked a few times. “Uh, what’s your full name again?” She asked.

I rolled my eyes. “Azur Lily von Mareburg the Third, esquire.”

“Seriously?” She asked, one ear pointing up and the other drooping.

I nodded.

“Ja, my grandfather is Azur Lily von Mareburg senior, my father is Azur Lily von Mareburg junior, making me Azur Lily von Mareburg the third.” I hated explaining that.

“Okay,” Scoots asked slowly, “and the esquire bit means… ?”

Great… Here we go. “It’s a title. My family, with whom I do not associate, is wealthy und politically powerful. Which is why I have a great education in a field I like… But aside from that I really don’t like thinking about them.

“Esquire is a Germane title meaning ‘noble, but not powerful’. It’s basically a ‘not a peasant, but not important’ label. While I don’t care about prestige und rank, it is still a part of my legal name. So, I use it. But only for saying my full name.”

Scootaloo nodded. “Yeah, I can understand that. Dash never uses her titles ether. Titles are kinda silly unless you’re actually in charge of something.”

“Thank you for understanding.” I said in relief. Normally people would argue with me that using my rank and station was super important. “It’s nice to know somepony who shares my opinion.”

She smiled for a moment, then slowly stood up. “Right, it’s late, and I’m hungry. Would you like to go get something to eat? The Hay Burger should be open. Besides, you’ll want a full stomach and a goodnight’s sleep for tomorrow.”

I raised an eyebrow at her statement. “Uh, why?”

“Because,” she said slowly and dramatically, “I like your idea of getting something from Applejack. It would make me also hers, and she already is my parent legally, since she married Dash. But, you’ll need to help me explain what we need and why.”

“Why’s that?” I asked curiously.

“Because,” Scootaloo said with an eye roll, “if I try and explain it it will sound ‘downright unnatural’.” She drawled in a rather good rural accent.

Oh. Joy.

Lily - 18th of Solarus ‘15 EoH - Morning

I hadn’t expected a rural farm to literally be a five minute walk from the edge of Ponyville. That just made absolutely no sense until Scootaloo explained that Sweet Apple Acres was founded when Ponyville was just a hamlet, and caused the community to grow into the large town it had been before Princess Twilight’s castle turned it into a small city.

It was rather refreshing to see a nice farm. The defensive walls put around Ponyville’s core, thanks to the Everfree forest’s apparently Eldritch nature, did mean buildings in the city’s heart had their view cut off.

Perhaps nopony had thought to enchant the walls to let you look through them from the inside. I should suggest that. Regardless, the rows upon rows of apple trees were a welcome change from lawns, cobbles, stone, and old style buildings.

Sweet Apple Acres was massive, as befitting a breadbasket level farm. Anypony buying an apple or apple product in all Equestria had a one in six chance of buying an apple from this single farm. With that sort of income, I’d expected some level of technological or arcane automation.

There wasn’t even an aqueduct.

Everything, literally everything, was done by hoof, and it was done by earth ponies. The one exception was an irrigation team of pegasi, and they were the newest addition to the farm. The last addition had been three hundred years ago, and was some simple pest-control wards.

The entirety of the excess currency after paying the small army of laborers went right into Ponyville itself. Apparently, Equestrian law dictated a strict profit margin for all business owners, requiring all funds over a percent profit to go to charities or the local community.

Period. Or you lost your business license.

The idea behind the law was businesses exist to improve life for everypony, not just their owners. You the owner get to be a little richer, and so dose everypony else. Want an extravagant life? Own multiple businesses.

Seemed fair to me. I didn’t object to that as somepony wanting to start a business. I’m not a young dragon. I didn’t need to sleep on a bed made from bits.

What seemed crazily compassionate is Sweet Apple Acres only kept three percent of the prophets.

What was even absolutely more crazy was upon finding Applejack, who apparently worked her own share of the farm daily, she had insisted I try an apple. That was crazy because it tasted like I bit into a piece of toast covered in apple butter.

Imagine flavorless bread, covered in the most perfectly made apple butter you’ve ever had. That was what this apple tastes like.

I had to know. “H-how did you-”

“Ah shucks, that ain’t nothing new. Just proper care and the right farming methods over five generations.” AJ chuckled. “An’ that’s just our Goldie variety. We got ten other varieties, most traditional, but some other special ones too.”

I nodded, quickly finishing off the rest of the apple.

“So I reckon Scoots is bringing you by to introduce me to her fancy new doctor.” AJ drawled, taking a moment to give a nearby tree a hard kick to shake the ripe apples off of it.

I couldn’t reply, my mouth was full of awesome.

“Well, kinda.” Scoots answered. “I did think you would want to meet her eventually, but uh, we need some help from you.”

“Oh?” AJ asked, picking up apples as she spoke. “How so? Can’t pay for it yourself?”

I guess a farmer doesn't have time to just chat mid-day.

Swallowing the apple’s tasty remnants I shook my head firmly no. “Oh no, I’m not charging her.” I said as firmly as I could manage. “I need some good advertising to start my clinic, but also, it’s unethical to keep somepony crippled when you can fix the problem. I plan on doing most medically necessary things for free.”

“That’s a might decent of ya,” AJ noted, moving to the next tree after putting all the ripe apples into a bucket. “Most Docs round here will charge ya a leg and a leg for anything insurance don’t cover. I reckon I can’t blame them much for trying to make a good livin, but some folks just can’t afford certain things.”

I hummed curiously. “I thought Equestria paid for it’s citizen’s health care.”

“It pays for the common things up to a point.” Scootaloo explained. “Cuts, scrapes, a broken bone, common diseases, lifesaving surgery… That sort of thing. But if you need a hip replacement, or something else complicated, or you get so sick or injured that you go over a certain amount in one year, you need to pay for it yourself.”

AJ nodded. “Yep. The Crown can’t afford to pay all expenses for everypony, but it can pay for the little things that happen a lot.”

I mulled it over then nodded. “I guess that makes sense. Anyways, I’m sure your wife explained some of the procedure I’ll be using to you, right?”

AJ shook her head. “Not really. Dash isn’t much of an egghead, er, no offense, I mean that one endearingly.”

“None taken.” I replied with a giggle.

“I know ya’ll using one of her feathers somehow, but that’s about it.” AJ finished.

“Ja, that’s correct.” It was time to explain as best I could without sounding very creepy. “Do you know what DNA is?”

AJ gave me a smirk. “Course I do. I work with plants for my livin. I may not use magic on these trees, but I do use the natural sciences and good ol’ elbow grease.”

“Und that definitely seems to make some good apples.” I said, unable to help myself. “Uh, so, to put this into plant terms, Scootaloo would be about the worst strain of apple tree imaginable. I don’t mean that as an insult, I mean that as a health issue.”

“Ya’ll mean she’s got a disease, or just poor genes?” AJ asked, giving another tree a good hard kick and amazingly not damaging it’s bark.

I gave Scootaloo a sympathetic and apologetic look.

“Well, possibly both. I don’t know exactly what she might have, I’ll need to study her genome more.” I sighed, “But, I can fix it. See, originally I was going to use some of Rainbow’s genes to replace the ones which made Scoots wings grow in as vestigial limbs.”

“Uh, as what now?” Scootaloo and AJ echoed.

“Oh, that means ‘non-working versions’.” I said quickly. “See, her genome lacks what it needs to make flight feathers at all, but well-”

My eyes lit up as I realized how I could explain it to someone who had to know at least a little botany.

“- Ah ha! Das est- Uh, I mean, to use another tree analogy, I can fix her wings by grafting a ‘branch’ of Rainbow’s DNA to her. But unfortunately, that won't fix all of her problems, und I may have made some of them worse when I used a healing technique to remove some metal from her wings earlier. I can’t be sure of that, because I didn’t imagine her genes to be the mess they are, since she appears to be well, perfectly healthy except for the wings.

“Now, Scootaloo has some earth pony blood in her, und I used it to make und ‘graft’ new wing muscles to replace the old ones.-”

AJ squinted at Scootaloo for a moment then smile. “I thought they looked a bit more developed than usual… But uh, you said you may have made something worse doing that?”

I nodded. “Ja, I know… It’s not especially good to act without knowledge, but in generally only one in a thousand cases of simple tissue regeneration lead to problems. I thought it was safe, und I only realized it might not be when I did some work…

“Well, the short of it is, since the genes used to make her wing muscles are earth pony genes, and they are bad, I need to ‘graft’ in some healthy ones so we can be sure there are no problems. Und Scootaloo would prefer for you to be the donor.”

AJ stopped picking up apples and looked up at Scoots. “Why me?”

“Well… Lily said that after five months the new stuff will have replaced all of the old stuff… So then I’d be related to both you and Dash by blood.” Scootaloo explained. “I-I know that’s not natural but-”

“Scoots ya silly lil filly!’ AJ objected, “My best friend for the last fifteen years can turn a frog into an orange! Changing somepony’s family relations may be a little creepy to think about, but it ain’t that unnatural seeming to somepony who once was turned into a Breezy.

“No, I’m fine with that. Far as I care Scootaloo, you are family. We don’t need magic to make that bond real, or stronger.” Applejack turned her head to face me. “But if we need magic to make sure you won’t get cancer, or that your foals won’t have missin’ legs or such, then you can bet I’ll help with any spell ya’ll can cast… If, you ain’t gonna rush in an just make things worse with your magic.”

I held up a hoof defensively, doing my best to look and sound professional under her judging gaze. “Ach! Nein!” I protested. “You are friends mit Princess Twilight, Ja?”

AJ nodded. “That’s right. An she’s made half her own problems by rushing in with a magical fix fer a problem. An as you said, you may have done the same already with Scoots here.”

I flinched, that hurt just a little. “Ja, true, but that can hardly be blamed on me. You wouldn’t expect applying a bandage to draw more blood, would you? Also, I don’t know if I did make things worse, but I want to be sure they won't be.”

I felt the need to explain more than that to Applejack. She was certainly more educated than I had expected, making me feel a bit elitist for judging based on Scoot’s accented ‘unnatural’ statement, but even if she knew about my homeland, nopony who didn’t live there would really understand how seriously we took magical ethics.

“My people do not take magic lightly.” I started, mentally brewing up a proper lecture. “We have a certain philosophy of magic, because we nearly went extinct ourselves, four generations ago by misusing magic.

“Everything is itself. Everything is part of the world. With Transformation and Illusion magic you can make anything look like a diamond, or a flower, or a fly, or an eye, or a flame. But that is merely making things seem different. Illusion fools the beholder's senses; it makes him see und hear und feel that the thing is changed. But it does not change the thing.

"To change, say a rock into a jewel, you must change its true nature. Und to do that, even to so small a scrap of the world, is to change the world. It can be done. It's not even too hard to do. It is the art of many Wizards, who can do it through one of many different Schools. Which is why we have ethics for the arcane.

"See, you must not change one thing, one pebble, one grain of sand, until you know what good und evil will follow on that act. The world is in balance, in Harmony. A wizard's power is to use Chaos to change the world, making a new Harmony. It can shake the balance of the world. That power is dangerous, period. But it is also useful beyond measure, so it must follow knowledge, and serve need. Because to light a candle is to cast a shadow."

Applejack blinked and shook her head slowly. “Well shoot, ya’ll definitely seem to take it pretty darn seriously.”

“Ja, you have no idea how hard it is to pass the Germane ethics test.” I sighed, lungs aching a little from my rant.

Scootaloo frowned and put a hoof to her chin. “It can’t be that hard, it’s just ethics.”

I gave her a grumpy stare of ‘why did you do that?’. Now I’d have to explain that too!

“Das ist how the Germane Ethics Test works.” I explained with an ‘im tired of talking sigh. “The test measures if you are an informed, engaged, and productive citizen of the world. Und it takes place in schools, in bars, in hospitals, in dorm rooms, und in places of worship. You are tested on first dates, in job interviews, while watching hoofball, und while talking with friends.

“The test judges your ability to think about things other than other than celebrity marriages, whether you will be easily swayed by empty political rhetoric, and whether you will be able to place your life, und your community, in a broader context. The test lasts your entire life und is be comprised of the millions of decisions that when taken together make your life, yours. Und everything, everything, is a part of it.

“Und then, once you die, the test is over, und you are scored. Und it is your family und your children who are seen as better or worse people based on how you performed on the test.”

AJ turned, gently plucked a hair from her tail, stepped over and held it out for me to take. As the hair was transferred into my magic grip, AJ shook her head. “Damn girl, that’s mighty harsh. I reckon you’re the right mare to trust with fix’n her up. Ya’ll need anymore, just come on back.”

“Danke.” I thanked, now thoroughly tired of talking.

Scootaloo shook her head slowly. “You’re homeland sounds like it’s really strict.”

“Ja, it is. Und for good reason.” I said, turning to leave and get back to the now increased work I had to do. “Danke, Fräulein. I hope you’re crops are good this year.”

AJ laughed as I walked off, “Ha! I knew ya’ll said Fräulein an it wasn’t just a movie thing. Ya’ll come back now, ya hear?”

Lily - 25th of Solarus ‘15 EoH - Mid Afternoon

In front of me on the table sat two scrolls. Each one written with magically infused ink, ready to be cast at a moment's notice. Each one containing half of the new information to be imparted into Scootaloo’s cells. Together, these scrolls were sixty percent of her cure.

The other forty percent was in my head. Spells I would need to cast while the scrolls magic worked to change her. Spells to guide their energy to the right places to ensure the important parts would work right away.

It was done. I was finished. Her cure could be applied anytime.

I sat back on the stool for a minute and took a deep breath. It had been much harder than I had thought to get to this point. The scrolls were a testament to that, normally they would only be a third as long, and there would only be one of them. Casting the spells and guiding them was going to drain me dry, but it would be worth it.

Not just for business and advertising reasons. After a week and a third living with Scootaloo, I could think of nothing more rewarding than her smile when she was made whole. Faust only knew how much her parents were looking forward to this. Let alone Scoots herself.

Well, no sense waiting.

“Hey, Scoots!” I called down the hallway.

“Yeah?” The mare’s voice replied.

“Let’s go find your adoptive parents.” I said cheerfully. “Because I’m pretty sure they will want to see your first fli-”

I felt a hoof grip me by the neck, pulling me towards the door like a rocket! I barely managed to grab the two scrolls from the table before Scootaloo eagerly shouted. “You’re too Luna-damned slow! Come on!”

24 Duel of Peers

Author's Note

Duel is done in third person for cinematic feel giving reasons.

Also, someone asked me what color vantablack is, and since that’s what color Sacred’s armor is… Here ya go. ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ubk34-nFvGM ) It’s literally so black you can’t see it. Science, buck yeah!

24 Duel of Peers

Ponyville, Everfree Outskirts - 22nd of Midsummer ‘15 EoH - Afternoon

Searing white light blazed with untold wrath, sweeping over the impromptu arena in a wave converging upon Sacred in a detonation which made the earth tremble. Earth flew outwards from the epicenter, and the guards atop the walls began to cheer. Sending praises towards their princess even before the light had vanished completely.

Twilight, on the other hoof, braced herself.

The light cleared away, a pale almost invisible red globe engulfing Sacred as he remained floating, untouched by the massive concussive blast. The cheering died out.

“You opened with a concussive shockwave?” Sacred asked, his voice betraying the amused smile behind his blacker-than-black helm.

“To be fair, I’ve crushed boulders with that,” Twilight rebutted, eyes flicking over Sacred’s shield, analyzing it with every neuron in her analytical mind.

It was an unusual shield. The shield spells Twilight was familiar with maintained a consistent color and seemed uniformly thick, like a globe of stained glass. This shield was practically invisible, only perceptible as a pale red circle upon it’s very edges.

Sacred nodded. “That’s fair,” he began, voice harshening as he suddenly bellowed. “Lapidem, et devorabit ex inimicos!”

The yellow glow of his armor flared as pale red light poured up from the ground around Twilight in a shattered glass pattern! The dirt melted into flowing magma, stone fangs erupting in a circle around the perimeter, snapping shut in an instant with the sound of an avalanche!

A wave of gasps from the wall top morphed into cheers as in that heartbeat Twilight teleported appearing mid air, hovering over the snapping fanged maw of earth and magma uneasily. Twilight was a scholar, not a warrior, and she had no idea what sort of spells her opponent was using.

“Soo… Mnemonic incantations?” She asked, again keeping focus on her opponent.

“You don’t use them to help remember complex spells?” Sacred asked casually.

Twilight dipped her head, horn glowing fiercely as she hurled a ray of lavender light. The ray was a pale, sickly, thing. A first year student could do better, but it wasn’t meant to harm… The ray struck Sacred’s shield, and split into two halves, sliding off the shield’s face and slicing small furrows into the ground behind him.

Twilight’s eyes narrowed. Deflection rather than absorption. Unconventional, but clearly effective.

Satisfied with her probing ray’s success Twilight snapped her wings backwards, surging forwards in a dive as she let loose a barrage of intense spellbolts, nearly filling the air with a solid pillar of searing light!

Sacred dipped to the left, moving out of the way with a sharp crack as he forced the air aside, the pillar of death boring a hole three ponies deep a fraction of a second after his short flight finished!

“No homing charm added to those?” He asked tracking Twilight as she pulled out of her dive, sweeping back upwards into the sky as she almost brushed the ground. The armored stallion sounded almost disappointed.

The magma-like lines in Sacred’s armor pulsed as Sacred uncrossed his forelegs, reached upwards, and seemingly pulled a spear made from dull red light out of thin air. The stallion took aim at Twilight as she climbed for more altitude, and gave the spear a short lazy toss, allowing it to float towards Twilight at a lazy pace, the tip realigning to keep pointed straight for her as it moved.

Sensing the spell, Twilight glanced back, and couldn’t help but laugh. “Do you expect to hit me with something that slow?”

“Infinitum potentia vello!” Sacred barked, other hoof thrusting out in a single swift motion.

A cone of light emanating from his outstretched hoof dimmed, the dimmed light raced upwards, engulfing Twilight as she turned to come around for another attack. Twilight yelped as she felt herself dragged backwards, suddenly racing towards the spearpoint belly first!

Twilight bucked, kicked, flapped her wings with all her might, but only barely managed to change her orientation as she was dragged downwards! Gritting her teeth, she twisted, turning her face towards the energy-spear, and sending a crackling ball of unstable energy slamming down into it!

The energy-spear exploded in a shower of sparks! Sacred, reached upwards to draw another, his outstretched hoof maintaining the spell pulling Twilight towards him at an ever increasing speed!

Thinking quickly, Twilight closed her eyes, focused on her wards and made a few quick alterations. She jerked to a halt in mid air, sparks crackling around her as the lesser layers of her defenses collapsed under the strain of resisting the pull, but resist it she did.

A joyful cheer rang out from the wall tops once more as the massed Equestrian forces celebrated Twilight’s outwitting of her opponent! A cheer which Sacred shared.

“Yes!” He exclaimed happily. “Nopony has ever negated that spell! If I defeat you in the end without killing you, would you enjoy being my sparring partner?”

Twilight glowered down from above, ignoring his question entirely. “That wasn’t telekinesis! What was that?”

“Y-you negated it without knowing what it is?” Sacred mused, clearly impressed. “No matter… You have a more important question to ask.”

Twilight flew to the left, circling around Sacred in search of an opening as he simply rotated in place to keep her in view. “Like how many more high level spells you can use before you’re done?” She asked.

“Where did those photons go?” Sacred asked.

Twilight’s pupils contracted slightly, the mare realizing exactly what Sacred had just done. “Oh-”

Sacred vanished with a odd distortion of air! Twilight flinched as a wave of heat flashed over her from behind, turning in time to see Sacred dip his horn slightly.

“Lumen, veni foras!” Sacred barked.

Twilight arced up, narrowly avoiding the screeching beam of blue-white light which split the air where she had been instants before! Pitching as far as she could, Twilight gathered her energy, rolled above Sacred, and fired a concussive blast with the sound of a thunderclap!

Sacred shot downwards, shield's edges crackling! The stallion twisted, stopping the fall after a few meters, looking up in time to see Twilight flick her head downwards, the massive ball of eldritch power around her horn erupting into a four pony thick white-blue-and lavender beam of destruction!

“Deflect this!” Twilight snapped, still quite angry towards the stallion for his use of what she now knew to be a horrific way to kill.

The ground below heaved, buckling as all the moisture in the soil flashed to steam, throwing a cloud of earth into the heavens as the spell drilled a lake-deep hole beneath Sacred’s former position!

The light cleared. The armored mage was nowhere to be seen.

The wall top erupted into a mass of cheers! For the first time, the Legion also moved, dipping their heads and pulling their right forelegs to their barrels in a warrior’s salute. Twilight kept frowning, eyes trying to pierce the pale gray smoke and orange glow of molten rock for any sign of her opponent.

A minute passed. A minute of nothing. Twilight nodded, satisfied to herself that the battle was over, and quickly landed at the edge of the crater, taking a deep breath to gather the energy to repair the hole she had made.

A blacker than night armored hoof rose over the edge of the crater! Grabbing the rim, Sacred vaulted out, landing on all four hooves, ready for battle! His armor remained intact the edges still glowing like magma, but his cloak had been charred into a scrap of cloth that vaguely resembled a hood!

“Do you have any idea how hard it is to sew when you are a colt!?” The stallion growled lividly. “I grew up without a blanket to have a green cloak!”

Twilight’s ears drooped, feeling a little bad for Sacred, despite the fact that they remained locked in combat.

“Well then maybe you shouldn’t have worn it into battle!” Twilight exclaimed as she jumped backwards, resuming a fighting stance.

“Wait, that was made from a blanket?” Rarity called from the base of the wall.

“Yes!” Sacred snapped, head turning in her direction.

“It looked lovely, considering its origins,” Rarity called again.

Twilight frowned, confused as to Rarity’s sudden interruption but smiled when she noticed Rarity’s slight motion with one hoof. Realizing what her friend was doing, Twilight shifted her stance slightly, and closed her eyes.

“I know!” Sacred growled. “I very worked hard on-”

Twilight’s spell went off, a wall of white-light smashing into Sacred and throwing the stallion head over hooves into the gaping hole within the earth with an audible crunch!

Refusing to believe her foe dead a second time, Twilight snapped her wings open and jumped, gliding to the edge of the pit to continue the fight. A moment later, Sacred shot upwards in a blaze of red light, hovering at ground level over the center of the pit.

“I will beat you into submission and make you sew me a new cloak!” Sacred raged, too angry to use whatever trick had previously masked his aura from view!

Twilight flinched as the stallion’s aura seemed to collapse into a chaotic mess of dull red lightning! Immediately going on the defense, Twilight quickly began to layer shields one on top of the other, believing after the coming storm she would have the opportunity tend this once and for all.

“Ollud ungula de mei niteo apud, magna vis!” Sacred intoned, smoke pouring off his armor as plates began to slide back from one another, the dull magma-like glow brightening to a brilliant gold which shone brightly enough to entirely eclipse the blackness of his armor!

The gold light slid down to each hoof, forming dense balls of energy around arcane markings which could only be seen thanks to the gold light’s temporary banishment of the vantablack.

Twilight’s eyes widened, realizing in that instant the stallion’s armor was composed of arcanite, and not for storing power, or absorbing spells that struck it. No, it was configured in a way she had thought only theoretical. It was a focusing lens.

“Suus ardens postulat, me vinco vos!” Sacred continued, extending both hooves up slamming them together, a crackling blade of golden lightning manifesting from the unified golden auras a mere heartbeat before Sacred savagely smashed it down into Twilight’s layer’s shields!

Lightning crackled! Shields shattered! Motes of arcane light flew from the shields like sparks from a fire!

The lightning blade sliced through all but Twilight’s final three shields, carving into the earth below her, and out into the open area of the hole in front of her! Quickly flapping her wings, Twilight managed to keep from falling into the hole.

The glow from Sacred’s armor dimmed as Twilight looked up, dreading a second strike from the arcane blade. Her fears evaporated as the opened plates in Sacred’s armor quickly retracted, the black color returning to the armor, and the glow reduced to the original magma-colored radiance around each plate’s edge. But more importantly, the air around Sacred rippled and shimmered visible, like desert air on a hot day…

“Careful there, you’ll cook yourself,” Twilight taunted, hoping to keep her opponent angry and also reveal she knew he wouldn’t be unleashing anything like that for a good while.

“You are formidable,” Sacred growled. “I like that. But you still ruined my cloak!”

“Oh my Celestia!” Twilight groaned. “If you loved it so much why didn’t you enchant it to fix itself!”

“ I’m a warrior, not a scholar, damnit!” Sacred retorted. “I wasn’t allowed to study such magics! I wasn’t even allowed to learn to sew. I had to teach myself!”

The enraged stallion’s red aura returned as he drifted upwards, trying to move to a cooler area to let the heat built up within his armor escape more quickly.

“Well then you should have taken it off!” Twilight objected, giving Sacred a glare before she vanished in a burst of lavender light, teleporting behind the stallion, and firing another concussive burst, throwing him down into the bottom of the pit.

Sacred groaned as he slammed into the solid stone, but pushed himself upright quickly none the less. As he moved to take to the air, Twilight came crashing down, slamming her rear hooves into his helmet, driving the stallion firmly into the earth!

Twilight slapped the air with her wings, pushing herself up and away from Sacred as he retaliated with a burst of ball lightning. Pulling himself back to his hooves as the lightning exploded Sacred growled. “It’s not fair… The one thing of my own, destroyed!”

Twilight facehooved. “Seriously? You’re still hung up on that? It wasn’t even that nice of a cloak!”

“Cremito haereticus!” Sacred snapped eyes glowing as red as his vision behind his helmet.

Brilliant red flames erupting from the earth and engulfing Twilight to the point where the mare vanished completely within the inferno! Twilight screamed in terror as the flames pealed her shields away like the layers of an onion! Dropping into a sprint, Twilight raced out of the immolating fire just as her last shield collapsed, the tip of her tail singing under the heat of the flames!

“There!” Sacred grumbled. “I burnt your tail. We’re even!”

The stallion turned around, and began to levitate up the side of the hole, leaving Twilight behind him.

Twilight skidded to a stop, giving Sacred a flabbergasted look of complete shock as he retreated. “I, wha- We’re in a duel for the fate of my city! This is a serious fight you challenged me to, and now you’re just leaving!?” Twilight sputtered.

Sacred stopped ascending and turned around, air shimmering pale red as he put his shield spell back up.

“Right! I forgot,” the armored mage apologized. “You see, I was only a little bit absolutely livid. Tends to make me forget things I happen to have been doing before the fact. Now then, where were we?”

“I believe I had just planted my hooves firmly into your face,” Twilight said, eyes narrowing in determination.

“An admirable feat for a warrior with absolutely no refinement to her battle magic,” Sacred said sincerely, a dull red glow surrounding his horn as he began to charge a spell.

Twilight’s horn flared violet as she hurled a line of spellbolts into Sacred’s shield! Each bolt smashed the mage aside, the shield crackling under the stress, the bolts doing what her earlier ones could not.

“I’m not a warrior, I’m a scholar, damnit!” Twilight cried. “And I’m a quick study!”

“You’re a scholar?” Sacred asked in a shocked surprise, his conjured nest of crimson energy-spears streaking out and slamming into Twilight’s shields, but rather than chip away at her shields, the spears skipped off, sputtered, and crackled before dissipating in a shower of sparks.

“Don’t you have spies?” Twilight called as she turned, ascending to leave the pit, unable to get any distance between her and Sacred within its narrow confines.

“You took down Lord Tirek! We all believed you simply liked to read,” Sacred called, vanishing with a sharp crack and appearing over Twilight’s head, slamming both hooves in a hammer blow against her shields.

A shower of lavender sparks erupted around Sacred’ gauntlets as the arcanite drained the energy from the barrier before the blow sent Twilight tumbling a few meters down, where she managed to land on the crater rim.

“Frankly, I think you’re lying to me about your occupation,” Sacred said, sounding oddly upset. “I have no tolerance for liars.”

“I didn’t defeat Tirek alone, my friends helped, and we used an artifact to do it,” Twilight exclaimed. “Your spies must be terrible if they couldn’t tell you that!”

“I don’t mean how you banished him,” Sacred objected. “You fought him to a standstill and forced him to use a non-violent means of getting what he wanted from you. Clearly, you are a warrior!”

As sacred finished his shout, he threw one hoof out in an arc, a blade of dull red energy scything outwards and slicing a deep gouge into the earth on either side of Twilight’s shield, the rest splattering harmlessly against the lavender bubble.

“Though… You do seem to know warding magic very well,” Sacred admitted. “Did that even scratch your shield?”

The armored mage’s dismissal of her scholarly status burned angrily in Twilight’s heart, filling her with the need to correct his errored assumptions.

“Your energy constructs are negatively charged, I worked that out after seeing your shield collapse. I’m also guessing your armor is letting you use negative instead of the normal positive. So I modified my shield spells to attract ambient negative thaumaturgic current, giving them a negatively charged outer layer, meaning your constructs are repelled by my shields and therefore can’t penetrate them without containing enough energy to overcome the ambient natural currents!” Twilight exclaimed in a lecturing tone.

“Interesting…” Sacred mused.

“Still think I’m not a scholar!?” Twilight asked, staring up at her opponent.

“No. You have reversed my opinion…” Sacred said slowly. “Why is Equestria’s champion a scholar, rather than a warrior? Would you not be of more use to Celestia-”

“I don’t normally fight things! I’ma diplomat. I resolve disputes peacefully. Yes, I can fight, but that’s not what I do, it’s not my purpose. I try to make everypony’s lives better, even those who disagree with me,” Twilight declared.

“I see…” Sacred mused. “Then, if you are a scholar, and your society is composed of unique individuals, and Celestia’s champion is primarily focused on the welfare of others…”

The armored mage growled angrily. “He lied… To all of us.”

Twilight’s ears perked, recognizing her foe was in the process of spurning the dogma which led him to attack Equestria. That was her means to defeat him, and in a way she would prefer.

“He definitely did,” Twilight agreed. “Equestria does have it’s problems… And many other nations simply don’t understand why we have certain socioeconomic policies, while others dislike how our power dwarfs their nations. But all any Equestrian wants is to help others live a happy life, our kindness is legendary. We are not violent or oppressive against anypony. We accept everyone willing to live peacefully.

“Your leader has been misleading you for long enough. You can stop this. You can surrender right now and turn your back on him. I’ll pardon you of your crimes if you renounce your loyalty to your master and end this before anypony is hurt!”

“I would gladly accept your terms,” Sacred said bitterly as he floated down to Twilight’s eye level, “however, I will not make myself a liar or oathbreaker. Father has lied to me about the world, rendering my oath to him void.

“But I agreed to fight you of my own free will, and we established terms. The two of us made a deal and it did not involve him or his will. If I surrender before I am unable to fight further, then I break my oath to you, and become an oathbreaker. As it stands now… All I have is my word.”

Twilight frowned, and slowly nodded. “I understand… I think. I do not agree that you would be staining your honor by surrendering. But I’m not going to be able to convince you of that, am I?”

Sacred shook his head. “No. We must continue to fight.”

“Alright… But here me out,” Twilight asked. “You wanted to know which of us is stronger so you could decide which ideology to follow. We don’t need to fight for hours for that. How about you stand on that side of the pit, I stand on this side, you throw your most powerful spell, I try and defend against it.

“If I can’t protect myself, then that’s it, you know you’re stronger. If I block it, then I throw my most powerful attack at you. At which point we will know if we are evenly matched, or if I am stronger than you.”

Sacred shook his head firmly. “If I were to cast my most powerful spell here, I would destroy Ponyville, and thus forfeit our duel.”

Twilight blinked, managing to not recoil or show her fear as she wondered if the only reason she was still alive was this stallion’s promise. “Er, what is it?” She asked curiously.

“A Second Thaumaturgic War Era spell designed to slay elder dragons,” Sacred informed with casual honesty.

“What the flying buck were you being trained to fight!?” Twilight exclaim-demanded, jaw dropping.

“Everything,” Sacred said simply, and honestly. “Which I do admit is why I have been able to hold out against you this long. You have more raw power than I do, but your combat spells hold no edge at all. It’s like you are fighting with a blunted sword and glass armor…

“I suppose… We could go up a few miles. That should be safe.”

Twilight bit her lip in thought, mind racing as she sought to find a solution to countering the seven spells she knew of which Sacred could be using. Her eyes light up as she found one, prompting Twilight to nod.

“Alright, let’s go up,” she agreed.

“At any rate, our conversation has given my armor time to cool. Should we be evenly matched, I can and will resume a normal battle,” Sacred warned as the two began to climb into the cloudy skies.

“That’s fair,” Twilight agreed.

The two quickly gained altitude, vanishing from sight to those on the ground far before they arrived at what Sacred claimed would be a safe altitude. The two opponents square off, stopping a few dozen meters apart from one another in the sea of clouds.

“Go ahead. Let’s finish this,” Twilight said, waving a hoof to prompt her opponent to action.

Sacred nodded and uncrossed his arms, armor clicking as the plates ratcheted open, allowing the bright golden light of raw mana to shine once more. This time, he pulled his hooves in against his chest, holding one atop the other in a vertical stack. The golden light contracted, moving away from everything aside from the backs of his hooves, his horn, and his heart, where the light formed shimmering globes bright enough to be seen from the ground below.

“Deus e tenebris qui omnia saecula, ego invoco ut vos, da mihi omnis potestas tua!” Sacred intoned, the lights simply vanishing as he finished his mnemonic recitation.

Twilight tilted her head curiously, having sensed the magic truly having discharged. “Er, did you flop it?”

“No,” Sacred informed. “That was part one.”

The armored mage took a deep breath and held one hoof up to face the sky, beginning a long chant. “Tenebrae extra crepusculum, ruber extra sanguinem, fluentem, sepultus intro aevum | ubi est tua potestatem crescit,” Sacred chanted, bringing both hooves down and holding them apart like an Earth Pony standing up to hold a bowl.

Twilight winced. Having worked out roughly how much information per word of Old Equish Sacred had trained himself to recall, this would be a doozy…

“Polliceor hostes vincere omnes qui quia statis | ante quod fortis donum | dedit in mea manu indignum.” Sacred continued, motes of red light forming around him and leaching from the surrounding air to condense into a deep red ball between his hooves.

Twilight flapped her wings, instinctively moving back from the massive collection of power massing in the one tiny spot. Her honed arcane scenes showing her the massive amount of power from before had opened conduits through which Sacred was now essentially commanding all ambient magical energy for several kilometers, and compressing it into one ball!

“Et insipientibus qui resistat vultui meo perdidit: | per potestatem et ego possideo,” Sacred finished, the shimmering black-red ball of magic sparking between his hooves for a brief moment before he threw it forward violently with a cry of, “Draco Interficio!”

The spell shot forward too fast for the eye to track. Speeding directly for Twilight’s heart.

“Reflect!” Twilight shouted, employing a mnemonic device of her own.

“Oh buck!” Sacred yelped as his spell bounced off a shimmering blue barrier.

The orb streaked back, it’s speed preventing even the thought of dodging before slamming squarely into Sacred’s barrel. The orb detonated in a flash of white light with a thunderous boom that shook the ground below. The searing hot wall of flames, compressed plasma, and decaying mana ballooned outwards, shining brighter than the sun for several seconds, and leaving a patch of sky cloud free for miles when it finally vanished.

At the blast’s epicenter, Twilight reappeared in a flash of violet, having teleported to the ground in anticipation of the explosion.

“Heh…” Sacred said weekly, armor quite intact, but the glowing edges were no more, and the smell of burnt flesh filled the air around him. “Nice one, scholar...”

Sacred’s flight spell failed, and the stallion fell from the sky.

Acting quickly, Twilight tucked in her wings and entered into a steep dive. As she reached her falling fallen foe, Twilight grabbed him with her hooves, knowing that his armor would make a telekinetic grip too weak to lift him thanks to it’s magic conducting properties. As her forelimbs tightly gripped his waist she flared her wings, straining under the additional weight for several long moments before finally entering a controlled glide and spiraling to the ground.

Touching down next to the massive hole in the earth Twilight let go of Sacred’s unconscious form, took a deep breath, turned her head towards the wall and called. “He’s down! Medic please!”

The wall top erupted into one final cheer, the legion solemnly lit their banners on fire. Victory was at hoof!