What's a Gary?

Chapters

Who's Donut Steel?
Vacations
Friends
The Dreams of the Dreamers
Code Red
Secret Agent Mare
The Shindig

Who's Donut Steel?

Twilight Sparkle fidgeted nervously as she waited outside of the Castle of Friendship. The letter from Princess Celestia had been vague as usual but this time she was not allowed to bring any friends. Not even Spike was allowed to accompany her, though her mentor didn't mention why. All that she knew was that she should expect Princess Celestia's Sky chariot within the hour and that she would then join the Princess of the Sun to their destination.

She started pacing, running the letter over and over again in her head while attempting to judge the older mare's tone. Was she upset? Did Twilight mess something up? She wasn't getting an escort to Magic Kindergarten, was she? What if her studies had fallen behind and the Princess was coming to give her remedial lessons? How would that work? Twilight had never been in remedial classes!

Her pacing turning into a full-blown panic, complete with a few stray hairs sticking up at random points in her mane, she didn't hear the chariot landing. What she did hear was Celestia giggling at her...as well as at the rut Twilight was wearing into the ground.

"Twilight Sparkle," Celestia called, causing her one-time student to jump. "What have I told you about panicking over silly things?"

"Panicking? Me?" Twilight said, looking around in mock confusion. "I don't panic. I just, you know...overthink things."

A dainty eyebrow rose at the overly sincere smile the purple alicorn was giving her, but Celestia chose to dismiss it.

"Come along. There's something I need to take care of and living closer to the Everfree as you are, I may need you to take care of this in the future. In fact, I will be sending a chariot for just such a thing in the near future."

"Something you need to do?" Twilight asked. "In the Everfree?"

"The Everfree Forest is much larger than many ponies believe," Celestia said as the chariot took to the skies. "Big enough to hide many things from curious eyes. Hold your questions for now though. Some will be answered but I'm sure many more will arise when we arrive."

<-(0)->

Twilight's eyes were wide in shock as the chariot was making its final approach to a hidden city inside the deepest parts of the Everfree. Not just because of the existence of said city, but the fact that strange metal machines with rotors, much more advanced than Pinkie's own gyrocopter, that were escorting them to the landing pad. Her eyes were darting from place to place, trying and failing to understand what was going on. Dragons, changelings, alicorns, ponies, griffons, even the odd hybrid of various races wandered the streets or flew in designated lanes for winged traffic while on the ground walked even more creatures. There was even-

Twilight blinked, her eyes still hurting even as she looked away from the blue zebra with neon yellow stripes. She ignored Celestia's giggle at her expense and chose instead to focus on the buildings. Metal, stone, Crystal, a few tree houses. There were even a few that reminded her of the changeling hive.

"Amazing, isn't it? They built it all from scratch. Sure they'll send a few disguised ponies to Mareland every now and again for some specific things they want but for the most part they make everything they need and then some. This city's food production blows even full earth pony towns away."

"But why is it hidden?" Twilight asked, pulling herself up to the edge of the chariot. "Why don't we have anything like this stuff? These vehicles, the buildings, I just-"

"It's because Equestria is as poorly prepared to meet them as they are prepared to meet Equestria. Do you see all the races scattered through this town? Dragons, changelings, griffons. There are even alicorns here. They are young for the most part but even the youngest griffon would turn heads in Canterlot; if not from their race than because of their mannerisms. Here they are among their own. It is not the best solution and sometimes they wander, but they take friends who can keep them out of trouble. They also have enough skilled illusionists that an entire group from this city could wander through Ponyville and you'd never know it. Not that they ever go there."

"They avoid Ponyville? Why?"

"Because it would be too easy to interfere with your growth. Tell me Twilight, do you think you could have defeated Discord if you hadn't faced Nightmare Moon? What about Tirek? Each of your triumphs has built on the lessons you learned in the previous encounter. If there were dragons and alicorns defending us, you never would have made it this far. And these beings, some believe in aggressive defense. Defending oneself by removing threats. If they'd had their way, some would have attacked Discord."

Twilight nodded but a frown crossed her features. This was still big. The things that could be gained.

"I know you're far from convinced, Twilight, but you'll learn a bit more about these individuals while we're here. There's a new group gaining citizenship today, and I while Luna and I don't have to be here for it I try to at least make an appearance."

Before the purple mare could ask what the older alicorn meant by citizenships the chariot landed, dragging her from her train of thought. Instead she was forced to focus on the various individuals who met the chariot, both the armed escort as well as a few magi-technicians. She swallowed the questions for now, instead following her old mentor while taking in as much of the surrounding information as possible.

'All of them are completely at ease with the gyrocopters. Even the Earth pony. Tartarus, that one was even being piloted by a zebra. Normally the copters are either piloted by a unicorn or Pegasus. They also seem to favor technology, which is strange with so many unicorns and alicorns about. This just doesn't make sense.'

She stopped for a moment in surprise as a large green-scaled dragon pulled the propellers off of one of the copters and proceeded to remove the huge motor with ease.

'It's like they're all regular ponies.'

An alicorn passed by on her right as she followed Celestia, reading a book even as a gauntlet of cleaning tools sanitized the floor before him. A changeling was taking apart a machine much like those from the other side of the Mirror Portal, this one dispensing metal cans filled with strange drinks. Seeing her watch, he tossed one to her with a burst of magic.

'Mountain Dew?' She read, curiously popping the top. It was only written on the can, no where near the amount of decals the mirror world had on their products, but upon tasting it she realized it was one of those carbonated beverages that were gaining popularity in Equestria.

"They spent a lot of time synthesizing their favorite drinks," her mentor supplied. "Marking the cans properly would be a bit of a waste of supplies, so they just write the flavor on it. Then they smelt the can for reuse. Perhaps some time later one of them could give you a tour of their facilities."

Twilight found a smile working its way onto her face. New information was always something that brightened her day and judging by the high levels of techno-magic in the city there was plenty to learn.

Eventually the pair of alicorns were led to what looked like a simple town hall. The secretary, a unicorn with a shattered horn that was somehow still using magic directed them into the office before returning to her work, singing something about a spoonful of sugar. The question on her mind didn't last lo though, as she found herself face to face with another changeling that was the size of both Thorax and Chrysalis.

"Recon. A pleasure to see you again," Celestia greeted, identifying the changeling.

"Pleasure's mine, Princess. So you finally brought her? I was beginning to think you wouldn't let us have her."

Even as Twilight's jaw dropped in confusion Celestia scowled at the stallion.

"She is not a Mary Sue. She is a talented mare-"

"Whose talents just so happen to be so broad that any issue that comes up, she can deal with," Recon interrupted, his fanged smile leaving Twilight a little unsettled. "Face it, Princess. She's a Sue."

"We've discussed this before and you're not changing my mind," Celestia said firmly, a hint of a smile creeping onto her face. "If she wants to visit she is allowed to but she's not one of you."

"Bah, and here I'd already gotten it ready for her," Recon replied, levitating a few papers to Twilight. Reading a few of the forms, she realized what they were.

"Honorary citizenship for...Stewtopia? But I thought we were still in Equestria."

"It's a joke for the most part," Celestia said, shaking her head. "I give them citizenship in Equestria and it allows them to enter and leave as they need. As I said before, they sometimes like to explore the cities of Equestria for a change of pace. This removes that barrier. Seeing as the country we're in right now doesn't officially exist, it's not a duel citizenship either. It's...a complicated affair but you may sign if you like. I am considered more of an ambassador than a ruler. That position belongs to the stallion who set this place up."

"Not anymore. I've cut back on that. Got tired of looking after some thousand odd grown adults. I just watch out for the newbies now. Wind Scythe's the one in charge at the moment. Don't think it will last long though; he's still got the sparkles in his eyes when he talks about being in charge."

"Yes, it's not as fun as some make it out to be. Especially when you have an emergency at three in the morning the night after a party. I think that's the main reason I stopped drinking for a long time," Celestia giggled. "I shall speak with him later in that case. For now though, I'm here for the 'newbies' as you put it."

The massive changeling nodded and stood up from his desk, giving Twilight a full view of him for the first time. As she'd guessed the stallion was about the same size as Chrysalis, but heavier. Not fat, but he also didn't seem so raggedly skinny as the changeling queen.

"The introductory class will answer most of your questions, Twilight. Follow Recon. I need to make certain the papers are all in order before they finish the first day's class."

With that Celestia turned down a secondary hallway, heading to her destination with a certainty in her steps that spoke of familiarity. Not the same Twilight would see in Canterlot, where the princess was supposedly able to go anywhere from any place in the castle with her eyes closed, but it was still a familiarity.

"So what do you think of the city so far?" Recon asked, drawing her attention back to the changeling.

"It's...different. I don't know how I feel about it."

"Confused, maybe a hint of excitement at the prospect of new technologies?" He asked.

Twilight blinked, looking to the grinning male before sighing.

'Right, changelings'.

"I guess so. The idea that so many live in the most dangerous forest in the country is a little mind boggling. Even more so is the fact that so many of you are completely at ease around one another."

"It has to do with a common background. A lot of it will be explained in the class as Tia said. The rest we'll answer on the tour."

<-(0)->

The classroom she was brought to was full of more of the same beings she witnessed outside. Neon ponies, alicorns, dragons, scarred griffons. All of them sitting patiently at desks that were enchanted to size to their user. The moment she followed the changeling into the room though, every eye was on her. Widespread recognition was an obvious reaction but the surprise on some of their faces confused her. Taking a seat, she bumped hooves with the black shelled and red striped zebra-changeling hybrid beside her and pulled out a few scrolls, her ink, and a quill.

"Afternoon. I'd like to welcome you all to Equestria 101. Yes, as most of you have figured out, we're no longer on Earth. If the new forms didn't give it away, the magic in the air would have. For those particularly stubborn cases, we'll even have globes available later on as well as a trip to the moon if you're a pain in the ass. They can be requested after the class for a few weeks before we'll charge for them, so I suggest asking for one. Yes, we'll charge for the trip to the moon. It's not a punishment if you enjoy the view."

"My name's Recon. I know that most of you have been advised against choosing a name so far and here's why; Once you say 'My name is,' that's your name as far as this planet is concerned. As cool as Doomwing Bloodhammer sounds right now, you'll probably grow out of it and that's a bit of a mouthful for an introduction. It also means that for the rest of you're life everyone's going to know how edgy you were when you first got here. In about an hour we'll go over names and local naming conventions, giving everyone a chance to choose a localized name if they want. It's also completely fine to keep your old one. Chris is one such individual, and he'll be the flight instructor for those of you with wings. Yes, he can teach you all, even the ones with changeling wings. He's studied flight since the moment he arrived and he loves every minute of it; don't be surprised if he starts talking about the science and magic behind it and don't be afraid to bop him on the head if he gets too out there.

"Magic classes will be run by Clay Potter," Recon continued, earning a few chuckles from the class. "Yes, go ahead and get the chuckles out of your system now because if you try to make those jokes in class he can and will use that same magic he'll be teaching you against you. I don't care what anyone told you on Earth, you can turn people into frogs with friendship."

Another round of chuckles, this one not as notable passed through the crowd.

"Cultivation will be available if you'd like to learn in but it's not exactly a priority right now. We have three alicorns who's dreams were to farm or learn magical botany. Until they get tired of it we've got plenty of food, and they're working all the time to increase yields. Shape shifting is a bit trickier and there are several teachers for it depending on how pure the changeling blood is in your system. If you're not a pure-blood your transformations wont be as complete, leaving you as more of a Star Wars changeling. You can change your facial features and skin or fur color, but size and shape are very difficult to alter if you can manage it at all.

"Finally we'll have diets as part of today's class. Many of you were already taught what you can and can't eat while you were relearning the basics like walking and talking, but it's always good to know what can hurt your new form. For instance, changelings don't really eat solid foods. We can, but the food is broken down into resin which we need to expel, kind of like vomiting but without the burn or the icky feeling afterwards. Diamond dogs are NOT allergic to chocolate no matter what you heard, and dragons are the closest thing to true omnivores that exist aside from slimes; they can eat plants, animals, and minerals. And yes, slimes exist. One slime actually works in the city dump, removing organic matter from the trash. She gets a kick out of the size change she goes through when absorbing all of that matter and we don't have to deal with a bunch of rotten waste in the dump."

"Before we get too far into the class I'm going to introduce our guest. Princess Twilight Sparkle is here to observe her first Citizenship Ceremony so she can preform them in the future. If we have time and she's up to it I'll let you lot give her a few questions after the class, but for now she's here to learn just as much as you are. Don't pester her, and I swear to God that if anyone propositions her I'll leave you to Luna's gentle ministrations...no, they aren't gentle. I think she has seven butts on her wall at the moment from males who tried being cute with her...and I think she has a mare's butt as well. You'd be surprised what you can live through when magic is involved."

"The first things we'll be going over is Geography of the planet. With a good portion of the individuals present being capable of flight and the possibility of a magical mishap stranding you in some God-forsaken jungle hundreds of miles away, knowing the layout of the world is much more important than it was back home. I also suggest keeping a map on you at all times, at least until you feel comfortable in your knowledge or even better, get one of these babies," the changeling said, raising a foreleg and showing a gem implanted into his foreleg. With a tap the gem flashed an orange glove-like construct over his hoof. A few more taps of several buttons that were on the glove and a topographical map of the Everfree Forest sprung to life from the gem and the stallion began moving it with his other hoof, changing the size or spinning it around even as a red blip remained in the center.

"I see I have everyone's attention now. Good, so here in the Everfree..."

<-(0)->

Twilight shivered. The room the class had been brought to in order to discuss names and choose one for themselves was completely warded from the planets magic to prevent premature conjoining of their names and bodies to the planets magical fields. On the plus side, she was learning more about names than she'd ever knew was possible. The dragons in the class were trending towards elements, many high energy like fire or lightning but a few were using a strange and forceful language to name themselves, once more to the amusement of their comrades.

It was something she'd realized soon after she'd arrived in the class. As she'd suspected, all of the creatures were friendly to one another, or at least respectful. The reasoning for that was their common history, a previous existence as another race that existed on another world. Each was adapting to a new form and new rules, meaning that each knew what the other was going through, or at least had an idea of what they were experiencing.

There were still outliers, those who sat on their own and grumbled or growled whenever somepony tried to get near them. One such outlier had chosen the name Shadowflame, an odd name for an blue and yellow Pegasus mare. She wouldn't be dissuaded.

Eventually the group was lead through the halls to a large hall. Standing on the far side of the room was her mentor, smiling brightly at the approaching group. To her side was a large griffon, an odd worn out sweater jacket with a hood over his back.

"Greetings, gentlefolk. I welcome you to Equestria, and Equis in general," Princess Celestia began. "I know the change was sudden and, for some of you, traumatizing. You are not alone though. Nearly every living being in this city has faced a similar situation and will gladly speak with you when you wish. For now, let us begin the Naming. Step forward, and claim your name. When you are finished, I will be giving you a temporary citizenship in Equestria. It will be up to you whether it becomes full fledged citizenship or is denied in the future. Follow our laws, and you will be welcome in our land. Or do not, and stay here. The Everfree is vast after all. Plenty of your kind have decided on the life of a hermit. Many find it comfortable, even. The choice is yours in the end. Will the first being step forward? Starting from my right, your left."

"An odd thing, isn't it?" Recon said as a dragon claimed his name, the echoing of his voice filling the chamber. "It's difficult to keep them from using names at first. Sometimes we can't, though we offer a way to reform the connection later if they accidentally claim a name before we find them. It's tricky though, and can be dangerous and time consuming if done incorrectly. It's why we've experimented quite heavily with anti-magic. It keeps us from harming the rest of the world if there's a mistake..."

"Anti-magic...I've never so much as seen a pony think about it. Yet you had an entire room dedicated to cutting off one's magic. Why?"

"It's safer. That and it doesn't remove magic from you, which would be lethal to many species here, but just slows or interferes with the interactions between various magic fields. In the case of that room from earlier, it means that we can discuss names without the planet's magic field latching onto one and assigning it to a person. It's not something your teachers ever tell you, but there is a bit of name magic in this world."

"Name magic was dismissed over two hundred years ago by Clover the Cle-"

"Twilight Sparkle, touch your nose."

The purple alicorn blinked, finding her hoof on her nose before she could even finish listening to his words.

"That's not the same, you used your magic to move my hoof!"

"My magic only reinforced my words, it didn't push your hoof. It's weak though, and tends to wear off in a few seconds. Not something that can be used reliably but it can be used in a pinch. Telling your opponent to lean right in a fight can throw them off, leaving them open to an attack if they don't expect it. If they do anticipate the move you're wasting your breath and your magic."

"We've come far, Twilight, but we also know just what can happen if something goes wrong. I have changelings working everywhere watching for any strain, keeping people calm or reporting a particularly stressed individual well before anything can unfold into a tragedy."

"Isn't that a little...invasive?" Twilight asked.

"A lot of these people are capable of throwing a car without much effort. I talk to a psychologist every month or so and encourage others to do the same. If nothing else it allows us to vent. The issue is some of these people don't even do that. It worries me, and its one of the things I fear at night. If someone here cracks, they could easily find a way to split the planet in half. So yes, Twilight. It is invasive. But I don't worry as much for the mortal people here. I encourage them to make a new life, certainly, but not a lot of them live long enough to be able to handle that kind of power. Those who do take well to magic or energy manipulation are given special focus though. Individuals like yourself."

"What?"

"You have quite a bit of power, Twilight. If it wasn't for the fact you were so afraid of it, I'd be a bit more worried. As it stands though, you're both out of my jurisdiction and beyond me in pure strength...though I will say, it's my opinion that if I'm in a fair fight with someone I've made a horrible mistake."

"I don't play fair, Twilight. Nobody here will if there are lives on the line. That means that I have to trust those around me to watch my back. For some of us, that's not a simple thing to do. Earth relied on Survival of the Fittest. Here its not that big of a deal; we have food, water, shelter, all of it fairly easy to acquire. Heck, in some cases one would think Equis itself was providing us with these things. Sometimes it takes time for us to adapt to these changes. Sometimes it takes longer to adapt than it should."

"And have you adapted?" Twilight asked, a bit of worry tinting her tone.

"It's a work in progress," Recon said with a chuckle. "Come on, we're going to be doing the tour of the city."

<-(0)->

The city was a vast and wondrous thing to behold. Many of the buildings had been shaped by their owners magic or with the help of others, following a plan written out by the owner. The residential area was a work of art, some more refined than others of course. It was when the changeling led them towards the walled off industrial district that things took a turn for the strange.

"I'm certain some of you will end up over here. We try to match talents and what people enjoy to their jobs but sometimes its not possible. In that case we have clubs, bars, game hubs, and all sorts of things to entertain oneself with scattered all over the residential area. You'll be living in the barracks for a bit longer though, just until you're comfortable with your form. For those of you interested in battle and getting your adrenaline in, we have the guard and the Lightning Rescue teams. For those of you more interested in pursuing technological improvements or magical development, you can submit ideas to the scientific community and will either get some help as well as a few permanent researchers helping you with your idea or you can do your research on your own. We do have rules about certain researches being done in the residential area, most of which boil down to 'Don't do it there, rent a room in the research area.' It's bad manners to work on volatile materials and energies when your neighbors are sleeping."

A claw was raised, the griffon it was attached to asking a question that Twilight couldn't make out due to her current place in the crowd.

"He asked if anyone had tried necromancy or zombie plagues. To put it bluntly, yes. We had two zombie outbreaks, mostly though it was corpses the researcher acquired through shady means. Either he went out and dug them up himself from a graveyard, or he created them from animals that live in the surrounding area. We have several contingency plans for such a thing though, so we only had a few casualties. I think we lost three people to the first one and one to the second. That one death was the researcher himself. Considering a single touch would spread the second disease, I think we did quite well."

"We had someone attempt to create The Flood, The Plague of Undeath, X parasites...you name it, we've had some idiot try it. Most of the time we don't manage to save the researcher, but if you make something like that your life is no longer a priority. Containment is. I don't speak alone when I say that a lot of us appreciate this second chance. We're not going to let an idiot bugger it up for us.

"It sounds harsh but its how we live. Even those who live out in the Everfree Forest by themselves are subject to our research laws though. That's a relatively new rule, about five years old. Anyone take a guess at the reason?"

Several limbs were raised, several nudges passing between the group and one was even looking at her with a knowing grin.

"You?"

"They were doing something they weren't supposed to be doing?"

"Safe answer, I like it," Recon said. "The individual in question was studying necromancy. This in and of itself doesn't bother me. There are several things you can learn safely about the subject, like easing pain, reversing damage, even leeching magic out of the air to replenish your own stores. This alicorn though, decided he would drain the entire planets magic field into himself. Including the magic of those living here."

The stallion raised a foreleg, tapping the embedded gem in his leg once more and bringing up a picture of the forest with a giant black spot in the center.

"The Everfree reacted violently. Animals were going berserk, Hydras were flailing about even when they were completely alone. Timberwolves tore each other to shreds, reformed, and went at it again. It took some of our most skilled mages to manufacture a void-field so that we could even get close. After we had that up though we found him and removed the threat."

"Y-you killed him?" Twilight asked.

"We had no way to safely contain him and his abilities were causing problems even in Zebrica. Animals attacking their owners, the weather acting wonky. It was called the Week of Madness. I'm sure you've heard of it. Even after he was killed his magic was still running its course. This section of the Everfree is still dead to this day.

"Magic. Is. Dangerous. It can be nice, but seeing as many of you have experience with electricity I'll say the same rules apply. Learn about it or use it in ways you're instructed to or you could get burned. In this case though it wont just be your body that's damaged. Improper magical use can and will damage your very soul. At that point no amount of healing or care will help you. I suggest you take advantage of the provided books and look up magical accidents. We keep a record of them and it could save you all a painful experience."

The mood was a bit somber after the explenations of magic and the consequences of its abuse. To Twilights surprise though, the changeling stallion himself perked up as they approached a few large lots. The first one had a crystal dome with smoke billowing from the top. The second was a large walled off field.

"You guys will like this. I said before that we like to keep people in fields they find enjoyable. That includes even weird things like this. I'm going to introduce you to someone who's a bit...off. She's still happy though, and she gets to do what she enjoys."

The tour group walked into the crystal dome and Twilight immediately was assailed by the intense heat. Many of the beings were coughing or shifting, unprepared for the sudden temperature change. The changeling led them to a large viewing window, gesturing for everyone to take a look.

"Burn! Burn it all! Ah-hahahaha!"

An alicorn mare was in the dome, with a pelt that matched the molten metal surrounding her while her mane seemed to flicker with barely contained heat. She was throwing intense flames all about and turning metal heaps into molten puddles, all while drawing immense pleasure from the activity. She kept the metals separate, but that was the end of her concern for their existence. The moment it was in place, she bathed it in flames so intense that the temperature in the viewing area was affected.

"Smile, Solar Storm!" Recon shouted into a glowing crystal that transmitted his voice into the chamber. "You have an audience!"

The mare turned around quick as a whip, looking to the viewing area and waving happily.

"Hey everyone! I hope you're enjoying the tour and look forward to seeing some of you later. I'm one of the hostesses so I'll be taking a few of the females around town later on. And don't worry, I have over twenty years of experience with controlling my powers. I only let it loose in here."

The mare stepped closer to the window, allowing a good bit of her magic to fade and causing her bright yellow and white fur to fade a bit.

"Some of you will probably need to keep the magic restricting bands for a bit longer than others but don't be discouraged. I melted my house one time during a tantrum I threw when I thought I was good enough to go without it. It's for your safety as much as it is for ours."

"Once Storm was able to sit on a wooden chair without it smoldering we started looking for a way to put her tendencies to use. A living forge was as good as any, and she gets to burn things for a living," Recon explained, earing a raspberry from the rapidly cooling alicorn. "We feed her Mountain Dew and Doritos, and she produces enough rage to keep our metal refineries supplied with a good supply of molten metal. Just like the gamers back home."

"Take care everyone!" Solar Storm said, waving as Recon started to move to the exit. "And say hi to Pinkie for me!"

"You know Pinkie Pie? Twilight asked into the crystal, unable to stop herself.

Storm turned back to her with a grin.

"Princess, everyone knows Pinkie."

<-(0)->

By the end of the tour Twilight Sparkle was merely nodding along and taking notes. So many bizarre characters, so many odd contraptions, she almost couldn't keep track of it all even with a physical set of notes that she was writing as she went. She wasn't sure how the actual ponies who were going to be living here were going to keep track of everything.

"Last stop on our grand tour is the guard's training area. The main field is for anyone's use except for the posted hours when drills are being run. It's also where we hold a few competitions. As you can see, we're not the only one's who need to blow off some steam."

Twilight looked up from her notes, her eyes bugging out as she caught sight of the individuals in the field. One was steel grey scaled dragon with emerald eyes. The other was a blue alicorn mare who currently had the dragon, that was about twice her size, in a headlock.

"Yield, and We shall consider releasing thee!"

The dragon began furiously tapping on the lunar princesses foreleg and she accepted the yield. The gathered beings began cheering and laughing, a round of applause drawing a bow from Luna.

"Anypony else? We have barely begun to sate our appetite for competition! Surely there is another who wishes to test their mettle against us?"

Twilight could only stare in shock as several limbs rose in challenge, the zebra with a whistle around his neck pointing to a single changeling and waving him forward.

"The world's gone mad."

<-(0)->

At long last the tour was over and the group was led to a small room where party decorations littered the area. Pinkie fired her confetti cannon, welcoming the newcomers to Stewtopia. It actually didn't surprise her as much as it should have. After the smoldering alicorn's words from earlier, not to mention the fact that Pinkie was generally well known around Equestria even before the Elements of Harmony thing, it was kind of obvious.

"Hiya Twilight! Did Princess Celestia finally send you here too? Recon and Wind Scythe were both talking about it, in fact I know I've heard a lot of them talking about it. Some sound like their joking but others I can't be too sure. I bet you learned a lot today, huh? I actually based my Pinkie-copter off of those neato things they use. Theirs are faster though. I still can't get the parts to build an actual engine and Princess Celestia wont let me buy one here."

"You seem tired, Twilight," Celestia's voice called to her, interrupting her thoughts.

"Hello Pr-Celestia. I...I don't know what to think. So much of it is just..."

"It takes some getting used to, certainly. On the other hoof, it leaves Luna and I with some free time every now and again. Some of the changeling queens here will take our place every now and again while we go to the beach, and we have a few alicorns here who take over for us on occasion with raising the heavenly bodies. It's not as easy for them as it is for Luna and I, but they manage it if they work together. Its nice to sleep in every now and again."

The white alicorn mare giggled daintily as Luna trotted in, her fur matted with sweat and a large grin on her face.

"It also give Luna a chance to get out and vent."

"Twilight, tis a pleasure to see you again!" Luna bellowed as she approached the table. "We were told you were given 'The Tour.' A fine civilization, is it not? So many wondrous things, we have found ourselves particularly appreciative of these sweet caffeinated beverages. They are just the thing after a long court!"

"Luna, those are terrible for you. You know that," Celestia chided.

"Fie, we find them delicious. You have your cake, do you not? Allow us our vice."

The three alicorns sat at the table quietly for a few moments even as the party continued around them, Celestia with a slice of cake, Luna quietly sipping from a metal can, and Twilight resting her head on a scroll. Celestia's eyes twinkled for a moment and she turned conspiratorially to her sister.

"You know, one of the things Wind Scythe brought up was a request to change the name of the city. Somepony brought up the topic, and another immediately gave an answer."

"And what, pray tell, did the pony request?" Luna asked, her ears perking in curiosity.

"Stew-S-A, a play on a country of their home world, the USA. Another immediately suggested Stew-K. A third offered Australia."

Luna snorted.

"Let me guess, one from the country suggested it."

"Oddly enough it was one from the United States that suggested it. A good amount of the ponies liked it though. Said that since the Everfree is the Australia of Equestria it was perfect."

"A place filled with all sorts of poisonous, venomous, and dangerous creatures reminds some of them of home?" Luna asked, laughing at the absurdity of the idea.

"Indeed. They couldn't get enough ponies to agree on a new name though, so it is staying Stewtopia. It may change in the future but for now it works. Some also just call it what it is."

"And what is it they call it, Princess?" Twilight asked.

Celestia smiled brightly, looking at the strange collection of creatures gathered together.

"They call it home."

Vacations

Twilight Sparkle was a busy mare. So busy in fact, that the vacation she managed to plan out with her friends had been interrupted three dozen times by citizens asking for her help in various matters, from the trivial to the life-changing. Odd, considering she was relatively new to the whole royalty thing.
'You'd think two grown adults could come to some sort of decision on what to name a baby.'

No, she was being mean. It was her duty to help, right? Even if it meant getting interrupted Every. Five. Minutes for the most trivial of things, things that could be settled if both parties would act like adults for two seconds.
She was on her way to catch up with her friends, already running late because of another individual asking what color would look better on the walls, when a commotion caught her attention. The presence of the guard almost made her walk away, as they were well equipped to handle most disturbances. A quick peak at the situation though caused her to focus completely on the disturbance.

There was a changeling in the street.

Getting closer, she found out the reason the changeling hadn't been apprehended. There were a few ponies around it, blocking the guard from moving closer.
One guard, a unicorn, fired off a spell she didn't recognize at the mare at the front of the pack. the unicorn winced and shook her head but otherwise continued to yell at the guard, waving papers in front of him.

"-no right or reason to hit him or any of us with that spell! That isn't even a spell sanctioned by the Canterlot Guard! It causes physical and mental duress to any who get hit by it. You expect me to believe Princess Celestia authorized such a detection method?"

"I said, stand aside. That thing is to be apprehended-"

"Have you listened to a word I said? Shift is with us. He has citizenship papers signed by Princess Celestia herself! This is her seal!"

Twilight approached the ponies and took the papers in her magic, reading the signatures as well as checking the seal. It was legitimate, and the special exceptions notice said section seven subsection...
'Oh, that explains...'

Looking over the group she could see illusions of all kinds over the group defending the changeling. Size alterations, mass reducers, physical alterations...
'A group from the Everfree on vacation.'

"Miss, I need you to stand aside, the guard have this situation under-"

Twilight interrupted him, taking the stallion's badge and checking it. Oddly enough to her, it was real. He certainly wasn't acting like any guard she knew and the guard had heavy regulations on apprehension spells. If the mare was who Twilight suspected, well...Solar Storm and most of the older beings from Stewtopia kept up to date on such things.

"Step aside miss, this doesn't concern you," the guard said, pushing her with a bit of magic and snagging his badge back.

Twilight blinked. Surely he hadn't just-

"Are you blind as well as deaf?" The mare asked. "Do you know who that is?"

"A mare who's sticking her nose where it doesn't belong? And as for you, you're getting booked for impeding an arrest. If your friends are smart, they'll leave before I haul them in as well."

Twilight could only gawk at the guard. Judging by the slowly expanding ring that was around this incident, at least a few of the ponies around realized a line had been crossed.

"I beg your pardon, Corporal. What did you say to me?"

The guard rolled his eyes before looking up. Twilight followed his gaze and saw a few more guards arriving. While her first thought was that she might finally find somepony to work this out with, those hopes died when the leader of the group touched down.
"Another bug in the city. You'd think they'd learn. Move along, nothing to see here!"
Seeing twilight as well as the ponies still standing in front of the changeling, he sergeant grinned.
"Oh, this is gonna be fun. You wanna gawk? Then you'll be joining it in a cell. If your lucky, we'll muzzle it so it can't bite you."

"This is ridiculous. Their papers are completely legitimate, I've checked them myself," Twilight said, a strand of hair popping up in frustration.
Unseen by her, every member of the group surrounding the changeling stepped back, eyes widening.

"And who are you to be checking them? We all know changeling are liars. They even get into the news and papers. You expect me to believe they can't forge a document like this? Hay, they probably even stole the stamp for the seal.
"Now get out of the way or I'll bring you in as well."

"There's no way..." Twilight said, her eyes narrowing. "There is no way a sergeant of the Royal Guard could be that dumb. No way you think you could get away with arresting me."

<-(0)->

"Thanks for trying, Sparkle."

Twilight blinked, looking at the cell next to her own. Several of the Stewians were in her own cell while the others were in a second cell. Between herself and the mare alone Twilight wagered they had enough magical power to level the building and then blast the rubble from existence.
But she couldn't bring herself to do that. Whether it was the shock of being arrested by the royal guard for doing her job or her worry that doing so would put legitimate charges on her record wasn't the question. Right now the only thought on her mind was hoping Spike was okay. And what she was going to say to Princess Celestia about this.

Looking to the other cell, Twilight saw that the changeling still wasn't moving.
"Will he be alright?"

"I think so," Storm whispered. "That spell was designed to overload a changeling and bring down their disguise that way. The issue is that it causes pain regardless of who it hits. Definitely not a sanctioned guard spell. It hurt me pretty badly, and we'll-"

"You're resistant to pain and spells," Twilight finished, nodding.
She didn't have time to read all of it but that was one of the things the species-book mentioned on the first chapter. The pain tolerance, magic resistance, and special abilities of all species. Even draconiqui.
'I still can't believe those things have their organs shuffled like that, I mean what- it just-'

"He should wake up soon enough. We just have to wait. We've already missed a report-in time so they're already looking for us."

"This has happened to you before?"

"Psh, I think I've been brought in by the guard three times," a stallion behind her said from the cot. "Usually just the guard accusing one of us of being a changeling or saying our papers are doctored. Didn't use to be so bad but since the invasion it's gotten a lot worse. The funny thing is changelings are good at just avoiding the guard. They never find any legitimate infiltrators because those guys dodge patrols. Can sense the stressed guards from a mile away and avoid them like a plague."

Storm nodded.
"May need to have the changelings in our groups use the enchantments as well. If ponies are getting this paranoid we need to adapt."

The purple alicorn was about to ask what she meant when the door was thrown open, a very confused guard skidding to a stop in front of the cells.
"-read their papers, did you? Did it not occur to you that not all changelings were involved in the invasion of Canterlot? That some of them were just as victimized as the ponies?"

"Hi Luna!" Storm called, waving cheerfully.

"Who-ah, Storm, I did not recognize you, though I am certain that is the point. Have no fear, you shall be released..."
Luna's voice trailed off as her eyes landed on Twilight, the room darkening noticeably as she looked back through the door. Twilight heard a squeal as Luna dragged one of the guards from earlier into the room.

"Sergeant? Why, in the name of all that is good in this world, is Princess Twilight Sparkle in a jail cell."

A Night Guard floated into the room behind the lunar alicorn, a clipboard in his hooves.
"Here we go. 'Twilight'. Impersonating Royalty, resisting arrest, aiding a criminal, theft of evidence, theft of a guard's badge, forging an ID, interference with Royal Guard investigations...I don't remember anypony ever getting arrested for that. Is that a listed crime?"

"It is, but I don't think it would be viable as a crime even if she was actually being charged with the others," the stallion behind her said, never having left his spot. "It's used to hit those who knowingly interrupt or mislead an investigation. Checking a guard's badge and the papers being questioned doesn't constitute an interruption, not by the letter of the law anyway. Add the fact that it's within her right as a Princess to enter those sort of situations, especially where she believes someone is being treated unfairly or that facts are being ignored, and even the spirit of the law wouldn't stand."

"Ah, Verdant. So good to see you again...and behind bars once more. What was the cause this time, and why was Twilight dragged into it?"

"Shift, Princess," a mare said from behind Storm. "They hit him with something,"

Luna walked to the cell, opening it and motioning for the other occupants to leave. Most did, except for the female Pegasus...Twilight squinted. The female...griffon that was keeping especially close to the insensate changeling. As Luna was checking him for spell damage, the smaller alicorn could almost see the griffon's hackles rising.

"Peace, little lady. You know I mean him no harm."

"I, I know but we showed up about the same time and we're from relatively similar places and we were staying close and when that guard did that, of Verdant hadn't held me back I would have-"

"From what I have seen, it would have been no real loss. Still, I do appreciate both your restraint and Verdant's intervention. I would not have appreciated an enraged griffon painting the town with a guard's entrails."

"It was a near thing," Verdant chuckled before yawning. "After they started talking about arresting Twinkles over there I almost let her go. Stupid like that is contagious."

"Hmm, everything appears to be in order. I support Storm's theory. He should be fine once he awakens. Did you happen to record the spell, Storm?"

Twilight watched as the disguised alicorn lit her horn, Luna's glowing in synchronization before the larger mare winced.

"That...that is a spell I am familiar with. If anything is wrong when he awakens, tell them to research the effects of Shocker's Snatcher on a disguised changeling; a high-power tasing spell. Also one that was listed as illegal almost twelve hundred years ago."

"So in other words so long ago it's possible people forgot it was illegal," Solar Storm chuckled. "Thanks for the information, princess. We'll get someone on it."

"The pleasure is mine," Luna replied, opening the other cell and releasing Twilight and the others. "Your groups' bumbling into the less effective sections of the guard is a more effective way for us to find these problems than any inspections we could implement. I still cannot believe the squalor the prisoners of the Neighamii guard were kept in. If it was known they were doing such a thing equinitarian groups would have been all over us."

"Ah, Neighamii," Verdant chuckled. "Beautiful vistas, the smell of the ocean, moonlit walks on the beaches, until you get thrown in prison. Then it takes weeks to wash the smell of vomit, piss and shit off your scales. I'm going to start charging you for prison inspections."

"I would allow it, if only to watch the leaders of the royal guard panic as they attempt to find out who you are. It is likely the only way to get the guards to realize there is anybody new of importance around. Otherwise many prefer to coast."

Twilight watched the Pegasus that had followed Luna in. He was a natural Pegasus as far as she could tell, but his lack of reactions to the friendly banter, not even flinching at the griffon's promises of bloody vengeance that was almost carried out...

"Oh, do not fear, Twilight. Flint here is 'in' on this, as they say. He was one of my escorts to their home on several occasions, so their mannerisms do not bother him as much."

"Odd bunch, but mostly benevolent," the Pegasus mumbled jerking his head towards Storm and her friends while looking at her. "Some are pretty nice to look at, too."

"Flint, are you still crushing on me?" Storm asked. In a flash of magic, the mare dropped her glamours and picked the guard up in her forelegs, snuggling him against her barrel.
"Mm, I remember when you first ended up back home, talking about how we were all crazy. I even heard your rant."

Twilight stared in awe as the alicorn shifted, running a hoof along one of the extending wings of the guard.

"What was it that brought you out of that rant?"

The stallion gurgled something she couldn't make out, but whatever his answer...
'Oh my stars she's-'

"When you are done molesting my guard, I would like to leave. We need to get Shift home, get you all debriefed and Twilight likely needs to, oh. Never mind. Storm, your disguise?"

The alicorn disappeared in a flash of light, leaving a much smaller unicorn currently still playing with Flint's wings. A moment later, Luna opened the door to admit more ponies.

"Oh my gosh, it was true! What did you do, Twi? Rob a bank? Steal candy from a foal? Take somepony's book?"

"Hello Dash, Girls. No, I was attempting to help some pe-ponies who were being wrongfully arrested by the guard. Or rather, tried to step in. The stallion's didn't seem to recognize me."

"Much to their detriment," Luna said, staring at the shaking stallions still in the room. "I'm certain they understand their current situation, though, and just who they have struck. As it stands they are lucky Miss Storm has learned such control. The last time she was incapacitated we required a special team of mages to move her. Anypony aside from Celestia would have suffered burns after approaching even thirty paces of her location. Myself included.
"Storm, if you could bring Shift to the chariot waiting outside? Flint, please let them know I've authorized the transport of the injured male. He needs to get to proper medical facilities and I do not think we have anything local that would work."

Her friends were silent as a few ponies carried the limp form out the door, the black-shelled form holding their complete attention.
"Uh, Twi? Didn't most of the 'lings change?"

"It's...a long story. Chrysalis isn't the only queen would be the short answer, the long one-"

"Is not one you are ready to hear," Luna interrupted. She smiled at the purple pony. "I am thankful though. You did attempt to help them. I am sure they will remember that. If nothing else is needed, we shall retire to the mayor's estate. There are a few rooms we may use there for the debrief and afterwards I'm certain the rest of you would all like a shower."

"Aw, you're all leaving? But I wanted to ask Verdant about my Pinkie-copter!"

The stallion perked at the mention of the machine and Twilight realized she'd seen this male before. Only at that time he was about seven times his current size and lifting the engine out of a helicopter unassisted.

"I'll be in the area for another day," the disguised drake chuckled. "Perhaps we could meet up? I always enjoy hearing what you managed."

"Awesome opossum! I just recently got a whole new set of parts ordered in from Gearbox and I wanted to know if there were any tricks to-"

Rainbow Dash stared as the rest of the other group left, looking at each with confusion.
"Oookay, I get that it's not a bad black changeling but is anypony going to tell me what's going on? I feel like an extra in a spy novel, like there's something else going on that I'm not catching. Pinkie being Pinkie only gets her so far though, and then that big guy...'shy?"

Twilight turned to find her yellow friend shaking, watching Verdant with wide eyes. The moment he was gone and they tried to get his attention, she whimpered out a single word.
"D-d-dragon."

Luna stepped towards the Pegasus, putting a hoof on the shaking mare's shoulder.
"Fluttershy, Verdant is the last individual you need fear. Like Spike, he did not grow up in the dragonlands. He is a gentlecolt and a relaxed soul with naught but a quick tongue. I have spoken with him on several occasions and he has only ever been kind."

"Wait, the green stallion was a dragon?" Applejack asked, looking confused. "I, I thought they were all changelings. If, then what-"

"If my sister deems it acceptable you shall get the full explanation at a later date. For now I must ask you both not to pursue this Royal secret farther and not to hound Twilight about it."
Turning to the guards still huddling in the far end, both looking even paler than before, Luna's kind smile fell.
"And I shall remind both of you that the guard is under oath not to reveal such things. Punishments for such are left to our discretion, and I am not feeling particularly benevolent after learning that you've been using an outlawed spell to check for changelings and then imprisoned one of my fellow princesses out of ignorance. For now consider yourselves on leave. The same with the rest of your unit. A new detachment of the guard will be arriving tomorrow until this mess is sorted. And I will be sorting it personally, from top to bottom."

"I wish you all a good evening," the blue alicorn said as she turned back to the Element Bearers. "And do not give Twilight too much grief over this. I myself have been imprisoned after I first returned. The guards that did so were lucky Celestia had so much experience controlling her temper."

"Whoa, you don't mess around when you get involved in stuff, do ya, Twi?" Rainbow Dash asked, landing next to Fluttershy and pulling her friend closer with a wing. "I mean, disguised dragons and changelings that live together? Next you'll be asking me to believe in those super-smart monkey alien things Lyra's always going on about."

Twilight stopped on her way out the door.

"What about Lyra?"

Friends

"Twilight Sparkle!" Luna greeted as the older alicorn entered the private room. "A pleasure as always. May I ask what brings you to Canterlot this time?"

"Good evening P-er, Luna. I just had a question. Well, several questions, but most of them could be condensed to a single question, I believe."

Luna sat on a cushion, pouring herself a cup of tea while gesturing for Twilight to continue.

"Well you see, Luna it has to do with, well, you're familiarity with them."

"This is a private room that has been cleared, Twilight. You may speak openly."

Twilight fluttered her wings nervously.
"It's about the, the people living in the Everfree. Every time I see you with them, you're always very relaxed. Familiar, possibly even friendly. Actually I believe friendly is the best way to describe it.

Luna nodded, pausing to add some honey to her drink.
"I suppose it is true. As you are aware, many of the individuals there are quite powerful. Some have helped Tia throughout the years, be it a changeling queen allowing her to rest or several of their spellcasters and a queen working in tandem to keep the country from realizing Celestia was ill. Queen Chell, and yes her name is a joke on the word shell, even told me that she once ended up giving you a few of your lessons while Tia was sick with some terrible virus that left her unable to move. It was a very powerful illness, one that only dragons were immune to. Seeing as they could care for her without worry, several of the dragons there were left to take care of her for a few weeks."
"As for myself, well, if Tia is willing to trust her own health to these people, what do you believe she will do when her own sister returns to a world so different from what she knew? Not only was I confused, but I was also weak and alone.
"It was not a good time for me, Twilight. Everyone I knew from before my banishment had long died. Ponies did not enjoy these peaceful relationships with the griffons, or the dragons. We did not know of the changelings from anything more than horror stories of ponies disappearing without a trace in the middle of the night. I had no friends aside from my sister, so she had me spend a few months there during my early days of recovery."

Luna's smile became wistful.

"It was a terrifying experience at first. Many were more powerful than myself at the time, and many more were of races that were hostile towards ponies in my day. The first time I ran into Verdant I actually wet myself. A large green drake standing in the hallway, cutting off my path? I was certain I was to die.

"Solar Storm was my guardian in those times. If I had any questions, I would ask her. If I was troubled, I talked to her. If something confused me...you understand, I'm sure. She was always kind but she was also respectful, knowing both that I was her elder and having experienced such an alienation herself.

"There was a second reason they chose Storm to watch me during my stay, however. When an alicorn is weakened, their recovery is usually quite expedient. As such they wanted not only a mare who I would be comfortable around, but one who could...contain me."

Luna turned to face her when Twilight let out a sudden gasp, a sly smile on the older alicorn's face.
"Come now, Twilight. If you learned nothing else from them it should be that they are cautious. They also knew more about alicorn recovery processes than even myself. As such when I experienced my first resurgence, a part of our recovery where an alicorn regains a large portion of their old power capacity, Storm approached me with a limiter.

"The mare said that it was not for my safety but for the safety of others. That from what they had seen, it would be dangerous for others to be near me. When I was weak, I merely lost control of my bladder. With my magic, what havoc would I wreak?"

"I declined, naturally. I wouldn't allow myself to be weak when dragons and griffons were wandering around me. And Storm pointed out that it was for that exact reason they needed me to wear the limiter. I saw griffons and dragons as enemies. As beings who would attempt to kill me. They were understanding, or as understanding as they could be. Nobody there had seen a dragon swallow a stallion whole; they had not come across a griffon camp with a pony corpse over the fire, not come across another species eating one of your own like a simple meal."

Twilight winced as the cup in Luna's grip cracked, dripping tea onto the floor. The blue alicorn sighed, using a quick spell to repair it.

"I do not hate any of the beings I meet these days, Twilight. Sometimes though, I remember. I remember a time when this peace did not exist. For Tia, that was a long time ago. For myself...not so much."

"Anyhow, Solar Storm had predicted my refusal and offered a test. If I passed the test, I would be allowed to continue without the limiter. If I failed, the limiter would be applied with or without my consent. I agreed, so certain of myself I was at the time. I had no idea what sort of test they had in mind. I followed her to the guard section of the city and into the containment block and was told to wait for my tester. I expected a unicorn or even another alicorn."
"They sent a draconequus into the chamber."

"I screamed when I saw it, it resembled Discord and my last experience with him was horrible. The years of torment, the loss of so much, and here he was, back from whatever prison we'd sealed him in. The next thing I knew I was being held down by four alicorns and two queens, both queens having bitten me in order to incapacitate me. Solar herself was limping for the next two days due to an injury I'd delivered to her in my fear and rage."

"I...I accepted the limiter without a fight the next morn. I was devastated by the loss of control I'd experienced, having put most of those incidents out of my mind. It also opened up a unique opportunity for me. I was able to vent. To speak of old fears and injuries. To speak of the horrors I'd witnessed in the past. Not many could relate, but some could. Crash, an older earth pony that retired from the Lightning Guard, was in the military of his old country. He saw things, did things. He shared them with me, we mourned dead comrades, we spoke to each other of war...and both of us swore we would do it all again if given the choice."

"So yes Twilight. I have made friends there. Some are closer than others, but they are friends none the less. I also find some of them more entertaining company than the ponies here, individuals who share my experience of loss. Who know what it is like to be misplaced in time. That is also why my door is always open to them. They stopped me from falling into a very dark place. And for that I can never repay them."

Twilight had brought a quill and paper to record the information but had stopped writing halfway through the explanation. It had been too personal. Too private for her to want to write it down. The fact that Luna had shared this at all was astounding.

"I, uh. Thank you princess."

"It is no problem, Twilight. Storm was the first friend I made in this new age."

Seeing Twilight's frown, Luna only chuckled.

"I would like to consider you and your friends as friends of my own, but I did not truly meet you until Nightmare Night."

"Oh, I suppose that would make sense," Twilight said, feeling a little put off by the revelation. She'd not really thought about it but it was true.

"And Flint? He was already familiar with Solar Storm and the others."

"Flint came later. I was eventually allowed home after i'd recovered and began to adapt to the new times. I still had, I shall refer to them as relapses. Nightmare Night was one such event. It was the first major event I was attending in a royal capacity, so I fell back on old habits. Habits that happened to be millennia out of date. Solar tracked me down after the Tantabus incident."

"I thought that was kept quiet?" Twilight said. "I never really heard anything about it afterwards."

"Yes, well Solar somehow heard about it. She showed up a few days afterwards and began dragging me by my ear towards a private room where she proceeded to tear into me for my stupidity for the next ten minutes. I likely would have been furious with the treatment except for the fact that she began crying while yelling at me."

"Solar knew another who injured themselves as I did. The difference was that the mare who did so was not as resilient as I am. She was also much more thorough."

"Oh no, she didn't-"

"The mare died of her self-inflicted injuries. Storm was the one who found the body while visiting to check on her. They were supposed to see a movie that night."

"Solar swore that if I ever did something like that again, that if I ever sought to inflict pain on myself again, that she would never forgive me. Hearing that from my first friend in so long, it was enough to do more than simply make me feel bad that my form of self-punishment had inflicted harm on others. It forced me to realize that I was not harming only myself. It was also hurting Solar. She may have been younger than I in most ways, Twilight, but there are some ways in which Solar is much older than many of us."

Twilight nodded, trying to mentally align this information with what she knew. Solar Storm was one of the joyful mares she knew. Not as happy as Pinkie Pie, but then again Pinkie set the bar pretty high. The alicorn mare was always looking to help, always smiling, always willing to talk. To hear she'd given Luna an earful was antithetical to what Twilight knew of her.

"I do not dislike her for doing so. It was both a sore spot for her and a bad time for myself. We have kept in touch since, with promises to come to the other if things become too difficult. I cannot express to you how that feels, Twilight. To have someone I may speak with of my worries after so long being one of two rulers of a land. While I would not give up my crown for anything, the knowledge that I have a friend willing to travel that distance for my sake is more comforting than a thousand guards standing watch."
"Talk to Storm next time you are there. Ask if there is another of similar age or situation to yourself. Being able to relate not only in experience but power as well is a boon Tia and I did not have in our early years."

"You think there's a person over there who's as powerful as I am, and as young?" the purple alicorn asked skeptically.

"Storm was seventeen when she found herself in Equestria with the power of an alicorn. You were already older than her when you ascended, as well as having the added boon of previous magical training. I doubt you will have any trouble finding someone to commiserate with."
"Was there anything else?"

"No princess, thank you for your time."

"It was my pleasure, Twilight Sparkle. Now if you will excuse me, I believe I need to send a message. All of this talk of the past has left me..."
Luna walked out the door and Twilight hurried to follow. She caught the door as it closed and looked down the hall, seeing Luna already half-way down the hall with a small gem floating before her.

"Yes, I know it's short notice, Zenna. I promise, I shall make it up to you. How about those Saddle Arabian candies you love so much? No, I am not above using your weakness. Yes, just one night. Thank you, and let Solar know I will be stopping by."

Twilight winced. It seemed the talk was more painful than Luna had let on. She was taking the day off.
'How often did I take advantage of such a trivial thing? How often did I stay in bed sick, or schedule vacations? How long was it before Princess Celestia was able to take a vacation of her own?'

Looking at her fetlock and the new enchanted gemstone bracelet she'd picked up from Stewtopia, she took note of the time using it's hidden clock-function. It was still early in the evening so Celestia should still be awake. Perhaps she could get the answer to that last question as well before she went home?

<-(0)->

"When was my first vacation?"

Twilight nodded, not even bothering with the quill and paper at this point. Most of these questions were either going to be receiving very personal answers or answers that were secrets. She needed to look into getting a safe or a secured room at the castle to keep such things in. After all, it wouldn't be right to leave important papers just lying around. Not as a princess anyway.

"I...do not recall. I think it was sometime around four hundred years ago. It was a new concept at the time, as ponies didn't really have time for vacations at earlier periods. There was so much to do all of the time.
"I decided I wanted to go to the beach. Ponies always talked about it, how wonderful the warm sand was, the relaxing sounds of the waters. And it is truly a breathtaking sight. I would suggest you find time to see one, even if for a few days."
The white mare smiled at the memory before turning more somber.
"I had decided on a week. Not too long and not too short. I set everything up beforehoof as well. Emergency procedures, how to contact me if I was needed, things such as that. I went to a nice little beach just outside of Mareland. It was nice, only a few nobles tracking me down to bother me and it was good weather. The issues only became frustrating when I returned."

"While I was gone a few nobles made a grab for wealth. They persuaded the rest of the nobles to vote down a few rules I had put in place to prevent such things, then made moves to empower themselves and fill their pockets from Equestria's coffers. I have never seen the noble houses move votes through so quickly in all my years. There was no lobbying, no wasting time. It was fast, well planned, and by the time I returned Equestria nearly bankrupt while the nobles involved had declared themselves independent."

"I was not kind to them. I recovered the funds through various means, not all of them I am proud of. But after that I realized I could not afford a vacation.
"Move forward almost two hundred years from then and I was stressed as always. Then a stallion came to me with a solution. I had already known him for nearly fifty years at that point, but Recon offered to take my place for a few days. I could spend the time in the Everfree, my aid and close guards would know the truth and the nobles would not be emboldened by my absence."

"I still raised the sun and moon of course, and I was constantly checking my aid's correspondence for any issue but none arrived. In fact the worst thing that occurred was Recon starting a rumor confusing the certainty of my gender."

"He what?!"

"Oh, it wasn't so bad. There was a stallion that was attempting to sneak into my baths. Recon detected him and altered himself a bit so that instead of the treasure that intruder sought he caught sight of something no princess should possess."
Celestia giggled at the memory.
"I was upset at first, but then my scribe told me Recon found the stallion later on. The changeling approached him, still under my guise, and offered him a place as the Royal Consort. Sub, of course."
"Oh, I'd never heard of a pony turning themselves in to the guard so fast. Anything to avoid his perceived fate."

Seeing Twilight gurgling with disbelief, Celestia grinned.
"Oh come now, Twilight. It isn't that bad."

"It's not that, princess, it's the fact that some-, some of those rumors persist to this day. I also remember hearing of a spell that could alter a mare or stallion and make them appear to be the other gender. Something about Ackbar's Illusion."

The white mare burst into laughter once more, this bout much more forceful.
"Oh, oh my goodness they actually, haha, they actually- oh that's wonderful. I shall need to tell Luna about that one."

"Um, princess? What-"

"Tell me, Twilight. Have you ever seen a mare that upon closer inspection turned out to be a stallion?"

<-(0)->

Sitting in her favorite room of her castle, Twilight looked over her list. Her list of all the things she'd been able to attribute to the people in the Everfree influencing. Sunscreen, doorknobs, trains, chariots, coffee mugs, it seemed like the list was getting longer every day. When she'd pulled the list out in front of Celestia and added the gender-confusion spell, Celestia had actually started laughing before adding several items herself. Who knew the harp was a human thing?

"Though now that I think about it, the strings are a bit precise for pony hooves. I've only ever seen unicorns play them."

She was still staring off into the distance when there was a sudden gust of wind, her list disappearing in a polychromatic blur.

"Coffee mugs, doorknobs, sunscreen, stuff from hoomans...Twi, have you been hanging out with Lyra?"

"No Rainbow. And what have I told you about taking my things? I'm a princess now, and sometimes I have to work on things that are not meant for others to see."

"You, you mean you get to see top-secret spy stuff?" Rainbow Dash said, flabbergasted. "You? The nerdy egg-head librarian?"

"Of course!" Twilight shot back, frowning. "The other Princesses trust me. But that means that sometimes I will be working on things you can't get involved in."

"Right, like this hooman thing," the pegasus drolled. "I have a hard time believing you haven't talked to Lyra. She has most of these things noted somewhere are well."

Twilight took the list back with her magic, looking over the top-most items and the ones Dash was likely to have read.

"You saw something similar in Lyra's house?"

"Oh yea, pictures of these weird alien things, news clippings, lists like this, she's got it all. Don't get me wrong, the mare's good with her namesake, but she's a bit kooky."

The purple alicorn let her eyes wander over her list once more. Perhaps she should pay a visit to the other mare. If nothing else, she'd find out if they were speaking of the same species.

Author's Note

I'll forever enjoy writing Celestia as being enamored with the idea of having a peer-group. It's not something an immortal alicorn would normally have and I can see her being fascinated by the concept. Also, vacations; everyone needs them.

The Dreams of the Dreamers

Recon sat at his desk in the cities' administrative section, staring down at the brightly colored zebraling in front of him.

"Hammer, what are the regulations about new rules and dress codes?"

"Kiss."

"And kiss means...."

"Keep It Simple, Stupid." The mare answered, ears drooping.

Recon pulled out a small band of blue cloth with a metal plate attached. Etched into the metal was a smiley face.
"And what did you think would happen when you tried to change the Lightning Guard's dress code to include this...animu stuff?"

"That...people would like it? It had a smile on it so it's not specifying any element or anything like that and I thought that, um, maybe people would at least find it amusing."

The male changeling rubbed his temple. It wasn't that Hammer was a bad person. In fact she was in his office both because she was a changeling and, having himself come from a family with a few younger sisters, he was a bit more resistant to "puppy dog pouts" than people like Windscythe. The griffon was doing better but he still had a weakness for such things.

'At least he acknowledges the issue.'
"I'm not going to lie, I think it's pretty funny," Recon finally said, causing the zebraling to perk up. "That being said, this is both a useless addition to their dress code and one that grates on anyone who didn't watch this stuff or enjoy it. Those who already have them can keep theirs if they like and we won't charge you for it, but this is being discontinued."

"I, I understand sir. Thank you for not um, getting too upset. I heard afterwards that Verdant was pretty angry."

"Verdant doesn't like frivolous things in the military branches, and this counts. It doesn't help your case that he tends to be enraged at the mention of anything anime. You know as well as I do that some people are like that. I'll see you at the hive-joining later tonight."

"Oh, most definitely. I mean I still don't want to do that but it's always so nice seeing the changelings who find a family like that. I, I don't know if I could but it must be nice." Hammer said before looking aside for a moment. Having gathered her courage she turned back to him.
"Is there any truth to the rumors of a non-ling participating this time?"

Recon grinned.
"Of course you know that this is confidential. I'll dock pay if you tell anyone."

The mare nodded quickly, a fanged smile appearing on her own face.

"R&D just finished testing a Temp-link array. It allows non-lings to be linked for either support like tonight or missions. The idea of a group of people able to communicate at a thought during a military excursion is too good to pass up. They're just hitting human testing but the results are looking good. That being said, Shell and Ares have been close for a very long time. He wants to be a bit closer, and he also wants a way to learn just what it's like to be connected to others like she is."

"Oh my gosh that's wonderful! Those two have been together for longer than I've been here, it doesn't surprise me he'd want something like that. Do you think it will be full-strength or just-"

"I don't have any details on how it works," he cut her off. "All I know is they're ready for a live test on something bigger than a mouse. They're taking the usual steps with such an experimental thing and they'll be testing the connection in a stable environment first, but Ares is officially joining Shell's hive tonight."

The red furred and black striped mare nodded.
"So the ceremony won't be the first time they link. Still, it's a big step. Maybe we could get something like that for just two people. Just two really close friends or-"

"I doubt it," Recon said sadly. "Queens are almost required for connections between anything larger than a five-drone hive. Add the fact that drones and queens are biologically built for these sort of connections, and the idea of two non-changelings being connected that way...I don't think it would be a good idea. There wouldn't be any of the filtering a queen can do with out a second thought. If we can replicate that filter, then maybe we could do it. Until then though, you'd start tripping over limbs you don't have if you started that kind of link."
Taking a paper from his desk, Recon signed the paper and slipped it across to the mare in front of him.
"I'm sure you know how these work."

"Yea, 'it's not asking if you agree, it's asking if the meeting happened.' I know. I still think the bands were cool."

Taking the paper and setting it in his 'to file' pile, he mentally poked her.
"It's not about cool, it's about getting the job done. Take it easy, Hammer."

The Zebraling left without further comment and Recon turned back to his desk. Several new things were on the in-pile, the small teleport grid having dropped them off during his talk with the young lady. One of them was a Scroll with a purple seal.

'Twilight? What did she..."

Recon,
It has come to my attention that there is in Ponyville a mare who has been researching the topic of humans for years. I do not know if it is related to you and the pthers, but this could either be a leak or the possibility of other humans that didn't get in contact with you trying to contact their own. I have spoken to the mare in question in the past and even recently and am all but certain she's a natural unicorn, but I was wondering if you'd be interested in this information or possibly even already aware of it.

Princess of Friendship,
Twilight Sparkle

The changeling hummed thoughtfully. He'd heard of these individuals before but he'd never really gotten a name. Yet attached was both a picture of the mare as well as her name and place of residence.

Looking to the clock, he grinned. He had hours before he needed to be back here and most of the paperwork wasn't due for another few days.
'Nothing wrong with a half day every now and again, right? I think it would be a good round of practice too. Haven't done an infiltration in a long time.'

<-(0)->

He wasn't even wearing a disguise as he looked through the unicorn's room that was dedicated to human research. It didn't seem to be a leak though, or an attempt of humans looking for other humans that had fallen through. There were too many false leads, too many things that were speculation and wild theories at best. The first one that had grabbed his attention had been one speculating the environment and diet of these mystical creatures.
'Sucking blood, ha! Maybe Vampires, but most of us were just like griffons in diet.'

Levitating another book into his hooves, this one a sketchbook with several different styles of 'humans' drawn by both Lyra and even a few other believers. It was kind of flattering to know that there were others who considered your previous race a work of fiction. It was also kind of funny to see the different styles in which humans were drawn. Some of them were kind of close but off in details, like the human female's breasts were on her stomach or the male's having hulk-arms. Another artist went with a more draconic base, the human even having vestigial wings instead of arms, wondering if the humans had various breeds as ponies did. Another seemed fascinated by the hands, drawing several types of hands from a single bulbous digit that could flex around what the human wanted to grab to what seemed to be several hooves coming out of a wrist.

All in all, the entire thing reminded him of people guessing as to what aliens would look like. It was funny in a way. Here he was comparing the guesses of ponies who'd never seen a human to the truth, when there was the very real likelihood that aliens did the same thing to humans.

"How many aliens were laughing at our own guesses?"

He pulled out a recording crystal and took a few pictures. He wasn't going to steal from the unicorn, but he really wanted to show some of this to Verdant and Solar Storm. They'd get a kick out of it.

The door opened behind him and he heard a squeak as a burst of fear hit him. Turning casually towards the mint-green unicorn that was currently gaping at the giant changeling in her room, he lifted the book, showing her what he was looking at.

"I'd heard from a friend of a friend that you had some stuff on humans and had to check it out. Reminds me of how we used to guess at what aliens looked like back home. Some are good guesses, but others...others are just silly. Where are you guys getting this information? Or are you just guessing?"

"B-but you're, you can't- take what you want, but don't eat my thoughts!"

Recon blinked, staring at the mare in confusion before bursting into laughter.

"You think... you think that changelings work like that? I mean I'd heard some ponies were throwing out the most ridiculous stories, but come on!"

The racket apparently attracted attention, a second mare poking her head into the room.

"Lyra? Who are you- what are you doing, I mean, what-"

Shaking her head to clear it, the second mare hardened her expression.

"Who are you and what do you want?"

"Oh, you live here as well S-Bonnie?"

"You know, you've never been a very good changeling..." Bonbon sighed. "What do you want?"

"I've not been a good changeling for about...oh god, what was it? At least a century. I mean, I did hot-drop a few things during the griffon invasion way back when. We know we can't do too much, but that doesn't mean we don't help at all," Recon chuckled. "Operation Steel-talon, I think the griffons were calling it. Cancelled after I hit them. Poisoned the commander, burned up their supplies, thermite in their weapons-caches, and dropped the full battle plans off on the outskirts of Manehattan. Think that was my best work. Still, never really enjoyed sneaking around in real life. I prefer just talking to people. It's why I did what I did. Easier this way."

"How do you know Bonnie?"

Recon smiled widely, causing the unicorn to flinch while the earth pony merely flattened her ears in irritation.
"She used to see us pretty often. Technically, she retired. You say im bad at being a changeling, but from what I've heard, you're bad at being retired."

"Sometimes," Bon Bon started, looking cautiously to Lyra "I dont have the luxury of being retired."

Recon nodded.
"I understand. I thought it would be easier once I passed on the position of Mayor to Wind. Now im stuck with the newbies. Still, it keeps me busy. And as I'm certain Tia would say, keeping busy helps give you something to focus on. I honestly dont know what I'd do if i actually fully commited to retirement. I mean, it's not like we've managed to recreate all of the games we used to play. I think I've played most of the ones we have by now as well."

Reaching into a bag, Recon levitated what appeared to be a textbook over to the unicorn.
"We know what it's like, Miss Heartstrings. To always wonder if there was anything else out there. To wonder if the creatures you saw in your dreams were real or a figment of your imagination. We're waiting for the day we can walk freely among ponies, but that day is not today. A pony panics when a zebra walks into their town. When we arrive in this world of magic, we can't stay in that form. We all change. Each and every one of us. And we're all different. Zebras, changelings, dragons, alicorns, ponies, diamond dogs, even seaponies and slimes. When your country is ready for that diverse of a group, we'll stop by and say hi. Until then, well, keep the dream alive."

"We're watching you from just beyond the next hill, waiting for when you're ready to meet us. And we can't wait until that day."

Bon Bon winced as the changeling ripped a hole in reality as he left, the expenditure of energy not even registering to him these days.
'To think Agent Pond would tell me stories of that changeling carefully measuring out each spell he could use throughout the day. Have they really come so far?'

Turning to her roommate and the book the changeling had left behind, she cautiously approached. Lyra was shaking, the book open to the first page. The words were all in a different language, one she'd only ever seen under two conditions. When the Agency was sent to retrieve a creature that had written in it, or when the people out in the Everfree wanted to send communications to Canterlot without anyone reading it. Of course, they'd since moved on to actual codes and radio signals, technologies that blew Equestria's current advancement clear out of the water, so she supposed they didnt mind if somepony had access to their language.

"They're real," Lyra whispered, a single tear falling to the page. Even as the unicorn moved to wipe it away, she found herself staring as the tear gently flowed off of the material, not even leaving a trail on the page. It was a naked human, a male. Next to it was another human, a female. Both were standing with limbs straight, several sections cut away to reveal inner organs and muscles.

Bon Bon couldn't read it, had never really taken the time to learn the language, but it was fairly obvious to her what the title was. Especially knowing Equestria had adopted the human number system decades ago.

Human Anatomy 101

Author's Note

Lyra, she speaks to me on a different level when i see comics and jokes about her talking about humans like some sort of mythological creatures. How many people do the same thing every day when they're speaking of aliens(or hell, even ponies)? What would you give to know, once and for all, that there is life out there? That not only is it watching you, but it's watching you with excitement? Wondering when your race will finally join them in the vastness of the galaxy?

Code Red

Twilight flinched slightly as several flickers of power made themselves known nearby. They were well-muffled though and if it wasnt for the fact that one was nearby, she would have dismissed them. But the closest aura felt familiar, one that she'd come across recently.

Walking out the door of her library, she was surprised to see a simple red unicorn with orange mane approaching.
"Princess, if you don't mind, I'd like a moment of your time."

"Who-what-how did you get in?"

"Storm, your majesty," the mare replied with a smile. "I'd prefer if we stay in the library for the next hour or so."

Twilight nodded blankly, recognizing the aura now. She stepped back into the library just as Spike came waddling down the hallway, carrying a note from Celestia that he was reading.

"Oh good, we don't have to track him down," Storm said, closing the door behind the drake.

"Um, Twilight? Who's this? And does it have to do with the Princess asking me to check on you?"

Instead the uicorn approached him.
"It's nice to meet you, Spike. I'm Solar Storm. I, well, I'm here to make sure nothing hits the castle."
Seeing Twilight's look of confusion she smiled.
"While your friends are either in out of the way areas or, as with Miss Dash, not even in Ponyville all the time, your home is visible from a good distance. It's a landmark in and of itself."

"And why is there a problem with ponies...something happened, didnt it?"

Storm nodded.
"We have several teams spread out over this area right now while we find out where he went, but for now we don't know how strong he is or where he's going. Normally you wouldnt even notice my presence, as you havent the last several times we've done this, but alicorns are a bit more sensitive to magic. I didn't think it would help anyone to hide my presence."

"I-thank you, Storm. That means a lot to me," the purple alicorn said. "You're pulling out all the stops, so this...person must be strong. Will you need help?"

"We should be fine. The teams all have anti-magic arrays and have had training in apprehending even the most beligerant of beings. I even let them try to capture me, and while it was dangerous, they still managed it with a little help from a dragon-team."

Seeing Spike staring at the two of them with a blank expression, Twilight moved to a small table and began pouring tea for herself, Spike, and Storm.
"Storm, I trust Spike. If you would?"

The mare looked to the dragon for a moment before shrugging and releasing her disguise.

The dragon's jaw dropped.

"Spike, this is Solar Storm. She's here from a city in the Everfree that Princess Celestia has asked me to help govern. Since some things require a princess's signature, it saves her a much longer trip and allows me some experience in some things that don't reach pulbic ears."

Storm giggled as she cast a spell over the room, looking to Twilight with a sly grin.
"Did you even make certain there were no recording spells before that, Twilight? You know the rules."

At the floundering and sputtering, Storm burst into a fresh fit of giggles. She then turned to Spike, offering a hoof in greeting.
"Good afternoon, Spikoran. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Spike shook her hoof, still staring with his jaw slightly ajar.
"So uh...alicorn..."

"And I'm not the only one. There are a few more back home, as well as a few dragons that I know. I don't think I've met one of your size though. Most are at least as tall as my current form. I think it has to do with how old we were before. I'm not certain though, and we really don't have a good way to be check."

Spike's mood soured as he took a sip of the tea.
"I tried talking to a bunch of dragons. They weren't very nice. Even Princess Ember was pretty mean even if she became better afterwards."

"Well sometimes it depends on the individuals, and sometimes it depends on the situation. From what I've heard from Twilight, you approached a bunch of teenagers who were looking to be cool in front of their friends, and the second time they'd already tagged you as a wimp. I know many species, from griffons to dragons to humans, that would treat a small child the same way."

"But I'm not-"

"Age is relative," Storm interrupted, setting a hoof on his shoulder. "Celestia's much older than I am, Spike, but we are mature enough to speak on a...relatively level field. Both of us know not to speak down to the other, and because of this we get along. Same with her sister. The drakes you approached saw you as a youngling, not worth the time. In truth, you're a lot more mature than they are, but it won't stop them from acting out. In fact, it's a sure sign of their immaturity."
Leaning closer, she smiled conspiratorily at him.
"In fact, how much would you bet that a few of those drakes couldn't spell 'immaturity'?"

The hatchling gave a shy smile at her joke, nodding in agreement.

"I'm sure Twilight here would be happy to get you a few books from our library on dragons if you'd like, or maybe you could ask Pinkie to introduce you to Verdant or Night Fury. They're not the best examples of dragons, but they know their species and they know what dragons experience."

"Would um, would those happen to be the dragons that showed up to speak to the dragon lord and then left?"

"Oh! Yes, Verdant told me about that. It's not as much of a pull for them, but they still feel that resonation when the dragon lord calls. Verdant spent the next few weeks studying the call and seeing if there was a way to cut himself from it. He didn't like the idea of being commanded. Said it reminded him too much of the Dragon Soul, an artifact of fiction that could control dragons. Most of us aren't fans of things that can alter our minds in any way. Even the changeling hives are careful about those sort of connections and accidental theft of free will.
"Chell and I have spoken on that sort of topic extensively. She needs to remain calm as even simple whimsy on her part can translate into an order to the drones she's linked to. She's been called back from many a daydream to find a food she was craving being offered by an irritated changeling."

"It's that easy?" Twilight asked. "I never did get around to studying the information you have on changelings. There was just so much to learn and there are only so many hours in the day even with those wonderful drinks that make you all tingly-"
"I heard they had to cut you off. Even alicorns can have too much caffiene in their blood."

The purple mare gave a dismissive wave of her hoof before her ears perked at the sensation of a distant spell being fired.

"And that's that," Storm said with a smile. "It seems they found him. Well, it's been a pleasure but-"

A sudden sound of shattering glass, or more likely crystal, cut the mare off, leaving all present to look to the door. Before the other two could so much as respond, Storm tossed a crystal to Twilight.
"Get yourself and Spike clear. It will take you to our recall room. And dont stand on the pad, I may need it after this."

Twilight fumbled the crystal before nodding, pulling the young dragon to her before activating the crystal. Not a full minute after the two were teleported out the door exploded inwards, showering Solar Storm with crystal shards.
"Oh Princess, your Prince has...you're not Twilight..."

Storm looked over the stallion, barely surpressing a laugh. He was baby blue alicorn, with a rediculously detailed cutiemark as if the guy hadn't been able to decide what to put there. His mane was flourescent orange and his wings had yellow tips, while his eyes were bright green. He was also one of the stockiest alicorns she'd ever seen, and she'd seen a few who'd let themselves go in a bout of depression. No, every step had fat jiggling across his form.
"Oh my god, i don't think i've ever seen such a fat pony in my life."

The stallion flinched but puffed himself up.
"What have you done with the princess, cur?"

That cooked it. Storm burst into laughter, rolling along the ground and kicking her hooves with glee.
"And he's cheesy as fuck, oh my god this is beautiful! If you were any cheesier I'd be grabbing my fondue forks!"

The stallion, at a loss and having no real idea where else to go, scuffed a hoof at the ground nervously.
"This isnt at all how i imagined this going. Um, I mean alicorns are the good guys, but uh, did you, did you order those guys to try and track me?"

"Those people, who I know for a fact didnt initiate, are friends of mine. As for why I'm here...do you think you're the first idiot to get it into his head to go after these mares? Do you know how many ponies we've had to stop before they hurt those girls?"
Taking a breath to settle herself down, Storm stood to her full hight, which left her a good deal taller than the fresh alicorn.
"They tried to talk to you, didn't they? Did you listen to a word they said?"

"It doesnt matter," he said, shaking his head. "It doesnt matter because it's a dream. Nothing's hurt me, even when those guys tried. I can do whatever-"

Storm drew back, a small enchanted dagger floating in her magic as she watched the stallion. The smaller alicorn was now staring at the small cut on his foreleg, all color draining from his face.

"This is not a dream, my friend. This is a very real situation. Unfortunately, it seems either the teams have gotten stale or you appeared much closer to the castle than we anticipated. Now, are you willing to listen, or do I need to show you why the dragons call me Blister-Scale?"

"I-I'll protect this land from you and save-"

"The only threat is people like you," Storm interrupted as she approached, towering over him. "Idiots who think this is some sort of dream and that they can do whatever they like without consequence. I ask again, do you think you're the first? Do you know how many deranged 'dreamers' we've intercepted? Sometimes they're just confused, as I hope you are. Other times they've snapped from the stress of this change."
She let her wings sag a little, staring at him with a weight he couldn't fathom.
"Sometimes we can't save them. Sometimes we have to choose between the safety of our neighbors, those that have lived here peacefully for their entire lives, and the lives of those who have broken under the pressure."

She looked him over, idly noting that his horn was flickering uncontrolably. It wasn't his magical power that was allowing him to elude their teams and that left many more questions. The stallion shouldn't have been able to make it this far. They'd stopped these sorts of incidents before much more quickly, so what made him special?
"If you really want to help Twilight, you'll help us better prepare for others like yourself. We can't let people who have no grasp on reality near her and her friends. You promise to do that and to listen to me, and we'll teach you how to use magic. More than that, we'll teach you about your new world and new form."

He looked around the room, his eyes taking it in before settling on the abandoned tea set.
"You swear the Princess is alright?"

"I Solar Storm, do swear on my magic and on my soul, that the alicorn known as Twilight Sparkle is currently safe to the best of my knowledge. I sent her somewhere safe, somewhere ponies won't be alone with her."

"You, you thought i was going to-!"

"I can't make that assumption. If we're wrong once, well, once is all it takes. You want to help her, than swear on your own magic that you will accept my offer for help without attacking anyone where I live, that you will help us figure out what we did wrong this time."

The alicorn stallion shuffled quietly, his wings sagging as he mulled over his options. Finally he turned to Storm and sighed.
"...I don't know how."

The older mare smiled. A willing alicorn was always preferable to an unwilling one, after all. Less property damage.

<-(0)->

"-want his balls on my wall. How did he get that close? There were six teams deployed and we've stopped dragons with less."

"Solar Storm still hasn't responded to comms but that's nothing out of the ordinary. If we don't hear anything within the next five though, we assume the worst."

"I said no, you've got a split carapace and this just went to code black. You're in the way, Pill. Get to the infirmary or I'll have someone drag you there."

Twilight sat off to the side as the command staff of Stewtopia's military were going balistic, with ponies, dragons, griffons and changelings of all shapes and sizes running around or even flying around to try and get their job done as quickly as possible.

A sudden flash of a unicorn teleporting momentarily blinded her but soon a new shout reached her ears.
"Janice, I'm going to box those fuzzy ears of yours if you teleport again! You know the rules!"

"They're all insane," Spike whispered as he watched a large group of heavily armored dragons, alicorns and ponies walking in formation towards the large telepad in the center of the command room. They split into several smaller groups, each double checking each other's armor and weapons before returning to formation and readying their weapons.

"Telepad ready for mass teleportation. Destination: Crystal Castle Throne Room. Charge at 89%, five seconds. Charge ready.
"Pad is ready, waiting on the- recall in process, everyone get clear!"
"Incoming teleport in three, all weapons ready."

Twilight leaned forward a little, hoping that the older mare was alright. The people here were taking this seriously, as they apparently took all alicorn arrivals. After all, if he chose to hurt somepony in Ponyville, there wouldnt be much the ponies would be able to do. Even the guard would likely have trouble.

A flash from the pad left two alicorns standing there, one she recognized from only a few moments ago and the second was an odd looking stallion that was currently the focus of every weapon in the room. Storm leaned close and whispered something to him before he nodded and slowly lowered himself to the floor.

What happened next was a blur of barely discernable activity. The stallion was fitted with a surpressor, wing-clamps, and leg-clamps before he'd even finished lowering himself to the ground. He was also pinned by several dragons, each holding down a limb as the rest of their group leveled their weapons at him. Three more people of different species approached Storm, each casting a spell over her head to presumably make certain no mind control spells were in place. Then once they'd cleared her, they rushed her off of the platform and off towards the medical facility.
Twilight looked back to the platform only to find the smaller alicorn was already gone, the group of armored dragons and alicorns already leaving through a large door, their weapons still trained on the now unseen stallion.

Spike shivered in her grip, having watched the entire scene take place in less than a minute.
"I don't think I like these ponies, Twilight."

"It's fine, Spike," she whispered back, petting his spines. "They're not normally like this. They're worried. Scared. They dont want ponies to get hurt and they didnt know what was happening."

"Twilight?"

The purple mare jerked at the voice, while Spike immediately jumped to his feet and rushed to the source.
"Princess Celestia!"

"Oh thank goodness. I recieved a notification that something had gone wrong and...well, I'm glad you're all safe. You are all safe, correct?"

"The...pony came to the palace, princess. Storm spoke to him and brought him back."

"Good. I- oh, I'm so sorry, Spike. You have no idea what's going on and this must be terribly confusing."
Leaning down to give him a loving nuzzle, Celestia smiled warmly
"Have no fear, you're perfectly safe, as is Twilight."

"Princess?" another voice called, this one belonging to a zebra. "If you have a moment, we have a timeline. We'll be getting answers from the new guy soon, so if you have anything you'd like to add-"

"I think that would be for the best. The holding facility, correct? Please escort Twilight and Spike to a dining facility. A think a hot chocolate would do them both some good."

<-(0)->

"It seems you have settled down, how is Spike?" Celestia asked as she approached her ex-student. The purple alicorn was currently in the city's library, which didn't surprise her at all. What surprised her was her student pointing to a beanbag chair nearby, where Spike was currently sleeping with a book resting on his chest like a makeshift blanket while a comic sat over his eyes.

Celestia leaned closer to the drake and smiled.
"Dragon Development and Justice League?"

"He asked about dragons and then mentioned comics. The librarian called this earth pony in who almost immediately started going on and on about the hundreds of comics they had and well, when Spike mentioned Power Ponies, they started arguing over which was done better. I'm still not certain they ever came to any agreement, but both admitted to bias. Which is more than I've ever gotten from him."
"So the new pony?"

"Prince is currently being treated for a minor case of shock and going through some basic medical checkups."

Twilight's eyes widened in surprise.
"Prince?"

"According to Storm he introduced imself as Prince, but cut himself off mid-title. So now his name is Prince until they can nullify the connection to his name. And they will, as that name is apparently one a pony isn't supposed to use. Something about insulting a musician."

"I'm sure that went over well," the smaller mare giggled. "I'm just glad nopony was severely hurt. I was worried when I saw them all getting riled up."

"He had some very powerful avoidance magic running passively through his body. A magister called it a Wallflower Effect. Sometimes ponies just don't want to be bothered and because he was focusing on a goal and didn't want to be found, only a changeling was able to spot him. Or rather, only a changeling noticed his emotion."
"It's not something they anticipated before, so now they're going to spend the next month or so working that scenario into their rules and regulations. He's still interested in seeing you because you're a celebrity, but otherwise I think he's calmed down a little. As have the rest of the people here."

Twilight nodded.
"I'll see him during the introduction class, so he'll still get his wish."

Celestia lifted the sleeping dragon and set him on Twilight's back while carefully collecting the books and comics in a stack.
"We'll get these checked out for him. Would you like to return to Canterlot with me for dinner or would you prefer to just take the telepad back to your castle?"

"I think I'm ready to go home, Princess," Twilight replied, setting a book on changeling connections on the librarians desk.
"I want to check on my friends and make sure they're all alright."

"Very well. It was nice to see you again, Twilight, even if it was in passing. Don't be a stranger."

Twilight checked out the books, smiling softly at the simple reminder of her old job. Back when things were so much simpler.
'Maybe I should...no, I can't do that to my friends. Maybe if they knew beforehoof, but...I don't even know any of the queens well enough to ask for such a thing.'

"Maybe that's what I need," she mumbled to herself as she left the library with her large stack of books. "Maybe I can open the Crystal Castle's library to the public, or even see to the construction of a library next to the castle- no, it will be part of the castle. I already have a ton of- but not all of the books are things ponies can borrow. Darn it, how does Princess Celestia have the Canterlot Library set up?"

Walking towards one of the nearby public telepads, she made up her mind to send a message to her old teacher on the rules and regulations used to keep the Canterlot Library running and funded. She'd been a librarian once, working in a crown-funded library. What would it be like to be in charge of one? To have one that answered to her?

In a flash of light, Twilight's hooves touched down on the floor of her throne room. Spike was still sleeping on her back, while a large saddlebag of books was strapped under the drake. She signed as she allowed her magic to flow into the castle, feeling for the damage caused by the break-in. It was very focused, surprisingly, like the stallion had known exactly where to go.
'Considering I'm still finding new rooms every now and again, that leave me with an additional question. How did he find me?'

"Twilight! Oh my gosh, you're back! What happened? The first thing we heard was some shadow-pony had kicked in your door and the next thing we know the door to the library is broken, the place smells like smoke, and the door to that room is shattered as well!"

Looking at the blue pegasus, Twilight winced as her friend noticed the sleeping dragon and the big stack of books she was now carrying.

Rainbow Dash crossed her arms as she hovered, giving Twilight a suspicious look.
"We worry and you're out getting new books? What the heck, Twilight! It looks like somepony kicked in the front door and outright shattered the door to the library! What were you doing?"

Looking behind the blue pegasus to her approaching friends, she swallowed hard. She'd probably need to wake up Spike to get a letter to Princess Celestia. She wasn't sure how to deal with this situation at all. What was she supposed to tell them?

Keeping secrets from the public was one thing, but keeping it from her friends?

Secret Agent Mare

Apparently Twilight was now in on something that only high-ranking individuals knew about. This information, as well as the fact that the pony who had broken into Twilight's castle was related to this mess, left Dash conflicted. On the one hoof it was something straight out of a spy novel. On the other, she was left in the dark about what was going on.

Rainbow didn't like being left in the dark. Even if it was metaphorical.

'I'm hanging around the egghead too much again,' she lamented, looking towards the Everfree from one of the upper branches of the Crystal Castle. She'd spent most of her vacation trying to worm some information out of Twilight but the alicorn was unusually tight-lipped, even resisting casual and circuitous questioning. Twilight wouldn't even talk about the break in, just replying that it was a very confused pony who was being taken care of. The problem that brought with it was that meant a 'confused pony' with enough strength to both break open the castle door and shatter the door to the library was still out there and Rainbow had yet to give them a piece of her mind.

The pegasus scowled at the forest. It was out there, waiting for her. She knew it. She also knew that she could get in trouble for looking for the answer. Answers Twilight, Pinkie, and now Spike already had. She was a Wonderbolt now! What more did she need to do to be trusted with these things? What if something else happened? How could she protect her friends if she didn't have all the information? Hay, she didn't even know WHAT had attacked the Castle! She only had Twilight's word that it was a stallion who was lost and confused; a lost and confused stallion that had somehow shattered crystal that Applejack would be hard-pressed to crack.

Slamming a hoof down on the crystal branch, she snorted and took off for her house. She'd find this place herself if she had to. It was driving her crazy not knowing what else could happen while she was away. She couldn't risk her friends.

<-(0)->

The rainbow-maned pegasus kept low for the first hour of her pre-dawn flight. It was dangerous, maybe even suicidal to some to be flying so fast and so close to the Everfree, but she had to keep herself hidden. She'd already spotted her first landmark, a large hill that was just shy of a mountain that poked out above the Everfree's treeline. That let her spot a very tall tree that was easily three times the size of the surrounding vegetation, though the large birds in its branches weren't too happy with her presence. Then there was the lake she'd circled around, trusting the deep water in a monster-filled forest even less than the trees she was flying over.

She hadn't realized the forest was so deep. Needing a break, she'd landed just shy of what she'd first assumed was a clearing, having traveled at high speed for several hours by now. As she settled in to take a few mouthfuls of water and eat an energy bar, she found herself uneasy. The place was dead quiet. No, it wasn't even dead quiet. The place was just...dead. Nothing grew here, and from what she could see no animals strayed into this area either. Taking flight once more, she realized it wasn't a field. There was a gentle slope towards the center of the clearing...a crater, with a single stone structure standing in the center.

She approached cautiously, landing near it and walking closer as she recognized several different languages written on the surface. Draconic, Griffish, the scratches of Diamond dogs, and finally Equish. An older dialect of Equish, but it was equish none the less. The sort that Princess Luna slipped into every now and again.

Know that you stand before the grave of the Necromancer, Hate. Once beloved friend, last met as a maddened thing intent on destroying all life. It was he that brought about the Week of Madness. It was he that purged even the Everfree from the very soil you stand upon in the Nine Hundredth and fourty-sixth year of the Nightmare's defeat. And it was here that his madness was ended.

Goodbye, John. May you find the peace you could not have in two lives in a third.

The pegasus gulped. She'd read about Necromancers, but most were foal's story bad-guys who used skeletons as their soldiers. The last necromancer that she'd even read about in school was destroyed by the Princess centuries ago. To think one had been out here less than fifty years ago was both news to her and likely most of Equestria, and was a major red flag. There was more out here than she'd ever hoped to cover, and if this was in any way related to the confused pony, she wouldn't stand a chance if she was discovered by a pony that actually intended to do her harm.
'No more secrets, Twilight. This is big. Way too big. I need to know what we're facing. I'll just fly up and use that tree to...'

The mare had taken flight during her mental rant and began looking in every direction, unable to see the large tree anymore. In fact, she could see two smaller hills to the north that she swore weren't there before.

Turning around quickly, she saw another small set of hill behind her, almost mirrors of the ones to the...north?

'Duh, just use the sun, it's still early so it should be right...above me?'

Panic setting in, the pegasus looked around desperately for some sort of landmark to help her find her way back, even circling the crater twice, but the only thing that changed was one of the hills looking taller after her second pass which made no sense whatsoever. She landed in the crater once more, attempting to calm herself but she had no idea which way she needed to go. After all, she'd been flying at high speed for at least two hours before she stopped so if she-

"Mothership, this is Birdy Three," a changeling with a saddlebag casually announced into a crystal-encrusted bracelet on her foreleg. "Ask Books if she's missing a pegasus. And let the others know I've found our disturbance."

"Reading you, Birdy Three. You have an ID on the target?"

"Dash."

"...Roger, I'll get the boss on the line. Be careful if you approach her, she's no pushover."

"I know, I plan on letting her wear herself out before I even try to get close. It looks like she didn't bring any stabilizers with her, so the Everfree's tossed her around. She may have flown through some Distortion Pollen too."

"Got it. Tracking your position now. I'll see about contacting someone who she'll talk to."

The changeling nodded, chuckling as the pegasus began pacing and her emotions spiraled into panic even more.
"I copy. If she starts to panic too much, should I keep her here? If she leaves the dead zone, she could end up anywhere."

"If you can do so without her attacking you, sure. No disguises though. I think that would be counterproductive at this point. Pretty sure she's out here looking for us."

"Looking for Prince Charming, I bet," the changeling said with a grin. "I'll watch her. Don't take too long."

"-so bad, this doesn't make sense. I know its the Everfree but how does a tree move? How do mountains move, for that matter? Where the buck did that lake come from? What, why is this, I don't remember ever having so much trouble before!"

She’d made two more laps of the crater and almost predictably the landmarks were once more different, as if every time you looked away the forest changed! But-

She whipped around as the sound of somepony gasping for breath reached her ears only to see a carbon copy of herself sprawled on the ground. It was obviously a changeling, but why would they take her form?
“Are you making fun of me? Do you think I’m dumb?”

The changeling, rolling onto its side and sucking wind as it waved her off, managed to rasp our a negative.
“Couldn’t, keep up. Needed faster, stronger wings. Bug wings, not cutting it.”

Her scowl deepened. It wasn’t even bothering to hide.

“If, you leave the crater, you’ll warpah, again. Was, waiting for them to send, someone but, didn’t want to, lose you.”

“Waiting for who? Did you call your boss? Is Chrysalis behind this?”

“Fuck that noise. That changeling couldn’t, feed her hive if you told her how to more efficiently feed seventeen times. Which we have. Oh god, I think I pulled something. I didn’t know I could hurt muscles I don’t have.”

The Pegasus looked at the recovering drone with a mix of pity and distrust. She’d pulled enough muscles to know the pain, but that still didn’t explain its presence.

As if sending her thoughts, (actually, maybe she did? Wasn’t that how changelings worked?) the drone dropped Dash’s form before wincing as her clear wings went into spasms. Pulling a canteen from her pack she took several deep gulps before speaking.

“Everfree warps travelers if they’re not anchored. There are also plants which will make you hallucinate, twisting your vision by either reversing it or twisting things into shapes they don't actually have. This place has been magically inert for longer than I can remember and they list it as a safe recall location because you can walk around without getting warped here. Second you cross that tree line though, it’s random chance where you’ll end up.”
“Boss is likely already contacting someone to pick you up, either the princesses or, if your lucky, Pinkie. Fair warning though, I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes.”

“Why not?”

“Because the Wonderbolts are part of the Equestrian Guard, and guards are supposed to follow the rules set before them. I know you're not officially a guardsmare, but there are gonna be some pissed off ponies."

Before Rainbow could retort a loud pop and a bright flash signaled the arrival of somepony via teleport. Dash whipped her head to look, her jaw dropping at seeing Princess Luna scowling at her with what looked like bags under her eyes.

“I’m certain you have a perfectly wondrous explanation, Rainbow Dash, but I suggest you save it for my sister. She is currently in a most important diplomatic meeting and Twilight is taking care of a zoning issue in Detrot. That means that I was woken up after finally falling asleep after three days of work.”

Looking at the changeling, Luna’s scowl became a sinister smile.
“Actually, I believe I have a much better idea. She wants in, so she’ll get in. I want you to put her full time in the Lightning Response team. Basic training and two weeks active duty. I’ll notify the proper ponies, just let Wind Scythe know. He’ll get her set up.”

Without further comment the princess disappeared, likely to collapse in her bed again. That was the princess, right? She turned to the changeling only to see it staring in surprise at the location the princess had just occupied.

“Ouch" It said with a wince. It turned, meeting her gaze with what she could only describe as terrified sympathy.
“I am so, so sorry.”

<-(0)->

“I’m sorry it took so long,” Twilight said to her griffin companion. “Knowing she was fine, none of us could just drop what we were doing and Luna, well...”

“Was pissed. I know,” Wind Scythe chuckled. “We kind of got the gist of it from Amber. She said Luna was about to go nuclear but decided to slow-roast the Pegasus instead. She stopped by the day after just to make sure there wasn’t any trouble and even dropped off orders transferring your friend to the Lightning Rescue team. Including a request that she be put through the full training and transferred to an active team immediately after the training.”

“The full- so I can’t bring her back yet?”

“She’s got about four more weeks,” Wind replies, gesturing to the track.

Twilight quickly scanned the runners and spotted her friend among them, the rainbow mare soaked with sweat as she ran full sprint with her wings bound to her back.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen her break a sweat before, even during her high-speed workouts.”

“Magic, it’s not just for unicorns,” the griffin said with a smile. “During these runs we turn on an anti-magic field, so everyone is running on pure muscle strength. It hurts, but it means when you run in magic-saturated environments you’re a lot stronger. It also stops our people from getting crushed by anti-magic zones. Dragons in particular need this kind of training, otherwise they’ll collapse under the weight of their scales and armor.”
Stepping ahead, the griffin stood on his back legs, cupping his claws around his beak.
“Hey Jim, I need to borrow your new toy!”

The minotaur in the middle of the field, wearing full plate armor likely weighed a ton, looked towards them before rolling his eyes.
“Hair-dye, get over here. You’re in luck, you get to breath for a few minutes. I’ll take it out of you later.”

“She doesn’t-“

“He knows, Twilight. If you lose your cool at petty nicknames and insults, god help us if you end up in an actual fight. It’s part of the toughness training.”
Sitting straighter as the raggedly breathing mare approached, he gestured for Twilight to speak.

“Rainbow, I’m sorry I couldn’t be here sooner. If I had come instead of Luna...”

“It’s, no big, egghead.” The Pegasus wheezed. “This is, the best training, I’ve ever had. Bet I, could blow any record, away after this.”

Twilight blinked, looking closer. The mare had always been kind of thin and wire-y, but now there were signs of muscle just under the fur. Nothing too noticeable, but it was certainly a lot more muscle definition than any Pegasus she’d seen before. Well, aside from that pegasus in Ponyville, but he was...different.
“Here I thought it would be a punishment.”

“Punishment?” Dash scoffed? “I do stuff like this without getting paid. I love this kind of stuff. Live for it. They’ve already had us do flight drills and my new times are great!”

Twilight looked to the minotaur in the middle of the field, still shouting various insults at the runners, before turning back to her friend.
“I’m sorry you felt left out, Dash. I was trying to find a way to tell the rest of you without breaking any of the rules but there are a lot, and the only real thing I've come up with is The Elements. Technically we’re still connected to them so we may need to know about this place but I’ve not had a chance to talk it over with the other princesses yet. Maybe next week I can-“

Dash held up a hoof.
“I’m fine, Twilight. I was worried at first, mostly because I wasn’t even sure if it was the real Luna I was seeing and the break in a few weeks ago, but things have kind of...I bucked up. I joined the Wonderbolts, which are kind of an extension of the REAF, and that means I should have...followed the rules. Even if I felt like it was slowing me down. They have a ton of regulations here, but most of the time they go over why the rules were created, sometimes in, eh, gory detail. After-photos have a stronger impact than a cranky stallion telling you not to fly near magic-cancelling wards."

"After-photos?"

Wind Scythe nodded.
"We have pictures of the injuries incurred either before a rule was implemented, or of injuries incurred by those who broke them. Sometimes it's cuts, burns, broken bones, other times we're recording a corpse. Some things are dangerous, make no mistake. We do our best to curb the dangers with either safeties or rules, but a rule is only as effective as how well known it is, or in some cases, how respected it is. I mean, we have rules about teleporting in public areas but some people still do it. Some get fines, some get away with it. No matter how illegal you make something though, its going to happen. So we do our best to dissuade Darwin Award contestants."

"Oh my gosh! Twilight, have you seen that! They have entire books about weird ways people have killed themselves! An entire library shelf!" Rainbow Dash shouted, burying her face in her hooves.

"That's terrible!"

"No, it's brilliant! I mean I thought it was horrible, but Flynn got me one and I started reading it...Twi, one of these guys killed themselves by shoving a bottle of alcohol up his butt. I mean I find being drunk just as fun as the next mare but some of these guys..."

"Ah, I remember hearing about that one," Wind Scythe chuckled. "The body cant reject the booze and it goes straight into the blood because of how the colon works. I don't think he was the only one to do it either. People can be very smart, but they can also be pretty dumb. It's not just us humans either, princess. I've seen some dumb ponies, some of them were even awarded honorary Darwins."

"You put Equestrians into your book." Twilight deadpanned.

"With Celestia's permission of course. Let's see...Bright Burst. Was setting up a firework display and decided to tie a ton of fireworks to her barrel and was flying during a holiday. Decided to cut through a designated firework area, a spark hit her and well..."

"No more pegasus," Rainbow said, shaking her head. "I've flown close to those areas, but even I knew enough to not cross that line even if I would have saved a few seconds. Saw a few pegasi that needed surgeries to fix their eyes or patch up burns and cuts from the explosions they subjected themselves to and that only emphasized the danger. To tie tons of explosives to yourself and fly through a hot-zone?"

"Well I'm glad to know you're doing well, Rainbow. Everypony was asking about you, but all I could say was that you were transferred to another detachment after an incident and you'd be back in a few weeks. Pinkie said she'll see you during her visit next week, as there's apparently something going on then that she's hosting."

"The Shin-dig," the griffon answered. "Actually, you're free to go there as well, now. It's something a bunch of the longer-lived individuals set up several hundred years ago. A party where they all get together and just have fun. Security is tight, and there are a few well-armed alicorns and dragons ready to stop any fights, but it's not had any serious issues since...well, let's just say alicorns and changeling royals don't drink without inhibitors anymore."

Twilight nodded before stepping closer to the rainbow pegasus and pulling her into a hug. A sweaty hug that she sort of regretted.
"I'll let the others know you're fine. I'll see what I can do about letting the rest of the girls in on this too, in case something comes up."

"Right. I'll see ya later, Twilight. I've got another three laps-"

"Six, you feather duster, seven if you don't get moving in the next five seconds!"

Dash winced.
"Anyway I'll catch up to you later. I'm told the day after the training is a celebration so Hopefully I'll see you girls there."

Twilight watched her friend go, taking special note of the determined grin the pegasus was shooting the minotaur even as he slung various insults and threats her way. It was odd, but it didn't seem to bother Rainbow so she'd leave the pegasus to her punishment. If one could even call it that.

Turning to her companion and guide, she asked her next question.

"So what else can you tell me about this 'Shin-dig?'"

Author's Note

Not dead, just haven't had much desire to write. My apologies, hopefully I can get back into it with this.

In other news, Xeno'Jiiva was a bitch to fight, beat it on the first time though with about 5 minutes to spare. Using the pierce pods when its looking at you does a TON of damage as the pod goes from head to tail. They don't hit hard, but when you get about 20 hits of 6-9 damage from three pods...

The Shindig

Celestia cautiously looked around, casting a glance to the invitation she'd been given earlier in the year. It had suggested taking the day and the following 'off', as it was to be a celebration of sorts. One that was only meant for "those like us". Considering it had been a changeling royal that had given it to her, one that she'd grown to trust over the years, she had an idea what it meant, but that didn't make her any less nervous. She couldn't remember the last time she'd attended any sort of celebration in anything other than an official capacity.

"Tia! You made it! I was starting to think you wouldn't show. I imagine it was hard to get away."

That was an understatement. With the recent end of a war between the griffons and the ponies, she was being hounded day and night for her time, even more so than before the war. That's why she had agreed to this. It was something even her secretary had supported, albeit reluctantly. Even he had taken a few days here and there. The princess had no such chances.

"I did. I am still a little confused as to what it is I am attending though."

The stallion, a changeling royal that had approached her years ago with strange tales and even stranger technologies and allies nodded sympathetically.
"You know Janice is more than happy to sub for you."

"I can not allow such a thing at the moment. Ponies are still scared, and finding that I have been replaced, even if temporarily, could shatter their world."

"So instead you destroy yourself?" He retorted, raising and eyebrow and staring back at her.

She sighed, turning away but keeping up with his pace.
"It's not...I've had this conversation with you too many times, Recon."

"Yes, and I still think you're doing yourself more harm than good. Even a day every three years would be better than working for decades at a time. You need to unwind badly, before you strain something. Again."

"That wasn't-"

"It was muscle fatigue and we both know it."
He stopped, turning to face her and sitting on the stone floor.
"Sometimes you worry me. You certainly aren't going to stop to care for yourself. I've already learned that."

The alicorn smiled, pulling him into a hug.
"I know, and it's nice having somepony watching out for me once again. For the longest time it was just...us and then...it was just me..."

"Well that's why we're doing this," the changeling said. "Its a chance to socialize. Most of us are working on other things, but we all need to check up on each other every now and again. I thought it was only proper that you get an invitation as well."

"What is this, 'Shindig?'" the alicorn asked as they resumed their journey through the seemingly abandoned keep. She knew it wasn't though. There wasn't enough dust and dirt for this place to have been abandoned, even if it wasn't

"Its a get together as I said before, but it's special. Its for those like you and I. Those that live a bit longer. Those of us that can go years without speaking to another long-lived individual. For now its mostly the others I've found, those like myself. But maybe we'll try inviting others once we get settled. Wouldn't that be something?"

It really would. Individuals that she could form long-lasting relationships with, ponies who she could speak to, who...who Luna could speak to.
'Maybe if we'd found each other sooner...'

"Hey, none of that. This is a party," the stallion chided before his grin fell a bit. "Luna?"

"I just-maybe she wouldn't have, if there were others she could talk to?"

He shifted his shoulders, the pony equivalent of a shrug.
"Hindsight's twenty-twenty, Tia. We'll never know for sure. And we'll be ready to help if it's needed."

"That's nice to know. I'm still getting used to having others around again. Well, others that-"

He slowed in front of a door, the sounds of music and raucous laughter reaching her ears from the other side. It was dampened though, likely the effects of a spell. Otherwise the party would be heard from Canterlot, more than a days journey away.
"You have your signed oath?"

The solar alicorn pulled out the parchment, taking one last look at it before passing it to the changeling.
"No discussions about secrets, plans or anything like that. Exceptions are plans to attack me or my subjects, to be brought to the attention of the others the next day."

"Right," he said as he took the scroll and checked her signature. "Everyone inside is under the same rules, Tia, so there's just one more thing you need to do."

"You're really making me do this?" she asked in irritation.

"Last rule. You already agreed to it," he grinned, pointing to a closet door.

Celestia rolled her eyes and walked into the closet, passing by several large sets of armor, one of which she could have walked through, and several sets of weapons that she could feel power flowing from. They didn't rival her own blade, forged by her own sister and warmed by her own sunfire, but they were near things. One in particular held her attention, a blade of gleaming diamond that burned with an internal light. She might have to ask about that one later.
Finally reaching an empty alcove, she pulled off her regalia and crown, looking nervously to the old things as she set them on the shelf. Next were her golden shoes, her hooves feeling almost naked without them. How long had it been since she'd not worn them?
She felt odd as she walked back through the closet, finding the changeling nodding at her before he opened the door. She was really doing this. She was actually going to let herself relax. Or at least try to.

She looked around the huge room as she walked in, her pace slowing as she took in the others already present. Three dragons, one nearing the size of a large house who likely was the owner of the giant armor set. Two more changelings, both female as far as she could tell. And...her breath caught in her throat. Alicorns. Four of them, all sitting around a table and playing cards while cheerfully speaking and drinking. Then the scent hit her. Alcohol, the strength of which she'd not been exposed to in centuries. A single pony mare sat at a bar across the way and she was confused for a moment, before noticing the sunken cheeks of the mare and the pale patchy flesh. A...zombie? A vampire?

The changeling hadn't been joking when he'd told her the group was strange and diverse. This would take some getting used to.

"I don't believe it," Chell muttered as she stared past Recon. "You actually managed to get her to show up."

"What did you bribe her with?" the second queen, Flicker, asked even as he took his seat and accepted a drink and several letters for their game.

"Little, actually. I told you, I've been trying to get her to accept help for a long time. After her...incident a few years back where she tore several ligaments in her legs and strained her wings to the point of disuse, even the doctors were on her to take breaks. I offered this in return for a decade without bothering her about breaks. She accepted."

"Poor thing, she looks so out of place," Chell said, giggling as the alicorn awkwardly asked the undead mare behind the counter for a drink. "I still can't believe Chaz managed to get a vampire as a bartender."

"Same line of thought for changelings, Chell. Give her access to blood and she's more than happy to accept it. Even if its not fresh from the tap. Doesn't hurt that our little settlement has better medical and storage technologies than most others. How's the planning for the city going?"

"Slow," the second queen replied. "Its fun trying to learn the Everfree's patterns. I've never been so challenged in my life. But I will figure it out. And we'll have access to the best and biggest city on this planet. I will have my hover-cars.

"You can fly, Flicker. You don't need hover cars."

"That's not the point! I was told I'd have anti-gravity hover boards in my lifetime and I was lied to! All we had were those stupid fan-boards which had horrible power issues. I obviously can't wait for it to happen because it won't. This time, I'm doing it myself, and I'll do one better!"

Recon chuckled before he took a swig of his drink, taking a few letters and adding them to the board.
"Core. 3, 1, 1, and 1. Eh, 6 points."

"Didn't even have to guess where she'd take her drink," Flicker chuckled, stealing a glance towards the bar.

"Honestly, feel kind of sorry for her," Chell giggled. "None of us are heavy drinkers, unlike those four."

Celestia had approached the bar nervously, only to smile awkwardly when the mare had turned her predator's eyes in the alicorn's direction.

The mare had been oddly understanding though, nothing like the monsters she'd seen, nothing like the demons who hunted ponies for food or sport. Instead the mare had asked if she had any idea what she wanted before making several suggestions. Apparently she'd been a bartender before, so for her this chance to serve drinks had been a dream come true.

Holding a drink the mare had called a Mimosa, she sipped it sparingly as she looked around the room. She only knew the changeling stallion Recon in any real way, but the other changelings made her nervous. She also hadn't the slightest clue how to approach the table even if each of the groups tables had more chairs. Would more be showing up? The dragons were also setting her on edge, one holding a large keg with the top missing. He lifted it easily, pouring the drink into his mouth before slamming the keg back on the ground, only to receive a warning from the bartender. To her surprise he apologized, checking the barrel for damage before setting it back on the ground. A second dragon chastised him, saying something about being...sore?

She started moving towards the one group she felt more comfortable around. Alicorns were rare as it was, to see one again after so long, she was curious. Why hadn't they approached her like Recon had? What were they like?

"May I sit here?"

The table turned to look, a steel-colored stallion nodding before turning back to his conversation partner.
"It's not the same. The grains are wrong, makes the product taste different. You need to take that into account when you distill it."

"Pah! No need to taste it, you wimp. Vodka is supposed to be strong. It's supposed to knock you on your ass."

"You, we haven't even been here for an hour and you're pissed. Slow down or you'll pass out before the next hours up."

Celestia blinked, looking at the group she'd approached. The steel alicorn with white mane waved a hoof dismissively before taking several powerful chugs of his drink, a drink that the mare could smell from across the table. To his right was another stallion, this one a forest green with a black mane who was nursing a brown drink with ice in it. Next it was a pink maned and orange alicorn mare who was cuddled into the second stallion's side, a deep blush on her cheeks and a strong smelling drink in her glass. Then it was Celestia, and to her right was a third alicorn mare, this one an earthy brown with a golden mane with a frothy mug of some sort of ale.

"Don't pay attention to them, they'll argue over brews till the end of time if you leave them to it," the mare said. "I'm Bethany. Introduce yourselves, ya jerks."

"Chaz," the steel alicorn replied with a nod.

"Gunther," the second stallion said. Moving his shoulder to shift the mare he grinned. "And this is Fumi. She was nervous about this so she's already had a bit too much to calm her nerves."

"I, I see," the princess stuttered. "I'm afraid I haven't done anything like this in a very long time so I understand her nervousness. I almost refrained from arriving myself."

"Well you'd never know if you'd enjoy yourself unless you show up. Worst that could happen is you find out you don't like it and you leave early. A day lost at worst. When you have centuries, its not much of a risk."

"I'm still wrapping my head around that. Scary, isn't it?" Bethany asked the others. "What about you?"

"Prr...Celestia." the mare managed to say, cutting out her title for the first time in decades.

"Pullin' my leg, the mare who runs Equestria?" Chaz asked, all of his focus on her? "That cockroach managed to get you to show up?"

"He's going to get you for that. They all will."

Celestia looked to the changeling table, seeing all three scowling in the boisterous stallion's direction. Recon even drew a hoof across his throat before they all broke into grins and returned to their game.

"Bah, I ain't scared of them. Worst they'll do is trim my primaries when I'm sleeping this stuff off. A few days on the ground won't kill me."

"I don't know how you guys can stand that. I get sick when I try to fly. I always had bad acrophobia," Gunther muttered.

"It's not so bad, you just need to start low. Learn to flap them and hover. When there's no real danger of falling, your fear of heights tends to dry up."

Bethany fluttered her own wings, settling them to her sides once again.
"It takes some getting used to, but I enjoy being able to watch the stars without clouds in the way. Not to mention the clouds themselves are pretty neat to touch. I've even teased a few ponies by shaping clouds in the wilder areas and let them blow past a town. One or two freaked out, but the rest seemed to enjoy it."

"I'm getting sick just thinking about being that high," the green alicorn muttered, laying his head on the table and resting his hooves over his muzzle.

Celestia actually felt a giggle escape her, the idea of an pegasus, much less an alicorn, who was afraid of heights being ridiculous to her.

"She's laughing at ya now, ya wimp. Pull on your big boy pants. Otherwise you'll be a ground-pounder and I'm going to shit on you every time I see you. Maybe even literally."

"You're disgusting," Beth said, shaking her head.

"And he's a fuckin' wimp."

"Bitch I will eat you."

"No, you'll blow me."

Celestia, having shifted slightly away from the escalating argument, was taken by complete surprise when two large claws dropped down on both stallions, driving their heads through the table and into the stone floor.

"Next time I'm throwing you out," the dragon rumbled as he moved back to his seat. "And I may not use a window."

"Don't even," Beth said with a cool tone, watching the stallions pull themselves back up and flare their wings in the direction of the dragon. "You're going to ruin the night for everyone. I guarantee everyone here will be on your ass and you wont be coming back. Either drink your drinks or leave and beat the piss out of each other a few miles away."

Chaz flicked his eyes from the dragon to the green stallion before taking a chug of his drink.
"Sorry."

"We're all tense right now," Gunther sighed, looking at his spilled drink. He slumped a little, taking his cup in his magic as well as Chaz's drink. "That's the entire point of this kind of thing. A time to relax and chat, maybe make some long-term friends."

"We're all adjusting, some of us better than others," Bethany said as the forest alicorn walked off to grab some refills, setting her own mug on his back and shooting him a grin. "Most of us are like Recon, this being a...second life of sorts for us. Scarlet though, she's a natural Equestrian. Found her crying in a pool of her own blood about a year ago, when she'd reached her bottom rung. She'd always wanted to be a bartender but nobody hires a vampire, much less tolerates them. So we did. We already have a bloodbank, albeit a primitive one, so it's not hard to take a few packs and give them to her. She gets what she needs and we've got a new friend."

"She's such a sweetie," the last alicorn, Fumi, slurred. She'd been jostled a bit by the argument and was now taking her time looking around the room. "Nobody else?"

"It's kind of a new thing, Fumi. Can't expect a lot of people to show up for the second one, can you?"

"I was terrified, too. Now I just feel silly," Fumi said, her wings drooping. "I don't like crowds."

"Crowds. Right. Have you not been paying any attention? The densest population I've found doesn't even match my hometown, and we were pretty small. Maybe a couple hundred people. Canterlot is only at, what was it? Ten thousand ponies? It wasn't a lot."

"The last census was about twenty thousand, actually. We've had a population boom in the last fifty years and some of the families have more than doubled in size."

"My family is from Chicago," Gunther said as he returned and passed out drinks, including a second orange-flavored drink to Celestia. "Last I recall, the census put them at around two million. I really don' know what the tech versus population line is supposed to look like, but I have a feeling it's pretty steep, so don't feel bad about that. I'm sure once better farming, transportation, and harvesting techs are adopted you'll take off.

"Kyoto feels even more crowded. You can't walk down the streets without bumping into hundreds of other people in some places, especially during holidays. I mean it is nice to know you're not alone, but there comes a point at which it is intimidating."

"I'm sure there will be some cities that get closer to that later on," Chaz said. "I do enjoy more crowded areas, but I was from the 'burbs. Enough room to stretch out, and a city close enough to travel there if I wanted to."

"Worked on my families farm for a long while. Was pretty quiet in the country and I prefer it that way. Already working on plants, getting them to the point where they're properly resistant to heat and cold again. It's strange, doing it myself. Used to just go out and buy the blasted things. Corn here looks nothing like the ears we grew and I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing, considering the lack of fingers."

"What about you, princess?" Gunther asked, swirling his drink in his magical grip. "Where'd the ruler of a nation come from? I haven't heard any claims to your family line, and there aren't a lot of schools to teach mares like yourself. Who taught you?"

"I was trained by a stallion by the name of Starswirl the Bearded. He found Luna and I shortly before our ascension and was adamant that we learn what he could teach us. I may not have believed him, even as he cited several prophecies that he said linked us to Discord's fall, but the chance to learn under such a stallion was too much to pass up."

"I keep having to wrap my head around this 'no schooling' thing," Beth chuckled. "Back home you could get in trouble, both with your folks and the local law, if you skipped out on school. Here, kids are lucky to learn to read. It's shocking."

"It will get better," Chaz said. "Once you get ponies moving into larger economies, it will probably start moving towards what we had. Flicker was already setting up a schooling system the second she realized queens were the mothers of their hives. She's already got Recon on a printing press and Chell on the hydro-electric dam. Those guys are hell bent on enjoying modern accommodations again."

"Well when you're not as resistant to the weather, of course you'd want air conditioning. That and Flicker wants her kids to be comfortable."

"Oh my goodness, have you seen her hive?" Bethany gushed. "She had a hot-tub. A perfectly regulated hot tub with swirling water and everything. It was amazing."

Fumi giggled at her friends excitement.
"I may have to visit, in that case. A warm bath is a luxury and I'm not good at fire spells."

"You girls and your baths."

"Says the guy who complained for four weeks about the lack of toilet paper."

"It's a necessity!"

<-(0)->

"-and that's about how it went. It was a wonderful experience, even if it was confusing at times. It takes time to learn the differences in culture, but now that I know them it's much easier to connect. The dragons and changelings are also fun to speak with of course. And over the years, we've expanded even more. Of course, not every immortal or long-lived individual gets in. Chrysalis for instance was never given the chance as she's very unpredictable and would likely attempt to break or cheat the oath somehow, and Equis dragons rarely get in as well. Most are just too volatile. They're likely to break things even when sober, so nopony wants them around when there's plenty of drink."

Twilight looked up from her notes, taking special note of the whimsical smile gracing the older mare's face. The story was fascinating in itself, much less the idea that the immortals of Equis had created a secret society that held meetings that occurred every few years in order to socialize and relax. Of course, with the ease of communications thanks to the technology the Stewtopians used, including a gem-bracelet that she kept in a locked drawer in the castle for emergencies, such individuals had a much simpler time accessing others like themselves. Luna had one such communication device installed in her right slipper and used it often, sometimes using it to send messages when outside of the public eye. Most assumed she was using it to record notes using magic, but in truth she used it to keep in touch with her friends.

"So should I go?" Twilight asked her.

"I'd suggest it, but it's up to you in the end."

Twilight nodded. It would probably be a good idea, and there were already several individuals she'd met who she could ask for additional details.
"So how would I go there, and is there an age limit?"

"I don't really know about the age issue," the larger alicorn admitted. "If you're speaking of Spike, I'd doubt it. Some of the dragons at the city would likely want to speak to him beforehoof. And even then it's likely they will declare him too young. It is a party after all, one for older ponies. And yes, Pinkie knows but she also knows the reason for it. She was disappointed but understanding."

Twilight nodded.

"As for how you would go, well, you just contact Recon or somepony else who attends, such as myself, and I shall set everything up. I've already set it up for Luna this year, and Cadance was at the last one. I'll ask Cadance to be your sponsor."

"I need a sponsor?"

"Well it's more of a personal reference. Somepony who is willing to step up for you and put your name forward. You should be fine even if I'm bringing Luna. In fact, it was between myself and Solar Storm to see who would be bringing Luna to the Shindig. If it came down to it I could let her take Luna and you could come with me."

"It's fine, Princess Celestia. I'll ask Cadance."
Turning to the door and placing the notes in her saddlebags, she ran out the door and barely heard the mare behind her titter.

"Some things don't change, no matter the titles they gain."

Author's Note

This is actually what inspired the end of the last chapter. I had a surge of inspiration and wanted to write Celestia attending a social even with a few of the displaced individuals from Stewtopia, or in this case the time before it. Times don't really matter to me in this world, so I'm not putting anything down in stone. Just let your imagination take off. I'm standing by the idea that ponies advance slowly without outside influence though. There's no need to advance when they're living happily.

Then Celestia sees Flicker's bathroom and jacuzzi and decides she needs one. Then the nobles want one, etc...