Picking Up the Pieces

by Evilhumour

Rating: teen
Tags: Griffons, Slice of Life, Alternate Universe, Minotaur, Diamond Dogs, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Bat Pony
Length: 168410

Second in the Pieces-verse. Following their victory over their terrible enemy, the new Mane Six must deal with the aftermath and its complications, including an even greater enemy.

Second in the Pieces-verse. The new Bearers have won the day, but the war is not over. Now, even as they and others deal with the aftermath of their victory and complications old and new in their respective lives, a dangerous new threat to Equestria lurks, awaiting for the right moment to strike.

This is again being co-written by Anon and myself, so any credit given should be to the both of us.

Published 2017-08-08 03:00:07 UTC
Last updated 2021-06-11 03:15:16 UTC

Chapter Two: Gentle Step

Chapter Two

Gentle Step

Gentle Step was a mare of stability; most of her Guards could trust her to act in ways to defend their nation that was beyond them. If she was calm and collected, then they had nothing to worry about.

She had shown some worry the day before yesterday when she had learned that King Well Banded had been possessed by what the heirs of the Virtues’ true power called the Nightmare, a dangerous Power unto itself. The fact that these youths were each one sixth of a Power themselves was very surprising and she had to order Memorizing to have a squad of Hidden Guards to protect each of them lest Equestria lose such a potential weapon in case another Power decided to involve itself with one of her citizens or her nation.

Still, at the moment things had mostly calmed down although she knew that the vote tomorrow would be a true headache. She already knew how she planned to vote and it bothered her greatly that her old friend would not be allowed to vote for the freedom of his tribe, especially considering what the nymph and Memorizing had told her about the truth of the Nightmare’s involvement with the Demi-Goddess of Love’s wedding day a thousand years ago. She was also aware that Memorizing wasn’t telling her everything as the reports seemed to be missing something from them but she could not place her hoof on it.

Flicking her eyes as she walked the halls to her office, she became aware that one of her Guards that had been following her was Memorizing and she had to do her best not to let out a snort. Despite being a changeling that had the ability to actually practice and hone his ability to shapechange, Gentle could always tell when Mems-

“Hello Captain General,” Memorizing said as he came out of the side hallway, with the Guard behind her pausing to look at the Secret Protector before moving on. “May I accompany you to the Captain's Room?”

“Of course,” she said, forcing herself not to blush as the drone fell in beside her, with her Royal Guards staring long at him. Something tickled into the back of her head and she shot a look up at his face. Although he was hiding it, she knew he was smirking. “That Guard was one of yours, correct? Ruby Shell, if I am correct.”

“How did you tell?” he asked, his smirk falling as a hardened look replaced it.

“The Guard did not gape as long as the others did; she was acting surprised instead of being surprised,” she said. In response, Memorizing let out a groan before narrowing his eyes. Guard Shell squeaked up ahead with her true Royal Guards staring in confusion at her.

“If the changeling detector lights were ever to fail, you would make a perfect replacement, Gents,” he muttered under his breath with Gentle doing her best not to snicker outright at that comment.

“I am pleased to hear that, Mems,” she said in her normal stoic manner, causing Memorizing to raise an eyebrow at her. Before he could say anything to her own comment, they had reached their destination and Gentle could not help but feel joy that her fellow Captain could finally be in this room properly and all the other Captains were waiting for them.

“Hello everypony,” she said, examining the looks on their faces that told her exactly what the issue was. “I believe you have reservations concerning Captain Memorizing Gaze and his position amongst us.”

“You are correct, Step,” Captain Blazen Sun said, stroking his beard as he eyed the drone. “Chief among them is why we only learned of his existence now.”

Gentle took a moment to gather herself to give an explanation but Memorizing beat her to the punch. “The position of the Secret Protector of the Hidden Guards was itself a secret that only the reigning monarch and the Captain General were to be made privy to, but due to the emergency two days previously, I was forced to make myself public to inform Captain General Gentle Step of the severity of the situation due to the danger our king and country were in.”

“And what, pray tell, is your role?” Captain Violet Lulamoon inquired of him.

Memorizing Gaze looked around the room. “To explain that, I must go back nearly two thousand years, to when the E.U.P. Guard was first formed to protect Goddess-Princesses Celestia and Luna, as well as to keep the peace. In time, their duties expanded to include the protection of the Goddess-Princesses’ niece, the Demi-Goddess Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, when she made her presence known to the world. Over time, the E.U.P. Guard evolved into the Royal Guard, and after the invasion of Canterlot by the enemy Queen Chrysalis, it further developed into the five branches that we have today, four of them named in honor of the Goddess-Princesses Celestia and Luna, the Demi-Goddess Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, and the Magi of Stars.” He nodded at each of his fellow Captains as he named their respective Guards.

“Around the same time of the Royal Guards’ expansion, soon after King Blueblood the First took the throne, a sixth branch was secretly formed from the changelings who had sided with Equestria and gave key details that were decisive in defeating Chrysalis. Whereas the five open Guard branches are Equestria’s visible protectors, the Hidden Guards have served as its secret watch-ponies, an agency dedicated to gathering and analyzing information on any potential threats to the nation, and dealing with them if need be. Such as the Six Bearers of Harmony; when we were first made aware of them and led to believe that they were enemies of the state, we dug deep into their backgrounds for the information to be presented to Captain Gentle Step to see any connections between the seemingly unconnected individuals.” He tipped his head, removing his non-reflective black helmet and placed it on a desk before continuing.

“Unfortunately, we failed to discover the presence of the entity known as the Nightmare possessing the king until it was almost too late. My Guards and I were eventually made aware of its presence as a controlling force within the government during our pursuit of the Six after they had escaped from the city, but we were unable to confirm just whose body it had inhabited until it took action during Prince-King Tizoc’s visit, when the nymph Page Turner was able to detect its presence and alerted me of that fact.”

Captain Standing Wall frowned as she removed her ruby helmet. “How did she discover there was a possessing entity, let alone whom it was controlling? And whom did they first expect?”

“The entity Balance/Harmony whose Elements they carried informed them of their enemy and that it was controlling another,” Memorizing Gaze replied. “Initially, they… well, they suspected you, Captain General, since they knew their enemy would be capable of bringing this nation’s might against them, and with your personal capabilities as well as your command over all of the Guards…” He sounded embarrassed.

Gentle Step let out a snort, shaking her head as she removed her own royal purple helmet. “A logical thought, but clearly incorrect.” She rolled her eyes. “If a High Lord Demon is unable to defeat me while in Tartarus, anything more powerful than that would make its presence visible enough that the rest of you would be able to detect and help me defeat it.”

Captain Sweet Surprise shook her head she removed her own midnight blue helmet. “A fact you always love to use, Gentle,” she said with a guffaw. “I do recall I was holding back the incursion you ran into. Something you never seem to mention when you tell ponies about the time you were stuck in Tartarus for five months,” Sweet Surprise said with her usual smirk before looking at Memorizing. “So tell me what is your other role beyond being the spymaster of Equestria. Violet is in charge of the North and the farms that are outside the city, Standing covers police matters across the entire city and the West, Blazen has the fire department and the East, and I’ve got the hospitals and the South.”

“As well as the being the spymaster, I am also in charge of those protecting your families,” Memorizing with them all frowning at this. “Such protection has been a long standing practice so you do not need to worry about them interfering with their daily lives. Also,” Memorizing said as he walked over to Sweet’s ear and whispered into something her ear that caused her eyes to open wide.

“Oh by the goddesses, I can’t believe I forgot!” she said before pulling his head in for a kiss on the lips and started hugging him. “Thank you for saving my plot! They would have killed me if I forgot! I would have killed myself if I forgot.”

“It is not a problem,” Memorizing replied. “Especially after you just fixed things with them yesterday, according to my Guards.”

Sweet Surprise froze and glared at him, backing up. “I did not realize that you had Guards in my headquarters.”

The other Captain shrugged. “Please… I have Guards in everypony’s headquarters. It’s part of my job, keeping an eye out for potential infiltrators who aren’t loyal to Equestria.” Memorizing then grinned, showing his fangs. “I have served by each of your sides in the past.”

“As disconcerting as that is, I am curious to know who these ponies are,” Violet said, turning her head at Sweet with a smirk on the Northern mare’s face. “I thought we were friends and partners; working on decoding so many artifacts over the years. You using your admittedly superior knowledge on the matter and me with my special talent being magical artifacts, so I am curious to who they are.”

Sweet Surprise began to look panicky of all things; whoever Memorizing had mentioned had really unsettled the easy-going mare and proved why Memorizing was such an effective Secret Protector: he was able to deflect away from himself so flawlessly that almost no one noticed it.

“Guys, please, this is kinda personal and-”

“Oh now I simply must know,” Blazen said with a smirk on his old face, leaning against the young mare. “Unless it is something that is to be delegated to the backroo-”

“NO!” Sweet shouted, causing everypony to jump. “No, I can’t do that to them, not again.” She sighed before levitating her helmet to her hooves before turning to face Gentle. “Sir, I need to request a modified helmet that will allow horn rings.”

“Wait, horn rings,” Blazen said with his eyes going wide. “You’re engaged?”

“The more important question is that did she say rings as in plural?” Gentle said, surprised herself at this.

“Yes sir, and no Blazen, I’m not engaged… I am married to psychiatrist Sound Mind of the Middle East-South Quarter and firepony Hot Rod of the Middle West-South Quarter Firepony Department, going on our fifth year,” Sweet Surprise said with pride in her voice.

“Wait a moment, you’re married‽” Violet said in a loud voice. “For five years‽ Why the fuck wasn’t I invited‽ Why didn’t you tell me‽ Why didn’t you tell me‽” This last was directed at Gentle herself.

“I just learned of this myself,” Gentle said, shocked by the news as well. Sweet Surprise was a marriedmare!

“Because we decided that we didn’t want a big show over it and just wanted it to be a real private affair, Violet,” Sweet said in low voice. “We’re in Las Pegasus and… look, any other place, our wedding would have been swarmed by the media wanting to take pictures of the husband and wife of the Captain of the South and their lives would have been ruined by press looking for any dirt. This way, we get to have our privacy and live our lives together in peace.”

Violet let out a huff, shaking her head. “Still pissed at you for not telling me but I can understand why you did it. Relationships are not easy to maintain.”

“You mean like you and Lunar Light?” Sweet asked mischievously.

“We are not a couple and never have been,” Violet snapped. “Weird Beard and I are long-time friends, that’s all. Long-time friends who’ve been through a great deal together, and neither of us would have anypony else as their Captain or Lieutenant. But friends and fellow fighters are all we’ll ever be.”

Sweet snickered. “I still think that nickname is hilarious, you know.”

“Quite,” Violet replied dryly. “But it’s accurate.”

“Which is part of why it’s so hilarious!” Sweet turned to Memorizing. “So… is she telling the truth? About them just being friends?”

Memorizing gave her a sly look. “As Captain of the Hidden Guards, it would be a breach of protocols to share such potential information, especially about two Guards who have never once given me reason to doubt their loyalty to this nation and to their duties, without permission from the Captain General.”

This prompted both of her Captains of the North and South to look at her, causing Gentle to back up in surprise with Blazen chuckling loudly as he placed a hoof around Memorizing’s shoulder. “Come with me lad, I do have things to talk with you about,” Blazen said as he directed the drone out of the room. “Besides, it is nice to have another stallion here after all these years.”

“It is nice to talk with you properly, Blazen,” Memorizing said while the two left the room, with the drone flashing a grin at her.

“Mems,” she hissed loudly as she realized what he had done.

“Mems?” Standing Wall heard her with all three female Captains giving her a look. “Is there something you’re not telling us about you two?”

Gentle Step gave the drone a look as he left her to explain her nickname for him, and talking about herself was something she was nev-

“It is her old foal nickname for me when she was a smaller mare,” Memorizing said with a smirk on his face.

“Smaller?” she asked with immediate regret; Memorizing was always able to set her up for a joke of some kind.

“Well you are still smaller than me, Gents, even after all these years,” Memorizing said as he was dragged out, Gentle groaning loudly in response as she realized Sweet Surprise had just been given new material to work with.

Behind her, Standing Wall coughed. “You know, he never did answer my question about how Page Turner figured out it was the King being controlled…”

“It’s in his report,” Gentle Step said tiredly. “I recommend you read it and cease pushing into my actions with Memorizing Gaze when we were young foals together.” She then froze as she realized how poorly that sounded and by the grins of the mares around her, they immediately made the wrong connection.

This day was not going as she had hoped and she had her stupid foalhood friend to blame for it.

Then a small folded piece of paper levitated into the room, flying directly over to Violet, who took it and studied it with interest. “Well, well, well… this was unexpected.”

“What is it?” Sweet Surprise asked curiously.

“Just something else Memorizing had learned about Page Turner that he thought I should know,” Violet said as she re-folded the note and tucked it into her armor. “He recommended I talk with her about it at some point in the next few days.” She looked at Gentle Step. “Nothing urgent or to do with security issues, I promise.”

“That’s good,” Gentle Step said.

Violet grinned. “And now that that’s all settled, what’s this about you and Memorizing knowing one another when you were younger?”

Gentle Step glared at her but it did nothing to deter any of the mares’ eager looks. Gentle eyed the window, wondering if she would be able to flee quick enough that they would not follow her if she were to jump...

Chapter Three: Wind Breaker

Chapter Three

Wind Breaker

Page was nervous; that much was clear as the two of them walked down the street. Wind Breaker did the best he could to ease her worries by acting like a tough guy, but the Guards that were tailing them kinda did a better job at that. As he couldn’t rely on what calmed him down, he went onto using his words.

“Are you okay, Page?” he asked. In response, she gave him a look before sighing.

“I’m just worried about what the Matron will say,” she admitted. “I’ve known her practically my whole life. Goddesses, she raised me, far more than my birth mother ever did in the short time I knew her. And all that time, I’ve been lying to her about who and what I am…” she shivered. “I’m almost afraid she’ll react about as badly as Night did…”

“That was a case of mistaken identity on his part and you’ve known it for a long time,” Wind Breaker reminded her. “If this Matron of yours really loves you, she’ll accept you right away.”

“I know, I know but…” Page sighed. “I can’t help but worry.” She looked down. “Of course, it doesn’t help that I’m worried about Night too, after that… incident with his parents.”

“Yeah, I can understand that,” Wind Breaker said. “Heck, I’m kind of worried about what I’ll say to Diamond Back the next time I see him.”

“Diamond Back… you mean the griffon who nearly dropped a load of construction materials on my head the first time we met?” Page raised an eyebrow at him.

“Yeah, that’s the one.” Wind Breaker grinned sheepishly. “He’s teased me for years, given me no end of grief over my drinking habit… and you want to know a secret?” He leaned in close, his voice barely a whisper. “I finally found out he’s been in love with me for a long time.”

Page stared at him, dumbfounded. “He’s… how in Equestria…”

“I ran into him when we’d split up trying to escape the Nightmare,” Wind Breaker replied. “He saved my tail from the Guards, and believed me right away when I told him we were the good guys. Then he confessed, sort of.”

“Sort of?”

“He…” Wind Breaker blushed, then leaned in and whispered in her ear again.

“Really!” Page looked at him in surprise. “And how do you feel about this?”

Wind Breaker spread his talons. “Honestly? Er, no pun intended. But I don’t know how to feel about this - I’ve never had any real experience with those kinds of feelings, for anypony. Or griffon.” He looked around. “Believe me, when I figure it out myself, I’ll let you know.”

Page smiled. “Thank you for trusting me with this, Wind.”

“No problem, Page.” Wind Breaker smiled. “So, what’s the Great Library like, anyway? I know you grew up there, but I’ve never actually set hoof… or talon and paw, in my case, in it in my life.”

Page’s eyes lit up. “Oh, it’s wonderful!” she exclaimed. “All the books, and the little foals who love hearing me read to them…”

As she described the library to him, Wind Breaker smiled. It sounded like a great place to be.

“Here we are,” Page said some time later. “The Great Library.”

Looking up at it, Wind Breaker stared in awe. “Wow,” he whispered. “This place is magnificent…”

Page beamed. “It is, isn’t it?” Then her eyes drifted to the statue of the Magi of Stars, and she sighed. “I only wish I could have gotten to meet her like Xvital did…”

“You could always ask what she was like, once she was back to her normal self,” Wind Breaker suggested as they climbed the marble steps. “But yeah, I kind of wish I could have seen her too. She seems like she was a great mare.”

“Yes…” Page trailed off before she began to speak again. “And… she is my-”

“You,” a voice called out from the massive doorway. It was a darker yellow Earth pony mare with an even darker green mane and tail, and and she looked furious. “Are not welcome here, changeling.”

Wind Breaker felt his entire coat and feathers bristle at this with Page glaring at the Earth pony. “Move out of my way, Polished. Unless things have changed here while I was gone, you are not the one who makes the rules in this Library.”

“I-” Polished began to speak, when Wind Breaker raised a claw. “Hey, Polished. You know who I am?”

“Yes,” she spat the word out, glaring angrily at him. “You, unlike it over there, are one of the true heroes that saved our nation-”

“And the griffon that has a loaded crossbow on him and is getting better at drawing and firing at the same time,” he growled as he flew up the stairs to stare her down. “Continue to insult my friend like that and you’ll learn how fast I am.”

“Wind Breaker,” Page hissed at him as she walked up the stairs. “Let the Guards deal with her; I have a Matron to speak with.”

“She does not wish to speak with you, changeling,” the mare said as she got right up into Page’s face. “Now, get out before I-”

“Before you what, Polished Apple?” another voice suddenly spoke up.

Wind Breaker looked past the grouchy Earth Pony to see an elderly griffon, who did not look happy. “Turner, you have returned and I hear you wish to speak with me. We can do so in my office with your friend. Polished Apple, attend your duties and do not speak to anyone of this until I give you my permission.”

“But-” the mare began before the griffon flared her wings and glared at her.

“Now, Polished.”

“Y-yes, ma’am,” Polished Apple said, before turning around and hurrying back into the library.

“Hey wait,” Wind Breaker called out to her, causing her to pause. “You’re part of the Apple Clan, right?”

“Yes?”

“I have a message from your dead family.” Wind Breaker cleared his throat. “Applejack says that she and the entire rest of your family are spinning in their graves over how the Apple family is doing stuff now.”

“Wha-How dar,” the mare sputtered, face going through several different colours before she finally froze and stared. “Who are you even talking about?”

“What, you didn’t know?” Wind Breaker said with a grin on his beak. “Your ancestor, the one everypony calls the Stallion of Dedication because they mixed her up with her brother? I had a talk with her spirit a while back, and she’s not happy about the way your family’s doing things these days. The apples they grew back in her day were wonderful, not like the cheap mass-produced ones your family grows now.”

Polished Apple just stared at him before letting out a loud huff, turning and storming back into the building.

The elderly griffon, who had been standing quietly by this entire time, shook her head and sighed. “You, young fellow, are a very interesting griffon,” she said. “Now, if you two would please follow me to my office we can talk, Turner.”

Page winced at the bluntness in her voice, but silently followed her mentor into the Great Library, Wind Breaker right beside her and looking around, his eyes wide as he studied his surroundings in awe.

The Matron led them through the entrance hall and down a few smaller hallways before finally arriving in the office, its door marked with her name. Closing the door behind them and then settling down behind her desk, she gazed at the pair. “Now what, pray tell do you wish to tell me, Turner.”

Page winced again shuffling in her seat. “Matron Hush Tone, I-” she started before shaking her head. “I am so sorry-”

“For what,” the griffon snapped. “For you lying to me the entire time you were here, for running away without saying a word, to think I would not worry about you the entire time you were missing?”

“Matron,” Page said, blinking in surprise and with tears in her eyes. “I-”

“I wish to know how you hid here when you were a foal,” the griffon said, cutting her off. “Are there other changelings here as well?”

“Yes Matron,” Page said without any hesitation. “Several of my hive’s elders have made this library their home.”

“I see,” the matron said as she walked around her desk to stand in front of his friend.

“Hush Tone, I am so sorry for everything,” Page said as she went to hug the griffon who held her close to her chest.

“I understand that and if you do three things for me, I will forgive you,” the griffon said in a soothing tone.

“Yes, anything,” Page said in a shaky tone.

“First off; you will make everyone here a nice lunch with the ingredients from your garden,” Page snapped her head upwards at this catching the smirk on the griffon's beak.

“Yes, of course I will,” Page began to giggle, nuzzling into the matron. “What is the second thing?”

“I wishto meet with your coltfriend and his parents on a dinner date,” the griffon's words caused Page to do a double take. “You two have been dating for a very long time; it is only proper that I meet his parents.”

“I, um, um,” Page stammered as a blush spread across her face.

“Is there a problem?”

“No, no,” Page lied, licking her lips as she glanced at him for help with Wind Breaker holding up his talons in defeat. “I… I’ll see what I can do, I don’t know how easy it’ll be…” She ducked her head. “Night’s not exactly on good terms with his parents right now.”

“I see…” Hush Tone said it in a way that clearly told them she didn't believe her. “See that you do or I will not be able to approve you two dating anymore without meeting this colt and his parents.”

Page let out a low whimper but nodded her head. “Yes ma’am,” she said with the griffon smiling, kissing her forehead and ruffling her mane.

“Good,” Hush Tone said. “And third, answer me this, please: are there any more secrets I should know?”

Page hesitated, then nodded. “Yes. Yes, there is.” She looked at Wind Breaker. “My friend here already knows some of this, but you deserve to know as well.” She paused before she looked steady at the Matron. “My other name, my changeling name, is Lamella Armor the Tenth. Current Queen of my hive, and… tenth in descent from Queen Chrysalis and Shining Armor, the husband to be of the Demi-Goddess Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. And through him, tenth grandniece of the Magi of Stars, Twilight Sparkle.”

Wind Breaker let out a low whistle as he heard that last part. “So that’s what you meant when we were fighting the Nightmare,” he said. “About being born for shields.” Then he did a double-take. “And no wonder you wanted to talk to Twilight, if she’s a relative…”

Page nodded. “I’ve always known about Shining Armor, and I’ve done my best to honour him with my skills,” she said. “He’s… well, infinitely more worthy of that honour than my other maternal ancestor. And so is Twilight.”

Matron Hush Tone stepped back for a moment. “I see,” she said quietly. “Well. That explains a fair deal about your magic capabilities, Page Turner.”

Then she turned to Wind Breaker. “And I do believe I have been remiss in my manners,” she said. “So allow me to correct that by asking, who might you be, young fellow?”

“Wind Breaker, ma’am,” Wind Breaker said. “Night Blade had somewhere to be for a while, so Page asked me to come along with her today in his place, and I said yes.”

“I see.” Hush Tone studied him. “And how long have you known her, may I ask?”

“Since the day of the Honour Festival,” Wind Breaker said. “There was an… incident that morning with one of my coworkers that I helped her and Night with,” he coughed nervously. “Then we met again that evening and ran into a few others too, and that’s when things went really hairy.” He chuckled. “The six of us wound up having all kinds of crazy adventures together, both here and outside the city, after that. And with everything we’ve been through together… well, Queen or no Queen, it doesn’t matter - she’s still my friend, and you can take that to the bank.”

Page smiled gratefully at him.

“Quite.” Hush Tone nodded at the pair. “Well, much as I’d like to continue this conversation and learn more about your travels and adventures, I do believe it is time for lunch now, and I need to go gather everyone else. Page, if you would…”

“Of course, Matron,” Page said. “Wind, would you mind helping?”

“Of course not,” Wind Breaker said. “Er, which way are we going though?”

Page smiled. “Just follow me,” she said as she opened the door and almost walked into King Well Banded.

“Good, you are still here,” the stallion said. “We must have a conversation regarding certain aspects. We will need to use your office for this, Matron.”

“Anything you wish to speak to my ward can be said in front of me, your majesty,” Hush Tone said rather stiffly, placing her talons on Page’s back.

“Madam, this is a matter related to national security and-” He cut himself off as Page raised a hoof.

“It’s okay, your majesty,” she said. “Matron Hush Tone and everyone else is aware that I am a changeling; that is why you have Captain Memorizing Gaze with you.” Wind looked as the Guard alongside the king briefly lit up, his shape turning into that of a tall drone.

“Very well,” the King said as he walked into the room. “I believe we should still use your office, Matron as this subject matter is rather important.”

“Quite.” Hush Tone gazed at Page contemplatively as the King and Memorizing Gaze made their way inside, Page stepping out of their way as the two went to the far side of the room. “No doubt connected to your unique heritage, Page?”

“I can only guess,” Wind Breaker remarked next to her. “But I do know one thing for certain - Page is a wonderful mare, and a great friend.”

“As well as the Queen?” Hush said in a soft tone, causing them both to jump. “It does explain why he is here-”

“He doesn’tknow, noponyknows outside of my fellow Bearers, Tizoc and you!” Page hissed nervously. “And I’d like to keep it that way!”

“Of course. We must be on then; we cannot keep the King waiting,” Hush Tone said.

Page nodded. “We will talk more about this later,” she whispered, before all of them found their seats again.

Once all five had settled in and the door was shut behind them, King Well Banded spoke. “The reason I am here, Ms. Turner, is because of your… unique heritage.” Page nearly jumped in her seat, Wind’s own eyes widening, before the King continued. “You see, after recent events, I find myself having to speak with your Queen on certain matters, and Captain Memorizing Gaze has declined to inform me of her whereabouts. And while that… Nightmare was in control of me, and it obviously knew where your Queen was, it kept its secrets well and I was unable to learn anything from it, even as it was being purged from my body. So I have come here to ask if you could tell me of how to find her.”

Page was rather stiff as she sat there listening to him, and Wind Breaker didn’t need to be an empath like Page herself to tell that she was having a very hard time restraining herself from exploding in rage. Given what she’d told them about Changeling history when they were outside Canterlot, he couldn’t blame her.

Then, as various expressions flew across her face, Page seemed to calm down, and when she finally spoke it was in a calm and controlled manner.

“I am sorry your majesty, but as long as my species has existed, only once have any of my kind ever given up our Queen, and you know what happened then.” Page looked down, her expression difficult to read. “Whether she was being manipulated or not, Chrysalis deserved punishment for her crimes. But since that time... no other Changeling has ever deliberately given up the identity or location of their Queen, and they never will.”

King Well Banded nodded. “So I am aware. But I was hoping that after the Pardoning of the Fourth Tribe that you would be a little more… open.”

Page nodded. “I can understand your wishes, your majesty. But I am sorry to say that while the Pardoning is indeed a welcome change after all this time, my people have thousands of years’ worth of ingrained habits that have kept our species from extinction, both before and after the days of Chrysalis. That includes the secret of our Queen’s identity and her personal whereabouts. Such habits will not be easy for my people to work past, even in this new era.”

“I can understand that.” The King sat back with a slight frown. “You have actually come to the heart of the matter, Ms. Turner. Equestria has a lot to make up for, with what we’ve done to your tribe. Part of the restitutions we’ve decided upon is a special reeducation program for the Changelings, correcting all of the… societal conditionings we’ve forced upon them since the end of the War. We need to help them realize that they are not the monsters we’ve treated them as for all this time, that they are ponies who are as free and as much an equal part of society as the rest of us. And if I could talk to your Queen about the reeducation centers that are to be established.”

“Excuse me, reeducation centers?” Wind Breaker interrupted. “Speaking as a Hatchery griffon, I don’t like the sound of that.”

Well Banded gave him an annoyed glare. “It is a necessary measure, as I said before, the changelings require aid to help them from a thousand years of conditioning being taught to believe they were criminals because of their species and the actions of one leader of their kind. Our goal is to undo the harm that’s been done, to restore their sense of self-worth as Changelings rather than tear it down as it was before. Thus it is necessary for me to contact your Queen so we can coordinate moving the changelings into the centers with Captain Memorizing Gaze acting as an enforcer of the rules.”

Wind Breaker wasn’t all keen on political wording but even he could read the undertones and he saw the drone scowl slightly at this.

“Your forgiveness, but this sounds like something like Sombra tried to do with the nations he conquered, patriating them into his empire,” Hush Tone said.

“You are correct in a fashion,” the king said. “We will do all we can with the mindset of the common changeling; they will react better to strict and established rules than misguided kindness and vague guidelines. A delicate balance will need to be made and it would be expiated with your Queen’s direct assistance.”

Wind Breaker saw his friend stiffen at this comment but the Matron was quick to respond. “If I am to understand you correctly, you plan to have many centers to try and aid the changelings. If I may be bold, I would like to offer the Great Library as the main foci point as we have ample room, and countless books that can be used to educate them.”

“This is a very generous proposal,” King Well Banded replied as he looked at the drone and then at Page. “Are you going to be staying here Miss Turner; it would do the changelings wonders as your Queen is refusing to tend to her hive publicly.”

Page didn’t even flinch at that comment nor did Memorizing, but Wind Breaker had to refrain from saying something.

“Yes, I am, your majesty,” Page said sharply. “Barring anything unforeseen, none of us have any reason to leave Canterlot in the near future. Further, I could attempt to act as a means of communication between you and my Queen.”

Memorizing coughed, causing everyone to turn to face him. “My king, I have a suggestion,” the drone said. “I could relocate my offices to the Library; I will be able to continue my duties as well as protect my hive during their...” he trailed off as none of the words he had probably sounded right.

“That is sound logic and to be truthful, you are a very competent spymaster and it would be hard to replace you,” the king said, tipping his head slightly. “Approved. Come, there is paperwork you and I must file to get this all prepared as well as rehire you back into your position.”

“Before you go, I would like to know if you would want to stay for lunch,” Page offered. “The produce comes from my own garden here at the Library, and my fellow librarians and I put a lot of work into making sure that what we grow is the best quality.”

The King offered her a faint smile. “While I appreciate the offer, I am afraid I must decline,” he said. “I have a great deal of work to do back at the castle today, and I cannot tarry.” He glanced at Memorizing Gaze. “You are more than welcome to accept her offer though, should you desire. Take some time to get to know the ponies you’ll be living amongst.”

“Thank you, your majesty,” Memorizing replied. “If you don’t mind, Ms. Turner…”

“Not at all,” Page told him. “The more the merrier.”

Memorizing Gaze looked at her thankfully, then watched as his King stood, making his way to the door and the waiting guards outside.

When the King had left, Page slumped in her seat. “Well, that was unexpected.”

“I’ll say,” Wind Breaker remarked. He sighed. “Now if only they’d set up that kind of reform for griffons!”

“I have it on good authority that such reforms are also under discussion,” Memorizing said. “It’ll take some time, but they are talking about it, and my Guards are in fact investigating several Hatcheries whose practices we suspect are… not on the up-and-up, shall we say.” He looked disturbed.

“That is certainly good news,” Hush Tone replied. “I’ve-” she cut herself off, shaking her head. “Well. That’s a tale for another time.”

Wind Breaker looked at her curiously, but accepted her silence. “So. Which way to the kitchens?” he asked.

Page smiled. “Right this way. Oh - Memorizing, you don’t mind accompanying the Matron for a bit, do you?”

“I’d be glad to; we have much to talk about now regarding the fate of the hive and where I can set up my offices,” Memorizing said. He followed Matron Hush Tone out of the office, Page and Wind heading the other direction towards the kitchens.

“Well,” Wind Breaker commented as they walked. “This has been a day for surprises.”

Page nodded. “It certainly has… I just hope the rest of my coworkers don’t react as badly as Polished Apple did. Then again, she’s always been a snooty little… well. She thinks she’s important just because of her family and doesn’t seem to realize that respect has to be earned.”

“I hear that,” Wind Breaker commented. “I’ve had to deal with more than a few ponies like that over the years.” He shook his head. “If she’s what most of the Apples are like nowadays, no wonder her ancestors aren’t happy with what their family’s become.”

“Polished is one of the worst, from what I’ve heard,” Page said. “Though most of them aren’t that much better, although they are better at hiding it.” Page then gave him a smile. “Come, let me show you my garden, it’s been so long since I’ve been there.”

“Sounds good to me,” Wind Breaker said as he started to follow her out of the room.

Chapter Five: Xvital

Chapter Five

Xvital

Xvital looked up at the block-sized restaurant and let out a low whimper at the incredibly high-class setting, looking down at her green dress and hoping it was good enough for this place.

Xvital was really regretting this decision and was silently cursing Night for putting this idea into her head. But then again, she was the one that had wanted to know more about the Blade family. She still didn’t like dressing up like this, and was super glad none of the guys saw her like this. She also had to give her Tizy a piece of her mind for givingher these dresses, especially that red one. Where she would wear that one, she had no idea and just thinking of it made her blush.

Shaking her head, she moved up the line to the maître’d pony who was somehow looking down his nose at her despite being Xvital being taller than him.

“Bonjour,” he said in Prance accent. “Madame, est-ce que vous avez une invitation?”

“Oui,” she said. “Pour Monsieur Blade et Madame Xvital.”

He looked down his list, his lips moving very slightly. His eyebrow raised and looked at her. “Ah! Venez avec moi, madame.” He then began to lead her into the restaurant and she was awestruck. It was modeled like a ballroom with a number of tables around the outside and an actual formal dance floor in the center, with a live band playing a soft waltz in one corner. Above it, there were three more flights around the edges of the building, each filled with tables and offering a view of the dance floor below.

She was at a loss at the fact that almost every table was filled and that the dance floor had a lot of couples moving flawlessly in tune to the music. Oh, if Tizy ever took her here for a date and sprung a dance on her, she’d kick him out of the bed for a month!

“Where-” she began to ask as she began to walk to the nearest tables only for the maître’d to stop her and lead her to a roped off elevator. She then tilted her head upwards and saw the reason why this place was called the Glass Jewel: at the very top, there were four glass spheres connected by walkways that would offer a full view of the entire restaurant. Her mind began to rattle at the thought of how expensive those tables were and how rich the Blade family was if Crooked was able to book the best room in the best restaurant on the fly.

“Allez-vous tout à fait bien, madame?” the maître’d asked her, raising an eyebrow at her, obviously still not convinced that she was who she said she was.

“Oui, oui,” she told him as the ahuizotless allowed him to guide her up the glass elevator which took them to the uppermost floor.

As she stepped out onto the walkways that connected to the large glass spheres that gave the place its name, she saw four large tables in each of the rooms, three empty and one occupied by a very serious-looking nox pony who was dressed in a Royal Guard uniform with a cropped black mane and a shade lighter coat than Night with piercing green eyes, and looked her over carefully as she approached. The stallion then nodded to the maître’d. “She is the one whom I’ve been expecting,” he said. “Miss Xvital, if you would please join me.”

“Oui, Monsieur Blade,” the maître’d said as Xvital settled into a seat. “Shall I bring you anything?”

“Garlic bread and water for now, the Gnocchi di zucca for me and smoked rainbow trout for the lady.”

When the other stallion had left, Crooked Blade looked at Xvital once more, but said nothing. She had the oddest feeling about him, almost as if he was looking through her. Then the moment passed, and Crooked Blade began to talk to her.

“So what is this about my parents and brother, Miss Xvital?” he asked her with a bluntness that seemed to be a family trait.

“Why are they on such bad terms?” she asked undeterred. “I mean, Page told us a little while we were traveling, but still…”

“How does Miss Turner know about my family and brother’s personal matters?”

“They’ve been dating for like thirteen years?” she waved a hand with a delayed realization that Night had kept his relationship with Page a secret for thirteen years and she’d just blurted this out.

NIght was going to kill her for this one.

Crooked simply raised an eyebrow at that before clearing his throat. “To answer your question to the best of my abilities, the truth is that I do not know the extent of the relationship Night and my parents have.”

Xvital found herself blinking at this before shaking her head. “But they’re your family, how do you not know?”

“Because I have not lived with them since I was about his age?” Crooked said in a semi confused voice.

“Sure but still, you’re family, don’t you spend time together or junk like that?” she pushed the point as she placed her hands on the table.

“Ma’am, I am forty years old and I have my own family to tend to,” he said, shaking his head. “I mean, I have visited them with Striking, my son, in the past when he and Night were young but I barely interacted with Night and...” he shrugged his shoulders, causing the fur on her neck to rise up in anger.

“Wait.” Xvital suddenly remembered something Page had said after Night had stormed out of Fluttershy’s house on them. “Right, you were already out of the house by the time he was born, weren’t you?”

“That is absolutely correct; Hidden Dagger, Serrated Dagger, Deep Blade and I were all out of the house and living our own lives when Night was born,” Crooked said. “My own son is a year older than him is an indication to how late a birth Night was and how impracticalit was for the four of us to suddenly try and be like children again.”

Xvital frowned harder at this but did her best not to lose control of her temper. “I understand that you could not just put your lives on hold for several years to be brothers and sisters to Night, but you could have kept in touch with him. I mean, you did that with the rest of your siblings?”

“Every few months, yes, but they are closer to my own age, and we had grown up together. Interacting with Night is more like… interacting with the young child of a cousin who lived in another part of the country, almost,” he said, tapping the table, “I amstationed in a distant part of Equestria with my family; Vanhoover. My twin sister Hidden runs the family company in Manehattan, my other sister Serrated is on another world tour and my brother Deep has just come back from an art showing from Mareis, Prance to do some teaching in the Academy. We all live our own lives now and we rarely have the time to visit each other, let alone for a long time.”

Xvital was doing her utmost not to flip the table on him. If this was how Night’s family was like with distant family members, she could only imagine how bad it was with his parents.

“You don’t approve, do you?” Crooked said with a raised brow, almost accusing.

“No,” she said sharply.

“As distant and strained as my relationship with Night is, it not your place to judge,” he said in a brisk tone, showing a bit of his fangs. “But we have drifted off topic, haven’t we?”

“Yes,” Xvital tried to calm herself down but couldn’t. “The whole reason I called is that I wanted to understand why Night went berserk against your parents but I think I’ve got a pretty good idea why,” she snapped as she dug her claws into the table.

“Wait, what happened?” Crooked asked as he leaned across the table.

“He apparently had enough with their crap, practically wrote them out his life and was laughing like a maniac. He said he was so happy telling them off and I can see why,” Xvital shook her head. “I should have listened to him and stayed out of all this. Now if you will excuse me, I have lost my appetite.” She pushed herself out of her chair and began to storm out of the room, almost knocking over the waiter carrying the plates to the table.

She finally made it back to the hotel, her face red with anger and embarrassment about the whole ordeal. She wanted to get back upstairs, raid the bar, apologize to Night if he was back by now, and maybe punch something. She flicked her tailhand, causing a spark of fire before she flicked it away as she rode up the elevator.

She tugged at the dress she was wearing, briefly wondering how Vix-Lei dealt with her skirt all the time before sighing. She would have to factor in a shower but not before apologizing to Night. That was the highest on the list of things she had to do. Pinching the bridge of her nose as her stomach rumbled, she realized she would need to do another room service run to get something to eat after skipping out on eating anything earlier so she’d get to her meeting with Crooked on time, then storming out before their meal arrived. She sighed; she should have at least swiped the plate off the waiter’s tray before leaving and had to admit, their appetizers were freaking good and a small part of her was wondering how good the trout was.

She then shook her head, annoyed at herself for thinking like that. She could have fish anytime she wanted, right now she needed to focus on other things. Like apologizing to Night for pushing him as far as she had earlier.

The Royal Guards standing in front of their room relaxed a tad when they saw her and this caused Xvital to pause. They weren’t supposed to show stuff like that, what was goin-

“It is not him, miss Vix-Lei,” the Guard on the left said.

“Good!” Vix-Lei shouted before the minotaur thudded across the room and opened the door. “Xy, you’re back. Good, come in, come in.” Her friend waved her inside, clearly excited.

“What’s going on here?” Xvital asked as she stepped inside. “And-” she froze as she looked around, seeing the room had been transformed while she was away. Balloons, streamers and a large banner with a sword drawn on either end, and the words Happy Talentmitzvah, Night Blade! between them. Wind Breaker and two other minotaurs were helping put up some more decorations while Rex was blowing up more balloons and Page was using her magic to secure them in place.

“I told you before, since Night’s parents didn’t give him a proper talentmitzvah, I was going to throw him one myself,” Vix-Lei said. “So this is it!”

“I see,” Xvital managed. “And who are they?” she asked, gesturing towards the other minotaurs.

“That’s my biggest little brother Herakles, and my second-biggest little brother Eusebios,” Vix-Lei explained. “Argus is in the back - he’ll be out soon.” She grinned. “Dad’s still busy at the embassy, but Rex and I were able to get my brothers to come out and help with things here.” She shook her head. “Too bad the others are still back in Ledra - we could have a really fun party going on here, especially with Baltsaros and Pyrrhus. They love parties.”

“How many brothers do you have?” Xvital found herself asking as she closed the door behind her.

“Seven,” was the answer that everyone chorused together. Rex finished blowing up a balloon and tried to shake it off of himself but it was sticking to his arm, prompting him to roll his eyes as Page used her magic to pull it off. “She is the oldest of them, by the way,” he added.

“After Argus, there’s Baltsaros, a big flirt who does most of the blueprints for our ships. Then there’s Marinos, the best flier of all of us,” Herakles said giving Vix-Lei a smirk. “Too bad Big Sis here doesn’t take after him.”

Vix-Lei stuck her tongue out at him, getting a laugh.

“Then there’s Pyrrhus,” Eusebios put in. “He helps out in the shipyards a lot, but his real passion is writing. And our youngest brother is Yanni. Nice guy, but he has odd taste in clothes.” Wind Breaker snickered at that, clearly remembering what Vix-Lei had said about the other ‘taur earlier.

“Wow.” Xvital looked impressed. “Not sure I’d be able to cope with that many - just one possible brother was more than enough for me.”

That caused everyone to stop and look at her funny, except for Wind Breaker, who just shrugged. “You probably should check up on him sometime,” he remarked from where he was standing. “See how he’s doing, or if he’s even still down in the Cuanmiztl Kingdom.”

“I’ll remember that,” Xvital said. “But right now, I need a room so I can get out of this and help you guys.” She gestured to her dress.

“You are aware that you normally don’t wear clothes and it wouldn’t be that much of a difference if you got changed here?” Rex said. Wind Breaker, Herakles and Eusebios all promptly winced in response, and Rex looked at them in confusion. “What, what did I say wrong?”

“Oh Rexy,” Vix-Lei tsked. “You simply do not say those kind of things to a lady! Or me either, for that matter,” she added teasingly.

Rex sighed. “Of course. Xvital, I apologize.”

“It’s okay,” she said. “But now I really do need to go change.” With that, she stepped into the bedroom she shared with the other girls, and began to shuck off her dress.

A few minutes later, she stepped back out to join them, just in time to catch the tail-end of Wind Breaker talking. “-she’ll tell you herself when she’s ready,” he was saying.

“I’ll tell them what myself?” she asked sharply, catching his attention.

“About your family and how you grew up,” Wind Breaker said as he turned to face her. “Since I obviously knew what you meant before, they were asking how I’d found out and what I knew. So I said that you’d told me about it when we were out trying to get information about our enemy, back after we first got together but before the big blackout, and that it was up to you when to tell them about it. That’s all.”

“Right.” Xvital sighed. “Sorry, I’m… still in kind of a bad mood after the meeting I just had. I’ll explain later,” she said as Vix-Lei opened her mouth. “So, what else do we have to do?”

Vix-Lei looked around. “Well, the decorations are mostly done, but we’ve still got a few more to put up. Argus is supervising things in the kitchen - we got a couple of the ponies who work here to make a cake and some other treats, and there’s plenty of mangos for Night. I think at this point, we just have to finish decorating and wait for the guest of honor to show up.”

Xvital nodded, and went to join the others doing the decorations with Page walking over to her. “So tell me,” she said in a smug tone. “How bad was it?”

Xvital let out a loud sigh, rubbing her eyes. “It waspainful;I get whyhis brother isn’t close with Night and why he snapped at his parents and everything but…” She tried to come up with the right words but couldn’t.

“I know,” Page said softly as she patted Xvital on the shoulder. “I want Night to have a good relationship with his family as I never got to have that chance myself but I alsowant him to be happy and I’ve also learned today that at times you chose your own family. If Night wants to cut them out of his life, then so be it.”

“Come on, whatever happened with your friend’s parents can’t be that bad,” Herakles remarked.

“Herak, we’re throwing a talentmitzvah for the guy because his parents neglected him during his entire life,” Vix-Lei said sharply, stalking over to the towering minotaur who was backing up from his sister. “So yeah,” she jabbed a finger into his chest and actually caused him to stumble backwards with a grunt. “It’s that bad.”

“Sorry sis,” he muttered sheepishly. “Didn’t know.”

Vix-Lei gave him a reassuring nod. “You’re forgiven, biggest little bro,” she slapped her brother on the arm before turning around to face Xvital. “And for you, off to the kitchen; Argus, Sacher Torte and the others could probably use some help back there.”

“But I’m no good at cooking,” Xvital said as she tried to back up but Vix-Lei had grabbed her shoulder and was pushing the ahuizotless towards the kitchen door.

“Good thing they’re baking then,” Vix-Lei said with her usual grin.

“What’s the difference, anyway?” Xvital protested. “I still can’t do either one!”

“In the simplest terms, food plus heat equals cooking,” Rex said from where he was working. “Food times mixing plus heat equals baking.”

Wind Breaker blinked and tapped his beak. “You know, I never thought of it in those terms, but you’re absolutely right,” he said.

“Of course I am right, I am the smart one after all,” Rex said with a smirk, which got them all laughing.

“And even if you can’t help with the actual baking, you can still bring things out here for them,” Page put in.

“Now that I can do,” Xvital said as she headed into the kitchen.

Inside she found a minotaur with an… interesting shade of blue fur, wearing an unusual green-colored tie. Nearby, a couple of ponies were working on different counters, including a light yellowish-orange unicorn mare with a light red mane who was covering a very large cake in what looked to be a slightly darker yellowish-orange frosting. It looked, and smelled, very good. It also smelled somewhat familiar.

“Mango cake?” she asked somewhat hesitantly.

“That’s my cousin’s name, actually,” the mare frosting the cake replied pleasantly as she turned around and winked. “I’m Sacher Torte, head dessert chef at this hotel. You must be Xvital.”

“Nice to meet you,” Xvital replied, smiling back as she extended a hand and the other female responded with a hoof. “Your baking smells really good.” She gestured to the cake.

“Why thank you.” Sacher smiled again. “Miss Turner told us the stallion of the day loves mangos.”

“He certainly does,” Xvital agreed. “So… I was told to help bring stuff out?”

“I’d appreciate it very much.” Sacher gestured. “We have a few other trays of goodies all ready to go.”

Nodding, Xvital picked up one of the covered trays, briefly lifting the lid to see what lay under it. She was greeted by the sight of peanut butter cookies, chocolate brownies with chocolate frosting, chocolate candies and piles of bonbons on paper doilies. Replacing the lid, she carried it out to the table set up for that purpose, Argus silently following her, then went back and forth with a few other trays, each with their own sets of treats.

When the last item had gone out and was set up, a cake stand with the mango cake under a glass lid, Vix-Lei clapped her hands. “So!” she said. “Now all we need is the guest of honor.”

There was a sudden noise by the goodie table, and she glanced over, nodding in satisfaction. “Good work, Argus.”

The younger minotaur, who had a hand on Herakles’ wrist to keep him from snatching any of the food, nodded back. “That’s why I’m over here, Vix-Lei.”

Xvital’s ear flicked and went over to window with a frown on her face. “Guys, do you hear that?” she asked as she opened the blinds to see that it was beginning to rain.

“Yeah, Rexy told me it was going to rain tonight so that’s why we planned for everything to go now,” Vix-Lei said as she rolled her shoulders. “I do know how to plan stuff like this and no comments from you three.” She glared at her brothers who were all grinning.

“Dare I ask?” Wind remarked from his own spot.

Herakles, who had pulled loose from Argus and moved away from the table, started to open his mouth when Vix-Lei glared at him. “I said, no comments.”

“What, you mean like no mentioning the time you flew one of our commissioned airships back into the hanger just minutes before the customer came for it? The same one that Dad told us if we touched it, we’d be out of the family?”

Vix-Lei covered her face in embarrassment, then narrowed her eyes. “As I recall, I’ve not gotten you back for the other trick you pulled two years ago - the one with the king’s pet hedgehog, that cute girl and the skimmer with the purple paint. You better watch your step.”

Herakles laughed. “Or what, you’ll do worse than Dad? Believe me, nothing can be worse than a month of no flying.”

“Try me.” Vix-Lei smirked at her brother with Eusebios grinning from ear to ear.

“Amusing as this has been, where is Night, anyway?” Page asked. “He should have been back by now.”

“I think he’ll be in very shortly,” Argus remarked from where he was still standing near the food table. “Better have a few towels ready in the anteroom.”

Page gave him an odd look, but went to do as he said.

“How did he even know that?” Rex asked Vix-Lei quietly, having slipped over to her. “He’s nowhere near the window!”

“It’s an Argus thing, I’ll explain later,” Vix-Lei whispered back as she moved to hide behind the couch. “Quick, everytaur, let’s hide and surprise Nighty.”

There was a scramble as everyone moved to hide behind stuff with Vix-Lei and her brothers managing to hide surprisingly well despite how tall they were.

As the eight waited in their various hiding places, they heard the sound of the Guard outside talking to somepony, and then the door opening.

A moment later, there was a loud gasp, and then Page’s voice could be heard. “Night, how in Equestria did you… no, never mind, just come here so I can dry you off.”

Xvital’s ears twitched, and she could barely restrain herself from commenting on Page’s fussing over her coltfriend, who was obviously not amused judging by the muttering she was hearing.

Then, the two walked into the room.

“SURPRISE!” four minotaurs, one griffon, one Diamond Dog, one ahuizotless and one pony shouted as they jumped out from behind their various places.

At the sound and sight of all of them, Night Blade stared and blinked a few times before a smile started to appear on his face. Shaking his head slowly as he began to eye everything, he turned to face her and the rest of their friends. “I don’t know what to say,” he said in an awed voice. “This is simply… I mean, the fact you guys did this, I-”

“Come on Nighty,” Vix-Lei said as she patted him on the back. “You’re our friend and there’s nothing we won’t do for each other.”

“Yeah, we’ve been busy preparing this for you since we got back from the Library this afternoon,” Wind Breaker said as Rex nodded his head.

“Vix-Lei was very thorough in her in plans for your party because she, and we, care for you,” Rex said as he tipped his head.

“I wish I got back here sooner so I could have helped more,” Xvital said a bit guiltily as Night gave her a look. “And I’m sorry about not listening to you… I understand now and again, I am so sorry Night... Can you forgive me?”

Night licked his lips and nodded his head, giving her a smile as his answer.

“I’m glad to feel and see how happy you are, Night,” Page said as she kissed him on the cheek. “Best surprise I have dealt with today; meeting the king and Gentle Step was not fun.” Night tilted his head but Page shook her head and kissed him again. “I’ll explain later,” she said as she looked at Vix-Lei’s brothers which told Xvital that it was more than likely it involved Page being the Changeling Queen.

“Thank you everyp-is that a mango cake?” Night asked as he walked over to the table.

“It certainly is,” Sacher Torte answered as she came over. “Your lady friend here told me what you liked, and I was more than happy to accommodate.”

Night nodded approvingly. “Thank you, miss…”

“Sacher Torte,” she replied. “I’m the head dessert chef for this hotel. I hope you don’t mind if I stick around for your party.”

“Of course not,” Night replied as he continued to stare at the cake.

“Shall I cut you a piece, sir?”

“Please,” Night said as his tail was wagging. Xvital and the rest of them had to hold back their snickers at their friend acting like this but it was good to see Night this happy.

Sacher smiled and promptly did so, handing it to him at which point he dispensed any form of class and began to eat it with gusto, finishing it off in just under a minute.

“This is excellent,” Night Blade remarked to Sacher as he helped himself to another slice of cake as the mare gave them out to the rest of them. “You did a wonderful job.”

“Thank you,” the mare said with a smile. “The talent’s in my blood - I come from a long line of bakers and pastry chefs.”

“I can believe that,” Eusebios remarked as he dug into his own piece. “I’ll second what Night said - this is really, really good.”

Sacher beamed with pride at that as they all moved to the table and sat down.

“So,” Night said as Vix-Lei began uncovering the other trays, allowing them to reach the goodies inside. “I feel much better after my walk, despite the sudden shower at the end.” He rolled his eyes at the thought. “Besides this, what have all of you been up to today?”

“Got supplies for here, got my three oldest little brothers to help out setting up,” Vix-Lei said. “And of course Rex helped me too.”

“Lunch meeting that I kind of stormed out on,” Xvital put in as she looked at Night. “I’ll explain more later - don’t want to mess with the mood here.”

“And Wind and I met with Matron Hush Tone,” Page said. “And… a few others.” She smiled. “The Matron was very glad to see me again.”

“I’m sure she was,” Night said, smiling at her. “So how have things been at the library?”

Page’s face lit up, and while Xvital could tell she was omitting a few things, there was a smile on her face that was absolutely genuine as she talked about how more than a few of her co-workers had mentioned how much the foals had missed having her read to them.

Chapter Six: Page Turner, Gentle Step

Chapter Six

Page Turner

Page was right behind Wind when there was a rush of magic as somepony teleported into the office.

“Good day, Miss Turner,” the mare said as she emerged from the bubble of magic. “I must speak with you.”

Both Wind and Page were left stunned to see Gentle Step appear in the middle of the room, with the military mare staring at her.

“Um, I suppose we can talk-” Page began only for the Captain General to close the door behind them, separating Page from her friend.

“As I am to understand,” the Captain General said as she stalked towards Hush Tone’s chair. “Memorizing Gaze is to be the liaison between Equestria and your Queen, correct?” she asked while the smell of her breath was oddly familiar for some reason.

“Y-yes,” Page said. “One of them, at least, along with myself. Can I ask what this is about?”

The Captain General tapped the desk, looking off to the side for a bit. Page could taste her nervousness before she finally spoke, “How close is he to be working with your Queen?”

Page frowned at that internally, wondering exactly where this was leading to. Still, Page had no reason to lie to the mare as it would only cause problems in the future. “Fairly close, ma’am.”

Of all the emotions Page had expected from the mare, the sudden wave of bitterness and jealousy was decidedly not among them. What was going on, what was she really after?

“I see,” the Captain General replied with almost no emotions in her voice. The mare licked her lips before she flashed her narrow eyes at Page. “Is she planning to make him her mate as to further her position against Equestria.”

Page let out a gasp as the pieces finally fell into place; the Captain General was in love!

And was viewing her as a potential rival!

Shaking her head as she back, Page stammered, “I don’t have any plans for hi- I mean our Queen has no plans for him! She owes him a great debt of gratitude for his service but I swear, she, our Queen, has no desire to make him her Royal Consort considering what happened in the past.”

Page’s heart was thundering in her chest at her slip with the Captain General staring at her with wide eyes.

“You’re the Changeling Queen of the Badlands Hive,” the mare said in a slow tone, lowering her head.

Page knew that while she could try and spin a tale to protect herself, past experiences told her how dangerous that was. So she decided to take a breathe of air to calm herself before replying, “Yes, I am the Changeling Queen, ma’am, and as I have said previously, you have no reason to feel threatened in your romantic feelings towards Memorizing Gaze. I have no desire to seek a relationship with my Royal Protector so you have my blessings to seek a partnership with him.”

“Romantic feelings, relationship, partnership, what are you talking about?” the mare asked Page, with clear confusion in her voice and emotions.

“I’m talking about the love you have for Memorizing Gaze,” Page said with a small smile on her face.

“Love Memorizing Gaze‽” the mare sputtered, reeling back in surprise. “He is my oldest friend, the idea I would be in love with him is so absurd that it doesn’t deserve any more words!”

“Captain General.” Page said as soothingly as she could. “I can feel your emotions, as powerfully as you’re broadcasting. You might not realize it, but you do love him. Believe me, I can tell.”

“He is my oldest friend,” she snapped, shaking her head. “Sure, we were always playing together as foals, and yes, a small reason to why I joined the Guards was to be like him, but it doesn’t mean I love Mems.” The Captain General stood up and began to pace. “And seeing him in trouble like this morning was very distressing and so what if I did take my first day off when I learned of him resigning due to those fuc-individuals in Internal Affairs but it doesn’t mean I love Mems.”

“And the fact you came here to learn if his Queen would take him as a husband meant nothing, right?” Page ventured carefully.

“Right,” the older mare said defensively, nodding her head.

“And you were jealous that he could be with another nymph meant nothing?” Page could see the anger in the mare’s face this time before she cleared her face.

“Of course!” the mare shouted, turning to glare at Page with her horn lowered.

“If that is all true, then can you explain why you are getting so angry?”

“I-” that caused the Captain General to pause on the spot before she lowered her hoof and began to mutter words under her breath. She then fell backwards onto her plot with a dazed look on her face. “By the Goddesses, I am in love with Memorizing Gaze.”

Page gave her a kind smile and trotted over to the mare. “I am glad to hear you admit that and,” Page began to address the Hivemind about her first few commands, beyond telling them that the Great Library was a safe place for them to be and that they were to head there. “I have just told my Hive that there is a pony that has their eyes settled on the Royal Protector of the Queen, so you won’t have that much competition but you will need to move qu-”

“Royal Protector?” the mare snapped her head upwards at Page, causing her to freeze and bite the inside of her cheek at her second slip of the tongue.

“Yes,” Page admitted reluctantly. “Memorizing Gaze is a direct descendant of the family that is bred to protect the Royal Family, the Sages of the Past, and the Hivemind Body. Each generation gives birth to triplets with the oldest drone becoming the Royal Protector, and the other two become the Sage’s Protector and the Hivemind Protector, respectively.” Page saw the mare was waiting for more. “And a main reason to why there is no chance between me and Memorizing Gaze, besides the fact I am with Night right now, is that his ancestors betrayed Queen Chrysalis by giving King Blueblood all the information he needed to invade the Hive. While I do not agree with Chrysalis’s actions and I am eternally grateful for the help Memorizing Gaze gave us, I still have a bit of anger at him for what happened all those years ago.”

“I see,” the mare said as she stood up, shaking her head slowly. “Thank you for telling me all this as well as…” she trailed off as she began to blush. “The other matter. You do not need to worry, I will not reveal your true identity.”

“Thank you.” Page nodded. “Memorizing Gaze is still here, by the way, if you want to see him. He and Matron Hush Tone are looking for a place where he can set up his office, since the Matron has offered the Great Library as the center for helping my changelings now.”

“I-” the mare began before she shook her head. “Thank you but no thank you. I have certain matters to attend to back in the office. Have a good afternoon, Miss Turner.”

She then teleported out of the room, leaving Page alone for a moment before Wind Breaker opened the door, peeking inside.

“Did what I just hear really happen?” he asked as he moved inside the office.

“If you mean that Gentle Step, the Captain General, is completely in love with Memorizing Gaze and she knows that I am the Queen, then yes,” Page said a bit distractedly.

“What do we do about all that, Page?” Wind asked her.

“About her being in love with Memorizing? There’s really nothing more to do other than what I already have,” Page said. “I might have to talk to Memorizing himself about this later, tell him I support them in their relationship. But otherwise, I think they’ll be just fine. As for her figuring out who I am… she’s already promised not to tell anypony, and I believe her.” She smiled. “But now, you and I need to go make lunch for everypony.”

“Right.” Wind Breaker nodded. “So, which way was the kitchen again?”

Page laughed, and the two set off.

Gentle Step

Gentle Step blinked her eyes as she teleported back into her office. It was not the ideal place to deal with the fact that she was in love with Memorizing, but she already said she going to her office. She should be able to panic there in peace without anypony seeing her lose her cool and all four of her Captains were in her office.

“Hello,” she said carefully, wondering why they were all here. “We are not scheduled to meet today…”

“Well,” Sweet Surprise said with a grin on her face. “There are matters that forced us to meet impromptuly like this.”

“Matters?” she asked, wondering where Sweet was going with this. Gentle was still rattled by the revelation but she knew that she had to keep her wits up.

“Well of course,” Blazen Sun said, stroking his beard that was not hiding his own grin. “Not everyday we get a new Captain to join our rank, sir.”

“New Captain?” Gentle ventured carefully.

“Yes, and he came highly recommend,” Violet Lulamoon said with Standing Wall nodding at her with excitement.

“Who are you talking abou-”

“Hello Gents,” the voice from behind her almost caused her to jump out of her coat. Spinning around, she saw Memorizing Gaze standing right behind her with his normal fangy grin on his strong face and how had she been this blind for this long. “It is nice to see you again.”

“Likew-”

“Excuse me, Captain Gaze,” Sweet Surprise said as she walked over to them. “But the Captain General prefers to be called by her titles or sir. No nicknames as she is very professional.”

Much to her displeasure, Sweet Surprise did not explode under her glare.

“As I was saying, it is very to see you again,” Gentle said as she looked up into his blue eyes and felt herself begin to get lost in them with a portion of her mind studying all the details on his face.

“I am sorry about this morning, sir,” Memorizing said, with Gentle making a mental note to send the Luna Guards on heavy patrol duties outside of the city. “After I have spoken with the King, he promised me that Internal Affairs will not bother me about my tribe again.”

“Good to know,” Gentle said while willing her tail to stay in place. “I-”

“So are you two going to going on the Captain’s Meet?” Blazen asked with a sly smirk on his own face.

“The Captain’s Meet? There is no needfor it,” Memorizing said before Standing tsked and shook her head.

“Nonsense, it is tradition for the Captain General to spend the evening with their new Captains,” she said as Gentle began to figure out their entire plan.

“Still, both the Captain General and I know each other and this-”

“Why do you not ask her if she would accompany you on the Captain’s Meet, Captain Gaze?” Violet prompted.

Rolling his eyes, Memorizing looked at Gentle Step. “Captain General, would you do me the honor of accompanying me to the Captain’s Meet?”

“It would be my pleasure,” Gentle replied with Memorizing blinking in surprise.

“Excellent,” Blazen said as he walked over to Memorizing side and began to direct him off to her private arming chambers. “Come, let us get you prepared in private, young stal-drone.”

“I-” Memorizing began to say before the older stallion pushed him out of the room, leaving the four mares alone which meant Gentle could kill Sweet.

“You,” she hissed, with her eyes narrowed.

“Are welcome,” the unicorn grinned. “I highly doubt you would have had the courage to do this yourself, Gentle and we could not let you pass this by.”

“You can punish her later, Gentle,” Violet said as she patted the mare on the side, ignoring Sweet’s squawk of protest. “Just enjoy yourself tonight.”

“And while I would normally highly advise against this, do what Sweet Surprise would do,” Standing Wall said as the white mare was now pouting playfully and Gentle knew that these ponies were truly her best friends and could not help but smile.

“Thank you all for this,” Gentle said softly before looking at the Captain of the South. “I expect you to bring your spouses in so I can meet them and express my gratitude.”

“Wait what?” Sweet Surprise looked surprised at this announcement.

“I do believe it is a proven fact that spouses influence each other and I would be honoured to meet them.”

“Well now, that’s not completelynecessar-” she began, looking nervously.

“And I would love to meet the mare and stallion that managed to win one of my dearest friend’s heart,” the other unicorn added in.

“I don’t know; Hot Rod and Sound Mind areboth very bus-”

“And as you said, you don’t have anything to hide, right Sweet?” Standing Wall asked with a wide grin on her face.

The married mare let out a sigh, hanging her head in defeat. “I will see what I can do.”

“Wonderful,” Blazen said as he walked up behind her with Memorizing sans his armour standing behind him. “I am very eager to meet this Hot Rod of yours, Sweets and do be afraid, because I believe I speak for us all that we will strive to embarrass you.”

The white mare groaned loudly, causing everypony in the room to chuckle, including Gentle herself. She then felt something bump against her side and saw that Memorizing was looking down at her, smiling his gorgeous fanged smile at her.

“Shall we go?” he asked.

“Yes,” she replied as she teleported the two of them out of the room.

Chapter Seven: Deep Blade

Chapter Seven

Deep Blade

Running through the streets, Deep Blade was seriously regretting not ordering a lift as it began to rain down on his head.

He let out a small sigh; the rain storms in Prance were so much smoother and enjoyable than in Canterlot. In Mareis, a stallion could enjoy the light downpour that the weather team brought out; take long walks and admire all the artitecture that the Mareisians had in their city, the big stuff and the small little treasures you could only find after stumbling around with a slightbuzz from drinking a Mareisian under the table. You could sit on a balcony and paint for hours or try to cease living from the intense hangover from drinking a Mareisian under the table. There was also just enjoying the storm with a nice glass of wine in front of the fireplace or with an open-minded mare or two at your side, something which he had experienced more than a few times and smiled from the memories.

But he had wanted a new scene and new challenges to be inspired again, so the Academy seemed to be interesting choice and he had applied to be a teacher. And while he did his best to help inspire his students, they helped inspire him as well and he had began to do some more of his high praised art again. As well as help him learn what an art teacher actually did and how he was supposed to grade them.

So he had to deal with Canterlot heavy hoofed style of rainstorms that drove any sensible pony inside and with him being stuck in the Upper due to that’s where the Academy was and where he was expected to be, he couldn’t go out to the bars for nights on end or find any hidden gems in the city that hadn’t been found already. And there were so few mares he could actually share a bed with that wouldn’t end up biting him in the plot that it just wasn’t worth the risk of a scandal breaking out and having his family breathe down his neck about getting a mare pregnant.

Crooked had already made Mom and Dad happy by giving them a grandfoal, he didn’t need to add to it and get lectured for not being married when or if he did it. Although there were a lot of mares in his black book who would kill to be in his family, there was no real mare he could bring home without the entire thing being awkward due to how he met the majority of them and he didn’t have a real connection with any of them besides sleeping with them or drawing them in risque paintings for private galleries.

Sweet Luna, if Mom ever saw any of his waterfall fillies paintings, he would just die!

“Sweet fuck,” he swore as he got splashed by passing by wagon, shaking himself dry as he shook a hoof at the mountain griffon taking the cart away.

Grumbling loudly, he shook his head and was ready to kill Crooked for dragging him out into this storm. If he hadn’t got the call with their emergency code, he would have stayed back in his studio apartment.

But something had happened between his parents and Night that caused Crooked to call him u-

“Deep?” a voice caused him to snap his head upwards as he saw his sister staring at him. Serrated was wearing a very fancy dress with an umbrella held up by her wing and of course, she was frowning at him, no doubt judging him again. “Why,” she clicked her tongue with Deep rolling his eyes at her. “Are you walking in the rain without a jacket, a hat or anything?”

“Becausesis,” he rolled his words as he did a short bow that made her snort. “When I heard that something was Fruit Juice level bad, I ran straight out of my apartment and didn’t bother to put a fancy dress on like someponies.”

“Well Deep, I doubt you would look as good in it as I do but you could always try,” Serrated grinned at him causing Deep to scowl but he didn’t push as she let him get under the umbrella and out of the rain. “So what do you think happened?”

“And I am good too, Serrated, thank you for asking,” Deep said with Serrated giving him a glare before tilting her umbrella enough that he got wet again.

“Sorry Deep, how are you and I must ask do you have any idea what could have happened?”

“I’m good although a bit wet and wishing to hug my sister,” Deep said teasingly.

“Do it and die, this is a Sassy Saddles original,” Serrated hissed with her fangs out.

“If I wanted to die by a mare attacking me, I wouldn’t go for my sister,” he responded. “But in all seriousness, no, I don’t have a clue what happened, just that it involved Mom and Dad and Night.”

Serrated let out a small hiss and Deep couldn’t help himself from doing the same. A few months ago, during the Honour Festival, a number of those purple Guards had barged into his classroom and ordered him to come with them for questioning. While he was annoyed by the interruption, he knew better than to argue with them and did his best to answer their questions about Night which amounted to nothing. He had heard that Serrated had been dragged off the stage to be questioned about the same thing, Hidden was forced out of a very important business meeting by them and even Crooked and Striking had been under intense scrutiny because of Night. Apparently his little brother, something he still wasn’t used to, had been accused of plotting regicide of all things and they had damning evidence against him and a few others he was apparently working with. Deep had initially tried to dismiss it but he had nothing to really counter the accusations. Then the next day, Night and his band of so-called terrorists had actuallyblown up the power plant which had caused Deep to rethink what little he knew about his brother’s true nature.

Thenhe’d heard about Night’s fight in the Everfree forest and how they were calling Night the Butcher of the Everfree Forest now. He had gone on a bit of a rant when some of his students drew what they thought happened there and had totally defended himself properly when the dean had stormed over. That was what Emerald Forte, his lawyer, had told him after she came by, anyways. She was such a good help and he had been so lucky to find and hire her as his personal lawyer. He still needed to find her a good stallion that wouldn’t be one of those scuzzballs who were only interested in one night stands.

Shaking his head as he got distracted again - he would need to listen to Emerald Forte and eat things to bring his sugar level up or down or whatever his food intake was supposed to be - and thought about Night again. How quiet things became after the Everfree Forest incident with the paper claiming that the Questioning Order was helping them now which made no sense as one of them was a changeling; then the news about the sudden uprising in the Crystal Dominance and finally the visit from the Cuanmiztl Kingdom’s royalty, which was also helping them… and then things had really turned on their head when it was announced that Night and his friends were actually heroes being framed by the real bad guy, whom they’d defeated and driven out of Equestria for good with that rainbow causing everypony to have a miniature magic surges. Of course any details were being kept strictly classified, but the gist of it had gotten out.

“Any idea to what Night could have done?” Serrated asked as they turned the corner of the block.

“Nope, no idea whatsoever,” Deep replied. “Maybe he got a mare pregnant?”

“No, Crooked would’ve called a Deep Finally Knocked A Mare Up alert if that was the case,” Serrated said with a small smile on her face.

“Excuse me‽” Deep reared, flicking his wings out. “Why am I the one for that alert‽”

“Well, we all thought if anypony would get a kid out of marriage, it would be you,” Serrated shot back as she danced out of the way from the water on his wings.

Deep was about to counter this when he stopped and actually thought it through. “Eh, I can see it,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders. “But I don’t know if I can see Night in a relationship, or even something frivolous that could produce a foal.”

“Neither can I,” Serrated sighed. “Honestly, I can’t think of anything he could possibly have done outside of what was already in the news.” She cocked her head. “Are you sure you can’t think of anything either?”

“No,” Deep replied, tilting his head. “We’ve had almost no interactions, aside from being in the same room during family get togethers that we are all forced to attend and the day he inherited Determined Point from me.”

“Really?” Serrated gave him a look. “I’d think you’d know him at least a little better than that… at least enough to make some kind of guess.”

“Do you know him that well?” Deep countered. “I mean, I can’t really recall the last time that Crooked issued a Fruit Juice,” he said as he trailed off, tilting his head to the other side. “Beyond the time you took the family’s skimmi-”

“We do not talk about that, Deep,” Serrated growled as she blushed, twitching her purple wings. “...and thanks for covering for me back then.”

“Eh, I was used to having Mom and Dad disappointed in me back then, wasn’t that big of a deal,” Deep shrugged. “Beside, it was a fun way to start a semi vacation in Los Pegasus, right sis?”

Serrated hesitated for a moment, then nodded with a smile on her lips. “Yeah, it was, kind of.” Then she quirked her head. “Speaking of skimmers, how do you think Night met that minotaur who had her crazy driving plastered all the papers a few months back?”

“The Goddesses only know,” Deep sighed. “I suppose one of these days we’ll find out.”

Serrated nodded her head as they turned along the streets they had played in as foals and saw Blade manor standing tall in the rainstorm with three ponies standing in the doorway.

Crooked was standing next to Hidden, his brother still dressed in his Royal Guard uniform and Hidden was dressed in a business suit while Clean Home had a towel levitating in his magic.

“Good, you two are home,” Crooked said as Clean Home placed the towel over his head while taking Serrated’s umbrella. “We can-”

“Hello Crooked, Hidden, how are you two?” Deep said as he rubbed his head dry. “Serrated and I are fine, thank you for asking and why did you just have one towel, Home?”

“Because sir,” the old unicorn said with his droll voice. “Out of all of your siblings, you would be the only one not to bring a rainjacket or an umbrella.”

Deep shrugged his shoulders as Crooked sighed heavily into his hoof with Hidden doing the same.

“He is right, you know,” Serrated said with a smirk. “You are like that.”

“Lay off me, would ya?” Deep sighed. “Can we please go inside so we can find out what all this is about?”

Crooked nodded. “Quite.” Turning around and heading into the foyer, Crooked allowed Clean Home to take his coat and hang it up while Deep examined the room. It hadn’t changed all that much since he had left home. Still a cold, stark room with the massive family portrait of Dad and Mom, with the four of them in a row beneath them. Crooked and Hidden doing their weird twin lookalike thing with Serrated next to one of them and Deep on the other side. There was a smaller portrait of Night attached to it as if it were to fool anypony that it was an addition. Maybe if the pony was a complete idiot and couldn’t tell that the background colours did not match, the dimensions were off in the two paintings and Night was facing the wrong way compared to the bigger painting. Deep knew that it had been on the back burner to update it but there was always so little time for all of them to be together and have enough time to stand still for a painting.

Shaking his head, Deep followed his brother and his sisters to the left, into the manor’s drawing room.

As the four entered, Sweet Dagger looked up from where she had been sitting, wringing her hooves, but said nothing. Neither did Lethal Blade, who was staring moodily out one of the windows. Clean Home had reappeared with drinks on a serving tray, with Deep smelling peach, apple, pumpkin, strawberry, orange and cherry giving them out to his Mom, Dad, brother, Hidden, Serrated and himself.

Moving in front of the mantel with the drink held by his wing, Crooked waited for the others to find their seats, and when they had, he looked around, a serious expression on his face. “Earlier today, I had a meeting with an ahuizotless by the name of Xvital, an associate of Night’s,” he stated a bit chipped, telling Deep his brother was worried. “She had apparently witnessed something that she did not fully understand, and was hoping I could explain it.” His eyes drifted to Lethal and Crooked before looking forwards. “Namely, she wanted to know about the relationship that our youngest brother had with our parents and why, when he met them earlier today, he went berserk, as the lady put it.”

“Berserk?” Deep started to rise out of his seat. “What-”

“As I understand it,” Crooked gave him a look, and he backed into his seat again. “There was a great deal of yelling on Night’s part about how he wanted you two out of his life. However, I was unable to learn much more than that, as the lady lost her own temper and stormed out on me soon after telling me this.” He turned to his parents. “Would either of you care to fill in the details?”

Lethal and Sweet looked at each other guiltily and squirmed for a moment before their Dad turned his head to face them. “We had finally learned where they, the Royal Guards,” he paused to look at Crooked which caused his brother to gulp a bit, although he tried to hide it behind a drink of his pumpkin drink. “Were keeping Night and those others out of the public view. We were trying to talk to him when… the fight happened.” He paused, with Mom resting a hoof on his shoulder. “He started to yell at us, accusing us of ruining him and messing his life up. That we only cared about him now and he wanted us to stay out of his life for good.”

“That little-” Hidden began only for Mom to raise her wing.

“He then brought up his talentmitzvah and…” she trailed off with choked sob. “He is completely right.”

“That’s not possible,” Hidden said firmly. “You were great parents. A little stern at times, but what parent isn’t?”

“She’s right,” Serrated chimed in. “We know you’re wonderful ponies, and you raised us all well…”

“That is very kind of you to say, but I’m afraid we did make a lot of mistakes with Night,” Lethal said tiredly. “We may not have recognized it at the time, but the way he threw it in our faces today… no, I can’t say he was entirely wrong. Especially about that day.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Deep said as he tried to get a word in. “What exactlyhappened during Night’s talentmitzvah? I don’t even remember reading about it in the papers or anything.”

“And ours were the talk of the town,” Hidden gestured to the four of them.

Immediately, both of his parents shared a guilty look before Dad started to speak again. “Well as you are all aware we had planned to retire from both the business and the whole social nonsense when Night was born. We had to take charge of the business again,” Deep turned his head to see Hidden nod her head, reminding him that she had to deal with Mom and Dad on a semi regular basis as they were now part of the board. “We did our best to avoid the whole ordeal with the other nobles but when Night got his talent emblem, we were obligated to invite them to his talentmitzvah. And we had to make sure that they were properly catered for, so we had to hire some of the best for the party. And then they brought some of their hanger-ons and…”

“Oh my Luna, you two didn’t, did you?” Serrated groaned into her hoof with Crooked and Hidden sharing the same stunned look. “You actually turned his party into a stuffy adult party?”

Sweet licked her lips and shared a look with Lethal and let out a sigh. “We did andwe were completely focused on making sure all of our guests were enjoying themselves and…”

“And then Night got upset at the lack of attention and began making a scene in front of everypony.”

“And then you two probably did what happened when we acted out, right?” Deep asked, shaking his head in disbelief. “You two actuallygrounded him on his talentmitzvah day. No wonder he’s so mad.”

“But not enough to hold it for… how many years was it?” Crooked asked, going from angered to confused as he considered the question. Deep was embarrassed himself that he didn’t know when Night got his talent emblem and he was partly responsible for it!

“Fourteen years,” Lethal replied. “He’s said as little as possible to us in all that time…”

Crooked nodded, and Deep Blade could just see the wheels spinning in his brother’s head.

“But you guys did go to him afterwards and explain stuff, right?” Hidden said with a bit of desperation in her voice that was only made worse by how neither of their parents answered right away.

“We were going to talk to him when the party was over but he was fast asleep by then and… and with one thing after the other, we just never got around to it the next day,” Sweet admitted. “We were actually waiting for him to apologize to give him… give him… no please tell us we did not.” Sweet then got up and walked over to the false wall panel and removed it. She then began to fish around for something. She let out a surprise jolt before she started to cry in earnest.

The reason for why became swiftly obvious as she pulled out a small, dust covered gift, and Lethal walked to over her and began to hold her close.

“Mom, Dad, that’s Night’s talentmitzvah gift, isn’t it?” Deep asked as he slid down in his seat and took a drink from his glass of cherry soda only for it to taste sour when they nodded their heads.

“And you’ve held onto it all this time…” Crooked pondered.

“No, they forgot about it, Crooks,” Hidden said. She shook her head. “I can’t believe it…”

“We really did mess up with him, didn’t we?” Serrated asked. “Not just Mom and Dad - all of us. I mean…”

“It’s just like Xvital said to me today,” Crooked admitted. “She said we could have at least kept in touch with him, like we did with one another… but we all had our own lives to live, and we didn’t even think about how our distances could affect him.”

“Some of us more so than others,” Deep added. “Heck, I was out of the country for most of his life, now that I think about it.”

“So what do we do now?” Serrated asked. “I mean, it’s not like we can go back and change history.”

“No.” Crooked’s face suddenly turned more serious than it had been. “But we can at least try to apologize.”

“How are we going to do that without getting our heads bitten off?” Hidden asked. “If he flipped out at Mom and Dad…”

“He yelled at us because of what we did,” Lethal broke in. “You four, on the other hoof, have never done anything to directly earn his ire - not that I know of, at least. Perhaps he’ll actually listen to you, instead of… snapping, like he did with us.”

Crooked nodded. “Though I suspect it would be better if I… stayed back a bit,” he said. “At least, if Xvital is around. The last time I saw her, she was quite angry with me after I admitted how little contact Night and I had ever had. Night himself might be more willing to listen to me though - she said he’d given her my contact number so she could talk to me.”

“We’ll figure that out when we get there,” Deep said. “Wherever there is.” He gave his parents a look.

Lethal nodded and, taking a quill and sheet of paper out of a nearby drawer, began writing something. “Here’s the address,” he said. “And I really, really hope I’m right that Night will be willing to listen to the four of you.”

Crooked accepted the paper. “I hope you’re right too, Dad,” he said quietly.

The four siblings got up and headed for the door. As they entered the foyer and began preparing for the trip out, Deep glanced at his brother. “So, how did this Xvital come to be in the same place as Night when Mom and Dad went to visit him, anyway?”

“If I am not mistaken, she was one of the five who were, along with Night, being framed for treason against the Crown,” Crooked said as he got his coat on. “How they first met, I never found out.”

“Guess it’s one of the things we’ll have to ask when we get there,” Deep said with a sigh. “And all the rest of them too.”

“I think,” Crooked said, a mysterious look on his face, “That we will find at least one of his companions has known him for a lot longer than the rest.”

“Oh?” Hidden looked up. “What do you mean?”

“That, dear twin, is for me to know and you to be surprised by.” Crooked gave her a smirk.

“...You realize I’m going to get you for that.”

“We’ll see, little sister. We’ll see.”

“You don’t have to call me little, I’m less than a minute younger than you!”

“One minute younger or ten, you’re still by definition my little sister.”

Hidden gave him a loud hiss, then stalked over to the door, where Serrated was waiting with an amused look on her face.

“You know she’s going to do something terrible to you,” Deep muttered out of the corner of his mouth.

“She has the necessary enthusiasm, the inventiveness, the experience… I have the resources and training of the Royal Guards," Crooked mouthed back.

“Remind me again who short-sheeted your bed, while you were sleeping in it, without getting caught that time after you decapitated her dolls?”

Crooked’s face reddened. “They were enemy soldiers, I’ve toldyou this countless times.”

“If you two are finished whispering like a couple of gossipy little school-fillies,” Serrated remarked from her spot by the door, “We’re ready to go.”

Crooked’s face turned even redder, while Deep just chuckled as he grabbed an umbrella. “We’re coming, sis.”

Chapter Eight: Gentle Step

Chapter Eight

Gentle Step

Shaking her head from the latest teleportation she had done today, she could hear Memorizing grumbling next her. Looking up, Gentle could see him flash her an unamused look.

“I know you are quite proud of the fact you can teleport multiple ponies, but it is still polite to tell others that you are about to do it,” he tried to be stern about it but quickly ruined that with his smirk.

Gentle snorted and bumped into him. “You are a Captain, you should be able to handle such minor things as unexpected teleportation.”

“Yes, the only non Dum Soluti Captain,” he shot back as he turned his head to look down Bourbon Street. It was clearly out of place in the Upper; crowded, squat buildings that seemed run down and in need of repair but as it was more or less the Guards section of the city, few actually complained. Fewer understood that the appearances of Bourbon were actually a deception and were actually some of the more fortified areas of the city. “So where shall we go?”

“The Old Terminal Bar,” Gentle replied. “Despite the name, it does serve the best food here.”

“It does have your endorsement, if I am correct,” he said with Gentle rolling her eyes.

“You know you are correct,” she snapped back as they began to walk to the bar, with a few Guards giving them odd looks as they passed by. “You keep track of almost everything.”

“Very true, Gentle,” he said. “I and my Guards do my best to keep on top of everything that happens in Canterlot, Equestria and the world at large.”

Gentle didn’t have anything to say to that so she simply nodded her head as she pushed the door open, briefly wondering how or what she would be talking about with Memorizing. The Captain’s Meet was usually done so a new Captain General could get to know their Captains but she already knew Memorizing and how he worked and this was so id-

“Are you okay, Gentle? You seem nervous,” Memorizing inquired, looking at her with concern on his face.

“Yes,” she said, nodding her head slightly. “Can you not read my emotions?” she asked, raising an eyebrow with her hoof on the door.

“I make it a point never to read or feed off of yours or any of the Captain’s emotions, Gentle.” Memorizing said with a slight jerk of his head, telling her that she had inadvertently offended him.

“I am just asking, Memorizing,” she told him as they entered the bar. Almost every table inside was full of Guards from the Magi of Stars, Cadenza, Luna, Celestia and Royal divisions, all chattering to each other, with a few turning their heads to look at the newcomers. “As part of the Captain’s Meet, I am supposed to ask all sorts of questions.”

“True…” Memorizing said as the two of them stood by the podium in the front with a waitress coming to seat them. “Two plea-” he stopped as the mare’s eyes went wide before darting into the kitchen. Memorizing tilted his head before he looked down at his hooves and then facehooved. “I cannot believe I forgot my Grey Hoof disguise.”

“You do not need to hide yourself anymore, Memorizing,” Gentle hissed angrily at him. “You and your tribe have been forgiven, remember?”

“I haven’t forgotten, Gentle,” he hissed back before shaking his head. “Still, I am getting far too used to going around without it.”

Snorting, Gentle was about to lay into him when the waitress came out with the head chef, Broad Clearing.

“Excuse me, ma’am but I am afraid you and your…” he flicked his eyes at Memorizing before looking at her again. “Other are not welcome here. Please turn around and let us not start anything we would all regret.” He flicked his head to the Guards sitting down who were all staring at the scene unfolding, clearly thinking he had their support.

“If I am to understand you correctly, you are refusing service to my associate here due to the tribe he hails from,” Gentle said with a calm voice, doing her best to suppress her anger.

“We understand that the changelings have been pard-”

“Yes or no, not an excuse,” Gentle said as she narrowed her eyes.

The chef seemed slightly spooked by this but nodded his head. “Yes.”

“I see,” she replied as she walked past them and towards the wall that had a number of famous pictures and autographs and looked for one frame in particular.

“Excuse me, ma’am but you cannot be-”

“I am retrieving something I had given this place in the past,” she told the chef as she pulled off her own endorsement of the bar which all the Guards in the city took as the one place they should go for after hours drinks.

“You can’t take that; the Captain General herself gave it to us!” the chef yelled at her, trying to pull it out of her hooves.

She turned around to glare at him harder. “And as the Captain General, I am revoking my personal endorsement of this establishment. I cannot in good conscience support any place that would refuse service to any of my Guards or Captains.”

As she expected, all of the Guards stood up at once and stared at the now squirming chef with disgust on their faces. A few, however, were looking at Memorizing. The drone paused for a moment before nodding his head, which was the signal for them to drop their disguises. The appearance of changelings in black armour caused a few Guards to pull back in surprise but pleasingly, the majority of them were completely accepting of the reveal that some of their fellow Guards and friends had been hiding the truth from them for some time.

The Guards of all six divisions then began to head for the door with the chef staring dumbstruck and the waitress running off again.

Both Gentle and Memorizing waited until every Guard was gone before turning around as a pony in a formal attire began to run towards them.

“Madam Captain General, please wai-” the manager shouted at them.

“No and goodbye,” she said as the two of them stepped out, with her slamming the door shut behind her. Memorizing looked at her, the Guards already spreading out and searching for new locations that they could claim as their own.

“Care to lead on?” he prompted her, with Gentle looking around for another place they could go to, head towards the more out of way bars and establishments. All the ones they passed by seemed overly generic and none of them caught her eyes until she spotted something that was different. Walking up to a bar that had salon doors with the name of The Blue Mountain, she opened to see it was run entirely by griffons. There were a few Guards in the bar but they seemed to be enjoyi-

“Hello there; a table for the couple?” a female valley griffon with grayish-red fur and very lightly-tinged green feathers asked, holding a pair of menus in her talons and smile on her face.

It took Gentle a second to realize what the griffoness said and felt her face flush with embarrassment. “We’re not together-I mean, we are eating together but we’re not da-dating or anything like that.” She began to shuffle on the spot with Memorizing and the griffoness staring at her in confusion.

“What my friend here,” Memorizing said, “is trying to say is that we’re here to have something of a get-to-know-your-new-employee meeting with one another, not as a couple.”

“Oh!” The griffoness blushed. “Terribly sorry about the misunderstanding. Though in my opinion, you two would make a totally cute couple.”

Memorizing’s face reddened. “Yes, well. We would like a table, please.”

“Right this way,” the griffoness said.

As she led them to their table, Gentle Step glanced at Memorizing, wondering what he was thinking.

When the two had settled in and the waitress left them alone so they could make their order, Gentle looked at the menu to avoid talking about the whole couple thing. “So…” she said awkwardly. “You see anything you would like? These meat nachos seem to be good, not that much spice in it.”

“Seems fine to me,” Memorizing said, nodding his head. “How about we split a pitcher of beer and we could then talk about the whole couple thing?”

Gentle could not help herself from flinching and actually ducked behind her menu. “Th-that sounds good to me,” she said, cursing her sudden shyness.

“Are you okay, Gents?” Memorizing asked her as he placed his hoof on hers, causing her to gasp a bit. “This isn’t like you at all; maybe we should postpone this and get you checked ou-”

“No, I’m fine,” she snapped, a bit harsher than she intended but it seemed to convince Memorizing that everything was normal.

“If you say so,” he said slowly, clearly not believing her completely. In a flash, he had hid his concerned face with his easy going smile as he flagged their waitress down.

“Hello there you two, ready to order?” she asked, a smile on her beak.

“Yes, but one question, how big is number seventeen?” he asked, tapping the picture.

“The nacho meat platter?” she said, tilting her head in that way only those wings seemed able to do. “Are you two planning to share it?”

“Yes,” Gentle said, nodding her head as she closed her menu. “I’ve got accustomed to the taste of meat in the past and it is not often that I can have some.”

“Well, if you two were on a date, I’d say you’d be very lucky as it normally does serve two,” she paused long enough for both Gentle and Memorizing to blush again, with Gentle aware that the griffon was doing this on purpose. “But as this is a business meeting, I would say it is a fairly economical saving choice.”

“Thank you, we will take that as well as a pitcher of beer,” Gentle said, handing her menu to the griffoness with Memorizing doing the same.

“We will have your food ready shortly,” she said as bowed her head and began to walk to the kitchen.

“So Gents, are we going to talk about the coup-” Memorizing began when a male voice called out.

“Captain General, is that you?” Turning her head, Gentle could see Even Hoof, Sweet Surprise’s second in command, walk over to them.

“Lieutenant Hoof, what brings you here?” she asked.

“It’s my wife and I’s anniversary,” the lieutenant replied. “She’s in the bathroom… what brings you here?”

“Captain’s Meet,” Memorizing spoke up, causing the stallion to raise an eyebrow. “I’m sure you’ve heard about them. Captain Memorizing Gaze,” he said, introducing himself.

“Of course.” Even Hoof nodded, shaking the other stallion’s hoof. “A pleasure to meet you, sir. Captain Surprise mentioned you a couple of days ago.”

“I see,” Memorizing said, looking a bit annoyed. “Being publicly known is still something I must get used to.”

“How is she, by the way?” Gentle asked, trying to turn the conversation around to something more positive.

“The Captain is quite fine,” Even spat, shaking his head. “Did you know she was married?”

“Only found out a few days ago,” Gentle said before tilting her head towards Memorizing. “He was always aware of the fact, apparently.”

“Oh really?” The pony raised an eyebrow. “It was quite the episode when the news broke; it was the day after the whole deal with the King and the six.”

“This sounds like a good story,” Gentle said, her eyes flickering over as the waitress was coming back with their food. She was glad for anything that could delay the whole awkward talk that Memorizing wanted to have.

Even Hoof was maintaining the front desk of the Guardhouse as he had drawn the short stick. Although it wasn’t that bad as Sweet Surprise had been surprisingly very work conscious for last few months. It was odd but still enjoyable… although the intensity was a bit concerning and few other Luna Guards had been coming to him to talk about it.

Shaking his head, he continued to fill out the next form when the doors opened and a tall earth pony with a dusty dark red coat and a black mane walked in. Most telling, he was wearing the dress uniform of the fireponies which was very odd as Captain Blazen Sun’s guards oversaw it.

Even Hoof opened his mouth to address the new arrival when the other stallion spoke up. “Excuse me, I am here to see Captain Sweet Surprise.”

“Do you have an appointment with the Captain, mister…” he trailed off pointendly.

“I am Hot Rod and no, I don’t but while I was sleeping with my wife Sound Mind last night, I really missed having Sweet in bed so I wanted to surprise her and ask what was going on,” the stallion said without so much as batting an eye.

Even Hoof had to put his pen down to fully absorb what he had heard, with a number of his fellow Guards staring slack jawed at his casual boosting of infidelity. Pushing himself out of his chair, Even finally settled his thoughts on the most obvious avenue. “I will be honest, I had expected this to happen a lot sooner, mister Rod,” he said as he ran a quick spell over the stallion to search for any weapons.

“Well I have been dragging my hooves on the matter, giving her her space and waiting for her to come to her senses and talk but I decided enough was enough and I had to get to the heart of the matter,” he replied with a serious look on his face with Even Hoof ready to give his Captain and this scum a piece of his mind.

“I see,” he said coldly, leading him and a trail of Luna Guards to the Captain’s quarters. It was a sectioned off area of the Guardhouse with tall oak doors greeting visitors as they approached from the hallway; the doors had been decorated with symbols dedicated to Her Grace Luna, including all the phases of the moon with a wide range of different constellations in a stylized pattern surrounding a very detailed image of the Goddess of the night. There were also a pair of Guards on guard to protect her if somepony managed to breach the Guardhouse and got through the Luna Guards. Of course, they would need to deal with the Captain after that which he would normally put in her favour… but depending on how this all turned out, he wasn’t sure if there would be so many jumping to defend her in the future.

Tilting his head to the Guards outside the Captain’s doors to step away, he stepped to the door and started to bang on it with his hoof. There was a loud noise inside, and then what sounded like muttered cursing before he heard the sound of hoofsteps approaching the door.

“Lieutenant Hoof,” Captain Surprise called out from the other side. “This better be good; I am very busy.”

“I have a pony wishing to meet with you,” Even Hoof replied in a steely tone as he pulled open the door and stepped through, with the other stallion following behind him. “He claims to know you personally.”

The Captain was facing away from him, heading back towards her desk which was, as usual, a disaster area. Along one wall of her office was a crude bookcase, filled with paperback books, while the opposite wall held a door he knew led to a closet that was strictly off-limits to anyone but the Captain herself. A second door led to the back room, which Even Hoof knew was mostly used for storage space and as a pathway to yet another room that held her private facilities. That space was, like her closet, off-limits to anypony but herself.

Stacked here and there on the floor were piles of papers, including one leaning against one side of her desk, and he knew from experience that she had even more stashed away in the back room. Crooked frames hung on the wall over the bookcase and a tall, fluted wooden pillar stood in one corner with a glass case on it, though Even couldn’t tell what was supposed to be inside it and she had told him never to open it without her assistance or approval. Her desk was also covered in papers, some marked with red ink, a couple of picture frames of a few ponies and a faded green blotter. It appeared she had been trying to organize and fill out some of the papers on it when he’d knocked.

As he looked around, Even Hoof was reminded how his captain had always claimed her office was a controlled disaster, and he was loathe to admit it but she had proven countless times that she could find whatever she need with ease.

Meanwhile, Captain Surprise had reached her desk and sat down, glaring at him. “Look, I am very busy-” the ghost-white mare snapped her head backwards in shock as she stared at the new arrival behind her lieutenant. “Hot Rod‽”

“Hello there Sweetie,” the towering stallion moved towards the Captain and placed a kiss on her shocked face which she seemed to instinctively turn to catch on her lips. “Missed you.”

“I-,” she stammered shaking her head as she backed up in confusion. “Why are you here Hot Rod‽”

“He told me that was tired of sleeping with his wife and wanted to go back to sleeping with you,” Even Hoof snapped with the two guilty ponies staring at him.

“Well, of course I do,” the stallion said with confusion on his face. “I love both my wives and if one them is acting odd, I am going to go to their office and ask her what is wrong.”

“Wait, wives?” Even tried to hold himself back from shouting but he was too surprised to do so. “You’re married‽”

“Wait a moment, Sweetie, you never told Even you’re married?” Hot Rod said, staring down the mare. “You never told him about us?”

“We’ve worked together for years and you never told me this‽” Even was still reeling from this revelation when something else clicked in his head. “Wait, when did you get married? Whyweren’t I and the rest of the Luna Guards informed. Why weren’t we invited? Why-”

“Stop!” Sweet shouted, turning to face Even. “You’ve seen pictures of them, they’re on my desk, they’ve been there since I got married five years ago!”

Even was left shaking his head at this; she was right, he had seen pictures of Hot Rod, the Captain and another mare on her desk more than once but never thought to ask-

“And for you,” the Captain jabbed a hoof into her husband’s barrel. “I get you’re concerned and stuff and-” she paused to glare at Even. “Do you mind? This is a private matter.”

“Um, right, of course Captain,” he said, blushing as he backed up out of the room, shooing the stunned looking Luna Guards back as he closed the doors. Sweet Surprise let out a sigh, shaking her head before looking at her husband.

“Okay, why are you here, Hot Rod?” she asked as she moved to sit back down, rubbing the space between her eyes. “As you can see,” she gestured to her mountain of paperwork. “I am still very busy-”

“That’s a load of crap and we both know it,” he snapped at her, placing both of his hooves on the desk, standing directly in front of her.

“Hot, I do have a lot of work to get thro-” she cut off when he shoved everything off her desk, still glaring at her.

“Don’t lie to me; that was one of our wedding vows, that we would never lie to each other,” he said, pushing his head close to hers. “You’ve been busy in the past, yes, but you’ve always made time for us. All of that,” he pointed to the mess on the floor. “Was you trying to hide something from us.”

“Hot, you don’t understand-”

“What, are you bored of us?”

“Wha-NO!”

“Are you tired of us?”

“Of course I am nottired of you two!” she shouted back, shoving her head into his.

“Then why is it that for the last few months we haven’t seen you at all!” Hot slammed his hooves into her desk, causing indents in the reinforced desk.

“Because no one was taking me fucking seriously!” she shouted back at him, throwing her helmet at his general direction. It clear his head by a wide margin and got wedged into the door. “Ever since that fucking skimmer disaster, every fucking Guard has been laughing at me, mocking me, even questioning my competency! That’s why I have been busting my fucking ass all this damn time, alright‽” She shouted at him as she turned to stalk towards the far wall.

Hot Rod was quiet for a moment before he walked over to her, shaking his head. “I don’t believe you,” he said, causing her to snap her head back at him, fury building in her eyes. “You were never one to care about how others thought of you; for Luna’s sake, you tried to pick up me and Sound at the same time we all first met and the only reason we are together today is because you wouldn’t make up your mind in who you wanted to date! There’s more to this, there has to be,” he ignored her squirming as he pulled her into a hug, nuzzling her face gently as she began to cry. “Please, tell us what’s wrong. Tell me.”

“It’s you guys, okay?” she said through her tears, rubbing against his neck. “Fuck what anyone thinks of me, my record is solid but you guys… If people learned of us then they could think you don’t care about being a proper firepony or Sound is loose with all her client details. I couldn’t put you guys through that and I had to show others that I earnedmy position instead of…” she trailed off as she buried her face into his side, with Hot Rod knowing exactly what other ponies thought Sweet did to earn her position.

Shaking his head with bemusement as he rubbed her back through her armour, he gently tilted her head back so he could place a kiss on her forehead. “Silly little filly, why didn’t you tell us that you were this worried? We would have helped you day one instead of being worried as you continued to crash on the couch downstairs and be gone all the time. Didn’t we vow to take care of each other in good times and bad times?” he asked her as he ran his hoof along her face, smiling at her growing blush.

She was pouting, of course, at how much drama she could have prevented if she had just spoken to her partners. She leaned into his muscular side and muttered, “Not a little filly.”

“Of course you’re not, my silly little unicorn,” he chuckled as he ruffled her mane, earning him a glare from his wife. “Now come on, time for us to go.”

“Go whe- eeep!” she squeaked as Hot Rod shoved himself under her without any warning.

“Go home,” Hot Rod said with a smile. “We all need to get some rest. Especially you. Firepony’s orders.”

Sweet smiled back. “Firepony’s orders, huh? Are those like doctor’s orders?”

“Only sexier,” Hot Rod said with a smirk.

Sweet’s laughter could be heard clear down the hall, and Even, who was back at his desk by that time, could only roll his eyes in amusement. Shaking her head, Sweet used her magic to gather her helmet and placed it back on her head.

“Okay, I get it, now let me down before somepony sees me,” she said, moving around on his back.

“You could always stay there and be boastful of snagging a stallion like me,” Hot Rod said as he walked towards the door, appealing to his wife’s playful side and ego.

“Itwould drive several of them completely nuts,” she mused, rubbing her chin. “Very well, I approve,” she said in a semi dignified tone while patting his head as he stepped outside her office and into a crowd of her Guards. “Behold my ponies, my husband Hot Rod. There are many fireponies like him but this one is mine, all mine!” She cackled, throwing back her head in laughter at the sheer jealousy looks some of her Guards were giving her.

“Excuse me, all yours?” Hot Rod said midway down the stairs. “What about Sound, little lady?”

“Oh right, yes,” she said, coughing and blushing. “He’s fifty percent all mine, you hear me? He’s fifty percent all mine!”

Chuckling to himself, Hot Rod stopped in front of Even Hoof’s desk. “Hello again, sir,” he said, dipping his head slightly. “I would shake your hoof but I don’t want to risk dislodging the mare on my back.”

“Oh Hot Rod, you know that it takes a lot more than a simple hoof shake to knock me off of you,” Sweet Surprise cooed with a giggle.

“As I was trying to say,” Hot Rod said after hitching his back a bit, causing Sweet Surprise to lurch forwards slightly but true to her word, she kept on with ease. “I am taking Sweet Surprise home with me. I hope that it is not an issue?”

“Go ahead,” he waved his hoof at them, “Enjoy yourselves.”

Hot Rod nodded with a smile. “And a good afternoon to you too, sir.”

When he and Sweet were no longer in sight, Even Hoof turned back to his paperwork, only to hear a pony clearing their throat, and looked up to see a light blue pegasus mare with a white mane. “Can I help you miss...”

“Yes,” the mare said. “I’m here to see your Captain about some very urgent matters.”

Even Hoof eyed her carefully, the pegasus somewhat familiar. “You know, you’re the second pony to say that to me today,” he said as he thought for a moment. Then it hit him - he had seen this mare before, just a few minutes ago. “Is your name Sound Mind, by any chance?”

“Why, yes. Yes, it is.” Sound Mind looked at him quizzically. “How did you know?”

“If you will give me a moment,” Even Hoof told her as he reached for his own helmet and activated its built in communicating spell and contacted the Captain.

“Even, wha-this better be good,” his Captain hissed in his ear. “Hot Rod just prom-”

“You two need to come back this instant, highest of emergencies, Captain!” he shouted, causing the pegasus to blink in surprise and then jump backwards as both the Earth pony stallion and the unicorn mare from before teleported into the room.

“Okay, Even what is-Sound!” the Captain of the South more or less glomped the pegasus, who caught her into tight embrace. They shared a quick kiss before pulling apart. “What are you doing here?”

“Apparently the same thing Hot Rod was here for,” she said, glancing up at the Earth pony who moved in to kiss the pegasus who returned it. “You already spoke to her about how we do not like her working all the time?”

“Yup,” he said as he actually patted the unicorn on the head. “Turns out she was worried about how her actions would reflect on us.”

“Hot,” Sweet squirmed and blushed, turning her head to the side.

“Oh you silly mare,” Sound tsked as she held the Captain’s head in her hooves, making her face her. “We knew what we were getting into when we married you. And I know I married a completely silly mare who would spend a lot of time trying to lick some ice cream off her nose instead of wiping it clean, not some fussy serious pony. Who would get me and Hot Rod back for tickling her silly with her own tickle attacks, who would use her special talent of shape changing to swim in duck ponds as a pegasus. Who would-”

“Sound, stop,” Sweet was laughing and blushing, holding her hooves over the mare’s mouth. “You’re wrecking my reputation here; Even here probably doesn’t think I’m still a tough mare.”

“Yes, of course, when I think of you, toughis the first thing on my mind,” Even Hoof snarked, causing the Captain to stick her tongue out at him.

“As good as it is to see you back to your old self, you’re still under firepony’s orders, little lady,” Hot Rod said as he nuzzled the mare before turning his head to nuzzle the pegasus.

“Firepony’s orders?” Sound Mind drawled out, arching an eyebrow at the stallion. “Are they anything like doctor’s orders?”

“He claims they are the same, only sexier,” Sweet Surprise said as she climbed onto Hot Rod’s back; the stallion had lowered himself so she could do so. “Care to join us, Sound?”

“It would be my pleasure,” she said as she flapped her wings and landed on Hot Rod’s back right behind Sweet, causing the unicorn to be sandwiched between her partners. Sound then lightly slapped Hot’s flanks with her wings. “To home, our gallant steed.”

“As you wish, my ladies,” he said in a playful tone as he stood up and started to walk down the steps with no sign of discomfort at holding both them plus the Captain’s armour.

Even Hoof watched the three walk away and stood in the doorway just in case any other pony was to show up looking for the Captain. After a few minutes had passed, he judged it was safe to go back to his paperwork-

He frowned as he saw a new note on his table and it was the Captain’s penmanship.

Lieutenant Even Hoof,

Hot Rod knocked everything off my desk in my office, please fix it up to my standards and preferred manner.

Captain Sweet Surprise

PS: Yes, this is because you laughed.

Sighing, Even rubbed his face and knew that the rest of the Guards would face worse if he did not do his best to make sure the knowledge the Captain was married was kept quiet. Which meant he had to do another of his damage control runs after the Captain did something unpredictable.

“I wish I can say that I don’t believe that, but I fear that I know Sweet well enough for her to do exactlythat,” Gentle groaned into her hoof, shaking her head. Tilting her head as she raised her glass of beer to her lips, she flicked her eyes to the drone at the table. “Memorizing?”

The drone sitting right next to her, with Even Hoof opposite her and his wife to her left, lifted his head with a chip half eaten. Raising a hoof to signal her to wait a moment, he finished eating, swallowed and replied with a sly smirk on his face, “Yes Gentle?”

“Is it true?” she swatted at him for being silly.

“Well now, you knowthat unless some serious issues come up, I’m not obligated to tell you or any other individual if Sweet Surprise actually let herself be paraded around by her hunk of a husband.”

Scented Meadows, who had arrived during the story, chuckled and shook her head as she reached for her and her husband’s platter of vegetarian nachos. “That sounds like Captain Sweet Surprise; if what Eveny here has said is anything to go by.”

“Agreed,” Gentle said with a giggle, leaning into Memorizing before shaking her head. She reached into her platter only to find that Memorizing had taken the last one. Frowning at him, she waved down their waitress.

“Excuse me, Gwawr,” she said as griffoness came over. “Can I please speak with your manager? And no, this is nothing against the quality of your service tonight.”

“Um, yes ma’am,” she said nervously before going into the backroom to bring out another valley griffon out; he was finely dressed although worried looking.

“Hello, I am Gawath, the owner,” he said as he examined the table before settling his eyes on Gentle. “Can I help you?”

“Yes, I would like to present you my written endorsement for your fine restaurant,” she said as she penned the official writing, finishing with her name before presenting it to him.

He quickly examined it with his eyes widening as he realized the full extent of what he had been given. “I am honoured, ma’am, that you think so highly of my Blue Mountain but, and perhaps I am jinxing myself here but doesn’t The Old Terminal Bar have your endorsement?”

“They had it until they refused service to my friend here,” she gestured a bit widely towards the drone.

“Captain Memorizing Gaze,” he introduced himself, flicking his eyes at her.

“Well their loss is our gain; we never saw an issue with changelings back home, to be honest,” he said as he tilted his head around to see where he could place the paper. Gentle flashed her horn and created a frame for it, with the griffon blinking in surprise. “Mighty appreciated.”

“It was my pleasure,” she said as she hiccuped. Blushing, she placed a hoof over her lips and apologized, only to hiccup again. “My, this isn’t like myself.”

“And that’s our cue to leave,” Memorizing said as he tried to fish out some coin to pay for their meal. Gentle tried to dole out the money herself but seemed to have trouble. “I’ve got this, Gentle, let us get you out of here,” he said, scooping her extra coinage back into her coin purse.

“It was a joy to meet you,” she giggled again as she bade the couple goodnight, leaning on Memorizing as he walked them outside in the cool Canterlot rain. It felt so refreshing and cool, she was tempted to sing or dance or-

“Okay, Gentle, what is going on?” Memorizing asked her, looking down at her with the rain flowing off his face.

Or that. She could do that.

“Gentle, are you ok-” he didn’t get further than that as she leaned up to kiss him on the lips, her heart racing at her very first kiss.

She pulled away from him, seeing her friend look confused at her and a small part of her was wondering if she had done something wrong, if she had completely botched everything.

Memorizing then pushed her against the ally wall and began to kiss her back, his hooves holding her body against the bricks. He kept the kiss longer than she had and she could feel his tongue pushing at her mouth for entrance. She began to shudder at these simple motions, her mind beginning to overturn as he-

“Hey, is everything okay out there‽” A pony shouted from a doorway, causing them to pull apart in surprise.

Gentle focused her magic on instinct, teleporting herself and Memorizing back to her home.

And then there was just her, and him, together.

Chapter Nine: Xvital, Night Blade, Gentle Step

Chapter Nine

Xvital

All in all, Xvital thought, it was one of the better parties she’d ever been to. Vix-Lei had admitted that she’d restrained herself from going too overboard like she used to, but she’d done her best to make sure there was still enough fun stuff for all of them, especially Night.

And judging by the fact he was smiling, Vix-Lei had hit the mark perfectly.

The food was excellent. The decorations were festive yet tasteful. The company was, of course, wonderful. The party was just perfect and the guest of honour was happy.

It was odd to see a smile on Night’s face that wasn’t his creepy fanged smile but it was good to see.

Right now, Night and Wind were the last ones in the card game, the two of them grinning competitively at each other. While she had been a bit concerned that Wind might make things worse by trying to win, it turned out to be the right thing as Night was baiting and joking with Wind over their previous hands.

Which made Xvital feel a bit guilty and like a complete idiot for throwing those previous hands…

“Hah!” Wind Breaker gloated as he tossed down a hand. “Read ‘em and weep!”

“I’m afraid it will be you weeping,” Night Blade replied with a smirk, setting down his own hoof. “I win.”

Wind Breaker’s jaw dropped, then he shook his head with a resigned grin. “Ah well. Should have known I’d never win at poker.”

“Because you have a lousy poker face?” Vix-Lei joked from her own spot.

“Exactly,” Wind said as he scooped up the cards, setting them back onto the deck. “Looks like the pot is yours.”

Night Blade smiled as he slid the ‘pot’, actually a bowl of small, hard candies that Vix-Lei had given them in place of poker chips, towards him. “I’ll save it for later,” he said. “So what’s next?”

Just then, Argus’ head snapped up, and he had an odd look on his face. “Somepony’s coming,” he said. “Somepony who means well, but…” his voice trailed off.

Now Vix-Lei looked worried. “Can you tell who it is?” she asked.

“I think I know, but…” Argus shook his head. “Unfortunately, it’s definitely not Sacher Torte and her staff.”

“Drat.” Vix-Lei looked disappointed, remembering how the chef and her assistants had needed to go back to their normal duties about an hour into the party.

“So who is it?” asked Page, also looking worried.

Just then, the door opened, and four Nox ponies stepped into the room, one of whom Xvital recognized, and her jaw dropped in shock. “Major Blade‽”

Night Blade’s own face hardened as he pushed his chair back and stood up. “Did Mother and Father send you?” he hissed at the four.

“No,” Crooked Blade replied. “We came to see you of our own accord.”

“Well, you’ve seen me. Now go away.” Night Blade’s glare was only growing.

“Whoah whoah whoah,” Herakles stood and raised a hand. “Can we get a cast list here? Who are you four?”

Crooked looked over at him. “I, sir, am Crooked Blade of the Royal Guard. I am also Night Blade’s oldest brother.” He gestured to the others. “My twin sister, Hidden Dagger. Our youngest sister, Serrated Dagger, and our other brother Deep Blade. We came to see Night on a family matter.”

“Ah.” Herakles nodded and moved back.

Xvital looked at Night Blade, and saw he was looking angrier by the moment. “Look, this really isn’t a good time-“ she started, but stopped when Night Blade held up a hoof.

“Let them talk,” he said. “And once they’ve said their part, they can leave and never cross my path again.”

One of the mares started at that, and Xvital looked over at them to see an expression of… was that actual worry in her eyes?

Crooked stepped forward. “Night,” he began quietly. “Earlier today, I… had a meeting with Miss Xvital here. And she pointed out some things to me that, in retrospect, I should have known already.”

“But we didn’t think about it at the time,” the taller mare, Hidden, said. “We… in our own ways, we were just as bad as Mom and Dad, the way we neglected you,” she admitted.

“Heck, I’ve barely said two words to you since before you got your talent emblem,” the other stallion added sheepishly.

“And I’ve probably said even less,” the younger mare added. “I have no excuse for that.”

“The point is, that we’ve all made mistakes with you, and it’s long past time that we started to make up for it,” Crooked spoke up. “Can you forgive us?”

Night looked at his siblings and slowly shook his head. “No, are you joking?” Xvital’s heart skipped a beat, with everyone sharing worried looks as her friend had his usual glare on his face. “You’re not really sorry; you just feel guilty! If you actually cared, you would have done this years ago!”

Crooked’s shackles rose. “We already told you, we didn’t think about how our actions were affecting you,” he said somewhat sternly. “Is it too hard to believe that someone outside the family was finally able to see past… well, everything? To realize what we hadn’t all these years, and what’s more cared enough about you to come out and open our eyes to what idiots we’ve been?”

“For one of my friends to care, no. For anyone in my family to actually listen to them, yes.” Night glared back at him. “Good day, Crooked.”

“Dammit Night, I know that you are pissed off at mom and dad over everything, and rightfully so,” Deep suddenly snapped. “I’d be mad too if they’d treated me like that on one of the most important days of my life. But let’s be honest; they’re in their seventies already. We’ve all had our own chances to stew over crap with them but we managed to get over it. And screw tact, do you really think you’ll have the time to be angry with them that much longer?”

Night just glared at his sibling.

“Get. Out.” he hissed angrily, watching them file out of the room before slamming the door shut behind them. Night stood there for a moment, breathing heavily before he started to hold back his sobs.

Everyone was staring at the guy now, with Page walking to him slowly. He flinched away, shaking his head.

“I’m sorry, I- I am going to bed now everypony,” he said, holding his head and wings low. All of the enthusiasm in him previously was gone. “Vix-Lei, thank you for setting this up, and everyone, thank you for your help. Continue to have fun, I... I have to be alone now.”

The Nox pony then walked into his room and slammed the door behind him, leaving the entire place quiet once more.

Xvital looked around at her friends and their guests, and saw the expressions on their faces, most of them obviously concerned about Night. Rex’s look in particular somehow mixed concern with contemplation.

Finally, Page spoke up. “I should go talk to him,” she said. “I…”

Xvital shook her head. “I’ll talk with him,” she replied. “This is my fault - I’m the one who went to talk to Crooked in the first place, if I’d just kept out of it…”

“You may have brought things to that guy’s attention, but it was his choice to come here,” Wind Breaker interrupted her. “You didn’t force him or any of Night’s other siblings into doing anything.”

“Yes I did,” she snapped back at the griffon. “Night didn’t want me getting involved and I could no, should have respected his wishes and let it be. But I didn’t…” she shook her head. “Why didn’t I just listen to him?”

“What’s past is past,” Rex said as he laid a paw on her shoulder. “You can’t change it. But you can move forward.”

She smiled at him gratefully. “Thanks, Rex.”

Then she headed for the door and was ready to knock before she paused for a moment. “Night, can I come in, I’d like to talk to you?”

“Why the fuck are you even asking if I care?” his voice didn’t have its usual grumpy bite, the bitterness in his words colouring it with a mixture of sarcasm and disgust. “You are going to do it anyway!”

Muttering a curse under her breath, Xvital quickly remembered what Page had told them about Night’s issue of people ignoring his wishes and how big of an issue it was with him. She tried to think of some way to apologize for this mistake but everything she thought of came up flat or disingenuous so she decided to bite the bolt and walk inside.

The room was pitch black although due to her eyesight, she could make out Night glaring angrily at from his bed as well as his bloodshot eyes. She couldn’t help but feel pity, guilt and embarrassment as Night wiped his running nose with the back of his arm. It was such a sharp contrast from the tough bastard she knew he was to see him be like this.

“Well,” he spat at her, clearly hoping she’d take the hint and leave him alone. “What do you want?”

Flinching at his accusation, Xvital slowly walked over to him, keeping eye contact. “First off, I just want to say I am so sorry for this; I should have listened to you, I should have-” Night let out a snort and turned his head away, telling her that that conversation was over. “Secondly, I want to talk to you about Deep said.”

“You’re going to tell me that I should go apolo-”

“No,” she snapped at him, causing him to turn back towards her. “I said I want to talk about it. You get to decide what you want to do; I won’t tell you to do anything.”

Night stared at her for a while before nodding his head.

“On one hand; fuck them. Fuck them all,” she said as she sat down, watching Night blink in surprise. Clearly wasn’t expecting me to say that, she thought to herself. “They fucked with you your entire life. What do you owe them? Absolutely nothing. And before you start saying they’re your family… look, I grew up in a home with my mother, someone who may or may not have been my brother, I honestly don’t know, and a few other families. I left home when I was old enough to be on my own and wound up living with another woman who raised me as her own daughter and she was more of a mother to me than my actual mom. Hell, when Tizoc and I get a date planned for our wedding, I am inviting her and not my mom. Because she is my family like you are my family. Just like the rest of the crew is our family. Our crazy, crazy family,” she said as she placed her hand on his shoulder. “And on the other hand, your parents are old. You are entitled to be angry with them and it is normal to wish to cut off ties and stew for a while. It’s normal. For you, you got fucked in your age to theirs. You might forgive them one day only to find it is too late to make amends and that would kill you. You have a big heart, hidden under all that grump, and it would devastate you to have all that regret.” She saw Night drop his head, but she forced him to tilt it upwards. “It’s not fair and it sucks, I know. But those are what I think you can do. Whatever you want to do is your decision and we will respect it, I promise.” She then leaned over and pulled him into a hug.

Night tensed up for moment before he relaxed, and leaned into the hug. “Th-thank you,” he said as he returned her hug.

“No problem Night,” she said with a bit of a chuckle, not expecting Nigh-

“Don’t tell Wind about that hug; he’d never let me live it down,” Night mumbled, blushing.

“My lips are sealed,” she said as she patted his back, a smile forming on her face and his. “So do you have any idea what you want to do?”

“...No, I don’t,” Night admitted. “I…” he shook his head. “I need some more time to think things through; I’m going to go my gym to work out some of my more… aggressive aggression, if that makes sense.”

“Yeah, it does,” she said as she stepped backwards to let him up. “Take care, okay?”

“Yeah,” he said with a bit of a forced smile as he started towards the door before he paused. “And Xvital? Thank you.”

“Hey, what are friends for?” Xvital said with a smile. “I… may have not always been the best of friends to you, but… we are friends now. And this is what friends do. We support one another.” Xvital’s smile faltered for a second. There would never be a better chance than now. “Also, I want to say I’m sorry for being just a bitch before; I had a very bad experience with nobles before I came to Equestria, my mother in-law being the worst, and… well, I kind of took it out on you. I didn’t even realize what I was doing until Page knocked some sense into me after you left us, and I’m so sorry about all of it.”

Night Blade regarded her before shaking his head. “I wasn’t the best of ponies to be with either, Xvital,” he was kicking the carpeted floors before flicking his eyes at her, holding out his hoof. “If you will forgive me for being a massive dick, I’ll forgive you being a gigantic bitch.”

Xvital smirked and held her own hand out. “Deal.”

Night flashed her a real smirk and shook, before he opened the door and walked out.

Night Blade

The main room of the suite had been pretty quiet before he stepped out into it, but every eye quickly turned his way.

“Night?” Page asked as she started to move towards him. “Are…”

“I’m feeling better,” Night said, a faint smile on his face, before he heaved a sigh. “I needed that, I really did, but I do still need some time to myself for a while.” He looked up at her. “I promise, I’ll be back later, and I’ll tell you everything.”

Page smiled back. “I’ll- we’ll be here for you.” She gestured to the others, who were all looking at him with their own expressions of concern.

Night gave his friends a last smile before stepping out into the hall and heading downstairs. He knew that the gym might be closed but then again, he did know a few ways in regardless.

Stepping outside in the rain, he took a deep breath before flying off.

When he reached the Third Star, he saw a new security guard, who was reading a newspaper. “Pool’s closed,” the stallion said without even looking up.

“That’s all right,” Night said. “I was going to use the gym.”

“Ah. Well, that’s still open,” the pony replied, flipping a page on his newspaper. “Dang pranksters didn’t do anything there…”

“Dare I ask?” Night Blade remarked as he headed for the door, raising an eyebrow. The gym was the training place for the West’s swordponyship team after all.

“Near as we can tell, some fool foals got into the pool room and dumped a load of purple dye in the water,” the guard replied, still not looking up. “We’re still having it drained and cleaning the whole shebang out. They didn’t touch the whirlpool or the gym, fortunately, but still…” he shook his head. “You’d think they’d have better things to do than make more work for us.”

“Quite.” Night Blade nodded. “Thank you for the explanation, sir.”

“No problem,” the guard replied. “Enjoy your workout, sir.”

“I will.”

Entering the gym, Night Blade headed straight for a large rubbery dummy in the back. Shucking his clothing and sheathe, he set them aside, reared up on his hind legs, and with a barely squelched cry of frustration, let out a flurry of blows at the dummy, leaving massive dents in it that popped back out as he vented his frustrations.

After several minutes of this, he switched to sword drills, which had always had something of a calming effect on him. As he worked, he let his mind empty, feeling the tensions run out of him. At least, as much as they could.

Finally, when he’d finished, he sighed, sheathed his sword once more, and reached for a towel.

Grabbing it, he began to make his way out of the room when he heard shuffling outside, near the trophy stand.

“Damn, we were not there for that one either,” a stallion said to the mare next him angrily, with Night’s eyes opening in surprise as he saw his parents looking at all the trophies he had won.

His mother snorted, shaking her head. “We had to have been there for at least one of his tournaments, Lethal. I refuse to believe that I neglected one of my foals that horribly.”

His father was rubbing her back, his eyes flicking upwards before pulling back in surprise. “Sweet,” he began but his mother cut him off, jabbing a hoof into his chest.

“No Lethal,” she snapped with tears running down her face. “I was there when Crooked graduated from Wing Point and I was there for Hidden when she graduated from Canterlot Business Academy with honours. I was there for Serrated’s first concert and I was therefor Deep’s first art gallery! You cannot tell me I missed all of Night’s tournaments. You cannot tell me that I actually abandoned one of my foals!” She began to sob into his shoulder, with his father still standing in complete shock.

Night took a step forwards, calling out, “Mother, father… why are you here?”

His mother spun around with a hoof on her chest while his father tried and failed to keep eye contact with him. Finally, his father spoke up.

“We came here… we came here to see your achievements and…”

“You wanted to convince yourselves that you were not horrible ponies, actually spent time with me and I was wrong to yell at you as I did earlier today?” Both of his parents didn’t meet his eyes, telling Night was he right. “I thought so…”

“Night, we are beyond sorry for what we have done to you,” his father said with his mother walking up to him. “You must know we did not do this because we hate you but…”

“I know you don’t hate me, I’m not an idiot!” Night snapped back at them, forcing his head up at them. “It’s that you don’t care about me.”

“Night,” his mother started, raising her hoof.

“No, let me talk,” he snapped, trying to get this out while he still could. “My talentmitzvah, I know you didn’t ruin it and make it a party for yourself because you hated me. I knew that when I was a kid so the only other thing I could think of was that I didn’t matter to you two. That I wasn’t important enough for you to spite me, for you to hate me.” Night had to bite his lip to stop himself from crying, but it wasn’t working. “That’s why I am so angry at you two. That it’s only now when I saved the fucking world that you actually started to care about me and I-I couldn’t ta-” Before Night could finish, his parents moved and began to hold him.

And for the first time since the Everfree Forest, he let his walls come down and cried into their shoulders with them rubbing his back.

Eventually, Night was able to stop his crying and looked up at his parents, who were crying themselves. Night tried to smile and accept this happy moment but something within himself was preventing him.

“I-I can’t,” he said, shaking his head in anger at himself for being unable to be happy. “Not after everything, I just can’t-”

“That’s okay Night,” his mother said soothingly. “We don't have to start over perfectly, we can take our time.”

“That’s right Night,” Lethal added as he rubbed the small of NIght’s back. “We can take small steps and when you, you, are ready, we’ll move on from there. How does that sound?”

“Th-that sounds good father,” Night said, licking his lips. “An-and I suppose I can apologize to Crooked and the others after how I treated them earlier. As well as Page and the others...”

“Page?” his mother asked and before his mind could catch up with his mouth, he replied.

“My marefriend,” he said with his, and his parents’, eyes going wide.

Gentle Step

Gentle woke up with a throbbing headache, Celestia’s sun glaring down at her through her bedroom’s open window.

Groaning, she placed a hoof to her head and swore to that she would never drink again and she would kill Sweet Surprise for putting her up to this farce of a Captain’s Me-

She shot upright in her bed as all the memories from last night came back, including what she and Memorizing did. Blushing like a filly, she looked for the drone that took her virginity and saw she was all alone in her bed.

A stab of worry and fear of her oldest friend just using her swelled up in her chest and she was about to go find him and say-

The door to her bedroom door opened with Memorizing looking at her with concern on his face as he carried in a tray of food and what seemed to be medication, no doubt for her headache.

“Are you okay Gents?” he asked as he put the tray on her dresser and leaned in close to her.

Smiling at him with all the love in her heart, she leaned up and kissed his cheek. “Yes I am Mems.”

Chapter Ten: Night Blade, Lethal Blade, Vix-Lei

Chapter Ten

Night Blade

“Marefriend?” two voices chorused.

Night facehoofed as he realized what he’d unwittingly said. “Yes, marefriend,” he reluctantly replied. “I have been quite happily involved with somepony since that night… though given our history, I’m sure you can understand why I’ve never said anything about her before.”

“Er… yes, quite,” Lethal admitted, wincing at the not-so-subtle reminder of how distant they had been with him. “But, if you don’t mind my asking… how did you meet the young lady?”

“We crossed paths at the Grand Library,” Night said stiffly. “And that is all I am going to say on that matter for now. Suffice to say that she is the only pony I have ever loved, and while we’ve had some difficulties recently, she is the only pony I will ever love, regardless of what anypony else thinks about us.”

“Oh.” Sweet Dagger blinked in surprise. “I…” she hesitated, then spoke again in a trembling voice. “I just want to know… does she make you happy?”

“Yes,” Night replied somewhat suspiciously.

“Then that is all that matters,” Lethal said, sighing. “At least somepony has been there for you, when we… weren’t,” he added regretfully.

“Yes,” Night replied. “Yes, she has. And if you will excuse me, she and our other friends are waiting.” Heading back into the gym to set his towel into one of the hampers intended for that purpose, he re-buckled his sword belt and headed for the exit.

“Night,” his father called. “One moment… before you go.”

Steeling himself, Night turned to face his parents. “Yes?”

“I-” Suddenly, Lethal paused, his eyes widening as he suddenly saw something. “Where did you get that sword?” he breathed.

“I had free access to an armoury at one point during our travels,” Night replied dryly. “Fortunately, the individuals to whom it belonged was willing to let me re-arm myself, and this was the best one they had.”

“Re-arm, what happened to Determined Point?”

“It broke while I was fighting somepony,” Night said tilting in his head forwards. “That was how I got my scar.”

“And you did this to protect your friends?”

“Er, yes,”

“Well then, we could not be more proud of you Night.” Lethal smiled. “Still, where did they get a Masamane blade of all things? I thought they’d all been destroyed!”

“We had some help from some… ponies, who had collected a lot of rare and unusual items over the years,” Night replied. “I didn’t ask how they got it, and I don’t think the one who was there when I chose it would have told us if I had asked, given her mood at the time.”

“I see.” Lethal looked somewhat troubled. “Well, I suppose we should be on our way… but your mother and I do want to know when we can see you again. And your marefriend, and the rest of your friends too - especially miss… Xvital, I think Crooked said her name was?” He sighed. “I don’t know if any of us would have realized just how badly we messed up in regards to you if she hadn’t pointed certain things out to Crooked like she did.”

Night smiled faintly. “I’ll send word when I’m ready,” he said. “But when the time comes, I would advise you to expect the unexpected. My friends and I are, shall we say... anything but normal.”

“That’s fine by us,” Sweet said, smiling back.

Night nodded, then headed for the door. The skies had cleared somewhat, and as he looked out, he took a deep breath.

Then he spread his wings and flew.

Lethal Blade

Watching his youngest fly off, Lethal sighed. “Well, that didn’t go entirely as expected,” he admitted.

“No, it didn’t,” Sweet replied. She looked up wistfully. “To think, our youngest has been in a relationship all this time and we never knew it…”

“You’re right,” Lethal agreed. “But more than that… he’s grown up, and we never saw any of it.” He pawed the floor somewhat nervously.

Sweet looked somewhat dismayed. “At least he’s willing to actually hear us out now,” she finally said. “And is willing to give us a second chance.”

“Yes,” Lethal replied. Then he looked at her. “We should get going,” he said reluctantly. “And I hope that when Night does contact us again, that we do not mess things up as badly as we did before.”

Sweet nodded. There was nothing more she could say.

Vix-Lei

In front of a highly fortified embassy, four minotaurs stood on the steps.

"Good to see you again, big sis," Herakles said as he clapped Vix-Lei on the back. "And great party too, up until those batponies turned up and got Night all upset."

"Yeah," Vix-Lei sighed. "At least he was in a better mood when he went out." She shrugged. "Well, take care of yourselves, guys."

"And you too," Herakles said. "By the way, thanks for coming back here with us. I-"

"Hold it," Argus interrupted. "We're about to have company."

Maybe ten seconds later, the door to the embassy opened, and a tall minotaur with a graying mane looked down at them. "Boys. Vix-Lei."

"Dad!" Vix-Lei exclaimed. "I'm so glad to see you!"

Shipmaster Petros smiled faintly. "Under the circumstances, so am I," he said. "Especially given what I've seen in the newspapers and what your brothers told me what you told them about the king." He gave her a look. "I was also informed that your style of humor has improved."

Vix-Lei gave the trio a glance, and they backed off, Herakles holding up his hands. "I just repeated what you told us before, about what you'd learned while you were gone," he explained.

"Yeah." Vix-Lei let out a sigh. "And believe me, I am sorry for all the trouble my jokes probably caused you over the years."

"You're forgiven," Petros replied. "But besides that, it is good to see you alive and healthy."

Vix-Lei blushed. "Yeah..."

"Although I also see your flying skills are just as wild as always."

"Dad..." Vix-Lei groaned. "Is everytaur who saw that article going to comment on my flying?"

"Probably," Eusebios remarked. "I know Mom had some choice words when she saw the article... but that was more about your shirt, or lack thereof."

Vix-Lei snapped her fingers. "I knew I was forgetting something today..." She glanced at them. "In all seriousness, I am going to update my wardrobe as soon as I can," she said. "Now if only I could find something like that one outfit I had for a while..."

"You know, you mentioned that before you went to fight that monster possessing the king," Herakles said. "I'm still waiting to hear that story."

"It's... complicated," Vix-Lei said. "Short version, the six of us went through a magic mirror into another dimension that changed our species and gave us all new clothes. Unfortunately, we didn't get to keep the outfits when we came back and returned to our normal forms."

"Indeed." Petros raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps you could explain more about this... other dimension, and your new friends, inside."

"Normally, I'd say yes," Vix-Lei replied. "But it's late, and I really do need to get back to the hotel, preferably before Night gets back."

Petros regarded her. "I can accept that," he said. "Very well then. And we shall see you again soon... all of us."

Vix-Lei's eyes widened. "You mean..."

"If you don't want to upset your mother, I advise you to pick up your new wardrobe tomorrow and no later."

Vix-Lei winced. "Understood, Dad." She turned to her brothers. "It's been good seeing you again, but I need to run."

"Take care, sis," the trio chorused.

Vix-Lei nodded, then turned and headed off, whistling to herself as she walked back to the hotel, walking past ponies while twirling the umbrella she had. She was half listening to what everytaur was saying, eyes closed when she froze as she recognized one voice out of the crowd of ponies milling around.

“Hey, don’t I know you?” Vix-Lei pointed to a mare with a light grey coat with a dark red mane, with all of them turning to face her.

There was some quick whispering between them, with the very familiar being barked at by the others before they pushed her forwards.

“Yeah yeah, I’ll deal with it,” the mare grumbled, shooting looks past Vix-Lei. “Can’t believe they’re not actually here; Grey Hoof will give them the riot act if I don’t.”

“Wait a minute!” Vix-Lei shouted, snapping her fingers. “Now I rememb-” that was as far as she got before the mare grew a horn and a green aura slapped over her mouth.

“Do you mind‽” the mare hissed with the other ponies glaring at Vix-Lei and… Metal Shell? Ruby something or other? “I am trying to do my job here.”

“Is everything okay, Lieutenant?” a pony from her group asked in a hushed tone, shooting looks at Vix-Lei.

“Except for the fact that neither Brown Stone, Roving Wood or Fine Tip are watching over our VIPs at the moment and Bad Driver is attracting unwantedattention to the mission.”

“Wait, Bad Drive-” Vix-Lei began before the mare hissed at her and Vix-Lei lowered her voice. “Sorry Mitty or Ruby or whatever your name is, just curious to what’s up and all.”

“Look, Vix-”

“Lieutenant, is everything okay or will you need to step aside to dealwith this matter?” another pony asked, causing half of the crowd to glare at the other half.

“Watch your tone,” the mare snapped back. “I am the ranking officer here for this mission. We will begin as soon as I have sent her back to the safehouse where she should be staying put.”

“Well Night went ou-” Vix-Lei caught herself before she went on further and got Night in trouble. “Notaur complained when we went out earlier today,” she muttered under her breath. “So, some sort of secret mission with the Royal Guards and yours?” she asked, adding a bit more volume so the mare would hear her as she made what she thought was a reasonable guess.

“If it will get you moving along and if you can promise to keep your mouth shut, we are doing a series of synchronized raids,” the mare - Lieutenant whatever-her-name-was - hissed. “Unfortunately, our Captain still hasn’t shown up, and he was supposed to be here by now, especially since he likes going into uncharted places and plunging around for hidden treasure. Which in this case means evidence.”

“Evidence of what?” Vix-Lei asked quietly.

“Wrongdoing,” the nymph shot back. “Now that my tribe has been pardoned, we’ve been investigating some other organizations for corruption with help of the Royal Guards, and checking to see if that… thing you and the others fought was possibly manipulating their actions too.” She lowered her voice even more. “Like Drunk’s people - there’ve been some suspicions about their treatment for a long time, but until recently, we weren’t allowed to seriously look into it. Which is just one of the reasons we were so suspicious.”

“Right.” Vix-Lei nodded, while inwardly cringing at what had to be their codename for Wind Breaker. “With what I’ve heard about them, I don’t blame you. So I’ll let you get to that then.”

“What were you doing out here, anyway?” the mare questioned, looking genuinely curious now. “Especially this late at night.”

“I was on my way back from walking my brothers over to the embassy,” Vix-Lei said. “It’s been a long time, I wanted to catch up with them some more when I had the chance.”

The nymph nodded. “Understandable. But now you need to get back to the safehouse.”

Vix-Lei saluted. “Aye-aye, lieutenant… er…”

The mare rolled her eyes. “Ruby Shell. Or Mitta. I answer to either.”

“Gotcha.” Vix-Lei nodded. “Enjoy your evening, ma’am.”

“I’m too young to be a ma’am,” Ruby shot back good-naturedly.

“I gotcha.” Vix-Lei tipped her umbrella to the mare, then headed on her way.

About ten minutes later, Vix-Lei arrived back at the hotel entrance, and sighed. Then she froze as she saw something swooping down, only to breathe a sigh of relief when she recognized it.

"Good evening, Vix-Lei," Night Blade said as he landed and shook his coat out. "What brings you out here at this time of night?"

"I just got back here, actually," Vix-Lei replied. "After we finished with the clean-up, my brothers needed to get back to the embassy for the night, and I went with them so we'd have a little more time to chat on the way." She smiled. "Even got to say hi to my Dad for the first time since I left home." Then she blinked for a moment and winced. "Oh... sorry about that." She sighed. "I swear, I'm trying to not be insensitive, but old habits die hard and sometimes it just slips out."

"It's not a problem," Night Blade replied. "In fact, I... well, I ran into my parents while I was out, and... we had something of a reconciliation."

"Really!" Vix-Lei smiled. "That's great, I hope."

"It's... complicated," Night Blade sighed. "For so long, we've been estranged, and now... now they actually seem to care." He looked at her. "I will admit, for a time I felt as if it would be so much easier for me to not care... but Crooked, and Xvital, were right. This might be the only chance I have to... repair our relationship."

Vix-Lei nodded. "I can understand that," she said. "Dad did get annoyed at me a lot if I acted up, but we were never as bad as you and your folks. Not even when..." She shuddered. "Well. A story for another time. But even with all the tension between us, we always knew we loved one another." She sighed again. "Of course, eventually I decided I really needed to get away, to give him a break from all the stress I knew I'd caused him. That's part of why I came here the first time, even if I'd convinced myself it was because I needed to get away from 'taurs who didn't get my jokes."

Night Blade raised an eyebrow. "I see..."

"So!" Vix-Lei clapped her hands together. "We should probably go upstairs now... Page is waiting for all of us - and just the six of us - to be there so she can talk about what happened at the library this morning."

Night looked at her curiously. "Yes, I remember her saying something about meeting with the king and the Captain General..."

"Yeah." Vix-Lei nodded. "Apparently they showed up separately and were asking her about... different stuff that was somewhat related, but that's all any of us got from her."

"Very well then." Night Blade went to the door and opened it, then gestured with one wing. "After you, my lady."

"Like I said to Rex earlier, I'm no lady," Vix-Lei snorted good-naturedly. "But thank you." She entered, Night Blade following her.

When the two had made their way back to their suite, Page looked up at them in relief, then hurriedly activated the soundproofing wards she and Rex had prepared before. When she was certain they were steady, she turned to Night. "How are you?" she asked him.

"Surprisingly better," Night Blade replied. "As I told Vix-Lei when we met outside, I have had something of a reconciliation with my parents..."

Page smiled brightly. "That's wonderful!"

"Yes," Night said. "And... I... accidentally told them about you."

Page gave him a look. "You what?" Her voice was dangerously low.

Night ducked his head. "I... er... happened to mention your name, and when they asked me, I said you were my marefriend."

Page's face softened. "Oh."

"But I did not give any personal details about you, other than that I met you at the library soon after... then." Night looked at her. "And that you make me very happy."

Nearby, Xvital winced. “Um…”

Night Blade gave her a look. “Yes?”

The ahuizotless looked very nervous. “Er… I'm really sorry, but as long as we're getting things out in the open... I accidentally told your brother about her earlier, when we were out. It was pretty much the same as what you told your folks!” she added hurriedly. “I mentioned her name and that she'd told us about the relationship you had with them, and when he asked how she knew, I kind of blurted out that she'd been your marefriend for a long time." She ducked her head. "It wasn't on purpose, I swear, and I really should have told you sooner, but… well, last time we talked, I didn’t even think about it, and I am sorry about that."

Night gave her a look, then shook his head and sighed. "I suppose it doesn’t matter now,” he said in a resigned tone. “And even then, if my parents' reaction to the news was anything to go by, he hadn't shared her name or our relationship with them... yet, at least."

Page nodded. "They were going to find out eventually," she said with a sigh. “Especially with one piece of news that I have.”

"What might that be?" Rex remarked from where he was sitting.

Page shifted in her seat. "The main reason I went to the library today," she began, "Was to reconnect with the Head Matron. Hush Tone has been more of a mother to me than my birth mother ever was, and... well, she forgave me for keeping my true identity a secret all these years... but she wants to meet you and your parents for a dinner date at some point."

Night Blade looked surprised. "Really?"

"I'll confirm that," Wind Breaker said from his own seat. “She was really interested in getting to meet your folks.”

"Of course." Night drew in a deep breath, then gazed at her. "And now, I believe you said you had meetings with both the King and the Captain General today?"

Page nodded. "King Well Banded believes I know how to reach our Queen." She snorted. "Of course, he has no idea of her name, let alone where to find her... but he claims that he wants to contact her about setting up reeducation centers to help my kind accept the fact that they're not criminals just because of their Tribe and because of what Chrysalis-" she practically spat the name - "did, and to help rebuild their confidence in themselves."

Rex sat up straight. "Now that is certainly a worthy goal," he said. "Though I must admit, I question his motives."

Page nodded. "I'm a little suspicious too," she said. "On the outside, it certainly sounds like he means well, but..." she shuddered. "He was broadcasting his emotions, and I can't help but think he has an ulterior motive with all of this."

"He's a politician," Vix-Lei said with a wave of one hand. "In my experience, they all have ulterior motives of some kind, even if it's just to try and win a little more prestige and voter support for themselves."

"With my own experience, I’d say you’re right," Night replied.

Page nodded. "The other thing is... when I met with Gentle Step afterward?" She took a deep breath. "She... figured out I was the Queen."

Four individuals immediately sat bolt upright in their seats, Vix-Lei noting that only Wind Breaker had remained calm and guessing he must have already known. However, the others were anything but.

"She what‽" Night Blade hissed.

"She knows who I am," Page said quietly. "And she has promised to keep it a secret. I felt her emotions, I believe she'll keep her promise."

Still tense, Night Blade lowered himself somewhat. "How did she figure it out?" he asked.

"She... erm." Page looked at Wind Breaker.

"She came in asking about Memorizing Gaze and his relationship with the Changeling Queen," Wind Breaker said, and shook his head. "When Page was able to tell her why the Queen had no interest in him that way, she accidentally said I. Gentle Step figured it out from there."

Rex frowned. "So now eight of us know the truth," he said. "Plus the rest of the Hive."

"Nine," Page corrected him. "I told Matron Hush Tone the truth about me… all the truth." She hung her head. "And it's time you all knew too."

"We already know you're a Changeling and the Queen," Vix-Lei said with a shrug. "What more could there be?"

"My complete ancestry," Page said softly. "I've told you some of this before, in Fluttershy's cottage while Night was away, and you all may or may not have figured out the rest from what the Nightmare and I were saying during our fight. Wind Breaker knows the whole thing already, since he was there when I told the Matron today, but I need all of you to know it too."

Night regarded her. "What is it?"

Page drew in a deep breath, then exhaled, trying to calm herself. "As most of you know, I was given the name Page Turner by the Matron when she found me and took me in,” she started. “But when I was born, I was given the name Lamella Armor the Tenth, by my birth mother, the Queen before me… Lamella Armor the Ninth."

Rex nodded. "I remember that name," he said. "And I must say, Lamella is rather appropriate… it’s also the name for the blade-like scales like those that cover the wings of a moth or butterfly," he added, glancing around at the others.

"That's exactly right," Page said with a nod and a faint smile.

"And I'm guessing another few generations back, there was a Lamella Armor the First," Vix-Lei said. She thought for a moment. "And I'm also guessing her parents are the important ones."

"You're absolutely right," Page replied. "Lamella Armor the First... her parents..." she curled her lip in disgust. "One of them was an honorable stallion. The other was a horrible, despicable creature, and even with what the Nightmare told me about how it sent those dreams to her, I don't know as I can ever bring myself to forgive her for what she did."

Rex's eyes widened, and Vix-Lei knew he'd figured it out. She had a pretty good idea herself, but kept quiet.

"My ancestor... my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandmother... was Queen Chrysalis herself," Page said.

Four sets of eyes shot wide open, but they calmed down quickly. Rex, Vix-Lei noticed, was the first to do so. She wondered if anything, besides that Manechurian Dragon they'd run into (and with what he’d told them about it while Night was unconscious, she couldn’t blame him), would phase him for more than a moment.

"And my other ancestor, the stallion she tricked into bed with her by disguising herself as his fiancee..." Page sighed. "Even on his worst day, my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather Shining Armor was a far better pony than she ever was."

Hearing the name, Vix-Lei let out a whistle. "Even in the Minos Islands, his use of magical shields is legendary. With a bloodline like that, no wonder you prefer using ‘em in battle," she said.

Wind Breaker gave her a look. "You know, that's about what I said when I found out," he told her.

“Just goes to show, great minds think alike, buddy.” Vix-Lei gave him a friendly grin, which he returned.

Night Blade, meanwhile, was staring somewhat dumbstruck. "So that's it," he finally said. "Descended from a great hero... and from a great villain."

"I am," Page replied. "And... there's one more thing."

"What is it now?" Xvital asked, leaning in close.

"Shining Armor," Page paused. "My grandfather, generations removed, wasn't an only child. He had a younger sister, a unicorn like him. She'd be my many-times great-aunt. And her name... was Twilight Sparkle."

That did it. Xvital practically shot out of her seat. "Twilight Sparkle‽" she sputtered. "As in... as in the Magi of Stars‽"

Page nodded.

Xvital stared at her. "Well, that certainly puts a new wrinkle in things," she muttered. "I wonder if she ever knew you were related to her."

Page smiled sadly. "Her friends certainly did," she replied.

"They did?" Vix-Lei looked interested. "How do you know?"

"Because," Page replied. "When we were... almost all in Elysium together, with five of the Virtues and our friends from Canterlot High, Fluttershy told me something important. Something I’ve kept to myself until now."

"What did she say?" Wind Breaker asked.

"She said, and I quote, "We don't blame you in the least for what your ancestor did to us. She's paying for her crimes, and you're nothing like her."" Page sighed. "I've always had my doubts about myself, but to hear that from somepony like Fluttershy, one of the heroes I looked up to, one of the ponies who died because of what Chrysalis did? It meant a lot to me."

"She was absolutely right," Wind Breaker said quietly. "You are nothing like Chrysalis... and I know Shining Armor and his sister would be proud of you."

Page smiled at him.

Night Blade regarded her. "Honesty may not be my Element," he said. "But I will agree with Wind Breaker. Shining Armor and Twilight Sparkle would be proud of you."

Page blushed.

For a moment, nobody said anything. Then Vix-Lei coughed. “Erm. So, I know I’ve got plans for tomorrow, but what are the rest of you doing?”

Night Blade raised an eyebrow. “Nothing in particular on my part,” he said. “Why, what are you doing?”

“Well…” Vix-Lei winced. “Let’s just say you’re not the only one who’s going to be meeting with both of their parents. When I dropped my brothers off at the embassy earlier tonight, I ran into my Dad… and he told me that Mom and the rest of my brothers are all coming here to Canterlot soon. Which means I need to get some actual clothes before they get here - Mom will freak if I’m not wearing a shirt when she’s here, and I do want to get some actual pants again.” She sighed. “Still wish I could have kept the ones from the other side.”

Rex patted her hand. “I’ll come with you,” he said reassuringly. “I briefly spent time with Rarity so I might be of some assistance.” The diamond dog then grinned and tilted his head. “And besides, I am the only one of our friends that actually wears clothes.”

Vix-Lei snorted at this, shaking her head. “So what are the rest of your guys plans?”

“I’m going to the Cuanmiztl embassy to try and see Tizoc,” Xvital said with a smile on her face. “We need to talk about certain things, like when we’re going to get married and stuff.” She blushed as she said this, rubbing her arm.

“Well don’t worry about getting ba-” Page began before Vix-Lei pushed herself upright.

“Dibs on maid of honour!” the minotaur shouted with Page give her a stink eye.

“Iwanted to be her maid of honour,” Page muttered before rolling her eyes. “As I was saying, don’t worry about getting back late. I am heading back to the library as I have…” Page trailed off and seemed nervous. She reached over to grab Night’s hoof for support before she continued. “I need- I have to-”

“Page, stop, you’re getting flummoxed,” Night said soothingly, rubbing her back with the changeling taking deep breaths before she started to speak again.

“Thank you Night,” she kissed his cheek before she looked at them. “I have to go and perform special spells for my hive. I need to turn the elders into the Sages of the Past which shouldn’t be too much of an issue but the Hivemind,” Page trailed off again, looking even more nervous and even guilty now. “For that… to recreate the Hivemind, I will need to do it to the young. Very young.” Page dipped her head low, her ears flat across her head. “A number of mothers have already promised me several of their newborn children so I can recreate the Hivemind.”

Everyone was silent in the room as the full weight of what Page was trying to say began to sink in with everyone sharing looks. Night leaned over and hugged her, with everyone else leaning in to comfort her.

“If you want,” Xvital began as she pulled back. “I could always put off seeing Tizoc if you want more supp-”

“No!” Page shouted, her fangs snapping at the ahuizotless before the mare shook her head. “I’m sorry, but no Xvital, you should go see him if you can. I’ll have Night and Wind Breaker for support.”

“If you are sure,” Rex said while staring into her eyes. “Then we have our plans for tomorrow.”

Everyone nodded their heads with Vix-Lei clapping her hands.

“Then it’s settled!” Vix-Lei said as she pulled Rex in tight. “We’re going shopping tomorrow!”

“I suddenly feel a great sense of dread in my decision,” Rex said in a completely flat voice with everyone laughing.

Chapter Eleven: Gentle Step, Mist Flight

Chapter Eleven

Gentle Step

For the first time in her life, Gentle Step did not want to go to work and would have liked to instead just lay about in her home. Regrettably though, the main reason for her desire had to leave, with Mems informing her that he had to attend pressing matters with his Queen and she had no reason to stay behind. Dressing herself in her armour, she could not hold back a small smile on her lips as she remembered everything that had happened the night before.

Even as she made it to her own guard’s headquarters, she couldn’t keep the edges of that smile from showing slightly with more than one of her guards either blinking at her or nodding at her.

“Good morning, Captain,” her lieutenant called as she passed by his office. “Feeling better today?”

“Considerably,” Gentle Step replied. “And you, Lieutenant Flight?”

The other unicorn chuckled. “For a stallion of my age, not bad.” Gentle Step nodded, remembering how much older her lieutenant was than her. Mist Flight had been second-in-command to the then-Captain General when Gentle had first entered guard training, and was well qualified to take a Captain’s position himself. He’d always declined though, saying he liked where he was and she had to admit she would have been lost without him and his advice. “And you did fine yourself last night, Captain, if I heard correctly.”

Gentle raised an eyebrow at the comment but decided not to press the issue. Instead, she gave him a nod of her head and entered the Captain's Office. Of the five desks, soon to be six, only those of the South and North Captains were filled, with both mares giving her wide grins that immediately put her on edge.

“So,” Sweet drawled out, tapping her desk with her hooves excitedly. “Tell us everything that happened last night.”

Gentle gave her a look. “I do not know what you are talking abo-”

Violet simply slammed a newspaper onto her desk, the once respected Equestria Daily, and flipped to the gossip column section that had a picture of her, Mems, Lieutenant Even Hoof and his wife at the bar last night. “That is just the Captain’s-” Sweet’s magic flipped the page to show a wide shot of Memorizing and her kissing. This explains the reason why my Guards are acting so unusual, she thought to herself. She flicked her eyes at the paper and then at her Captains and let out an internal sigh. “You will not leave me alone about this until I speak, correct?”

Both of the mares nodded their heads with wide smiles on their faces and Gentle let out a proper sigh, removing her helmet as she moved to her desk. “The kiss last night was… amazing,” she admitted, a blush creeping onto her face with the two mares crowding her desk. “I never knew that kiss-” she began before she caught herself but Sweet was too smart to let it pass by.

“Oh my Luna, that was your first time kissing wasn’t,” Sweet’s grin grew wider with Violet just smirking the entire time. “Nextyou’ll say that you two went to your place and-”

Gentle must have blushed more as Sweet squeed and tackled her over in a hug. “Congrats dear!” Gentle was about to order the other mare off of her when Violet suddenly hugged her from the other side, causing Gentle to concede she would not win this battle. With a bemused look on her face, she waited until the two had finally let her loose, then cleared her throat.

“As you can see, we went out together,” she started. “By the way, due to their treatment of one of our Captains, The Old Terminal Bar no longer has my endorsement.”

Violet frowned. “Even after the Pardon, they didn’t want to serve a Changeling?”

Gentle nodded with a snort. “Fortunately, the one where we met Sweet’s lieutenant and his wife were far more accepting, and that is why The Blue Mountain now has my endorsement.”

Sweet nodded. “If Even hasn’t spread the word to my other guards yet, I will.”

“Onto other busi-”

“Sorry for my tardiness,” Blazen said as he trotted into the office, closing the door behind him. “I had to help Sweet Blossom this morning; she had an emergency and I was nearby.”

“How is your great granddaughter doing, by the way?” Sweet Surprise asked as she moved to her desk. “And the rest of your herd, by the way.”

“They are all fine, several are starting to date which is alwaysa pleasure to deal with,” the elderly stallion said before looking at Gentle with a grin emerging across his old face. “Speaking of which, how did your date with Memorizing go?” Gentle felt her lips flap for a moment before she saw him raise a hoof. “I have to deal with more mares going on their first dates than you can imagine and I know all the signs, Captain General, so do not try to hide it from me.”

Gentle barely held in a sigh. “Why don’t we just wait for Standing Wall to arrive so I can tell you all at once?”

“Don’t have to worry about that,” the mare said as she slid up into the room from the floor, using her unique teleportation skills. “I hope I’m not too late in teasing our Captain General.”

Gentle Step gave her a look but it was ruined by Sweet Surprise.

“Oh no, she just admitted that she had her first kiss and tumble in the bedroom last night with her foalhood friend, Memorizing Gaze.”

Gentle Step narrowed her eyes at her Captain and said, “Captain Sweet Surprise, I am formerly ordering you to bring your spouses in as soon as possible as we can know them personally and thus protect them in the future in case of an emergency.”

Sweet Surprise blinked at this and her smile dropped a bit. “You don’t play fair, Captain General.”

“In this case, I have a right.” Gentle Step turned to the other Captains. “In case you didn’t hear…”

After she had repeated her news about her endorsements and gotten two understanding responses, she continued. “Also, I learned from Lieutenant Even Hoof just how he found out about his Captain’s spouses.”

Sweet Surprise cringed, lowering her ring covered horn. “I still don’t know how he didn’t realize it sooner,” she muttered.

“Some ponies don’t recognize what’s right in front of their snouts,” Blazen Sun replied. “Why, my own nephew didn’t realize he and his closest friend were falling in love for the longest time.”

“How did that turn out?” Standing Wall asked curiously.

“They’re going on forty years,” Blazen Sun said proudly. “In fact, their anniversary is just a few months from now and we are planning a big party for the two of them.”

“Pass on my congratulations in advance then,” Gentle Step said. “Isn’t he the one working at the Mount Phoenix Roost observatory as an astronomer?”

“Exactly,” Blazen Sun replied. “And his wife has her own successful career. But I believe we were getting somewhat off topic…” He looked around. “Say, where is Memorizing anyway? I would like to speak to that drone about several things.”

Deciding not to press into what the old stallion wanted to say to the young drone, Gentle looked at him. “He had important work to do in regards to his Queen and some relevant hive matters over at the Library. Of which, I do not know now as it was important enough that had to leave almost as soon as I woke up,” Gentle replied. “But he still took the time to bring me breakfast in bed.” She smirked proudly. “Even brought me medication for the hangover I had.”

“Ah, he’s a keeper then,” Sweet Surprise said with a sly smile on her face. “Hot and Sound just like to lecture me when I have a hangover and remind me I am not a young mare anymore.”

“We cannot all be as young as our dear Captain General, Surprise,” Blazen said to the pouting mare who stuck out her tongue. “And may I remind you that only I get to play the old pony card here?” he said while raising an eyebrow up with a smirk on his face.

Sweet made another face at him, causing the others to laugh.

“As much fun as it is teasing Sweet, we should probably get back to work,” Violet remarked with Standing rolling her eyes.

“Agreed,” Gentle said as pulled the files on her desk onto the projector. “As you are all aware, last night we performed a wide range of raids into nearly all of the Hatcheries in Canterlot, with a few in the Lowers being out of reach in time to sync with the operation,” she said, digesting the information as fast as she reported it. “There appears to be a very-”

She paused, ears flickering as she heard what seemed like Mist Flight but like her, he almost never raised his voice. The other Captains frowned and started to rise when the door slammed open as the trio of Internal Affairs agents from yesterday stormed in with Mist Flight right behind them.

“Again,” her lieutenant snapped as he danced in front of them. “I demand you leave as highly sensitive matters are being discussed here and-”

“This will hopefully take a moment, provided that certain ponies act properly,” Strict Code said with a sneer directed at Gentle. “Madam, we have received some troubling news in the morning paper concerning you and Captain Gaze.” The mare pulled out a folder from her saddlebag, then placed an enlarged photo of the two kissing in the rain on the projector. “Is this photo accurate?”

“It is,” she replied, wondering what this whole matter was about.

The mare didn’t even bother to acknowledge her, placing the photo away, keeping the steady look of disapproval on her face. “Madam,” the useage of the word caused Gentle’s coat to bristle. “Do you know what 600-20, paragraph 4-14 signifies.”

“It states that any relationship between Guards is prohibited to prevent personal issues creating problems in the line of duty,” Gentle said without a moment of hesitation.

“The enforcement of this rule, as of late, has been incredibly lax,” the mare continued onwards. “We wish for the Guards to fall into line and it is our sentiment that a public address from you on this matter would help ensure order from the top down.”

“You wish me to lie to my Guards about my relationship with Memorizing Gaze?” she asked, her anger starting to grow.

“Being deceitful about such matters is ill advised as the damage from the knowledge that the Captain General is flouting the rules could be long standing,” she said. “It is our desire that when you speak against relationships in the Guards that you mean it and do not pursue a relationship with Captain Memorizing Gaze or any other Guard unless you feel yourself unqualified to hold your position within the Guards.”

Gentle Step felt her heart skip a beat as the weight of what was being forced on her, that she was being forced to chose between her career and her heart. With her body shaking, she forced herself upwards and looked at Strict Code. “I will think on what you have told me in due course,” she said while trying to put the same strength she usually had but was falling short. “Lieutenant Flight, as of now, you are acting Captain General.”

“Where do you think you are going, madam,” the mare in front of her asked sharply.

“I am using one of my sick days,” Gentle replied before looking at her lieutenant, her horn opening a drawer and retrieving the appropriate rank insignia from it, placing it on Mist Flight. “I trust I do not need to inform you of how to operate.”

“Act as you would, Captain General,” the black and white unicorn replied steadily, saluting her. “I will inform the Guards of the situation.”

“Very good,” she then flicked her eyes to her Captains. “Continue on with work with the raids and bring Captain Gaze up to speed.”

They responded by giving her a salute which she returned. She then turned her attention back towards the pony in front of her. “We need a statement, madam,” the mare said, taking a step closer to Gentle.

“And you will have one after I return,” Gentle replied as calmly as she could before stalking past the mare.

Mist Flight

Of all the ways he could have become the Captain General, this was the least palatable method. He moved his way towards what would be his desk for the foreseeable future and leveled the best glare he could at the Internal Affairs agents.

“Are you satisfied?” he asked, an ugly look on his grizzled face. “You may have driven out the best damned Captain General we’ve ever had.”

Seeing the look in his eyes, Strict Code was suddenly reminded that she was in a room with one of the longest-serving guards ever, and his ire was aimed straight at her. “It’s nothing personal, sir,” she managed with some hesitation, eyeing all of the Guards in the office. “It’s our department’s job to make sure all Guards follow the rules, regardless of rank. I would treat a recruit just as I did the Captain General and expect just as much due to the standards the Royal Guards employ.”

“Understood,” Mist narrowed his eyes. “Now get out; we have our own duties to attend to.”

As the Internal Affairs agents left the office, Mist snorted. Heading to the desk that was now his, he began looking over the files that Gentle had pulled out beforehand and began to examine them. While he did not have Gentle’s ability to sort through the material as fast as her, he was able to delegate and distribute the work enough that he could buy himself time. His horn lit up as he called in his own second up.

“Artisan Shine, as of now until the Captain General returns, you are acting in my place,” he told her, aware that the other Captains were watching him. “Please inform Lieutenant Even Hoof, Lieutenant Lunar Light, Lieutenant Steady Lance, Lieutenant Dazzling Aura and…” he paused, realizing that he could include the sixth Lieutenant now that the Pardon was passed. “And Lieutenant Ruby Shell of this matter.”

“Understood, sir,” the pony gave him a salute and halted, shifting on her hooves before asking the question. “If I may inquire sir, where is the Captain General?”

“She’s taken a personal day for herself after interacting with the Internal Affairs agents who wished her to make a statement against inter office relations,” he replied with Artisan’s eye twitching as she understood the message.

“Any special orders, sir?” she asked, bristling with anger.

“As the Captain General would have it; anything extra is to come after all duties are done,” he replied, giving her an indirect message of what she and the rest of the Royal Guards could do and more than likely would do. Turning his head to the Captains and the paperwork concerning the Hatcheries, a plan formed in his mind. He was unsure how Gentle would feel about his intentions, especially how there was a chance of harm coming to the citizens of Canterlot but as it were, he had given, and would give, no direct order.

It would be chaotic but no one messed with one of their own and got away with it.

Omake Eleven

Chapter Eleven - non-canon omake

They responded by giving her a salute to which she returned. She then turned her attention back towards the pony in front of her. “We need a statement, madam,” the mare said, taking a step closer to Gentle.

Gentle’s reply was interrupted when the air next to her suddenly turned glassy. Everypony present turned to look, and more than a few eyes widened as a tall figure stepped out, wearing what appeared to be a black and silver armor, while his head resembled a skull with large, smokey black eyes. He wore a white scarf around his neck, and a white fedora.

The figure pointed to the Internal Affairs agents. "You want a statement? I'll give you a statement: Go to Tartarus."

"Wha-how dare you!" Strict Code gave him an offended look. "We're-"

"Agents of an organization that is one of the most hated and obstructive in the majority of universes that I've visited," the figure replied. "Internal Affairs may have been founded for a good reason, but unfortunately, the majority of its incarnations have a tendency to harass the good guys who are trying to get things done and interfere in matters that are are none of their business. Now get out before I throw you out."

Strict Code, for once, decided discretion was the better part of valor and opted to leave, her fellows trailing after.

The figure shook his head. "That was a nasty piece of business... sorry you had to see me in one of my worse moods, but IA is one of those groups that just pisses me off every time I see them in action."

"Quite." Gentle peered at him suspiciously. "Who and what are you, anyway?"

“That depends on what you mean by ‘who and what’.” The figure somehow managed to smile, even though the mouth on his helmet never moved. “Biologically, I'm a human being under this armor - ask the Bearers, they've run into my species before. As for who... call me Reel." The man quirked his head. "Private investigator, Kamen Rider and universal traveler. I've popped into other versions of this Equestria before; even took out the Nightmare myself in one of them, though it was only good in that one universe - I can’t affect the core timeline, just side versions. And I know you and your Captains are all good ponies who’ve more than earned my respect, Captain General."

“That’s good to know.” Gentle Step raised an eyebrow. “But what brings you here and now?”

Reel shrugged. “I like this universe, in its myriad small variations. I like Equestria in general. I’ve observed and dropped into more than a few versions of it - heck, one’s my home when I’m not popping around the multiverse. And I happened to catch those guys harassing you and got annoyed enough to poke my nose in and have words with them.” He frowned. “IA may mean well, but they’re the bane of all heroic police and military organizations everywhere and one of those groups that brings out the worst in me.”

“That’s an understandable reaction, though I’m afraid this won’t be the end of it.” Gentle Step looked at him. “Technically, I am breaking the rules-”

“And you’re following your heart,” Reel interrupted her. “You and Memorizing Gaze belong together. Trust me on this.”

Gentle looked away, barely hiding the blush on her face.

Reel tilted his head. “Much as I’d like to stick around, I need to move on soon. But there are a few other things you should all know.”

“Oh?” Sweet Surprise raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah. First off, during their time on the run, the Bearers learned some interesting information about their predecessors and a lot of their so-called enemies. You remember the story of the Blue Sorceress?”

“I do,” Standing Wall volunteered. “The one who fought the Magi of Stars with an army of star beasts?”

Reel nodded. “Except that story, and a lot of others, were… misunderstood over the years. For instance, the Blue Sorceress was really… how shall I put it? A bragging showmare who accidentally inspired a couple of colts to lure an Ursa Minor to Ponyville, and was blamed for all the damage it did before the Magi of Stars calmed it down and sent it home, saving the Sorceress’ life in the process. When the Magi of Stars and her fellow Bearers died during what one universe I know calls Chrysalis’ Folly, the Blue Sorceress vowed to honor her for her heroism and really turned her life around.”

The others looked at him in surprise. “Really?” Violet asked.

“Really. And the new Bearers know this - in fact, they’re probably going to tell you about her soon, when you go to talk to Page.”

Violet quirked an ear. “Why me in particular?” she asked suspiciously.

“Because, my lady enchantrix and Magi Supreme, the Blue Sorceress’ true name was Trixie Lulamoon.” He paused as her eyes widened. “And if you’re thinking she’s your ancestor, you’re absolutely right.”

“I-how-” Violet shook her head. “That’s…”

“Unbelievable?” Reel nodded sagely. “Entirely the truth though. It’s been a thousand years since that incident, and King Blueblood the First was operating on incomplete information when he shared the stories with the rest of Equestria. The combination distorted the true version of things, though hopefully that can be fixed eventually.”

The other Captains and Mist Flight all looked at him. “That is… certainly interesting information,” Blazen Sun finally said. “And I suppose the new Bearers know more of them?”

“Absolutely. By the way, Captain Lulamoon?” Reel gazed at her. “For the record, Trixie’s proud of you and what you’ve accomplished.”

Violet smiled. “Thank you, er… Reel.”

“One more thing, before I go.” Reel held up a finger. “The Nightmare may have been dealt with, but there are other dangers out there. The transition into this new era won’t be easy… but the end results will be worth it, I promise.”

As the air turned reflective again, he gave them all a friendly smile. “Until next time, everypony. There’s no telling when or if I’ll be back… but I’ll be keeping an eye on things as best as I can. Take care, all of you!”

Stepping through the reflective surface, he was gone.

“Well,” Mist Flight remarked. “That was unexpected.”

“Yes,” Gentle Step agreed. “Yes, it was.”

Author's Note

Anon e Mouse Jr.’s note: And my self-insert reappears again, once more sharing information that readers will already know but the characters, at the time, did not.

This also brings about an official explanation for his past appearances: his method of travel means that he’s not actually visiting this universe’s canon, but nearly identical versions of the Pieces-verse that are just barely next door to it, so close that there’s no visible difference between them and the official canon until he arrives. This omake marks the third version of the Pieces-verse that he’s dropped in on (though he’s visited one of them twice, both during the events of the original fic).

Chapter Twelve: Xvital, Rex, Page Turner

Chapter Twelve

Xvital

With a smile on her face, Xvital followed the map down the street towards the embassy while doing her best not to look to the roofs. After what Vix-Lei had told them this morning about Ruby Shell and their secret shadows, the ahuizotless didn’t want to tip off the Guards that she knew they were there, or alert any other potential followers who might be out there to the fact that she had backup. It was good that she had someone watching out for her, but with her past as a thief, it still rubbed her the wrong way that they were Guards.

Xvital let out a sigh as she knew she would have to get used to them as long as she was the Bearer of the Element of Magic. And then she would have to deal with Tizoc’s guards shadowing her when she got married. Wriggling from the thought of her upcoming marriage again, she just had to look at her ring to steel herself that she wouldn’t run away again, that she would stay this time and be married to the man she loved.

All she had to do was find out when their special day would be and then she could start planning for it and to do that, she had to find the blasted embassy!

She was wondering if this map was as defective as the other one she’d gotten when she first came to Canterlot, and knew she would never hear the end from it from the guys if that was the case.

Squinting at the map, she was half tempted to call out to the guard when she turned the corner and found herself in front of a large courtyard with a tall building done in the style of the Cuanmiztl Kingdom’s architecture and a number of ahuizotls standing in front of it. On the very top of the building, the kingdom’s flag was waving in the wind.

Rolling her eyes, Xvital walked towards the the building with the guards barely even looking at her.

Once she had made it inside, she found her way to the front desk. “Ahem.”

The ahuizotless there looked up from a magazine with a bored expression on her face. “Can I help you?”

“I’m here to see Prince-King Tizoc,” Xvital replied. “Can you tell me where he is?”

“The Prince-King is busy and can’t see anyone,” the other ahuizotless said, looking back down.

“He’ll see me,” Xvital replied. “I’m his fiancee.”

That got the other ahuizotless’ attention. “I’ll need to get confirmation of your identity,” she said in a business-like tone. “We’ve had more than a few claimants to that status here already today. All of them frauds, of course, and I’ve had them escorted off the property.” She pressed the button for the intercom, and quietly spoke into it.

A minute later, a guard stepped out of the back room and took one look at her before smiling. “Lady Xvital!”

“Axayacatl!” Xvital smiled. “Good to see you again.”

“The same goes for me,” Axayacatl replied. He turned to the ahuizotless at the desk. “It’s definitely her,” he reported. “I’ll take her to our Prince-King.”

The receptionist nodded. “Good.”

As Axayacatl led Xvital down the hall, he glanced at her. “So, how are you? I haven’t heard much since… well, since you helped take down that thing controlling King Well Banded.” He looked down a bit. “I am so, so sorry I couldn’t protect you from him. I should have stayed with you when you ran back to the airship.”

“It’s okay,” she said softly. “In the long run, it’s a good thing I got caught - if I hadn’t, my friends and I never would have been able to save the day like we did.”

Axayacatl nodded as they headed up several stairs. “There is that,” he acknowledged. “Still, I’m glad to see you’re okay.”

Xvital nodded back. “I’m glad to be okay,” she said as they walked past several guards, each of them nodding their heads to them. “But now, all I really want is to see Tizy and start making plans for our wedding.”

“Well, there’s already been a little bit of planning, actually,” Axayacatl said, opening a door for her to go past. “Your groom asked me to be his Best Man.”

Xvital smiled. “No objections to that choice. Anything else I should know about?”

“That’s the only part that’s been finalized,” Axayacatl replied. “He said he was waiting for your opinions on everything else.”

“Smart decision.” As she said this, the two reached Tizoc’s office with the Shorn Ones standing guard.

“Well. Here we are,” Axayacatl said, reaching out to knock on the door.

Before he could do so, it burst open and something big flew through the open space, landing right on Xvital.

“Ack!” Xvital sputtered as she hit the ground, looking up to see the creature’s rough tongue heading straight for her. “Not again! Down, Xolo!”

The timberwolf ignored her command, happily licking her face with Axayacatl snickering at the scene, and the elites predictably staying quiet.

“Xolo, atras!” a voice commanded, and this time the timberwolf looked up, whining a bit before backing down. A moment later, a hand reached out to help Xvital to her feet, and she sighed. “Thank you, Tizoc.”

“It is always my pleasure to aid you, Xy,” Tizoc smiled at her, pulling her close for a chaste kiss on her cheek. “I wish I had known you were coming; I would have cleared my day for you.”

“But I thought you loved it when I surprised you.” Xvital smiled at him as she took his entire form in and felt more complete than she had in years.

“I do.” Tizoc smiled back at her, with his hand around her waist as he gestured towards his office. “After you.”

Nodding, Xvital walked into the office and saw a small group of Tizoc’s ministers looking at her. Xvital frowned internally, she’d never liked to deal with them when she had been Chantico’s scriber and even less when she had been engaged to Tizoc the first time. They’d never approved of her but at least they had been vocal and direct about it, unlike Chantico who had been very subtle about her disapproval until the day the dowager Empress had come to her and convinced her to run away.

“Let us take a recess everyone,” Tizoc announced as he followed her in. “My fiancee and I have important matters to discuss.”

They shared looks between each other before one stepped towards them. “Sire, if we may speak to you about this-”

“You may not,” Tizoc said coldly. “I recall the objections the last time quite clearly and I doubt you have any new ones?” Xvital saw them talk to each other briefly before the one who spoke before shook their head. “Then there is nothing more we have to discuss.” He looked even more stern than before. “Xvital is the woman I am going to marry, and nobody, not my mother and certainly not you, is going to change my mind.” He gestured towards the door. “Now, if you will kindly excuse us.”

Grumbling, the ministers shuffled out the door, most of them with grouchy looks on their face. When the last one had gone, Tizoc closed the door behind them and sighed heavily. “Sorry you had to see that,” he said tiredly. “I swear, I wonder if Mother arranged for the most difficult people possible to fill my advisory positions on purpose.”

“I wouldn’t put it past her,” Xvital said. Feeling something rubbing against her leg, she looked down to see Xolo, the beech timberwolf looking up with a wry grin on her face. Idly, Xvital reached down to scritch her ears with her tail hand as she continued. “So, aside from difficult advisors, how are things going here?”

“It’s going,” Tizoc said. “There are still something of a vocal minority who are calling for us to cut ties with Equestria entirely, or even declare war, but the majority have accepted that King Well Banded was not responsible for what happened due to the possessing spirit that is no longer present and just want things to go back to normal. We have, of course, kept the enemy’s true nature quiet in order to avoid causing a panic, but it is known that King Well Banded was not himself at the time and is not at fault for any of what happened.” He then looked at her. “And naturally, we did our best to suppress all information on you and our friends for the purpose of giving you all privacy.”

“Thank you,” she said, sitting down across from him. “Sorry for not coming here sooner, but we were waiting for things to cool down first.”

“I don’t blame you,” Tizoc said. “With everything going on since we first came back here, I’d be more surprised if things weren’t going crazy outside for a while.”

“Yeah.” Xvital took a deep breath. “What with that… spirit, me getting magic and the Pardoning and all that, it’s going to be a long time before things settle down in this city.”

“Quite. Speaking of which-” Tizoc reached under his desk and did something, and then nodded. “We should be safe from eavesdroppers now.”

“Security system of some kind?”

“Exactly.” Tizoc nodded with satisfaction. “I recruited a couple of local unicorns, I believe their names were Magic Mixture and Secured Connection, to help update what we had. They promised that it would completely soundproof my office and the rooms attached to it, though if our alarms trigger, it’ll shut off automatically for safety reasons.”

Xvital grinned. “If it was those two, then you can definitely trust their work,” she said. “They were partners with Rex until he had to leave Canterlot with the rest of us, and they’re good ponies - we met them when we were moving around the city, back before we made our final escape.”

Tizoc’s eyes widened in surprised satisfaction. “I see. I hadn’t known that, but now I know I made the right choice in hiring them for this job.”

Xvital nodded. “So… what’s up that we need the soundproofing up?”

“General precautions.” He smirked. “Great pony, from what I’ve heard. Right up there with General Principles.”

Xvital snorted with amusement. “I knew I should have kept an eye on you and Vix-Lei,” she said teasingly.

“She does know some good ones,” Tizoc agreed. “But seriously, is it so hard to believe I just want to make sure we can’t be overheard by anyone? Other than Xolo,” he added as he looked at his pet, who was still getting her ears rubbed by Xvital.

“Not really.” Xvital shrugged. “So, any plans for our wedding, besides your Best Man?”

Tizoc nodded. “A few ideas. Mostly pertaining to the guest list, but beyond that, I was waiting for you.”

“Well, my friends are coming, and Vix-Lei kinda called dibs on maid of honour, although I think she might relent and let Itotia do it. That’s if she wants to do it, I mean.”

“Itotia?” Tizoc said with surprise on his face. “Well, if she wants to be there, I don’t see why not but all things considered between us, I’m surprised that you would even think of her as a possible maid of honour.”

“Well, despite her not becoming your wife and you choosing me instead of her, she was actually very supportive and very happy for us,” Xvital said, pausing as she thought of her old semi friend. With a sigh, she wondered how Itotia was doing and how disappointed she was in Xvital for running away before Xolo nipped her fingers and forced her to continue to rub the timberwolf.

“And of course, Machtia,” she added. “She was my teacher and sort of a second mom to me, back before you and I met.”

Tizoc nodded. “If she was like a mother to you, she is certainly welcome.” He then gave her a more serious look. “And your actual mother?”

Xvital winced. “Well… I grew up in a house with several families, and I’m still not entirely sure which of them were really my blood relatives, even the one I called Mom back then. When I turned old enough to be on my own, I moved out and haven’t seen any of them since.” She sighed. “I met Machtia sometime after that, and learned a lot from her… she’s the only real family I’ve ever really known, blood or not.”

“I see.” Tizoc looked thoughtful. “I certainly know at least one blood relative of mine that I’d like to forget. Unfortunately, she makes herself very memorable.”

Xvital nodded. “No argument here.”

“My mother’s behavior aside, are there any others you can think of to invite?” Tizoc asked.

Xvital tapped her chin. “Good question,” she said. “How big or small should we keep it?”

“Personally, I’d rather just have a few witnesses, but I know that my position demands the biggest, grandest ceremony anyone can come up with.” Tizoc looked a bit disgruntled at that. “It’s unavoidable, unfortunately.”

“Like everything else that comes with being suddenly royalty,” she paused and gave Tizoc a look. “Once we have kids, we make sure we communicate with them and that we love them.”

Tizoc gave a raised eyebrow. “Of course we will Xvital,” he said slowly. “Whatever brought this on?”

“One of my friends, Night, has had massive trouble with his parents over that and I don’t want that to happen to us.” Xvital sighed. “Fortunately, they’re getting better, but it’s still an issue I really want to avoid.”

“Ah, the Butcher of the Everfree Forest,” Tizoc said, nodding his head.

Xvital grimaced. “He really, really doesn’t like that name, you know,” she said. “Besides, he saved my life during that fight, even after I’d pissed him off enough that he’d left us for a while.”

“Right right, sorry about that,” he said, leaning close to her now with Xvital feeling her face heat up. “Now onto the three more serious questions, Xvital; where are we going to have our wedding, when are we going to have it and what are we to do about your ties to Equestria due to you having one of their Elements?”

“The when is one of the things I was planning to ask you,” Xvital said. “The where, I haven’t given much thought. As for the Elements, I’ve got no idea. Mictlan, I still need to learn how to do this safely!” she said as she snapped her tail hand’s finger, causing a spark of fire magic to come into existence. Xolo let out a yelp and bolted away from her while Tizoc let out a curse as he more or less pounced over his desk as water began to fall from the ceiling before the doors were smashed open and the Shorn Ones stormed in, looking for any danger before setting their gaze on her.

“Sorry,” she said as she tried to cancel the magic but was struggling to so with the water pouring down her and the pressure of the moment was not helping!

Finally, she managed to extinguish the flames, and groaned. “I swear, I never planned for this to get out of control like it did.”

As one of the Shorn Ones managed to shut off the sprinkler system, Tizoc climbed off his desk and gathered up the paperwork, fortunately still dry. “Perhaps you should stay here to get lessons?”

“I’m already under orders to do so,” Xvital replied. “And the Captain General wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

Tizoc nodded. “Certainly understandable although she has no legal rights to do so, Xvital,” Tizoc stood up as several attendants came into the room with towels for their Prince-King, with one going to Xolo and another to her. “You are not an Equestrian citizen, you are a Cuanmiztlan.”

“Yeah, I know,” Xvital said as she shifted around, letting one of the attendants have easier access to her tail. “I can’t blame her for trying though, given the problems I’m having. And it’s not like there are any real academies for magic back home.”

“I will see what I can do to get private tutors for you,” Tizoc said before noticing the look on her face and amended with “Providing that it is what you want, of course.”

“At the very least, what I want is control over these powers so I don’t accidentally burn down my bed in my sleep again,” Xvital said as the ahuizotl finished toweling her down. “Not a fun experience.”

“I could only imagine,” Tizoc said. “Must be the worst thing you have ever shared a bed with?”

“Second worst,” she teased him, with Tizoc blushing rather fiercely as he no doubt, and hopefullyfor his sake, remembered the time he had pulled her aside back in his palace. But Xvital knew better than to outright say what happened in the public with all of his attendants nearby, regardless of what they thought.

“In any case, we still need to-” Tizoc began when the loudspeakers outside began to chime with an announcement about to be broadcast. Turning their heads to the windows, they listened to the King’s proclamation with widening eyes.

When he had finished speaking, Xvital shook her head as the Royal Guards began to speak now. “That… that was...”

“Not something I expected to hear today,” Tizoc said. “Nor you, I believe.”

“You’re right, it wasn’t,” Xvital agreed. “But I know a lot of people are going to be happy about it. I should go out and-”

“Excuse me, Lady Xvital,” one of his guards spoke as the Shorn Ones peered out the window with his ministers peering into the room. “But due to the vast unpredictable mess that is about to happen, we would feel it best you remain here where it is safe.”

Xvital was about to retort that she didn't need protection when Tizoc spoke to her, “Agreed; and in this case, you can sit in the meetings and prepare yourself for future meetings.”

Xvital bit her lip, knowing full well that they were right and she would have to learn how to handle these kind of meetings if she were to be Tizoc’s wife. Still… “I do want word of my friend as soon as you get it, okay?”

“Of course, Lady Xvital,” the guard said with him turning to an assistant to repeat the order as the ministers came into the room with one ahuizotl bringing in a chair for her. Sitting next to Tizoc, Xvital prepared herself for what would be a part of her life.

Rex

Rex had to admit that, in spite of his brief misgivings the night before, their shopping trip was going a lot better than he’d hoped. Vix-Lei had proven herself surprisingly efficient when it came to clothes shopping: she knew exactly what kinds she wanted, and unlike several of the mares he’d noticed in the shops, she wasn’t wasting time trying on dozens of random things, though she had asked his opinion on one or two items.

So far, the only problem they’d had was an incident where an overzealous security guard had tried to confiscate Vix-Lei’s hammers when they’d first entered the store where she had done the majority of her shopping… fortunately, that had been nipped in the bud when the store’s manager had recognized them from the newspapers and ordered the other stallion to back off.

Finally, with a handful of bags, she gestured towards the door. “Okay, I’m good.”

Rex nodded, and followed her out. “So now where?”

“Back to the hotel to use their laundry room,” Vix-Lei replied, still just wearing just her skirt. “Mom always taught me to make sure and wash any clothes I got before I started wearing them.”

Rex nodded. “Good thinking.”

As the two continued walking down the street, Rex noticed his friend seemed lost in thought. “Something bothering you?” he asked quietly.

Vix-Lei looked startled for a moment, then shook her head. “Nah… just wondering how she’s going to react to all of this.”

“Your mother?”

“Exactly.” Vix-Lei looked up. “You know, whatever happened to the Nightmare when it got dragged off… it’s probably getting off light compared to what Mom would have done to it, after what it did to all of us.” She looked at Rex. “She might be about your height but she can be scary when she wants to be.”

“I believe that is a trait most mothers share,” Rex replied.

“No no, you don’t understand,” Vix-Lei shook her head. “You see how tall I am, where my ears are?”

“Yes…” Rex said carefully, wondering where his friend was going with this one. It was always hard to tell with Vix-Lei.

“Even at this age, she can somehow grab and twist my ear, and lecture me like no tomorrow,” Vix-Lei shuddered. “I mean, she doesn’t jump or anything. She just grabs and suddenly I’m on the ground in pain.”

Rex winced. “You’re right, that is scary.”

“And now you know a big part of the reason why I need less… revealing outfits before she arrives.” Vix-Lei suddenly tilted her head. “Speaking of Mom, do you still have any family anywhere in Canterlot?”

Rex considered. “Biological family, I honestly am not sure. Our packs move around quite a bit, though my former packmates are still in Canterlot’s Under somewhere. You will recall how I got some help from them before our final battle with the Nightmare…”

“Yeah, I remember.” Vix-Lei nodded back towards her hammers and rotated her right arm. “Where did they get those fire potions they gave you, anyway?”

“I am not sure, and I didn’t get the chance to ask.” Rex looked contemplative. “I will do so the next time we cross paths though…”

His train of thought was cut off when he heard a loud gasp. “Rex? Rex, is that you?”

The Diamond Dog’s ears snapped up, and he looked over in astonishment. “Magic Mixture, Secured Connection! I wasn’t expecting to see you here today!”

“And we weren’t expecting to see you,” the white and yellow-patched stallion replied as Secured Connection trotted up behind him, a massive grin on her face. “We heard some of what happened in the papers, but we haven’t been able to get a hold of anyone who knew where you were after all that…”

Rex nodded. “Given the state of things after our victory, I’m not surprised. But how are you two doing?”

“Very well,” Magic Mixture replied, blushing a bit as he looked towards Secured Connection. “The shop’s doing great, and we’re just fine… we’ve missed you though.”

Rex smiled. “And I have missed you too, my friends.”

Secured Connection gladly approached him, letting him pull both she and Magic Mixture into a hug. After a moment, the two drew back.

“So, what are you up to, anyway?” the teal mare asked. “I mean, I can see you and your friend here must have gone shopping for some stuff, but what kind of stuff?” She gestured towards Vix-Lei’s bags.

“Needed to expand my wardrobe,” Vix-Lei told her. “Got family visiting soon.”

Secured nodded. “I can understand that.”

The four began moving down the street, chatting about various things. Rex saw Magic Mixture’s eyes light up as he talked about some of the experimental potions he’d been working on recently, and Secured Connection seemed just as happy with her own work. But as the quartet came to an intersection, Rex’s ears twitched.

“Rex? What is it?” Vix-Lei asked.

“I am not sure,” Rex said with a frown. “But something…”

He was cut off as a nearby loudspeaker began making a loud noise, and all four looked up at it. A moment later, a very familiar voice began to speak, and four pairs of eyes widened at what it had to say.

When the announcement had ended, Vix-Lei shook her head. “Well. I guess they got their proof,” she muttered.

The two unicorns exchanged glances. “Proof of what?” Magic Mixture asked.

“That, um,” Vix-Lei began to hum, shifting on her hooves. “I actually can’tsay what but it’s clear that we should be off the streets ASAP.”

“I agree.” Rex looked at the two. “With what we just heard, I believe things are about to get very, very… chaotic out here.”

“No kidding,” Secured agreed. “But we’ll see you again soon, right?”

“Absolutely.” Rex smiled at her. “I look forward to having a long, involved discussion on your work with both of you.”

“Same here. We’ll see you soon!” Secured said, before she and Magic Mixture headed off.

Watching them go, Rex smiled, then turned to Vix-Lei. “We’d better hurry…”

“No kidding,” Vix-Lei said. “Come on!” Scooping him up and positioning him on her back, above her hammers, she took off in a loping gait back towards their hotel.

Page Turner

Page did her best to hold up her head as she walked down the street with Night and Wind by her sides but she was still nervous about what she had to do today. Recreating the Sages of the Past would be easy, but as she’d told her friends the night before, she was very troubled by what she’d have to do to reform the Hivemind.

Not to mention what would happen if she ran into Polished Apple again… that mare was still not happy that Matron Hush Tone had scolded her about her attitude towards Page the other day, especially since she’d done it where several of the other librarians could hear. Then again, after Polished had rather publicly snubbed her when it was time for lunch, she couldn’t blame the Matron for giving Polished a public scolding.

Shaking her head to try and get rid of that line of thought, Page looked at Night, who seemed lost in his own thoughts. “Are you okay?” she asked quietly.

Night looked startled for a moment, then shook his own head. “Just thinking.” He sighed. “Wondering how my parents and my siblings will react when they meet you.”

“If it’s with anything less than total acceptance, I’ll gladly give them the eye,” Wind Breaker volunteered.

Night Blade raised an eyebrow. “The eye?”

“Something a couple of the Sisters at the Hatchery did if we displeased them,” Wind Breaker said. “They just had to look at us like…” he shuddered. “Anyway, it was disturbing and creepy enough that we’d do almost anything to make them stop.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Night said dryly before turning back to Page. “In any case, I should be asking how you are doing.”

“I’m… managing,” she said honestly enough, flicking her eyes to Wind Breaker who simply kept on walking. “I’m still very nervous in what I have to do today; the spells are very old and complex.”

“But you can still do it, right?” Wind Breaker asked, turning his head to face her.

“Of course,” Page said, a tiny bit insulted. “It is something that has been passed down via my bloodline for generations; I just need to call back on the knowledge to do it so I can do it.”

“I’m sure that Rex would just love to know all of this,” Wind Breaker said, shaking his head with a grin on his beak as they turned the corner to see the Library and the ponies in front of it with signs and the Cadenza Guards lining the area. A few of the protesters were even on the statue of the Magi of Stars. She stiffened at the ponies jeering at the odd changeling walking towards the library, looking at her friends but was oddly reassured by the fact that they were unworried by the sight and looked slightly bored by the protesters. Although, she could feel a hint of apprehension in their emotions and were causal reaching for their weapons. There were a few protesters trying to yell at them instead of her changelings but most were either pushed back by the Cadenza Guards or saw the lethal weapons her two male friends were holding openly.

Page had to smile at how her changelings were behaving as they went towards the Library; even though they had no reason to trust her at all, they’d all followed her call for this safe haven and not a single one of them were even looking at her which kept her true identity as their Queen a secret.

Her smile grew as she saw Matron Hush Tone at the top of the steps, welcoming in the changelings as well as regular patrons that went inside, each passing by a stallion with a gray coat and black mane who had to be Memorizing Gaze, keeping an eye on everypony and either nodding or passing some unseen signal that had the Guards take them away.

The Matron’s eyes widened as she saw them, walking down to greet them. “Good morning, Page Turner, Wind Breaker,” she said before settling her eyes on Night. “And hello to you too, young Blade. Did my ward tell you of what I wish from you?”

“Yes she did,” Night said, nodding his head. “And I promise you, I will do what I can to arrange it the next time I speak with my parents.”

“Very good,” the griffon said as she shepherded them into the library with Memorizing Gaze following them as two other attendants from the Library came to take their places. While they were making small talk as they passed by the front sections, as soon as they were inside the deeper section of the library, Memorizing turned to face her.

“It is good to see you are well,” the drone that was supposed to be in charge of her personal bodyguards said, his eyes flashing to their true colour. “Both Sound Record and High Finish are here to take charge of their duties at long last.” It was unspoken that he too was here to do his duties to protect her, but Page didn’t see the need to comment on it.

“Good,” she responded as they were led to the private living area of the Library, making Page raise an eyebrow. “They are with the rest of the staff?”

“Some are, some are not,” Hush Tone said. “The more… confident ones are up top and either learning how to read and write or instructing other changelings in the basics or learning how to be a productive member of the Library. A few should even be ready within a week or two to actually serve our visitors here.”

“And the others?” Page asked turning to face the griffon with a serious look on her face that caused Hush Tone to pull back ever so slightly.

“The more skittish and fearful ones are in the basement with a few of the King’s tutors aiding their rehabilitation,” the griffon said with disgust in her voice. “As much as I do not like it, it seems that the King was correct in his beliefs in how to help the changelings.”

“The Sages to be are upstairs, overseeing the education of the more stable changelings,” Memorizing said with his disguise falling to the side. With guilty looking eyes directed at her, he continued. “The Sages have asked us not to use our disguises, as to promote that we have nothing to be ashamed of…”

Page rolled her eyes, knowing that Memorizing wasn’t doing this voluntarily but was stuck following orders from superiors. The only one above the Sages was her and she wasn’t bound to their wishes. Still, the Sages were meant to be advise the Queens and their wishes were not to be ignored lightly. With a flick of her magic, she dropped her disguise as she walked out into the living quarters of the Library with her heart warming as none of her friends or Hush Tone showed any reaction to it.

As they walked passed through the hallways, there were more changelings that were peering at her and began to follow them. Page could tell that Memorizing was similarly unhappy with them being so obvious about following their leaders but there was nothing she could do about it without being equally obvious about it.

Finally, they arrived at one of the kitchens that had been converted into a study room of sorts, with the elderly nymphs and drones looking up as they walked in, with their students pausing and turning their heads to them. Off in the corner, there was a serious looking drone in armour that had to be Sound Record, second born of the triplets, and nearby there was High Finish, his and Memorizing’s youngest triplet brother.

“Back to your lessons,” Archived Knowledge said as he and the others walked to Page and her group. “It is good to see you again, Page,” he said with a shared bow, making Page feel slightly uncomfortable at the gesture.

“And you, my changelings,” she said, bowing her head slightly to them. “Are you ready?”

“We are,” a nymph that went by Secret Archive said before flashing her eyes at Page. “And you, my queen?”

Page bit her lip at the casual usage of her title by but she nodded her head. “Yes I am,” she flicked her eyes to her changelings sitting at the tables and asked. “Please clear the area, my changelings, and stay outside until we are done.”

As one, they stood up, collected their belongings and left the room with Night Blade sharing uncertain looks with Wind Breaker and Hush Tone.

“Should we leave too?” Night asked, shifting on his hooves.

“No, you may stay,” Page said while wanting to actually ask them to stay for moral support. She then focused her magic to move the furniture around to create a large space for herself to perform the spell. “If you will all please get into a circle around me.” Her changelings did as they were asked, and now it fell onto Page to do her part.

Focusing on her magic, she began to pull up the parts of herself she did not like dwell on. There were spells that had been passed down that she knew without ever being taught them and knew exactly what they did. Reaching inside of herself, she accessed the spell that would link the elders’ minds together and share the knowledge each had with all of the others, extending their lives as well as placing in the spells that would allow them to perform this duty and others in case the worst should happen and they be called upon to restore the Hive.

Physically, their heads would grow larger as their minds expanded to contain their combined knowledge while their bodies grew slightly larger than the average changeling, but otherwise they would remain visibly almost identical; those who were unfamiliar with their kind’s traits would not notice the difference. Mentally, however, they would be changed far more and would no doubt now view teaching changelings how to read and write as being beneath them, instead taking it upon themselves to become her advisers as previous Sages of the Past had done.

Page had finished half of the task of what was required of her, with her mind now focusing on supplying her Sages with the history of her Hive from that small tucked away piece of her mind into theirs. Page could feel them grunting in pain as they were shown their Hive’s entire history, Page herself felt a twinge of unloading all of the memories, overlapping most of her conscious in the process and she had to pace herself while at the same time doing her best to only be somewhat aware of the memories of past Queens and Sages as looking too closely would be dangerous.

After some time had passed in the background, Page was able to pull back into herself and take proper stock of everything. She saw the new Sages looking over themselves with Sound Record moving to stand in front of them while at the same time feeling them making a place within the fragmented Hivemind. It was close to her, and she could feel them bring Sound Record under them while some lines were moving towards her. It would take time to properly sort everything out and it would only be doable after she recreated the Hivemind Body.

“Page, are you okay?” Night asked, resting his hoof on her back which made her feel better, mostly in part due to her feeding off of his concern for her but mostly due to the fact it was Night.

“Yes,” she told him, keenly aware of the disapproving looks she was getting from the Sages who were hopefully being temporarily influenced by the past memories as Night helped her.

“You think you’re ready for the other ones?” Wind Breaker inquired as the Sages began ordering changelings that were peering in to fix the room up, with one of the Sages going to the Matron for more proper housing arrangements.

“Ye-yes,” she said, flicking her eyes to Memorizing and High Finish, before steeling herself for what she had to do. “Matron Hush Tone, could you please show me where the...where the changelings who are to- to,” Page trailed off, hating herself for being too weak to speak of what she had to do.

“This way, my Queen,” Memorizing said softly, nuzzling against her as well as passing on positive emotions to her that eased her worries. She then had to bite back a giggle as she also heard the low growling coming from Night as well as her coltfriend subconsciously flaring his wings a bit.

“Thank you,” she said as they were led to the back of the dormitories, the section that held the underground storage that now held a wide range of changelings, all looking at her with wide eyes. She walked past them, deeper into the makeshift hive with a few of the Hidden Guards appearing more and more often and High Finish taking the lead from his brother. Standing as tall as she could, she approached a wide cadre of Guards who gave a sharp look at the non changelings.

“I am sorry my Queen, but they are not welcomed,” a Guard said as she tried to stare down Night but Night was a hard pony to intimidate.

“He is my coltfriend,” Page said unneeded as almost all of her Hive knew of Night. “He is my friend,” Wind Breaker flashed a smile. “And she is the griffon that raised me as her own hatchling.” Matron Hush Tone tipped her head. “They have the right to be here with me.”

Surprisingly, they looked at both High Finish and Mesmerizing Gaze for confirmation which caused her nose to wrinkle. Thankfully, they nodded their heads and the Guards parted, allowing them to pass.

Almost immediately, they heard the crying of infants and Page began to feel the self hatred again for what she had to do.

“Queen Lamella, you’re here!” a young nymph called out as she held her baby against her chest and raced over to her, causing the other mothers and few fathers to surround her with cries of joy in their voices. Both Protectors moved in front of her to push them back, the brothers baring their fangs and flailing their hooves. The parents moved backwards and held their heads low, looking very sheepish.

“We are sorry, Queen Lamella,” another nymph said, doing her best to soothe her crying daughter. “We were just eager to see you at long last and do our part to help the Hive.”

“I see, my changeling,” Page said as she walked over to the nymph, nuzzling her and giving her some positive emotions to calm her down. “And it is okay, my little changeling.” She then tipped her head lower and gave a kiss to the baby’s head.

Counting to five in her head, she forced herself to do this next step. “Please, place all of your babies next to each other and I may rebuild the Hivemind Body.”

The parents did this without any hesitation, and Page began the spell. It had the infants’ bodies begin to melt into one another with their ability to think for themselves being suppressed before their minds were wiped away as they were pushed into one physical form. It was best this way as their twelve minds were now one, with them this young they would lose nothing but their future. Already, even at this small growth state, Page could feel the hivemind stretching and filling out to its proper dimensions.

Looking at the growing form, she shuddered in horror. She knew what she had done was necessary… but at the same time, she mourned for the loss of the individual lives that had been sacrificed to create this one, even if it was for the betterment of the rest of the Hive.

As she stepped back from the Hivemind Body, the former parents went to tend to it and move it into a much more secure section of the storage room, with High Finish and his detachment of guards moving with them.

“Are you okay Page?” Night asked, leaning against her, holding her close as he wiped away tears from her face. “That was…”

Page looked down. “Magically, I’m fine,” she said quietly. “Emotionally… I don’t know how any Changeling Queen could ever have brought themselves to do something like that in the first place, and I really hope no Changeling Queen ever has to do it again.”

“That’s why you’re special,” Wind Breaker said. “I doubt any of them would be as bothered as you are. That’s why you’re the Bearer of the Element of Kindness.”

“Thank you, Wind Breaker,” Page smiled and nuzzled him. With a sad sigh, she looked at the departing changelings and despite how much better off her changelings were now, she knew that this was something she could never forgive herself for. “Look, I just want-”

She froze as the loudspeakers begin to rumble, with every head turning upwards. Normally, it would be near impossible to reach the surface in time, but as she could work with her Hive instantly now, she was able to have her changelings dash to the side as they all raced up the stairs to hear King Well Banded speak.

“My dear citizens,” the King’s voice boomed. “It was this morning that my Captains brought news to me of corruption within the Hatcheries stretching back years and even now our Royal Guards are piecing together the sheer scope of what has occurred. With griffons stolen from families across the seas and other lands to pay off debts that have long since been repaid, I cannot in good conscious allow such practices to continue any longer. As of today, the Hatchery System is officially no more.” Page turned her head to see both Hush Tone and Wind Breaker wide-beaked with their eyes open even wider in disbelief. “Furthermore, there are to be stations that will run today until they are no longer needed, manned by the Royal Guards, that will give the personal records of the former Hatchery griffons to our now free griffon citizens.”

There was a clearing of a voice as the microphone was passed to another pony who began citing locations and former Hatcheries that griffons that once belonged to were to appear for their records but Page’s focus was on her friend as one of the first Hatcheries that was called was the Caring Sisters of the Virtues Hatchery, which was, as she recalled from the time she’d seen the cover of his ledger, the name of the Hatchery he’d grown up in.

“I haveto go,” Wind Breaker said as he started to take off in the air. “Are you guys coming?”

“I wish I could but I cannot,” Page said, shaking her head. “My Hive needs me now and I cannot leave them.”

“Of course,” Night said at the same time as she did, causing Page and Wind Breaker to blink. “We’ll see you later once we’re done, either here or at the hotel.” Giving her a quick nuzzle, Night took off with Wind Breaker, the sky already full of flying griffons and announcements calling off more names and locations. It would be chaos if any other division of the Guard did it but Page had faith in the Royal Guards.

Turning her head to Memorizing who had Sound Record and High Finish standing beside him, Page asked, “Why didn’t you tell him this was going to happen?”

Memorizing looked at her. “I knew that major investigations and raids were going on - in fact, I was supposed to be at one last night, but…” He coughed. “Something else came up, and I left my lieutenant in charge of the operation. I had no idea the information was going to be released this soon though. Gentle Step told me she was going to wait on it until we had all the data sorted out and the more corrupt Hatchery officials in custody.”

“But when would she tell Mems anythi-” Record trailed off with his eyes widening as he shared a wicked grin with his younger brother as the eldest of the trio let out a weary sigh. “So that’s the mare that has dibs on you, you sly ’ling.”

“About time,” Finish chuckled as he tried to mess with his brother’s mane with Memorizing growling and stepping back, only for Record to lean in and finish what his other brother started.

Memorizing Gaze facehoofed as his brothers jostled him between them, the two younger drone laughing. “Did everyling know how I felt about her?”

Page covered her mouth with one hoof to keep from blurting out what she’d figured out the other day. When she was certain of her self-control, she lowered it and looked at him. “Memorizing Gaze?”

“Yes, my queen?” his tone changed immediately, showing the training he and his brothers had gone through.

“Regardless of how many may or may not have been aware of your feelings for her, and she to you, I want you to know that you and Gentle Step have my full support in your relationship.” She also sent the warmest love she had to him to show how deep her approval was.

Memorizing bowed low in response. “Thank you, my queen.” He then let out a sigh. “I need to report to the office to see what exactly is going on. Sound Record, until I return, I am placing the Queen’s protection in your hooves.”

Sound Record nodded his head with Memorizing Gaze teleporting away, leaving Page to wonder what the truth of her friend was.

Chapter Thirteen: Memorizing Gaze, Wind Breaker

Chapter Thirteen: Memorizing Gaze, Wind Breaker

Chapter Thirteen

Memorizing Gaze

Teleporting in front of the Royal Guards headquarters, Memorizing Gaze immediately rushed in, heading for the main meeting room for the Captains as the daily meeting should not have ended yet. In the back of his head he noted how empty the building felt, with the normal bushel absent. There, he looked around, and saw several of the other Captains with their emotions out of their normal alignments.

"Captain Sun!" he called, catching the older stallion's attention as he was building up a spell, no doubt his teleportation spell. "What's going on here?"

Blazen Sun turned to him, his eyes narrowing for a moment before he relaxed slightly. "That's a complicated matter," he said. "You might want to ask our Acting Captain General, if you can find him - he's currently out in the city somewhere."

"Acting?" Memorizing looked astonished. "What happened to Captain General Gentle Step?"

"Something came up, and she had to take a personal day," Sweet Surprise sounded unusually grim from where she was sitting with her emotions seething with rage. "Mist Flight is in charge until she comes back."

Memorizing breathed a sigh of relief as he heard that. He'd been familiar with Gents' lieutenant for years, and the grizzled veteran was one of those whom he'd long known, even without his inherent empathic abilities, to be a hundred percent loyal to her and to Equestria.

Despite that, Memorizing knew he needed answers now. "Was it Captain General Flight's decision to release the information on the Hatcheries so abruptly?"

"It was," Blazen Sun answered. "And he had a very good reason for doing so."

"I'm listening," Memorizing said as he faced his fellow Captain.

"It's like this..."

Wind Breaker

“How are you doing, Wind?” Night asked as the two of them flew through Canterlot.

Wind Breaker let out a deep breath that he hadn’t even realized he’d been holding. “I’m… well, I’m still in shock, really. Even with everything we’ve been through, I never would have expected something like this to ever happen, even with what Memorizing said the other day about his guards investigating a couple of Hatcheries.”

“Neither had I.” Night Blade looked ahead for a moment to check their flight path, then turned an eye back to his friend. “Though now that the Nightmare is gone, things do seem to be improving here.”

“That they are,” Wind Breaker agreed. “For now, at least… but I can’t help but think the other horseshoe is just waiting to drop right when we least expect it.” He sighed. “We barely won that last fight in time, and I’m not going to kid myself - we did good there, and we worked as a team, but even if all of the Captains had joined in, we probably wouldn’t have won the fight in the end if the Nightmare hadn’t slipped up and given Xvital the final key to unlocking her Element so we could call on Harmony’s full power like we did. Even if we can call on it again... who knows what’ll happen the next time something big like that comes out of the woodwork?”

Night Blade cocked his head at him. “That’s a rather pessimistic view of things… but I can understand where you’re coming from.” He flicked an eye around for a moment. “You’re thinking about that other enemy, aren’t you? The one Applejack hinted at when you got your Element, the one all of them said we weren’t ready for.”

“That thing and all the demons we know are locked up in Tartarus,” Wind Breaker said as he kept flying. “I bet most of those freaks would love another shot at the Captain General after what she did down there even before she got promoted.”

“Point taken.” Night Blade sighed. “Still, we can always hope…”

Turning his head as he saw where they were, he signaled to Wind Breaker that it was almost time to land, and the two swooped down, getting into the back of the line.

“Hey!” a griffon ahead of them snarled as he saw Night stepping in next to Wind Breaker. “This is the line for the hatchery’s information - and it’s griffons only, pal!”

“Yeah, and you sure don’t look like a griffon,” another one right ahead of the first one sneered. “So get lost!”

Night Blade looked like he was about to say something, when Wind Breaker interrupted them. “Back off!”

“Yeah right,” the first griffon snapped. “What are you going to do about it if we don’t, little guy?”

Wind Breaker took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, then looked at them. “My friend is here for moral support,” he said, still seething inwardly. “If you don’t like it, bite me!”

“And me,” another voice rumbled behind them.

The two griffons looked back and froze. “D… Diamond Back!” one gasped. “We didn’t-”

“Didn’t know it was me in line ahead of you?” The larger griffon harrumphed. “Well, now you know.”

As the rude pair backed off, Diamond Back shook his head. “You go ahead,” he told them. “I need to talk to these two.”

“R-right away!” one stammered.

Wind ducked his head as Diamond Back went around the two griffons and moved closer to him. “You didn’t have to give up your place in line,” he said quietly.

“Hey, I’ve been wanting to catch up with you for days,” the larger griffon replied with a smile on his beak. “I haven’t seen you since all that craziness when you got back. Guards been keeping you out of the public eye, I’m guessing.”

“Exactly,” Night Blade replied as he eyed the griffon. “Pardon me for interrupting, but I don’t believe we’ve been formally introduced. I’m Night Blade.” He held out a hoof.

Diamond Back shook it, although he looked somewhat worried. “Diamond Back. You been keeping an eye on Wind here, I take it?”

“We all watch one another’s backs,” Night said. “In fact, as I recall, Wind here was watching my marefriend’s back even before they knew one another… he saved her life after another griffon didn’t pay attention and nearly dropped a load of supplies on her.” He narrowed his eyes at Diamond Back, and the larger griffon gulped as he realized just who he was talking to.

“You remember that, then,” he said quietly, his wings drooping a bit. “Look, for what it’s worth, it was an accident, one that I take full responsibility for… and I really am sorry about the whole thing.”

Night Blade nodded. “Since nopony was actually hurt, I accept your apology, as long as Page does too the next time you meet her,” he said stiffly.

Diamond Back nodded back. “I’ll do that, sir.” He then looked around and caught Wind’s eye. “So… who’d have ever thought we’d really be free like this?”

“Nopony, that’s who,” Wind Breaker said as the three of them stepped back when a flood of griffons exited the building, all of them talking eagerly with each other. The Royal Guard up ahead waved more in and seemed about to stop when he spotted their group.

“You three,” the Guard shouted at them, waving them ahead of other griffons who were all protesting. His eye briefly flicked upwards before ushering them inside of the makeshift office that had a large number of other griffons sitting around as Royal Guards began to call out names and direct to them to other offices. He left them in a waiting room, going back outside.

“You two, let me you see your Ledgers,” the Guard at the desk shouted, causing Wind and Diamond to wince but they moved forwards and pulled out their books. The Guard in question then hoofed them over to an Inspector that Wind didn’t recognize. Accepting the Ledgers, the Inspector began studying them before flicking his eyes to them. In response, both griffons let out a groan as they pulled out a feather for the Inspector to judge against the recorded magic signature in their books. After a moment, he signaled that everything was as it should be.

“Sit over there and wait to be called,” the Guard behind the desk said before looking at Night. “What are you doing here sir?”

“Support for my friend,” Night said, already sitting down in a chair.

The Guard simply took this in stride, moving onto his list of names and the next griffons in line and they had no other choice but to follow suit, Wind settling in next to Night and Diamond taking the seat on Wind’s other side.

Despite the large hustle and bustle and assorted commotion, it was surprisingly quiet and that made things awkward.

“So Wind Breaker,” Diamond Back said, tilting his head down at Wind Breaker. “Have you thought about what we talked about last time we were together?”

NIght’s ear shot up as quickly as Wind’s heart dropped.

“What is he talking about,” he asked quietly.

“Long story,” Wind whispered back. Turning to Diamond Back, he swallowed hard. “I’m… still trying to figure it out myself,” he admitted, shifting on the chair. “When I know, I’ll tell you.”

Diamond Back seemed surprisingly calm at this. “I understand,” he said. “Not every day somepony - or somegriffon, I guess I should say - drops a bombshell like how they’ve had a crush on you for so long without saying anything about it before.”

At this, Night Blade’s eyebrows rose so high that for a moment it looked like they might secede from his face, but Wind Breaker was relieved when he said nothing.

“Yeah, I can safely say that was something I was not expecting,” he admitted, tapping his talons together. “Also something I haven’t told most of my friends about either.”

“Uh, sorry about that,” Diamond Back said with a shrug of his shoulders. “Guess I shouldn’t mention the kiss, either?”

If it were possible, it seemed that Night Blade’s eyebrows were raising even higher, and Wind Breaker blushed nervously. “Yes,” he said. “That would probably be a good idea.”

Diamond Back looked somewhat abashed, and at this point, Night Blade spoke up. “Just when did this happen anyway, Wind Breaker?”

“When we were running from the guards after the- er, you know what, showed itself to us,” Wind Breaker said. “The day we got back to Canterlot. I ran into Diamond Back and he helped me get out of sight for a few minutes, and then he, er… well, you know, before I went on.” He blushed even redder.

Night Blade nodded his head. “I see.” He then blinked his eyes and a grin grew on his face. “So, I am guessing you would absolutely hate me if I were to tell Vix-Lei about this?”

“Oh you massive dick, you wouldn’t dare,” Wind Breaker hissed, rolling over to jab a talon into his side.

“As much fun as it would be, you know I wouldn’t do that, right?” Night said as he moved his talon off his chest.

“Yeah,” Wind said, nodding his head in agreement. “You’re notthat much of an asshole.”

Night gave him a look, but the expression on Wind’s face told him his friend was only joking. Clearing his throat, he glanced over at Diamond Back, who had a very patient look on his own face. “My apologies, but I needed to get that little round of teasing out of my system.”

“‘S okay,” Diamond Back waved it off. “I know how good it is to tease Windy here.”

“And in hindsight, a lot of it makes so much sense,” Wind said with a sigh.

“Sure do-”

“Back, Diamond; room four,” a voice barked, causing them to jump. Diamond blinked and gave an uneasy look before he stood up and began to walk off.

Once the two were alone, there were a few moments of quiet, Wind looking in the direction Diamond Back had gone before turning to Night Blade, who was giving him a rather deadpan stare.

“So.” Night Blade arched an eyebrow again. “When exactly were you planning to mention any of this?”

“I was planning to keep it as quiet as possible until I’d sorted out my own feelings on it!” Wind Breaker hissed. “Page knows, I told her yesterday because I knew I could trust her to keep it quiet and not tease me, also because she needed some reassurance that she wasn’t the only one worried about what to say to somepony, or somegriffon in both our cases. Like how the Matron was going to react when she told her the truth.”

“Ah.” Night Blade nodded. “That’s understandable.”

“It doesn’t bother you, does it?” Wind gave him a look. “Two guys…”

“As long as neither of you tries to hit on me, I have no objection whatsoever,” Night Blade replied.

Wind Breaker let out a sigh of relief. “That’s good.”

“Besides, Page would kill me if I tried something like that without her permission,” Night said with a smirk. “If she says yes…”

“Breaker, Wind, room six,” a voice called.

“Wait what,” Wind Breaker blinked in surprise, then rose out of his chair. “Look, it’s my turn but can we talk about that afterwards?”

“Sure,” Night said, sticking his tongue out. “I’ll be here when you come back.”

Wind Breaker snorted and shook his head, then headed into the room he was being directed to.

Inside the room was a young bat pony that looked very familiar for some reason behind a desk covered with files, and as he settled into a chair in front of the desk, the Royal Guard flicked his eyes upwards.

“Don’t sit sir, we should be done shortly,” he said as he looked through the stacks. “Aerial Drift, right?”

“Uh, no, it’s Wind Breaker,” he said causing the pony to let out a barely restrained snort of laughter. “And like I’ve told my friends, I’ve heard all the jokes.”

“I’m not laughing at you sir, just at how slapdash this operation is,” the pony said as he eyed the papers. “You might want to sit down after all, this will take a few minutes.”

Wind Breaker nodded, then watched in fascination as the bat pony began looking through the papers. All the while, he couldn’t help but wonder who the pony reminded him of. “You said slapdash?” he asked, causing the pony to tilt an ear upwards and shoot him a look before going back to his paperwork.

“Yes; due to reasons I am not at liberty to discuss, this operation should have been spaced out over the next week with far more organization to all of this,” the pony said shaking his head. “To be honest, I’m not even supposed to be here right now. I was visiting my grandparents with my father when I was called up to help today.”

“Yet you still came here?” Wind Breaker asked as the stallion lifted up a stack of files and moved them to a filing cabinet.

“Ohyes,” he grinned viciously, showing a lot of teeth. “When I heard why everything is being pushed up, I could not stay away.”

Wind Breaker snorted at that, finally realizing where he recognized this pony from. “You know, you kinda remind me of my friend when you grin like that.”

“Really? I didn’t know that I looked like a griffon.” the young stallion began to rifle through the filing cabinets, eying some file before shaking his head and looking at another.

Wind Breaker shook his head. “He’s not a griffon. Night’s a bat pony like you.”

“Well, that’s ni-wait, did you say Night?” The Guard whipped his head around, staring intently at him.

“Yes I did,” Wind Breaker watched as the Guard started to grin and actually stop his work, causing him to worry as he never knew a Royal Guard to stop in a job.

“Night, as in Night Bla… wait, you’re that Wind Breaker,” he slapped his forehead as he reached into his armour and pulled out a key. “Give me a moment and I will have your file ready. Due to who you are, we had it secured for you Wind Breaker.”

“Wait, how do you know Night?” Wind Breaker asked, somewhat confused.

“He’s my uncle, that’s how I know him,” the Guard replied. “I’m Striking Blade.”

Wind Breaker’s jaw dropped. “No wonder you looked so familiar! But, you look to be the same age...”

Striking nodded. “Uncle Night’s actually a year younger than me. And boy were my grandparents surprised…”

“So I’ve heard,” Wind Breaker said, shaking his head. “Just how close were you two, anyway?”

“Not very, unfortunately,” Striking said as he headed back to the locked drawer. “Father was stationed in Vanhoover for most of my foalhood, and during our visits here, Uncle Night and I never spent too much time together. It was somewhat odd having an uncle who was younger than I was, and I suppose that’s part of why we never quite bonded.”

“And the other part?”

“Night was a complete and utter brat at times and that made it so easy to bug him like what I would guess a kid brother would be like,” he chuckled awkwardly as he opened the drawer. “And he was never good at hiding the fact we were fighting or stuff.”

“Yet he was able to hide the fact he had a marefriend for so long,” Wind chuckled quietly, then looked aghast at himself.

“Wait, what?” Striking turned to stare at him in astonishment, the file almost sliding from his hoof. “When did that happen?”

“Not long after he got his talent emblem,” Wind Breaker said. “Of course, now your grandparents know, but they haven’t met her yet.”

Striking shook his head, clearly still amazed. “Wow. There’s something I never expected to hear… heck, I’ve never had a marefriend before, but he does?”

“And she’s one of my friends too,” Wind added. “I’m sure you’ll get to meet her eventually.”

“I hope so.” Striking shook his head. “If she can put up with a temper like his, she must be some mare.”

“You’ll get no argument from me on that.” Wind Breaker smiled. “But I think we’re getting a little far from my original purpose here.”

“Of course.” Striking Blade cleared a few files out of the way, leaving an open spot for the one he was still holding. “Here you go sir,” he said as he slid it across the desk.

Opening the file, Wind Breaker began reading, and after a few moments, his eyes widened. “Oh dear goddesses…”

“I am sorry to say that you are not the only one, but you do need to move along as you have been here far too long.” Striking Blade looked almost apologetic.

“Right.” Snapping the file shut, Wind Breaker tucked it into his saddlebag. “Thank you for your help, and I’ll be sure to tell your uncle you said hello.”

Striking nodded. “You’re welcome, and have a good day, sir.”

Heading back out into the waiting room, Wind Breaker headed straight for Night Blade. “Enjoy your wait?”

“Well, nopony tried to attack me, so I count that as a plus,” Night Blade replied. “I take it you have your information?”

“I do,” Wind Breaker said softy. “And it’s big… really big.”

“How bad?” Night looked more worried than he was right now.

“Remember how we all reacted to some of what we found out last night?” Wind Breaker asked. “It’s that kind of big.” He looked down. “All this time… I thought...” He broke off for a moment.

“Wind?” Night asked as he rose out of his seat.

“I promise, I’ll explain once we’re all back together,” Wind said, still feeling down. “But it’s a good thing the hatcheries are being shut down, given what some of them got up to. And here I thought I was in one of the better ones...”

Night Blade nodded. “Back to the hotel then?”

“Probably be a good idea.” Wind Breaker glanced at him, doing his best to force his actual mood down for now. “By the way, your nephew says hello.”

Night Blade’s head whipped around. “What?”

“Your nephew, Striking Blade, is the one who got me my file,” Wind Breaker said. “He was in town with his dad to visit your parents, but he got called into work today.”

Night Blade shook his head. “Well. That was unexpected.”

“And I kind of accidentally mentioned you had a marefriend to him, but not her name,” Wind added. “I swear, I was not planning to say anything, but it just popped out there.”

“Considering my parents and Crooked already know, I suppose it was only a matter of time before the rest of my family found out,” Night said with a sigh. “Well, let’s be off.”

Wind nodded, and the two headed for the door.

Outside, they found Diamond Back waiting for them, a concerned look on his face. “Everything go all right?” he asked.

“As far as getting my information, yes,” Wind Breaker said. “It’s… pretty bad, how about yours?”

“I’ve got family out in Las Pegasus apparently,” Diamond said with a happy grin on his beak. “According to this, I had some free relatives trying to earn enough to pay off my debts all these years.”

“Congratulations.” Wind Breaker held out a talon, and Diamond Back shook it before pulling him in for a tight hug and peck on the side of his beak. Pushing away as he heard Night snicker, Wind turned his head out to the street to see chaos as countless griffons filled the streets, some of them celebrating, some arguing with each other and the few Guards present.

“Wow.” Diamond Back looked at them in amazement. “I haven’t seen streets this wild since I read that article about the Maredi Gras celebrations a few months ago.”

“Personally, it’s making me nervous,” Wind Breaker said. “I think we’d better find someplace to keep out of the way.”

“You kidding me?” Diamond Back gave Wind a look as if he was crazy. “This is totally our time to celebrate!”

Before Wind Breaker could say anything, the taller griffon joined the throng of griffons, easily fitting in with the celebrations with somepony actually sliding him a tankard of booze before he disappeared from sight.

“I don’t think we can fly this time Wind,” Night said, nudging his side as he pointed at the sky that had Guards flying around and forcing griffons to land. “This won’t be easy but I think we can do it.”

Wind Breaker nodded his head as the two of them began push their way through the crowd of griffons.

Night seemed to have an easier time moving through the crowd, shoving and pushing just as hard as the griffons were fighting back.

He had to admit, seeing Night roar right back into their faces was pretty cool although it made Wind Breaker aware of how ungriffon-like he was. Holding back an uneasy sigh as he was offered a pitcher of beer, Wind Breaker really wanted to get back to the hotel and take a more in-depth look at his file. He shuddered for a moment, and wondered just how many other griffons were like him and how the Hatcheries could have done this to so many of his kind.

“Okay, move aside!” Night roared at the top of his lungs, pushing a mountain griffon out of the way as the bat pony pulled him into an alcove. “Okay, Wind, I know you wanted to wait for the hotel but tell me now what was in your file. You need to tell me so you can get your head back on straight before we get through here.” Night then bared his fangs as a pair of female griffons came nearby. “No distractions, honesty now.”

“I can always count on you to be direct to the point Night,” Wind rolled his eyes before shifting on the the spot. “You know how most Hatchery griffons got there, right? Because the mother gave up her egg in exchange for reducing her debt?”

“Yes as well as the father doing the same deed without the mother’s permission…” Night trailed off, no doubt thinking the worst.

“Apparently, not all of us got there that way,” Wind said with a scowl. “Some of us were stolen from free griffons, and according to this, I’m one of them. The records says I am from an orphanage in the Essex region of the Griffish Isles.”

Night gave him a long stare before shaking his head. “As soon as we get back, I am going to contact my mother to get my family’s private skimmer yacht ready while we start preparing to head overseas immediately.”

“Just like that?” Wind Breaker blinked in confusion.

“Of course,” Night nodded his head. “And I’ll have to see who’s available to pilot it… no offense intended to Vix-Lei, but I would like to make it to our destination without any of us,” and here he let out a cough that sounded suspiciously like Xvital, “getting airsick. Also, I am sure that the insurance companies will flat out refuse to cover us with her behind the wheel.”

“Isn’t your family beyond rich?” Wind Breaker tilted his head.

“Yes and does that change anything?”

“Nope,” Wind Breaker chuckled before tilting his head the other way. “Do you smell that?”

Night sniffed the air and his ears fell backwards. “Fire,” he hissed out. “We should move no-”

“Hey brother,” a large griffon appeared from behind, slapping a talon onto his shoulder. “Come with me.” Before Wind Breaker had a chance to say anything, he was directed to a large gathering of griffons cheering in front of a massive bonfire. As soon as they arrived, the griffons parted the way for him and Night so they could reach the inner line. As soon as they did, Wind’s breath was stolen from him as he saw that the fuel for this fire was books.

“My free brothers and sisters, we have another free brother with us!” the griffon who had led him to the line announced, and the rest of the crowd roared out their approval. The leader of the group then held up a Ledger before looking at Wind Breaker. “This, my brother, is a symbol of the oppression that we have endured for too long, a symbol of control over our very lives, a symbol of slavery in another name by the ponies who have tried to squeeze our spirits, stifle our minds and hold our hearts in bondage. Today, the bloated and corrupted Hatchery system is no more!” The crowd roared out angrily and loudly at this. “My brothers and sisters, the ponies might no longer be able to continue their monstrous system, but we should not keep this symbol alive!” He turned to Wind Breaker and placed a talon gently on his shoulder. “My brother, the fire awaits; do away with the Ledger that chained you and be truly free.”

Wind Breaker knew this guy was completely off his gourd but what he was saying made sense and…

Before he knew what he was doing, he pulled out his own Ledger and threw it into the pile, feeling his heart lighten up as he saw the book burn in the pile of other books, his heart soaring as the pages were caught in the air. He stared at the fire and thought of how right this griffon leader was sound-

“Wind,” Night hissed as he grabbed his side. “We need to leave now.” Wind Breaker was about to protest when he saw that Night was worried. “These griffons are getting really riled up and there are no Guards here.”

Wind Breaker saw that the other griffons were now grabbing other stuff to throw into the fire and more than one griffon was glaring angrily at Night. It would only be a matter of time before somepony did something stupid and things got ugly.

Pushing themselves upwards, the two of them flew as fast as they could, with the sounds of windows being smashed trailing behind them.

“I’ll tell you,” Wind Breaker huffed as he flew, “This is not how I expected my day to go!”

“Neither did I,” Night called back. “Then again, our lives have been full of surprises since the day of the Honour Festival!”

“No kidding.” Wind Breaker peered forward. “And knowing us, they’re not likely to stop anytime soon!”

Banking a bit as they rounded a corner, the pair paused to catch their breath, looking back at the spreading chaos.

Night tilted his head and said something that made Wind Breaker’s blood run cold. “Where are the Guards?”

“I don’t know but I think we got out just in time.” Wind Breaker said before looking at Night. “Thank you again, for everything today.”

“It’s no problem,” Night said before brushing against him. “Come, let’s go.”

With that, the two took off into the air again, flying towards the hotel once more.

Chapter Fourteen: Xvital, Sweet Dagger, Wind Breaker

Chapter Fourteen

Xvital

Xvital was annoyed as she made her way back to the hotel. It was far later in the day than she had wanted to leave but with the riots breaking out from the wild celebrations that had sprung up, Tizoc’s minister of security had flatly refused to let her go outside on her own, and Tizoc had backed him on the matter out of concern for her safety. She also had to stay and listen to his entire meeting about the matters of state, something which frankly bored the living daylights out of her, while one of her best friends was out there dealing with this insanity, a fact that she was most displeased by. She could only hope that he wasn’t handling it alone; the thought that one of their other friends had accompanied him was all that was keeping her from snagging one of the guards and going out early to find him herself.

Despite this, she knew how important this was and did her best to keep her focus during the entire meeting, presenting that she was taking this seriously. She made sure to ask the right questions and for some clarifications on stuff she didn’t know, and did her best not to get annoyed when they told her she did not have clearance and had to stand outside for a bit.

And now that they were done, she had this group of Cuanmiztlan guards surrounding her as she moved around the city. On one hand, it made things so much easier as they could easily force away anyone that came too close and the Cadenza Guards left them alone. On the other… well, it was annoying that she couldn’t go anywhere by herself, even if she did understand the reasons why. And her old criminal instincts were just screaming at her to get away as fast as possible, forcing her to clamp down on herself so as not to make a scene.

Still, even with all these headaches, it would all be worth it when she finally got married to Tizoc.

Turning her head to her guards as she approached the penthouse door with the Royal Guards outside, she cleared her throat. “Dismissed.”

The Cuanmiztlan guards exchanged glances. “With all due respect, my lady,” one began, before Xvital cut him off.

“I said, dismissed,” she barked. “I’m not planning to go out again tonight, and despite our past differences, the guards here are fully capable of keeping an eye on things. So return to your posts at the embassy.”

After a moment, one of them bowed. “As you command, my lady.”

Despite his words, they were still there as she entered the room, and she had the feeling that they’d be doing their best to stick around without being seen.

Turning her thoughts from the guards, she entered the main room of their suite, and smiled at the sight in front of her.

All of her friends were in there and none of them seemed hurt, though Wind Breaker did look somewhat shaken up. “What’s been happening?” she asked as she went over and took a seat with Night standing by the phone, looking increasingly annoyed.

“Besides the obvious with the Hatcheries?” Wind Breaker took a deep breath. “Well, I found out some things about my origin that startled me quite a bit.”

“How bad?” she asked while noticing Vix-Lei was pacing tensely with Rex gripping the arm of his chair tightly, though somehow doing so in a way that his claws were not against it, and Page had her eyes closed and her lips were moving softly in a way that told Xvital she was speaking to another Changeling through the hive mind connection and it was something big if Page was being this obvious.

“Apparently, I was born in the Griffish Isles,” Wind Breaker said heavily. “And then I was stolen and brought here to Canterlot by some… I don’t even know what to call them, but the point is, I was born free and forced into Hatchery status, all to satisfy somepony’s greed!”

“Holy Mictlan,” Xvital swore, her eyes bulging. “I didn’t think things were that bad; no wonder the city is going nuts.”

“Yes and it is making getting through the phone line a real pain in the-Blade Manor for the fifth time!” Night shouted. “This is Night Blade, their third son-yes I know how old they are, they are my parents- yes I am that Night Blade!” He threw up his hooves in disgust, and Xvital guessed that the operator must have said something about his moniker from the papers. He waited a brief few seconds before snorting loudly. “Yes, you… pony,” he spat, clearly resisting the urge to swear. “Can fine me anything you like if they complain and don’t you dare put me on hold again or I will find you and-finally!” Night shouted, rolling his eyes, with his hoof tapping the floor.

“What’s going on-” Xvital tried to ask, only for Night to hiss at her, holding a hoof to his lips and then to the phone.

“Yes, hello?” Night said to the phone. He paused. “Yes it is me, Mother.” Pause. “I’m fine and so are my friends, Mother.” He paused again. “Thank you Mother,” he said as he shifted on his hooves. “Mother, there is a reason why I called you.” He listened. “Well, Wind Breaker, my friend, recently learned of his roots and I was hoping we could borrow the family skimmer so we could all go find his family. The thing is, they’re overseas, so…”

At her response, Night stared at the phone, shifting a bit before saying. “And?”

Xvital saw his expression change to one of relief. “Thank you Moth-” Then his eyes widened, and he blinked. “Huh?”

He listened for a moment. “Umm,” Night put his hoof on the phone before looking at Page. “You are coming with us, right, Page?”

“I can’t; I need to stay here for my hive,” she said, shaking her head.

“Right, right,” Night said to himself before moving his hoof off the phone. “No Mother, Page is unable to come; she has other commitments in Canterlot at the moment.”

Whatever Sweet Dagger said next, it made Night Blade’s eyes bulge. “Excuseme‽” He stared at the phone “I am of age, and-” cutting himself off, he listened to her response. “What-”

He was quiet for a moment as Sweet Dagger spoke, then looked at the phone again. “Oh.” he said dimly, blinking before coughing. “That makes a lot of sense, Mother. I will have to ask Page about this but-”

“I guess it’s okay?” Page said loudly enough so it should be heard over the phone. Xvital winced at the volume, then watched as Night nodded his head. “Yes Mother.” Pause. “Yes, Mother?”

His mouth twitched a bit. “I understand exactly what you mean, and that was already part of the plan, Mother,” he said. “In fact, I was going to ask who might be available to serve as our pilot for the trip.” He paused again. “Yes Mother?”

Xvital winced again as he squeaked out a surprised “What?”, then shook his head to clear it. “Ahem. Actually…” Pause. “Well, as it happens, Matron Hush Tone has already asked us for exactly the same thing,” he said. “This is the first time I have spoken to you or Father since I was informed of her request, and it is one of the things I was meaning to bring up.”

He paused again and looked at Page. “Once we get back, Mother. Alright, Mother. Thank you, Mother,” he said before hanging up the phone and turning back to all of them. “Good news, we’ll be able to head out tonight.”

“That fast?” Xvital blinked.

“When Mother wants something done, she gets it done,” Night said. “Although there were a few things I had to agree to.”

“Such as?” Rex asked from his seat.

“Well, as you can probably guess, my parents are just as interested in having a meeting with you and the Matron as she is with them and I,” Night said, directing his words toward Page. “And the other is…”

“Let me guess,” Vix-Lei broke in. “Sometaur other than me as your driver?”

“Er, yes.” Night Blade coughed. “Your reputation being what it is…”

“Nah, I understand.” Vix-Lei waved it off. “As long as they don’t mind me just being aboard.”

“That shouldn’t be an issue,” Night replied.

“Anything else we should know?” Page asked, looking up at him.

“Er, yes…” Night Blade coughed nervously. “She said something about she and Father wanting you and I to be… chaperoned?”

Page gave him a look. “Explain. Now,” she said in a dangerous tone that caused Night to gulp.

Xvital winced at that, then watched as Night Blade began to hurriedly explain.

Sweet Dagger

“My love?”

Sweet Dagger looked away from the window she was gazing out of. “In here,” she called.

A moment later, Lethal Blade walked in. “Is it still as wild out there as it was earlier?”

“Absolutely,” Sweet Dagger replied, her eyes still on the griffons that filled the skies that had only the Cadenza Guards chasing them, the Royal Guards oddly absent. “The way things are going, I’ll be surprised if this doesn’t last for a week.”

“I’d tend to agree with you,” Lethal replied. “While I can’t say as I object to the King’s deciding to end the Hatchery system, I can’t help but wonder if he didn’t think the immediate consequences all the way through.”

“I am just worried about our children and grandson; I know Crooked and Striking were assigned to one of the Hatcheries today,” Sweet Dagger said. “And the Warrior only knows where Hidden, Deep, Serrated and Night are… I certainly hope they’re staying safe. And Night’s friends too.” She glanced at Lethal. “Come to think of it, wasn’t one of them a griffon?”

“You’re absolutely right,” Lethal said. “And I think the papers said he was a Hatchery Griffon too…”

Brrr-ing!

The two ponies exchanged glances as the phone cut off whatever Lethal was about to say next, then Sweet Dagger hurried over to answer it. “Hello?”

“Yes, Blade Manor?” the operator’s voice said. “You have a call from a Night Blade.”

Sweet Dagger’s heart skipped a beat. “Put him through, please.”

“Transferring now.”

A moment later, she heard a very recognizable voice. “Yes, hello?”

“Night, is that you?”

Lethal Blade looked at her wide-eyed, but kept quiet as she spoke. “Night, are you okay? We heard everything that is happening right now and we were worried about you and your friends.”

She listened, then mouthed ‘They’re okay’ to her husband. “That’s so good to hear Night.”

She listened again, then nodded. “I would expect as much, Night. What is wrong?”

Her eyes widened, then she nodded once more. “I see.” Pause. “Well, of course you can borrow the family skimmer,” Lethal Blade’s eye twitched at that, “On some conditions, Night.”

She glanced at Lethal for a moment. “Firstly, is your marefriend going to come with you?” She listened for a bit before nodding her head. “Well, once you do get back, we, your father and I, would like you to have a chaperone when you are out with her.”

Both ponies winced at the blast of volume that came from the phone, but Sweet Dagger shook it off. “We know that Night, and that is why we are asking you two to do this to help.” At his startled response, she continued. “Listen Night; we know that we have little right to ask this but we are doing this for you. Ponies of the other noble houses will see you together and will begin to poke at things that don’t line up. If they see you two with a chaperone, it would give the situation some sign of normality and less reason to openly pry.”

Night started to answer, but in the background she heard a voice saying “I guess it’s okay?”

“Was that Page?” she asked. “Well, good. Now, to the next thing, Night.” Pause. “I will have to insist that you get somepony other than your minotaur friend as your driver… we did see the article about that skimmer chase, and, well...”

Catching Lethal’s eye again, she gave a friendly smile, then turned to the phone again. “I’ll let you know as soon as possible. And one more thing, Night.” She listened for a moment. “Your father and I insist that we meet you, your marefriend and her guardian for dinner.”

At his loud squeak of a response, she winced, then spoke again. “Yes?”

Her eyes widened at his reply. “I see.” She paused and thought for a moment. “When should we meet?” Pause. “Good; we will meet at the Glass Jewel as soon as possible after you return from your trip.” Pause. “And we will have the skimmer ready for you by tonight.”

After she had hung up, she looked at Lethal Blade. “Well. That was certainly unexpected.”

“Is there a particular reason he wanted to borrow the family skimmer?” Lethal asked.

“Well, apparently, one of his friends recently found out he has family overseas, and they want to go see them,” Sweet Dagger replied. “And before you ask, he’s already agreed that they should have a driver who isn’t their minotaur friend.”

“That is a relief,” Lethal said. “I doubt we could cover her on our insurance…”

“I wonder where she learned to drive?” Sweet Dagger mused.

“Probably back in her homeland,” Lethal Blade replied. “But I believe you promised our youngest that the skimmer would be ready by nightfall?”

“Of course.” With that, Sweet Dagger picked up the phone and began to dial again. “And once our son comes home, we get to meet his marefriend.”

“Quite.” Lethal Blade looked contemplative. “What do you think she’s like, anyway?”

“Well, I can make a few educated guesses,” Sweet Dagger said. “We know her name is Page; we know they first met at the Grand Library, and from what Night just said a little while ago, apparently she is a ward of the library’s Matron Hush Tone.”

Lethal’s eyebrows rose. “Really?”

Sweet Dagger nodded. “And apparently the Matron is just as interested in meeting us as we are she and Page.”

“Well, that should make things easier,” Lethal said with a satisfied smile. Suddenly, his eyes widened as he had a thought. “Hold on a minute, I’ll be back.”

Sweet Dagger looked curiously as he left the room, and returned a few minutes later, a grim look on his face. “I’d almost forgotten about this,” he said as he held a newspaper out. “This is the article about their battle in the Everfree Forest.”

Accepting it, Sweet Dagger studied it, reading the article briefly, then dropped it in shock. “Page Turner,” she whispered as she turned to her husband. “A changeling?”

“Apparently so,” Lethal Blade replied. “And from the sound of things, she’s been hiding in the form of a unicorn for years; it’s clear that he knows about this, but for how long, I can’t begin to guess.”

“We’ll have to ask the next time we see him,” Sweet Dagger said softly. Turning her attention back to the phone, she pursed her lips. “But in a relationship with a changeling or not, I promised him we’d help out with their trip overseas.”

“Of course.” Lethal Blade let out a sigh. “I just hope he knows what he’s getting into with her.”

“We will support him regardless of the fact of course,” Sweet Dagger said.

“Absolutely,” Lethal replied. “Still… I hope that we can get some answers soon.”

Sweet Dagger nodded, then as she heard the operator speaking, she asked to be connected to the shipyard where the family skimmer was kept, and was soon giving the orders for it to be prepared for travel.

Wind Breaker

Some hours later in the night, the group of six were at the shipyards, staring up at the skimmer they’d be taking to the Griffish Isles.

“Boy, when you said this was a luxury model, you weren’t kidding,” Vix-Lei remarked with awe in her voice. “That’s a ZRX-29 Nova, if I’m not mistaken.”

“You’re not,” Night Blade replied. “My family’s owned it for years, and it’s large enough to fit my entire family comfortably along with some room for the cook, the pilot and a few others of our staff… not that all of us have ever used it at the same time.”

“Ahoy there!” a voice suddenly called. “Lord Blade, is that you?”

“Absolutely, Cloud!” Night Blade turned and nodded to the batpony who was now approaching. “Everypony, I’d like you to meet Gray Cloud. He’s been with our family for years, and he’ll be our pilot on this excursion.”

“Pleasure to meet you,” Vix-Lei said as she stuck a hand out. “Always nice to meet a fellow pilot.”

“Though from what I understand, I’m not nearly as crazy in the air as you are,” Cloud replied. “Where’d you learn to fly like that, anyhow?”

“Most of my teachers worked part time driving passenger chariots when they were in college,” Vix-Lei replied with a grin. “I picked up a lot of tricks from them.”

“That’d explain it,” Cloud replied with a chuckle. He then looked at their luggage, and looked at Night again. “Not everypony is coming?”

“I can’t go,” Page shook her head. “I have things I need to do here.”

“Same,” Xvital said while clearly relieved that she was staying on the ground. “Those guards over there are waiting to take me to my classes so I can learn how to do certain things.”

“Regrettably I will not be there to keep an eye on my friends either,” Rex said. “I have just recently got an interview with the Academy and I need to be here for it.”

“That’s why I’m going,” Vix-Lei said with her thumb against her green vest. “I can keep an eye on these two.”

“I thought the reason you were going was to avoid Mom, big sis,” Herakles said as he and the rest of Vix-Lei’s brothers called out from the ship they were working on.

“Excuse me for a moment; need to go kill, or at least maim, a little big twerp,” Vix-Lei said as she started to swing Lady Kabonk overhead, and everypony rushed to stop her except for Xvital who was giving him some looks.

“Hey Wind,” she said softly. “How are you doing?”

“Still in shock, to be honest,” Wind Breaker said numbly, watching Night try in vain to pull Vix-Lei away from the taller, laughing minotaur while wondering if he had any siblings that he could be teasing like this right now. “But hopeful, I guess.”

“Right…” she trailed off before letting out a sigh. “Okay don’t hate me for this but have you been drinking again?”

Wind turned his head sharply at her, insulted for a split second and sighing as he responded to her. “No, I haven’t. When I meet my real family, I don’t want to them to see me as a drunkard or an alcoholic or… well, you know what I mean.”

“Yeah, I know, but…” Xvital looked concerned. “Just checking, you know?”

“I know.” Wind Breaker sighed again. “One of these days, I am going to kick this habit, and then none of you will be able to hold it over me.”

“And we’ll be very glad for you when you do it,” Xvital told him.

Wind Breaker gave her a faint smile. “Thanks.”

“No problem.”

A minute later, as Vix-Lei had finally been persuaded to not chase her oldest younger brother around anymore after she had quote unquote ‘evened the scores’, the group began loading their luggage onto the skimmer with Night and Gray Cloud showing them around, and Night taking the key to the liquor cabinet away, although he gave a guilty look when he saw Wind looking at him as he did so. When they had finished, Wind Breaker saw Night Blade giving Page a final hug, before the trio staying behind left the shipyard with Xvital’s guards leading them away.

“Everypony please prepare for take off,” Gray Cloud announced as he began powering up the skimmer. “And here we go.”

And with that, they took to the sky, with the bat pony moving around the ships in the air before he cleared the airspace and took off to the Griffish Isles.

Several minutes later, peering out a side window of the aircraft, Vix-Lei had a massive grin on her face. “Feels great to be back in the air,” she remarked.

“I know the feeling,” Gray Cloud said from the pilot’s seat as he reduced the skimmer’s speed. “I always wanted to be a pilot, ever since I was a colt and got my talent emblem for flying; when the Blade family hired me after I’d finished my training, it was like a dream come true.” He chuckled, looking at Night. “And I have to say, Night here is the only Blade child who has not taken any of the ships for a joyride.”

“What?” Night blinked at the older stallion.

“Yeah, when your siblings were younger, they would take out your family ships all the time,” he chuckled. “They didn’t get caught until either Crooked or Hidden crashed the old skimmer while they were in Los Pegasus on vacation and crashed into the base of that one tower, the mini replica of the one from Mareis, Prance in front of that press set your parents had going then,” Cloud laughed harder. “Your parents were so furious with Crooked after everything that happened.”

“Wait, how did they mistake the two-oh wait, twins,” Vix-Lei facehoofed, shaking her head. “Sorry, I forgot.”

Night, meanwhile, was staring at him, looking utterly stunned. “They really did that?” he said.

“Oh yes; they never told you that, I suppose, Mister Night,” he said, scratching the back of his head with his wing. “And both Deep and Serrated have had their own misadventures too.”

Wind Breaker turned his head to see Night looking very awkward and uncomfortable. “I guess that is something you can ask your family once we get back to Canterlot, right Night?”

“Ye-yeah,” Night said, eyes on the ground with Wind wincing as he realized his words were hurting his friend. “I guess I can do that.”

“That’s good Nighty,” Vix-Lei said, slapping Night on the back.

“So where exactly in the Griffish Isles are we heading to?” Grey Cloud asked them.

“The Essex region,” Wind Breaker spoke up. “That’s what my papers say I am from.”

“From? So all that talk about griffons being stolen was true?” Cloud winced. “Sorry to hear that; never actually believed those rumours until just now.”

“At least some of them are,” Wind Breaker replied with a sigh. “I don’t know how many other young griffons besides me were stolen from their homes, but…” He shook his head. “I just hope we can actually find my family when we get there.”

“We all do, Windy,” Vix-Lei said before giving him a light punch on the arm. “Besides, no offense Wind, but you do stand out with your eyes and coat colours being all odd and different. Shouldn’t be that many griffons that have your mixed up eyes and darker colours, right?”

“Yeah,” Wind said, a smile forming on his beak. “Never thought of it like that; I never saw another griffon with a pair of mismatched eyes like me here in Canterlot.”

“There you go, Windy,” Vix-Lei said as she stretched out before shaking her head and letting out a jaw-cracking yawn that made Wind cringe. “I hate to say this, but late as it is, I gotta hit the sack. About how long until we reach where we’re going?”

“Manehattan is the last city before we reach the Celestial Sea,” Grey Cloud told her. “The Griffish Isles are further north of there, about halfway between Equestria and Griffonstone. So you should have plenty of time to get some rest.”

“Sounds good to me. Night all.” With that, she headed out of the pilot’s cabin and made her way to her cabin. Night turned his head and gave Wind a look. “We should go to our cabins if you want to be awake when we get there,” he said softly.

“Yeh.” Slipping out of his seat, Wind tipped his head to Gray Cloud, who nodded back and shut the door to the pilot’s cabin behind him, and the two stallions headed towards their own cabins when Wind Breaker stopped Night.

“Night, again,” Wind Breaker looked at the pony’s face. “I cannot begin to say how thankful I am for this.”

“Wind, I am just happy that I can do this for you,” Night said, smiling at him. “It’s been a very long day, Wind; try and get some sleep, okay?”

“Right,” Wind Breaker said, walking into the luxurious cabin, feeling almost out of place in all this finery but he made his way to the bed and sat down, almost sinking inside of it. Looking around as he moved under the blanket, he knew in the morning he would be where he was born, maybe even his home.

Chapter Fifteen: Sweet Surprise, Memorizing Gaze, Gentle Step

Chapter Fifteen

Sweet Surprise

Sweet Surprise closed the door as she left the Captain's Room, still mulling over Mist Flight’s plan. It was borderline grounds for severe disciplinary actions if not worse for all of them but she had agreed to do this, not only for Misty but for Gentle as well.

That said, she was not going to let go this easily and decided to go to the source of the matter. Passing by a Royal Guard, she told them to pass a message on to Even that he was to take charge while she was out, using his full name and rank to stress that she was being completely serious.

From there, she teleported her way through the city along the old road of the original city towards the stronghold of the Internal Affairs. Back during the reign of King Blueblood the First, a new seat of government had been established on a smaller mountain near Mount Canterhorn, including a series of guardhouses to hold the vastly expanding Royal Guard; the presence of these vast armies that had been trained and built up there as the Guard grew during the wars led to it being renamed Mount Legion. When the city of Canterlot had been rebuilt in its original location, new government facilities and guardhouses had been erected, and once complete, the politicians and guards had returned there, leaving the temporary facilities on Mount Legion vacant until a few smaller groups, including the Internal Affairs department, had chosen to move back into the old buildings, citing that they were still in perfectly good shape, so why not make use of them?

This had led to the IA offices being a virtual fortress; that, along with a fair number of its members being former Guards, was undoubtedly the reason why most of their agents had a stuck-up attitude combined with a superiority complex, something that didn’t help their generally poor relationships with the five publicly known Guard divisions. Nor did the fact that the line of division and who had authority over the other had never been clearly defined, which led to great animosity between IA’s members and the actual Guards.

Still, she was a Captain and she would not be dismissed out of hoof. She marched her way into the reception room, with the agents passing by giving her dirty looks. Standing in front of the desk, she glared down the Earth pony and stated in her most official voice she could manage, “I am here to see the Commissioner of the Internal Affairs.”

The Earth pony gave her a pointed look before opening a ledger and making a show to go through it before flicking her eyes at Surprise. “Do you have an appointment, miss?”

Sweet Surprise glared. “I am Captain Sweet Surprise, Full Moon of the Luna Guard. Your Commissioner will make time to see me, miss...”

“That’s Deputy Commissioner Iron Gates,” the Earth pony snapped back. “And if you don’t have an appointment, you’re not getting in - not even King Well Banded himself can see the Commissioner without an appointment.”

“Excuse me, but do you take me as a fool?” Sweet asked, raising an eyebrow. “First off, the actual Deputy would not be working the front desk like this. Secondly, per the bylaws set down when the Guards were restructured following the attack on Canterlot by Chrysalis and her hive, any Captain can request a meeting with any civilian if deemed necessary. As you are not Guards of Canterlot, you are subject to fulfilling my requests as instructed or I will lodge a formal complaint over this violation and every other violation you have been committing while we were talking; identity fraud, abuse of power, falsifying regulations and anything else I can think of.”

For a moment, the Earth pony said nothing, then set her ledger down. “Congratulations, Captain.” She sounded almost smug, but Sweet Surprise could tell there was something more to it. “You’ve just proven you aren’t an impostor; very few outside the Guard, or even the Captaincies, would know everything you just said.”

Rising up, she gave Sweet Surprise a look. “But the fact is, I am Deputy Commissioner Iron Gates, and nopony would dare claim to be me if they didn’t want to find themselves in chains before the day was out. While you’re right that normally I wouldn’t be at the front desk, events have led me to be filling in here today. And it’s a good thing too, because I doubt any of our agents would have been willing to stand up against a pony in a Captain’s armour.”

Bristling at that slight, Sweet lowered her head a fraction. “And you are lucky that I am the more tolerant one of the Six Captains of Canterlot; my colleagues are less willing to be treated this way and would not take it as well as I have,” she said. “Now, shall we finish up here so I can have a word with your superior?”

Iron Gates kept up the stare for a bit before tilting her head and scribbling a note down, passing it to her. “Top floor, present this to the guards and you will be permitted inside.”

“Thank you,” Sweet Surprise said, moving to the elevator before the other mare spoke up.

“Ma’am,” the agent said, looking slightly guilty. “If I am to guess, this is about our request to the Captain General and the Captain of the Hidden Guards about speaking out about the prohibition of relationships between members of the Guards, including the Captain General and Secret Protector themselves?”

“Yes,” Sweet said bluntly.

Iron Gates nodded. “I expected as much. Let me make myself perfectly clear then: while I do understand the reasons for these rules, and I am expected to uphold them due to my position, I personally have no objection to the Captain General and Secret Protector being together, as long as they keep their relationship professional while on duty.”

Sweet blinked in surprise. “That’s… good to know.”

Iron Gates nodded. “I respect our Guards, Captain. I have family who served in the Guards - my father, my uncles. But when there are Guards who break the rules, who assault civilians or other Guards under the color of authority… that’s where I and my fellow agents come in. We do what it takes to find those truly corrupt Guards and shut them down, and make sure that all the other Guards follow the rules. And I know that if there’s anything the Captain General and her fellow Captains are not... it’s corrupt.” She tilted her head. “Though those two could have been a little more… discrete the other night.”

“I have several questions about that night myself,” Sweet said, frowning as several things began to bother her. “But regardless, I thank you for being helpful today.”

“I do try my best, ma’am,” Iron Gates said before going back to her work with Sweet moving to the elevator that had a unicorn inside.

“Hello ma’am,” the agent said as they closed the doors with their magic. “We are still having issues reconnecting with the newly repaired Blas Bridge and we are relying on the older methods for the moment.”

“I understand; back at my home, we had to use candles for several days after the blackout,” she told the young colt. “Top floor, please.”

“Yes ma’am,” the agent said as he pulled up the elevator with some strain on his face. “I must say, ma’am, I did not know that you lived with somepony although I do understand the benefits of having a roommate.”

Sweet started to say something, but thought better of it. “Yes,” she agreed with a smile creeping onto her face. “It does come with more than a few benefits.”

The agent looked at her curiously, but didn’t ask what she meant, instead just continuing to raise the elevator. Finally, they had reached the top floor, and Sweet disembarked with a quick “Thank you”.

Moving briskly, she headed down the hall towards the Commissioner's personal office with the guards standing to the side and, after taking a moment to compose herself, knocked on the door that she noticed had no plaque saying their name.

“Enter,” a voice barked from within. Using her magic to open the door, she stepped into the clustered office. It was perhaps the size of her bedroom although the window was far larger, taking up the entire wall opposite the door with the sturdy desk taking almost the entire length with barely any room to walk behind it.

There were rows upon rows of filing cabinets with almost no photographs or certificates that could allow her to place a name on the stallion looking at her.

He had to be almost twenty years older than her, around her dad’s age. He had a gruff face that seemed most comfortable with a scowl. She would place him as a former Guard, perhaps Royal, due to his well kept coat and mane and his horn being filed to the regulation length set by the Royal Guards.

“Ah, hello Captain Surprise,” the stallion said, standing up to greet her. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

“Commissioner,” she said, keeping her features neutral as she approached him. “I have recently heard your requests to the Captain General. I would like to know why you have placed sudden scrutiny onto her.”

He snorted, shaking his head at her. “I’m sorry but when did I become under your authority?”

She was unperturbed by this, keepingher focus steady on him. “The Captain General’s record is without blemish or one founded complaint against her.”

“Rules are rules,” he said, shaking his head to show he had no regrets in his actions. “Or are you in favour of having your Guards comprising themselves because their special someponies could be in danger from something or somepony?”

“That is not the point,” she said sharply.

“That is the point; that was what I had brought the notice to the Captain General for,” the commissioner said. “Guards respect her; hence the order from her would have the greatest effect opposed to either you or your counterparts.”

Sweet snorted, feeling herself being pushed into a corner. “Considering the other pony in question is a Captain himself, I know he is more than capable of handling himself against any threat that comes his way.”

“Captain or no captain, the fact is that he is a fellow Guard, and therefore just as subject to the rules as any other Guard,” the commissioner said, his eyes narrowing. “And if I am not mistaken, those under the Captains’ purview might fall under the “same restrictions. So if you do not want to lose your position due to being involved with an employee of one of the hospitals-”

He was cut off when one of her Guards entered the room and whispered into her ear that the griffons’ celebrations were out of control.

“Excuse me, but I have duties to attend to,” she said. “Good day, Commissioner.”

As she turned to leave, she gave him one last look, seeing a plaque saying the name Hardy Rule. “And for the record, my wife only works part-time at the hospitals and on a volunteer basis; her private psychiatric practice, which is not under my official purview as Full Moon of the Luna Guard, takes up most of her time.”

With that, she walked out the door, feeling that she was missing something very important but filing it away for later. She had not achieved what she had come here for and Misty’s plan was happening faster than she had anticipated. Opening and walking out the window to the surprise and horror of the agents around her, she used her special talent to transform herself into a pegasus and made her way to her part of the city; she just hoped that her husband and wife were okay.

Memorizing Gaze

Biting his lip as he looked out the window of the Captain’s Room, Memorizing Gaze watched as the Guards did their best to keep things under control in the rest of Canterlot, including three of his fellow Captains - Violet and Standing Wall had been out there since shortly after he had learned the full story of Gentle Step’s sudden departure and Mist Flight’s plan that had emerged in response, and Sweet Surprise had expected to join them once she’d finished her own business on Mount Legion, the exact nature of which his Guards had yet to find out. Blazen Sun, on the other hoof, had opted to coordinate the Guards’ efforts to keep the peace from his desk, assigning Lieutenant Steady Lance to act in his place out in the city.

Still, the lack of Royal Guards was very noticeable with only a small sign of the purple of their armour visible. Most of those he knew were actively helping with the griffons at the moment, but still with what Mist Flight was planning it would be felt as the Royal Guards were very good at crowd control. And if he was being honest, this plan was bothering him as it was close to purposely putting innocents at risk as well as the fact he was not sure how Gentle Step would react to it, or how furious she would be with them, or him, for allowing this to happen.

Of course, his biggest worry was the Queen and her safety; he could tell she was still in the Grand Library, which he knew was one of the more fortified strongholds in the city, but he couldn’t help but be concerned in case any of the wilder celebrations came her way. He also knew his younger brothers would do all they could to protect her if something didhappen and the library was invaded; still, the possibility of it and what might happen as a result, especially after she’d just finished restoring the other two Pillars, was nerve-wracking.

“Easy, lad,” Blazen Sun said from his desk, and Memorizing looked up, startled. “Your friend miss Turner will be quite safe, I’m sure.”

“You could tell what I was thinking?” Memorizing asked, surprised that a non changeling could do so.

The older stallion nodded. “You were clearly worried about somepony, and I figured it had to be either your lady love or miss Turner, what with her being the key to you keeping in touch with your Queen and all. Considering Gentle Step survived Tartarus, I doubt she’d have any trouble even if she were out in this mess, so it had to be miss Turner you were thinking about.”

Memorizing let out a sigh. “You’re right, I am concerned… I know she has some of my Guards with her right now, but I can’t help but be worried. And not just about her; Xvital, Rex and Vix-Lei were all out on their own errands earlier, and were still out when the announcement came; Night Blade and Wind Breaker were at the library earlier but actually went back out into this mess when they got the news, what with Wind being one of the griffons affected by it.”

Blazen Sun sat up straighter. “They did, did they?” he mused. Rising out of his seat, he walked over and clapped a hoof on Memorizing’s shoulder. “Well, I wouldn’t be too worried about those two. Their own skills aside, our Guards know to keep an eye out for them and help if they get into any trouble. And their other friends too.”

Memorizing Gaze gave him a grateful smile. “Thank you sir, I needed that.”

“Not a problem,” Blazen Sun stroked his beard. “And in case you are wondering how I was able to read you so easily, need I remind you that I have many children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren?”

Snorting, Memorizing rolled his eyes. “If that is the case, then I will have to look at recruiting stallions such as yourself.”

“There are not many like me anymore, lad,” he let out a sigh, his entire posture and emotions showing grief. “My wife passed away many years ago alongside most of my generation, including all those who became Guards when I did.” He let out another sigh. “Every year that goes by, there are days when I wonder if I shouldn’t retire, leave the task of keeping Equestria safe to the next generation and live out my days in peace and quiet… maybe do what Gentle’s predecessor did and write my memoirs. More than a few of my family have told me they feel the same way; they’d prefer it if I had some time to rest and relax in my golden years. But... I can’t bring myself to do it just yet. If I retired now and then we lost some of our own soon after, I’d never quite be able to convince myself that I couldn’t have done something to keep them alive longer, had I remained on active duty.” He closed his eyes for a moment, then reopened them and gave Memorizing a very serious look. “And deep in these old bones, there’s something tells me that, even with that Nightmare gone, there’s still one Tartarus of a storm coming our way, one that will affect all of Equestria. If we can survive that… then, maybe, I’ll give retirement some serious thought and let Steady Lance take over; I know he’s more than qualified, and I can’t think of a single pony who’d object when that time comes. But until then, I’m staying right where I am.”

Memorizing nodded, then his ear twitched as he had a message passed through the Hivemind. “Good news,” he reported. “My Guards just confirmed that two of the Six are safe back at their hotel, and they can see Night Blade and Wind Breaker flying that way. Xvital is still in the Cuanmiztl Kingdom’s embassy, and Page Turner is still at the library; both areas are safe.”

“Xvital,” Blazen Sun repeated the name, eyes settling into an uneasy look. “She is a whole complicated matter in and of herself, politically. What with being one of Equestria’s heroes now, but also the future Queen of the Cuanmiztl Kingdom… and considering all six of them need to be together to use their Elements like they did, if she goes back to her homeland on a long-term basis, it could very well leave us in a lot of trouble if we need to call on their powers again suddenly.”

Memorizing frowned, this problem was something he was still trying to resolve on his own time. “We could always set up a chain of high speed pegasi and teleporting unicorns, or something similar, between here and the Cuanmiztl Kingdom for rapid transport for her… of course, there’s still the issue of alerting her in the first place.”

“And what if something were to happen to either team, or if our relationship with the Cuanmiztl Kingdom goes south?” Blazen Sun asked. “No pun intended.”

“Multiple redundancies in the first case, and I have no idea in the second,” Memorizing said with a sigh. “All we can do is hope for the best, and do our darndest to make sure nothing like what the Nightmare pulled with Prince-King Tizoc during his arrival happens again. At the very least, as long as her friends still call Equestria home, Xvital herself would be willing to help in order to protect they and their families - at least three of them have kin here of some kind.”

“And if she becomes a mother herself, do you think that she will abandon them for a land that’s not her own? Trust me, no mother would leave her children behind when there is a serious enough danger abound.”

“Abandon, no. But the ties that bind she and the others… those ties are as strong as blood,” Memorizing said. “At the very least, she’d do something to make sure they and their families got to safety.”

“Then there is the matter of her own Element,” Blazen Sun said. “It is a relic of our past, an important piece of history, one sixth of what appears to be a very powerful weapon, more than likely the holiest object for those who revere the Magi of Stars. If word gets out that she plans to take it to another land, the protests would be wilder and fiercer than what we’re witnessing out there now by far. The Rising Sun and Gibbous Moon would be furious with me and Surprise if we allowed it; they might even call for us to be removed from office or have a complete flush of the Celestia and Luna Guards.”

“Indeed,” Memorizing replied with a sigh, thinking of the extra duties the Solar and Lunar Captains had to their goddesses as the official leaders of the faith. Of course, neither Captain ever acted on it and had the next in line run the religious side of things. “But the fact is, she’s not an Equestrian citizen, and legally we don’t have the right to force her to stay without charging her with something - Gentle Step is toeing the line as it is by insisting she stay here in Canterlot long enough to attend classes at the Academy to get control of her magic. And if we tried to have her brought up on any charges just to keep her here, that would ruin any chance of her ever willingly helping us, if not starting a war in the process. Even if we offered her dual citizenship between here and the Cuanmiztl Kingdom, I doubt we could convince her to stay here anywhere near full time, and there’s no way she’d ever choose to end her relationship with the Prince-King for us - I’ve felt their love for one another, it’s among the strongest I ever felt in my life.” He shrugged his shoulders. “In essence, we’re damned if we let her go, damned if we try to make her stay.”

“It’s a complete mess at the moment but we just have to hope that things turn out in a way we can work with,” Blazen Sun said.

“Yeah. And then there’s the matter of Wind Breaker,” Memorizing told him. “I haven’t had the chance to read his file myself, but according to what my Guards found during the raid, he’s one of the griffons who was stolen from his homeland as an infant and brought here illegally. I’d be very surprised if he didn’t want to go back to the Griffish Isles just to try and find any blood family he might have and stay there.”

“Why would any griffon want to stay here after everything we’ve put them through?” Blazen Sun asked. “I have a feeling that the griffon population of Canterlot alone is about to drop by at least three quarters of its current size, if not more, from emigration.”

“And almost overtake the population of the Griffish Isles and Griffonstone,” Memorizing said. “And I doubt that the King told their leaders that he was planning this.” He let out a groan. “I swear, if it were within my power, I’d punish the Nightmare for everything it’s put us through by binding its powers and making it handle all the paperwork and diplomatic chaos we’re having to deal with now.”

Blazen Sun let out a bark of laughter. “That would make for an interesting punishment, wouldn’t it!”

“Yes,” Memorizing Gaze said, a faint smile on his face now. “It would.”

Then he sighed again. “And there’s another thing: the minotaur Vix-Lei. She’s got family back in the Minos Islands; even if some of them are here in Canterlot to discuss expanding our air force, there’s no way they’re going to stay forever, and she’ll want to go back at some point, if only to visit. At least Page Turner, Rex and Night Blade are all Equestrian natives, so we don’t have to worry about them going to other countries to live.”

Blazen Sun nodded. “Yes… the Badlands are technically part of Equestria, so even if miss Turner has to go down there to meet their Queen in person, she’ll still be on our soil.”

There was a gleam in his eye that Memorizing wasn’t entirely sure he liked; he had the feeling the other Captain knew more than he was letting on, but he kept silent.

“Speaking of miss Turner, I’ve been wondering… what was that you were writing about her to Violet at the end of our meeting the day before the Pardon?” Blazen Sun asked him.

“Oh, that?” Memorizing blinked. “Nothing major - just that she’s apparently a fan of Violet’s book on amulets, and they may want to discuss its subject matter at some point, when they have the time to just sit back and talk without some situation or another coming up to interrupt them.”

“Ah.” Blazen Sun nodded with a grandfatherly smile. “Yes, that would undoubtedly make our dear enchantrix quite happy. I believe she is working on her next book, Gaze.”

“Yes, she is currently going over the draft for the third chapter, in fact.” Memorizing said with Blazen Sun giving him a bit of confused look before his expression turned disapproving. Catching it, Memorizing realized what the older stallion was thinking. “I’m not poking into her personal papers,” he said. “I know she’s loyal. But I also know that the other day, one of my Guards had to fetch the folder with that draft from her desk for her when she was on her way out for the day, and she told him what was in it and why she needed it.”

“And he told you then?”

“Standard protocol,” Memorizing replied. “It was part of his end-of-day report.”

“I see,” Blazen said looking a bit more at ease. “To be honest, I did think you had your Guards going through our personal affairs.”

“She’s loyal; there is no need,” Memorizing said. “Now, if she’d been acting suspiciously, our first inclination would be to check via some of our more… subtle identification spells, to make sure there wasn’t an impostor around, or that she wasn’t under the effect of some kind of mind-altering magic. If those were proved to not be the case, then we’d go more in-depth in our investigation.”

Blazen Sun raised an eyebrow. “Has that ever happened with any Captain?”

“There was one incident where we were suspicious enough to dig a little deeper,” Memorizing Gaze replied. “A few hundred years ago, long before even my parents were born. It turned out to be nothing, but there’s always that chance. Unfortunately, we have found a handful of lower-ranked Guards over the centuries who were… not whom they seemed to be when they first joined. They were quietly arrested, tried and sent to prison.”

“That does not sound very on the level,” Blazen Sun said.

Memorizing sighed. “Unfortunately, there have always been a few ponies out there who were… less honest than others. One of my predecessors found a few who only joined the Guard because they were part of a bigger scheme; when we found out who they were and what they were up to, we not only arrested them, we took out a larger organized crime ring at the same time that was trying to infiltrate the Guard, to make it easier for them to get away with things. IA is supposed to deal with Guards of that kind, but in these instances, my people caught them first.”

“I never heard of this before, although that is part of your division’s role, to keep such things under wraps,” Blazen Sun said contemplatively.

“It is,” Memorizing said, looking off to the side. “There is a wide range of sealed documents that I am not allowed to talk about or share for a long time, although with the Pardon, there is an actual day now that it can be unsealed.”

“That is good; you deserve to have your deeds recognized,” Blazen Sun told him. “And I am sure Gentle will be quite proud to see it as well.”

“She probably will,” Memorizing said. “Assuming she doesn’t wring all our necks for putting civilians in danger with this first.”

“I think she will have faith in us to keep the peace,” Blazen Sun replied. “And I have faith that she will return to her position soon enough.”

“I hope so,” Memorizing replied. “Ever since we were little, all she wanted was to serve in the Guard… I didn’t have much choice, what with my bloodline, but it was always her dream even before she knew I was slated to join the Hidden Guard.”

“Oh?” Blazen Sun looked interested. “And what brought this on?”

“In Gents’ case, she’d seen them in action once and knew immediately that that was what she wanted to be,” Memorizing said. “In my case… well, you know how my Guard was formed. Our hive has an even longer history, and long, long before Chrysalis’s time, one family was bred to have specific traits that made them ideal protectors for the Queen and the other two Pillars of the hive; when my ancestors betrayed Chrysalis and were formed into the Hidden Guard, King Blueblood decreed that the intended Royal Protector in every generation would always be their Captain. And since I was born the intended Royal Protector, a duty I’ll have to take up again sooner or later, I eventually succeeded my father into this position.”

“Interesting,” Blazen Sun mused. “What about your lieutenant? Was she…?”

“Goddesses, no,” Memorizing said with a chuckle. “That rule applies to the Captain only, we choose our lieutenants based on pretty much the same criteria as the other five Guard divisions. Ruby might be a bit scatterbrained at times, but she knows what she’s doing, and I’d trust her with my life.”

“How scatterbrained?”

“She is a bit loose with the details and doesn’t hold the best disguise, but at the same time she knows how exactly to blend in when the time calls for it.”

“I see… and just how loose with details is she?”

Memorizing sighed. “Well, apparently Vix-Lei stumbled onto one of our planned raids on the Hatcheries last night, and Ruby inadvertently let slip a few of the codenames we use for the Bearers when she told one of the other Guards just who had found them. Fortunately, Vix-Lei was the only one in hearing range who wasn’t a Guard, so it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Though she was… not amused by her own codename, from what I was told this morning.”

“Dare I ask?” Blazen Sun remarked.

“Bad Driver.”

“Ah. Yes, I can see given her family’s affinity to skimmers… fitting, after the chase she led Sweet on a few months ago, but still one she would not be happy with. Out of curiosity, what are the others?”

“Wind Breaker, given his proclivities, is ‘Drunk’ - that’s the other one Ruby let slip by mistake. Though if he ever kicks the habit like I’m told he’s trying, we may have to change it. Night Blade is ‘Grumpy’-”

“Yes, he certainly is,” Blazen Sun said, amused.

Memorizing Gaze rolled his eyes. “Page is ‘The Librarian’, Rex is ‘Doggy’ - one of my people suggested ‘Voofer’, but I vetoed that because it was too absurd - and Xvital is ‘Thief’, but again, we’ll probably change it at some point since she’s gone straight now.”

“Ah.”

“Honestly, Page is the only one who probably won’t be offended by hers if she finds out,” Memorizing said with a sigh. “Of course, we were in a hurry when we came up with them during that whole mess. Still, we could have done better.”

“Perhaps, perhaps… but what’s past is past,” Blazen Sun told him.

“True.”

With that, Blazen Sun returned to his desk, leaving Memorizing to stand by the window, looking out over the city and at the growing chaos.

Ah, Gent… if only I weren’t on duty now and you were not under scrutiny, I’d be at your side in a heartbeat, he reflected. I just hope we can get past this soon.

Sweet Surprise

It was long after dark when Sweet Surprise finally teleported back to her home, and she was exhausted.

Fortunately, the chaos outside had finally settled down, and while there were still one or two enclaves of partying griffons out in the city, their gatherings had been confirmed as being considerably lower-key compared to what had been going on earlier; anypony or griffon who had been confirmed as causing injury to anypony or damaging city or public property in the midst of everything, either deliberately or accidentally, had been rounded up and were in holding cells for the night, and they had been informed of exactly why they were being held and reassured that, despite what some of the angrier griffons had claimed, the arrests were not the Guards’ attempt to “keep them down”. Meanwhile, those who had behaved themselves and avoided causing trouble had been helped to safe spots if they so desired.

As she stood there on her porch, doing her best to catch her breath, the door opened to reveal a familiar pegasus.

“Are you okay?” Sound Mind asked worriedly as she came out onto the porch. “Hot Rod and I heard about everything going on out there…”

“Just tired,” Sweet reassured her wife, who drew her into an embrace despite her armour. “It’s been a long day.”

“I can imagine,” Hot Rod remarked as he came up behind Sound Mind in time to see Sweet take her armour and send it back to her study. “Some of the bonfires got out of control in my station’s territory; we managed to shut them down before they spread to any of the buildings, fortunately, but it was a close call.” He waved them inside and guided them to the dining room.

As she sat down, Sweet was surprised to find a large bowl of salad in the middle of the table, and her smile grew when she realized it was her favorite style: lettuce, carrots, cucumber, sliced cherry tomatoes, red onions and two kinds of olives. Plus dressing.

“We saved dinner for you,” Sound Mind explained as she sat down beside her. “Hot Rod and I knew you’d be hungry after a long day of dealing with all that ruckus out there.”

“Thank you,” Sweet said with a big smile. “Have I ever mentioned how lucky I am to have you both?”

“Yes, but I wouldn’t mind hearing it again,” Hot Rod said in a joking voice as he joined them. “I still can’t believe that all this came when you couldn't make up your mind to who you wanted to date?”

Sweet groaned playfully, blushing as she began to eat her late night supper. “You two will never let me forget, will you?”

“Never,” Sound Mind said as the pegasus traced a wing across her back. “It’s a very cute story, one our children will just love.”

“When either of us finally get pregnant,” Sweet grumbled, with both Sound Mind and herself giving Hot Rod a look.

“I’ve been doing my best, you both know that,” Hot Rod raised his hooves in defense. “You’ve put me through a thorough check, Sweet, so don’t get any more ideas.”

“I’m just making sure that everything is good,” Sweet shot back, frowning at the earth pony. “I-”

“Both of you, stop,” Sound Mind cut in, giving them both pointed looks. “First off; It’s late, so no fighting. Sweet, we have the best doctors thanks to all the benefits you have and if there was anything wrong with any of us, it would have been found years ago. Hot, you know that Sweets want to be a mommy and she gets a bit cranky at times over all the failed tries.”

“Hey,” Sweet began to protest when Sound placed her hoof over her mouth.

“Ssh,” Sound said, causing Sweet’s ears to flicker. “We’ll all bring new lives into the world together, in good time.”

“Yes Sound; sorry,” they chorused, with Sweet feeling very silly, brushing her mane out of her face. By the small snorts of laughter coming from Hot Rod, he no doubt felt the same.

“Good,” she smiled, placing a kiss on Sweet’s head before wrinkling her nose. “Why do I never remember not to kiss either of you before you’ve had a shower after a long day?”

“Because I’m so cute?” Sweet widened her eyes and wiggled about, causing the pegasus to laugh.

“Just eat your supper, silly,” she chided her wife. “Then go take a shower.”

Sweet nodded, then dug back into her salad as her partners went to get some ice cream that she failed to sneak bites from.

About half an hour later, having finished her food and thoroughly rinsed off all the sweat and grime she had picked up during the day, she headed into her room, where she found her spouses eagerly waiting for her in bed.

This was truly the best part of the house in her opinion; it had so much of all three of them in one place. From the dresser mirror Hot Rod had picked out, to the little lamps Sound Mind had set on one of the dressers and the duvet Sweet Surprise had chosen for her own decorative touches; their walls also included their wedding photo and a copy of the certificates each had been awarded when they’d attained their current positions. There were even the same pieces of paper she had used to ask them out, proudly framed up there as a memento.

Smiling at her own actions that night, Sweet was still surprised that everything had worked out as well as it did.

“Coming to bed?” Sound asked, with Hot rubbing her empty spot on the bed. Smiling, she joined them, cuddling up next to the large earth pony, kissing both of them as she used her magic to cover them all up.

Gentle Step

Meanwhile, in her private study at home, Gentle Step was lost in thought. She had teleported home almost immediately after leaving headquarters, sealed the doors to her house to ensure she wouldn’t be followed by anypony, and gone upstairs to contemplate what had happened.

She had still been thinking when she’d heard the King’s announcement regarding the Hatcheries, something that took her by surprise with its timing. About an hour later, her ears had twitched as she heard another sound outside. Going to the window, she had been pleased to see the noise had not come from her property, but just across the street that had griffons celebrating. It seemed, despite how quickly things were getting out of control, they knew better than to go onto her lawn.

Studying the scene outside, she knew that there was supposed to be a patrol of Royal Guards in the area, and wondered where they were. Mist Flight wouldn’t have had changed the route for anything that wasn’t absolutely major and while some would call this a major event, the planned route would in fact be completely beneficial. That meant something was up. Walking over to her helmet, she activated the communication spells and listened into what her Guards were doing.

Her eyes went wide at what was going on and despite the matter, she smiled at what was happening in front of the IA building on Mount Legion. She knew that tomorrow would be a very interesting day.

Chapter Sixteen: Vix-Lei, Rex, Page Turner, Wind Breaker

Chapter Sixteen

Vix-Lei

This was the best.

Vix-Lei couldn’t stop herself from smiling as she looked around, taking in the view of the skimmer. She had seen other ZRX-29 Novas back home but this was top of the line. She would have loved to get a peek at its engine, but considering they were still in the air right now, she didn’t think anytaur else would appreciate her poking around.

Still, she was back in the sky, and that was what counted.

A noise came from behind her, and she looked back to see a somewhat rumpled Night Blade coming out of his cabin, blinking the last of the sleep out of his eyes. “Morning!” she greeted him.

Night Blade’s response was just barely audible, and unprintable. Still, she chuckled. “Yeah, I know. Too early to be this cheerful?”

“You could say that,” Night replied grumpily. “One key difference between Page and I - she’s a morning pony, I’m not.”

“Completely understand,” Vix-Lei said as she stretched. “Me, I’ve always been a morning ‘taur. Need to be when you’re always getting up early to work at the shipyards in my family.”

“Quite.” Night Blade looked around. “How close are we to our destination, anyway?”

“About an hour and a half or so,” Vix-Lei told him. “Gray Cloud says it’s been smooth sailing.”

“Good.” He then tilted his head to the last cabin door and asked, “Has Wind Breaker been up yet?”

“Not a peep from him,” Vix-Lei replied. “It’s just been me, Gray and the sunshine.”

“Hmm,” Night stretched his head towards the door. “Do you think I should go check on him?”

“Hmmmmno,” Vix-Lei said while pulling him back while Night just flared his wings in surprise. “Let him sleep some more. He clearly needs it.”

Night just settled his eyes on her before turning his head to the direction of the kitchen. “Do you know if anything has been made?”

“No and do you know what that means?” Vix-Lei might have grinned a bit too much because Night was backing up.

“It means that we have to go find the staff?” he asked warily before she shook her head.

“Come on Night, don’t be silly,” she said while dragging him towards the door. “While we were out on that little adventure of us, you barely cooked anything.”

“That’s because I don’t really know how to cook?” he ventured tentatively. “You saw yourself when we were out in the Everfree, I can make sandwiches at most. The rest of the time, I have somepony else cooking for me - it’s how I grew up.”

“Well that’s going to change,” she said, dragging the bat pony into the kitchen. “And besides, don't you want to surprise Page with something that's not smoke and ash?”

“It would be nice,” he admitted before shooting her a look. “You don’t play fair.”

“I’ve got seven little brothers, Night,” she said as they walked into the kitchen. “Only a fool plays fair in these kinds of things.”

“Point.” Night Blade sighed. “Still, how do we even start?”

“Depends on exactly how much you already know,” Vix-Lei replied. “I mean, I know a guy from the yards who didn’t even realize that some foods had special drawers in the refrigerator - he put the cheese in with the lettuce and vice-versa. If he can learn to cook, so can you.”

Night Blade winced. “I’m not that bad,” he said. “Like I said, I just don’t have the opportunity to try it for myself most of the time.”

Vix-Lei could hear some self-pity in that tone and she mentally shook her head; that wouldn’t do. “Well, we’ve got some now. And besides, we can get Windy to tell us how you did.”

“I thought we are trying to make him feel good, Vix-Lei,” Night grinned at her and Vix-Lei knew that she was on the right track.

“So, first step is to see what’s here.” Vix-Lei opened the refrigerator. “Hmm, looks like the basics… eggs, dairy, juice, veggies, ooh! Olives!” She grinned as she pulled a jar out. “Not exactly breakfast food, but I love ‘em. Mom makes ‘em stuffed with feta cheese, and they’re great.”

“Not sure as I’ve had that particular variety, but we have had olives stuffed with something at a few of the fancy dinners I’ve been to,” Night Blade told her as he peered in from above as well.

“I’ll have to tell her when she visits then,” Vix-Lei said as she set the jar back in the door. “But let’s see… how good are you at slicing veggies?” she asked as she pulled a few items out.

“That, I can handle,” Night Blade told her.

“Good. Wash these and then cut them up - thin slices, okay?” she said as she handed him a package of mushrooms.

Night Blade nodded, and began to carefully follow her instructions while she pulled a pan and a couple of bowls out. When he’d finished, she checked his work.

“Good, good… and you knew to use the cutting board, that’s another sign that you’re better at this than you think,” she said, remembering how Argus did it on the counter and how Mom wanted to kill him for it - one of the few times he hadn’t been seeing as clearly as he usually did. “Now, watch me.” As she talked, she cracked an egg into a bowl. “Aim carefully so you hit in precisely the right spot. Just smashing one of these will make a big mess.” She tapped another egg against the edge of the counter, sliding it into its own bowl afterward, then added it to the first one. “Need to make sure they’re good before you mix them into one,” she explained. “That’s another way to keep from wasting ingredients.”

Once she’d gotten three into a single bowl with some seasonings, she poured it into the pan, turned the heat on, and eyed it. Once it had cooked up enough, she flipped the whole thing, letting the underside cook a bit, before switching it back and tossing some of the mushrooms and shredded cheese into it, then folded the whole thing over. “Another thirty seconds or so, and serve,” she said. “Voila: your basic omelette. Cooked just long enough to solidify without getting overdone.”

Night Blade shook his head. “You’re really good at this,” he said.

“I learned from the best,” Vix-Lei replied. “Now, your turn. And I know it’s easier with fingers than with hooves, but I know you can do it.”

Night Blade swallowed nervously, but did as she had, and while she did need to give him a few urgings when it came to timing, by the end he’d turned out two more pretty good omelettes. There was a little charring on the bottoms and edges, but Vix-Lei told him that that was a common error even for those who’d been doing it for a long time.

“Now we just need Windy,” she said. “If you could carry these to the table, I’ll see how he’s doing.”

“Right,” Night nodded his head, lifting the plates with his wings before he paused and looked at her. “Thank you for this.”

“You’re very welcome,” Vix-Lei told him as she disappeared into the back.

A few minutes later, Vix-Lei had returned with Wind Breaker, who was still blinking sleepily. “Was the party blower in my ear really necessary?” he grumbled. “I almost hit my head on the ceiling when you startled me!”

“Didn’t want breakfast to get cold while you took another hour to wake up,” Vix-Lei replied lightly. “C’mon, we’ve got just enough time to eat and clean up before we land.”

The griffon grumbled a little more before settling into his seat, and began to have his breakfast. His eyes brightened as he ate. “Say, this is really good!” He took another bite. “My compliments to the cook.”

“Thank you,” Night Blade told him.

Wind’s eyes widened. “Wait, you-”

“Vix-Lei showed me how while you were sleeping,” Night Blade told him. “I don’t mind saying I was a little hesitant at first, but she really knows her stuff.”

“Like I said, I learned from the best,” Vix-Lei said as she munched her own omelette. “Mom taught all of my brothers and I at least the basics, and more than that for some of us. I’m not perfect by any means, and I’m better at some things than others, mainly because I’ve been around the longest.”

“That makes logical sense,” Night Blade told her. “At any rate, it was pointed out that I should be capable of making more than just sandwiches.”

“Well, you succeeded,” Wind Breaker replied. “This is really good.” He swallowed another bite. “Certainly better than my first attempts at anything. Then again, I doubt anypony could do worse than Cloth Cutter - he was one of the griffons at the Hatchery that I grew up with. The first time they put him to work in the kitchen, he burned lemonade.”

“How - no, I don’t even want to know,” Vix-Lei said as she shook her head. Standing up, she carried her empty plate over to the sink, then peered out a window. “Looks like we’re pretty close to the harbour,” she said. “Better finish up here and strap in.”

The two males quickly wolfed down the last few bites of their breakfast, then headed for the main area of the skimmer. Bracing themselves as Gray Cloud’s voice came in over the intercom warning them to prepare for descent, the trio watched the mountains come into sharper details with flags of the griffon nation flying high in the air.

“Just occurred to me guys,” Vix-Lei tilted her head as she looked at her friends. “Do we need to have passports as we are in another country.”

“I would think you’d already have yours,” Night Blade replied. “After all, you came from Ledra to Equestria earlier.”

“Well, yah,” Vix-Lei, reached into her pack to pull out hers. “But do you guys have yours?”

Wind Breaker facetaloned. “I don’t think I ever had one,” he said. “Second-class citizen at best until yesterday, remember?”

Night Blade frowned. “This could be a problem… I have one of my own, my parents did arrange for it when I was younger, but I didn’t even think about Wind Breaker needing one for this trip.”

“Doesn’t his book count?” Vix-Lei asked.

“Yes it would… if I hadn’t burned ityesterday,” Wind Breaker said miserably. “Got caught up in all the excitement, and there were a bunch of others tossing theirs in bonfires… I didn’t even think I’d need it anymore. Guess I botched that one big-time.” He hung his head.

“I’m sure we can fix this up,” Night Blade said. “There’s an Equestrian embassy in the Isles, if all else fails we can go to them for help.”

“Besides, maybe we’ll get lucky and no one asks?” Vix-Lei said.

“I don’t know; we will need to go to some official to get some information about Wind’s family,” Night said, tapping his chin. “Then again, we might be able to use those as official papers?”

“Can’t hurt to try guys,” Vix-Lei said with a grin. Then something occurred to her. “Wait - maybe they gave you a new one in that file you got?”

Wind Breaker blinked and began to root around in his bags for the file. Once he’d found it, he started to flick through the papers before pulling out a small little book. Flipping that open, he let out a sigh of relief. “Thanks Vix-Lei, I wouldn’t have even thoughtto check for a new passport, let alone all this paperwork.”

“It just came to me,” Vix-Lei replied. “Good thing too - that’s one problem solved.”

“Now just to find out where I came from,” Wind Breaker chirped, raising his head high as the ship sailed into the dock and they were able to disembark.

Rex

“Thanks for sticking with me, Rex,” Xvital told him that morning as the pair approached the Academy. She glanced at the Cadenza Guards behind them. “Nice to have some friendly company.”

“It would have been my pleasure to come with you, even if I hadn’t been called here myself,” Rex replied in earnest. “I believe that if you made some more overtures, they would be friendlier.”

“I tried, but got nowhere,” Xvital said. “Besides, they’re Guards, and with my past, I’m still very nervous around them. It’s going to take a while before I feel comfortable around law enforcement.”

“I can certainly understand,” Rex replied. “And I suppose your guards are not helping matters any more.”

Xvital answered with a shudder, then did her best to calm herself before she cast another bout of wild magic. “You said it. The only one who doesn’t really bother me is Tizy’s best friend Axayacatl, and that’s because I’ve known him for years - he and Tizy practically grew up together, so I got to know him as more than a guard back when I was still living in the capital.” There was a faint blush on her face when she spoke of that. “My heart was always Tizy’s, but Axayacatl was a great guy too.”

“Was he not the one who was standing with you during our return here?” Rex asked.

Xvital nodded. “That’s him.” She let out a sigh. “I think Tizy is going to make him my personal bodyguard.”

“Is that an issue?” Rex asked her.

“Not particularly, but a girl likes her privacy, you know?” Xvital sighed. “The one negative side of this is that I’m going to be in the public eye a lot, and I don’t much appreciate the attention. Especially if I’m trying to get some time to myself. Heck, I remember an incident where I had to slip into a local privy just to try and get away from a reporter… and he still followed me in!” She shook her head. “One of the few times I’ve been glad to have a Guard show up.”

Rex let out a snort of disgust. “There is such a thing as going too far, and that individual clearly crossed a line,” he said.

“You said it,” Xvital agreed. “Tizy was furious with him when he found out. It took everything that guy had just to keep from being thrown in jail on the spot, and even then I think his boss switched him to covering stuff away from the capital afterward as punishment.”

“One can only imagine and hope that it was the case.” Rex shook his head. “At any rate, we are here.” He stared at the massive building. It was a sprawling complex with far stretching wings attached to the main multistory building, with multiple mini gardens scattered around where ponies of all tribes were discussing different all matters of subjects. Here were some sitting on the edge of the fountain, and in the case of the three seaponies in the fountain, holding drawings up to each other.

All eyes, however, drifted towards them, as they got closer and Rex could see Xvital tense up at the looks with the ahuizotless’s tail flicking around and as such, more motes of her magic were flickering about in the air. Remembering what had happened last time, Rex placed a paw on her shoulder.

“Xvital, are you well?” he asked, causing her to face him.

“Yeah, just… nervous,” she admitted. “All of these guys are so advanced in their fields and here I come in with no idea what I’m doing… plus I don’t really belong here and-”

“That’s nonsense,” Rex interrupted her. “You have every right to be, even if you did not gain magic.”

“Come on Rex, don’t be silly. That’s Vix-Lei’s job,” she laughed, shaking her head. “The only reason I am here because of my magic. You're the one that belongs here, what with your brains and all.”

“Xvital.” Rex took her hand. “Magic or not, you do belong here, and there is nothing you can say that will ever convince me otherwise. Especially considering they teach more than magic here. Night Blade’s brother teaches art in this school, as you may recall.”

She snorted, shaking her head. “Point. And until I get a better grip on my magic, you’re right.” She paused in front of the main doors. “So you know what you need to do?”

“I have my instructions memorized, Xvital,” Rex told her. “The Academy Director and the Dean of Alchemy are expecting me in the Director’s office, and I have been assured that they will be giving me a fair interview. Admittedly, I wish it was more due to their recognizing my talents and less due to my recent change in status, but it’s something I appreciate.”

Xvital blinked for a moment. “Oh yeah - you were talking about that back when we were on our way to help with Wind’s thing, that morning at the inn.” She shook her head. “Well, I hope things work out… now if only I knew exactly where I was going.”

“Still not good with maps?” Rex teased her with Xvital sighing.

“They change the room on me every time for my safety,” she said in a tired tone. “You guys won’t let me live that down, will you?”

“Why would we do such a silly thing, Xvital?” he grinned at her pouting, which broke out into a grin. “You do realize we’re not trying to be offensive about it though - it’s just good-natured teasing.”

“Yeah, I know,” she said rolling her eyes. “Good luck with your interview, I’m off to learn how to make light appear that won’t set stuff on fire.” She then grumbled under her breath in her native language while glancing at the paper in her hand and started off in one direction, leaving Rex alone with his own small little retinue of protectors. With a deep breath of air to reinvigorate him, Rex began to walk off to his own location, repeating a mantra that he did belong here to keep his nerve.

When he had reached the office, he knocked on the door, and a moment later a voice responded. “Come in!”

Entering the office, Rex observed the two unicorn mares waiting for him, with Director Decorated Page sitting behind her desk and the Dean of Alchemy, Polished Spring if he recalled right, just off to the side. Both were wearing half suits and had very serious looks on their faces, but after a moment, they settled back into a more relaxed position.

“Mr. Rex,” the mare behind the desk began. “Please, take a seat.” Once he had, she continued. “I understand you have applied for a position with us before.”

“That is true, Director,” Rex replied.

“And you were rejected at the time because…”

Rex forced himself to keep his tone even. “Because the individual who reviewed and rejected my application felt that due to my species and lack of inherent magical ability, I also lacked the understanding necessary to teach about it.”

“And just who was it who reviewed your application?” the Director asked.

“It was signed Stone Spear,” Rex replied. “I got a response back less than a day after submitting.”

The two mares exchanged glances, and one of them sighed. “Oh, him.”

Rex raised an eyebrow at this, and the mare cleared her throat. “Stone Spear is someone we’ve had more than a few complaints about from both existing staff and various applicants,” she explained. “You’re not the first one to be turned down by him, and the only reason we haven’t gotten rid of him before now is because he has family connections, and because he makes sure to include thorough explanations for turning down a candidate that look good on paper. From what we’ve observed though, the real reason though is… well… let’s just say you’re not the kind of person he likes to hire, and it’s not just because you’re not a pony. We try to have somepony else double-check on his work before it gets mailed out, but some of these applications always slip through.”

“Might I ask what kind of person he likes to hire?” Rex asked calmly.

“Mares,” the two chorused.

“The stallion is a notorious womanizer,” Director Decorated Page explained. “In all the time he’s worked here, I don’t think he’s accepted more than a hoofful of other stallions, and those were mostly ones who had family connections to rival his, meaning they could get him in trouble if he declined them.”

“I see.” Rex sat back as the Director and Dean began looking over a sheet of paper each, which he suspected were copies of his application.

Finally, the Dean set hers down. “I, for one, am very impressed with what I’m seeing here,” she said. “Am I to understand that this is your work, a modification of a Reclaimed spell?” She held up a very familiar object.

“Yes,” Rex replied as he recognized one of the necklaces he had been giving out at the Honour Festival. “My two associates are capable of performing the spell in its original form, but I was the one who researched it and figured out how to recreate it, before modifying the formula into the form you now carry.”

“I am very impressed,” the Dean replied. “When one of my students showed me this and the pamphlet that came with it, I wanted to find the one responsible right away.” She leaned forward. “Would you care to accompany me to one of our labs and demonstrate more of your work?”

“I would be delighted,” Rex replied. “Teaching has been my dream for a long time.”

“We can always use more skilled teachers,” the Director spoke up. “And I am personally looking forward to observing you in an actual classroom situation.”

“I look forward to proving myself, Madame Director,” Rex said as he rose and bowed to her. She nodded back, and after the Dean had risen from her own seat, he followed her out of the room. Rex felt a bit of confusion when he saw several students begin to follow them and a realization to what was about occur when they had entered a classroom that had students waiting within. The Dean stepped forwards and said to the students, “Mister Rex is here to demonstrate the procedure to producing the Reclaimed spell.” She then turned to Rex and gestured for him to step forwards.

Moving to the front of the desk, Rex took a short breath before he reached for a piece of chalk and began to write on the board.

Page Turner

Page tilted her head upwards when one of the.. her Guards came to the threshold to her door. Since Memorizing Gaze was rather busy with his own work to deal with the ongoing strike by the main branch of the Guards and supplementing them with his own, he’d left Sound Record and High Finish to help her this morning, and they’d delivered several different proposals to help her hive that had been drafted by a variety of ponies. Other than that delivery, things had been relatively quiet for her until now.

“Yes?” she asked them, raising an eyebrow while in her unicorn form. While it was an open secret that she was a changeling and some of her hive was slightly uncomfortable with her continuous usage of this form, it was a matter of habit and comfort that would take some time to change.

“I…” the drone, Tymbal as she recalled, shifted his eyes guiltily. “Sound Record had wanted this to remain with the Sages until such matters were resolved to avoid any conflict, I… felt that you would want to know of it.” Tymbal shifted awkwardly on his hooves. “I know that Captain Gaze told me to follow his brother’s words as if they came from him but I know that he wouldn’t approve of this.”

“What is it, my drone?” Page asked calmly while wondering with deep concern to exactly was going on that it caused one of the Hidden Guards to break rank like this and why he felt he couldn’t tell her via the hivemind.

Tymbal’s face went red and he timidly walked over to her and whispered into her ear. Page immediately dropped the proposals and stared at him. “This better not be some sort of joke, Tymbal,” she said sternly, causing him to wince.

“I wish it were, my Queen,” he said, backing up to avoid her wrath. “But they are discussing such matters now that it was brought up.”

“I appreciate you bringing this to my attention, my little changeling,” Page said. Standing up, she marched out of the room and down through the hallways of the Great Library to the area her Sages had taken as their residence until she could either find a better place or maybe to the old hive in the badlands. She had taken a slightly longer route to the room as to calm herself as this had to be handled carefully, though not too much as this was completely unacceptable.

Pushing the doors open, she saw her Sages in the midst of a discussion with Sound Record glaring at them and a confident drone that was wearing a well made half suit. All of them turned to stare at her sudden entrance with one of her Sages staring to stand up before Page glared at her to sit back down. “I have just recently learned that you are discussing a very important matter concerning myself and my chosen life partner,” she said coldly. “And I am not happy about what I have heard.”

“My queen,” the drone said, oozing with confidence. “I am sorry that you had to hear it in this fashion but you are correct.” He walked over with Record narrowing his eyes and stepping closer to Page’s side. “My name is Stock Market, my queen, and like any member of our dear hive, our first concern is the Queen and the continuance of your royal bloodline.” He continued to smile at her before looking at the Sages. “We are aware of the fact that due to the previous feelings towards our tribe had limited the previous Queens in choosing a drone as their consort in order to get around the changeling detector lights, as many other families had to do.”

Page glared at him, wishing she could rebuke it except for the fact that she didn’t know about her maternal line’s reasonings for their consorts. He saw her pause and smiled ever so slightly more at her.

When he took another step closer to her, Page saw Record resting a hoof on his sword and could now sense several of her changelings that had been hiding in the room make their appearance known. “As the Pardon has been passed my Queen,” Stock Market continued, seemingly unconcerned about the Guards coming towards him as he addressed her. “It would only stand to reason that everything that can be done to improve our hive be done. I, and a few others that were capable of inserting our families within the Equestrian high society, for example, had prepared for the day when our hive and tribe was no longer persecuted and have already began to start funds to support the hive financially.”

Page tilted her head in reluctant agreement, not trusting herself to speak just yet to this drone.

“And how else can the moral of our hive be further strengthened if not by having our Queen choose her consort now and let them know that the next generation is already being thought of and being taken care of?”

“Your concerns for the hive is appreciated, my drone,” she said stiffly. “But you overreach yourself by-”

“My Queen, a thousand apologies for interrupting you, but I highly disagree,” he said, giving her a glare that caused her wings to throb in anger and the Guards were now twitching at being restrained from doing anything to this drone. “The royal bloodline must be reinforced with changeling blood for the betterment of the hive.”

“And you have gone behind your Queen’s back to seek the Sages’ support for this… proposal?” Page snapped, causing Market to take a step backwards. Not even giving him the chance to make some sort of argument for this, she turned her attention to her Sages. “And you all began to discuss this without alerting me?”

“My Queen,” one of the Sages said a bit nervously, tapping his hooves against the desk. “He came to us asking about how Queens in the past with mixed blood compared to those with purer blood and…” he gestured around the room weakly before he steeled himself. “And we must remind you that it is our duty to ensure the continuance of our hive’s traditions and ways in any way possible and that does include ensuring that those coming into our hive will not harm the hive.”

“We were in the midst of discussing of the possible benefits of the next Queen having her blood less… diluted, shall we say, when you came in,” another Sage said with more confidence. “We do hold the power to dismiss the Queen’s consort if we feel that they are a detriment to the Hive, and this is not the time for confusion to who your consort is… or will be, my Queen.”

“There leads into another factor,” one of the Sages spoke up, flinching slightly at her glare but continuing anyway. “We believe that in choosing a non-changeling, you are showing yourself to have… a lower opinion of your own kind, much like the ponies themselves did for centuries.” Page internally grunted at this subtle rebuke; it had been no secret in her hive that she had no desire to continue the hive until they had managed to secure the Pardon and now it was being used against her. “By taking another full changeling as your mate, regardless of whom it may be, you would be showing your pride in our race, and that you have not inherited this bias.”

“You may be right in that,” Page acknowledged. “However. I am still Queen, and my word is still law. And I have chosen a non-changeling as my partner not out of necessity, but because I love him and he loves me. And seeing as how we have come through major difficulties together and emerged closer than before, I will not be changing my mind on that matter ever. Do I make myself clear?”

There were a series of nods from some of her Sages, and she continued. “Furthermore, it is my opinion that allowing such bias against inter-tribe breedings to influence the hive would bring us back to practices that our pony kin have long since abolished. Tribalism is effectively dead outside this hive, and I won’t have it brought back out of a desire for so-called blood purity. Should any changeling wish to become involved with a non-changeling out of love, that is their choice, and I will not oppose it.” Looking around, she caught the edges of a smirk on Record’s face - he knew whom she was thinking of.

“Those are wise and wonderful words, my Queen,” Market said, taking a bow before her. “I feel it would be wonderful if we could properly meet with this partner of yours so the Hive could become accustomed to this undoubtedly kind and caring partner.”

Page frowned, seeing that he had not given up on his plans. “Night Blade is away at this time,” she said. “He is -”

“Night Blade?” One of the Sages that hadn’t nodded at her statement interrupted her and stood in horror. “Is he not that infamous Butcher of the Everfree Forest?”

“That is an unwanted title, Steady Knowledge, and I do not wish to hear it spoken again,” Page said sharply, baring her fangs at him.

“But the storiesare true, are they not my Queen?” Market asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

“If you mean that he killed a number of ponies who were trying to kill me and our other friends, they are,” Page replied with another glare with her hoof striking the floor and now Market looked worried.

“Hmm,” Steady Knowledge said, tapping her chin causing Page to turn back to her. “Not many ponies are willing to kill due it being outside of their nature and I do not believe having one of our own being responsible for a death would be the best for the hive currently. Unless,” she drifted her eyes to Market who was now looking very pale despite not being in his pony identity. “You are capable of doing such an action as Blade did, Market.”

Market stood quietly for a moment before he reluctantly shook his head. “I am not well versed in combat as mister Blade is and… I would be unable to protect her as he could.” The words clearly were hard for him to spit out and thus admit he was unsuitable to become her consort.

While Page wanted nothing more to rub this into his face after everything he tried to pull, she knew it was beneath her to do such a petty act. “Market, I do appreciate your concern for the safety of our hive and the future Queen,” she said while placing a hoof on his shoulder. Using her magic to lift his chin to make him look in her eyes, she continued saying. “And your promise to help with the fiscal aspect of our hive is a wonderful boon, my drone. I would like to ask your help, along with these other changeling families, in securing proper legal means for our hive so that one day we need not rely on the Equestrian government for our own financial security.”

“It would be an honor to aid you in this goal, my Queen,” Market said as he bowed again. “If I may take my leave?”

“You may,” Page said.

Market bowed again, and left. When he had gone, she noticed Steady Knowledge still had a hesitant look on her face.

“Is there something else you wish to say?” she asked.

The Sage looked uncomfortable. “My Queen, I recognize that you are rather close with your… Night Blade. But while it is a good thing that he acted in your defense, I am still concerned about his ability to restrain himself when necessary. The article we read did describe him as a… mindless berserker, as I recall.”

“The ponies attacking us were led by an individual who was specifically out to kill me because I had previously acted to prevent him from killing an innocent mother and infant of our tribe,” Page replied. “As had our friends who, despite not being changelings themselves, willingly stood up for us. When Sharp Point encountered me in my natural form in the forest, that further drove his desire to kill me. He is the one who informed the papers of what happened during that battle, so he hardly represents an unbiased point of view in regard to those events.”

The Sage nodded. “Ah. So, he was exaggerating at least some of it in an effort to make all of you look bad?”

“I expect so,” Page said before shifting her eye. “Though I have not had the chance to look at any official report on that day so I do not know how accurate or inaccurate it is.”

“Considering the headline called you The Traitorous Six, I’d say that at least someone was believing those early lies being spread about the six of you and your intentions,” Record spoke up. “That’s one inaccuracy right there.”

“Thank you,” Page told him. She turned back to the Sages. “Now, while I am well aware that you are my advisors, and will have concerns about my choices in the future, I would suggest that, if you wish to have such discussions, that you inform me rather than going behind my back. Am I clear?”

“Yes, my Queen,” several voices said in unison.

“And if you have any concerns as to what your charges are doing, Sound Record, I would prefer to hear about them,” Page said as she turned to him. “I realize you were doing what you felt was best on this occasion, but if it concerns me, I do want to know about it.”

Sound Record bowed. “As you command, my Queen,” he said respectfully. “Truthfully, I knew you would not stand for what they were seeking, and had hoped to put an end to this nonsense quickly and quietly so as not to disrupt the rest of your work.”

“I can understand that,” Page told him. “But in the future, please just tell me immediately.”

Record bowed again. “I will, my Queen.”

“I will need to speak to Memorizing about this, you know,” Page said, with the drone wincing at the mention of his brother. “Even if you had come to me about this right away, the fact there are changeling families out there that have managed to defeat the detector lights is something that needs to be addressed.”

Record blinked. “I expect they used the same methods we Hidden Guards did,” he said thoughtfully. “If they did, or if they had another means, then it would be indeed of interest to him.”

“Exactly,” Page said nodding her head. “Now if that is all settled and there is nothing else to be discussed?” She turned to look at her Sages who shook their heads. “Then if you will excuse me,” she said, and left to return to her work.

Wind Breaker

Wind Breaker shifted as Night continued to deal with the griffon running the hotel, eying all the griffons around them. So far, they had kept their distance and despite Vix-Lei’s prodding, he had kept his from them.

After everything that had happened, he had no idea how to even begin to ask around for help to find his parents or his family and more to the point, it somewhat terrified him. He desperately wanted a drink right now, and if not for the promise he’d quietly made to himself the day before to not do so until after he’d found his family, he’d be running for the nearest bar.

Tilting his head as Night raised his voice, indicating it would take them even longer to get settled in, Wind let out a sigh before Vix-Lei snorted. “Come on, let’s go - Night, will you be fine on your own?” she asked with Night waving his hoof at her. “Good; come Wind,” she said, walking towards the bar.

“Um, Vix-Lei?” he asked, wondering what she was thinking. “Do you really want me in a bar?”

“Look, we don’t need to order anything alcoholic but we have been waiting here for almost half an hour now and you need something in your talons or you’ll tear a hole in the carpet with all the nervous fidgeting you’re doing.”

That caused the griffon behind the counter to lean up, glare at them and begin shouting back at Night even louder.

“You’re right,” Wind said as he turned away. “Let’s just go.”

Walking into the bar, however, felt a like a big mistake. He could smell all the different brands they had in stock and it was nearly overwhelming. If it wasn’t for Vix-Lei placing a strong hand on his shoulder and directing them to a booth away from the counter, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to control himself.

Except for that one bottle he saw open. He recognized the scent and, squinting, glanced at the label before turning away and shuddering.

“Something wrong?” Vix-Lei asked softly.

“You see that one griffon over there?” Wind Breaker replied just as quietly, doing his best to ignore the looks they were getting. “I know what he’s drinking, and it’s something even I never had a taste for.”

Vix-Lei looked at him questioningly.

“Salmon-flavored vodka.”

She shuddered. “No kidding.” Settling into her seat, she glanced around. “Stay here; I’ll get some water for us; you hungry or do you think you’ll ralph if you eat?”

Wind Breaker felt his face heat but he shook his head. “I don’t think it’s a good idea if I eat now,” he said, drumming his talon onto the table.

“Hey, don’t worry, I’ve got this,”Vix-Lei said, patting his side before standing up. “I’ll be back as soon as I can, okay?”

Wind Breaker nodded his head, tucking his wings in closer to himself as he watched her walk away.

“Hey.”

Wind Breaker looked up to see an unfamiliar griffon, who looked to be about the same size as Diamond Back and seemed to be wearing some kind of belt-like strap around his waist, staring down at him. “Yes?”

“You’re new around these parts, aren’t you?” The larger griffon eyed him suspiciously.

“I am,” Wind Breaker replied cautiously. “Just arrived in the Isles this morning.”

“So what’s a newbie like you doing in a place like this?” The other griffon sat down across from him with two others joining him.

“Waiting for my other friend to finish getting our hotel room,” Wind Breaker replied.

“Mm.” The larger griffon fell silent for a moment, then spoke again. “Name’s Gordon, that’s Gerard and Garrett. You?”

“Wind Breaker,” Wind replied. At the other griffon’s snort, he sighed. “And I get that kind of reaction all the time.”

“I’m not surprised. Sounds like a pony name to me,” Gordon said with a chuckle.

“Well, I grew up in Equestria,” Wind Breaker replied. “Former Hatchery griffon.”

Gerard snorted in disgust. “Hatcheries. Hate those damn places, and so does every other griffon I know. So, you trade an egg to buy your freedom?”

“Not at all,” Wind Breaker told him a bit defensively. “The Hatcheries all got shut down yesterday.”

Garrett reared back in surprise. “Shut down?”

“King Well Banded made the announcement himself,” Wind Breaker said. “Said they’d uncovered a lot of corruption in the system, and that they were shutting down every last one of them. We’re free; I’m pretty sure that a lot of the former residents will be heading here.”

Gerard snorted louder, bringing his glass down hard on the table. “Figures that you Equestrians wouldn’t bother telling us about it.” Next to him, Garrett nodded.

Gordon waved him quiet and leaned towards Wind Breaker. “Why exactly are you here, Wind Breaker?”

“Because that’s what these papers told me; that I was from here,” he said, reaching into his pack and pulling out his file.

Gordon got very stiff in his posture with the other two griffons looking more alert than before. “May I see that?”

Wind Breaker eyed them carefully before he placed the paper down onto the table with the griffon picking it up and reading the page. Scowling in anger he passed it around the other griffons before they started to push themselves out of their booth. Gordon handed the page back to Wind Breaker but grabbed his arm. “This better not be some sort of fake, or you will be in severe trouble, do you understand me?”

“I swear to you, it’s the real deal,” Wind Breaker told them nervously, trying to pull his arm back. “It has the official seal and everything, and when my friend over there gets back, she’ll back me up.”

“Ain’t good enough son,” Garrett shaking his head. “I’m not sure if you’re aware of what this means, but we do and I doubt the boss there will let them get away with it a second longer.”

“Boss?” Wind Breaker asked as they stood in front of him.

“I’m the Chief Constable of the regional police,” Gordon said. “And this orphanage,” he added, tapping the page in Wind Breaker’s talons. “Has long been thought to be up to no good with how their numbers fluctuate a bit too much.”

“But now we have proof so we can finally take them down,” Gerard said, placing a talon on his shoulder. “Thanks Windy.”

“Chief, shouldn’t we have him tag along?” Garrett said, causing the other two to stare at him. “I mean, if he was stolen from them…”

“Garrett, we can’t take him on official business,” Gordon said. “He’s a civilian. We’d be pushing it if we had a consultant along, if we had one.”

“Come on, you know as well as I do that this orphanage is run by old biddies that can’t even fly anymore.”

“Garrett, these old biddies are also perfectly fine selling kids off to them ponies,” Gerard said. “We can’t take him. End of discussion.”

“As much as I hate this, Garrett is right,” Gordon sighed, rubbing his eyes. “It hasn’t become news yet that the Hatcheries have ended and we will need proof to arrest them, which only he has. If we wait too long, they can destroy any evidence and get away with it.” He rubbed his face. “Much as it goes against procedure…”

“Excuse me.”

The three looked up to see Vix-Lei standing over them with a tray of glasses and a small bowl of nachos. “You boys bothering my friend?” she asked with one hand sliding to Señor Hardhead.

“It’s okay, Vix-Lei,” Wind Breaker said quickly. “They’re on our side.”

“Look Wind, we’re going now so if you want to help out, you will need to come now,” Gordon said sternly with Vix-Lei turning her head to look at him.

“What’s going on?” she asked, placing the tray down.

Gordon pulled a badge out of the side pouch on his belt. “Chief Constable Gordon, ma’am,” he said. “And your friend has evidence that could help us put some criminals away for a long time.”

“He means the people who stole me and sent me to Canterlot,” Wind Breaker explained hurriedly.

Vix-Lei grinned. “Well all right,” she said. “Sounds like a plan. And I hope you throw an unabridged encyclopedia at them when they go to trial.”

“So do I, ma’am,” Gordon said with a grin of his own. “But we need to go no-”

“Good news, I got the rooms settled,” Night said as he walked up to the table, grabbed one of the glasses of alcohol and downed it. “Now we just need to get set… what’s going on?”

“Night Blade,” Wind Breaker said, sighing inwardly at having to explain again. “These are the griffons who are going to help us with why we came here in the first place.”

Night Blade looked around at them. “The things I miss when I’m not around,” he said tiredly before looking at the glass in his hoof. “As such I doubt that this was yours, Wind Breaker.”

“That would be mine, pony,” Gerard said with a glare. Whatever he was about to say next was cut off as Gordon waved a talon.

“I take it you’re with them?” he asked, gesturing to Wind Breaker and Vix-Lei.

“I am,” Night Blade replied. “And if you’re here to help my friend out, I’d be very glad of it.”

“Then come on, let’s get moving.”

Tossing a small sack of bits over to the bartender, Vix-Lei grabbed her bowl of nachos as the six headed for the door, and Wind Breaker raised an eyebrow.

“What?” she asked. “I paid for it, I’m going to eat it.”

Wind Breaker just shook his head as they left the hotel with the three griffons opening their wings and taking flight. Wind Breaker was following them before he realized that Vix-Lei couldn't fly. Turning his head, he saw her wave them on with Night hovering uncertainty before Vix-Lei waved at him to go with them.

Turning, he and Night flew after the other griffons who seemed to be giving Night dirty looks. NIghty, being himself, didn’t respond to them, instead just focusing on where he was flying. Wind Breaker spread his wings out and flew to catch up with the griffons who moved aside to let him inside their group.

“So tell us,” Garrett said, as they closed up again with Night giving them dirty looks as he tried to match their new pace. But due to his wings being built for endurance and not speed, the nox pony was slowly being left behind. “What was them Hatcheries like?”

“It was mediocre,” Wind Breaker replied. “Sure, we got enough food and all… I mostly got ignored by the ponies running the place because there were so many of us. The work we did was okay... kept me busy. Some of the other places were worse though, from what I heard. The worst I ever had to deal with was when other griffons teased me a lot for my size and habits.”

“What kind of habits?” Gerard asked suspiciously.

“I’m more interested in what jobs you had to do,” Gordon said.

“Work was mostly construction-related, for me at least,” Wind Breaker said. “And the occasional waiter’s job. Thankfully none of them required me to dye my coat.”

“Excuse me, did you just say you had to dye your coat?” Garrett said in surprise.

“For a while, at least,” Wind Breaker told him. “They wanted us to have brighter colors - said it would be more ‘aesthetically pleasing’ to the ponies outside. I haven’t had to do that in a long time though.”

Gerard snorted angrily. “Ponies; always thinking they’re superior.” He might have gone on if not for Gordon elbowing him and tilting his head back towards Night who was struggling to keep up.

“Night,” Wind called out, banking out to fly back to his friend, only to get buffeted by the griffons. He stared at them with Gordon and Garrett parting to let him pass and slowing down with Gerard huffing angrily. “Night, are you okay?”

The nox pony shook his head and began lowering to the ground. “I’m getting cramps in my right wing; must be left over from when we fought Sharp… I thought it was all healed up after that last fight we were in, but it’s hurting again,” he winced in pain. “I’m sorry, I can’t keep up, I need to land Wind Breaker.”

“That’s fine Night, they can go ah-”

“No, I’ll be fine,” Night said as he began to do spirals to lower himself faster. “Go ahead, I’ll try to catch up.”

“Are you sure?”

“I promise, I’ll be there when I can,” Night told him. “You go on - you need this.”

“Right.” Wind nodded to his friend before flying back up to the others. “Let’s go.”

“Your friend there going to be okay?” Garrett asked as they went.

“Old injury from a while back catching up with him,” Wind told them. “He’ll catch up, he said.”

“Sure it’s not just making excuses?” Gerard asked, and Wind Breaker had to restrain himself from snapping at the other griffon.

“Night Blade is the most loyal guy you’d know,” he said. “He and I may have had our differences in the past, but we’ve worked through it. Now he’s one of my five closest friends, and I wouldn’t trade any of them for the world. And if it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have gotten here as soon as I did - this whole thing came out just yesterday, and as soon as he and I got back to our hotel from picking up my information, he was calling his family to see about getting us over here as soon as possible.”

The other three all regarded him in surprise, and then Gordon shook his head. “Never would have thought a pony would be willing to help a griffon like that,” he said.

“So, what about that minotaur?” Garrett asked from where he was flying. “She one of your five besties too?”

“Vix-Lei? Yeah,” Wind Breaker told him. “She’s a real barrel of laughs once you get to know her.”

Gerard gave a snort, but flinched when Gordon gave him a stern look in response.

“I’m still waiting on an explanation for what you said about habits,” Gerard said after a minute.

“Short version, people didn’t like me because I was too honest,” Wind told him. “So I kept getting into a lot of fights for it when I was little.”

“Sheesh.” Garrett shook his head. “They really didn’t care about you chicks, did they?”

Wind Breaker blinked before he realized what he had meant. “Yeah, they really didn’t. I mean, it doesn’t take much effort to get the kid drunk in order to shut him up.” Wind continued to fly for a bit before realising he was flying alone with the other griffon hovering on the spot.

“They did what‽” the trio roared.

“It was supposed to help me keep my beak shut, and believe me, I’m getting help for it now,” he said. “I have it on good authority that the ones responsible have all been arrested.”

“They gave you alcohol when you were a little chick,” Gordon repeated. “I thought I’d heard some bad things about Hatcheries, but that takes the cake.”

“I was in Upper Canterlot; there they at least make some effort to look legitimate opposed to the Middle and I don’t even want to think about the the Lower,” Wind shuddered as he remembered the horror stories the older griffons had told him when he was little.

Garrett shook his head. “That’s just rotten.”

“I’ll say,” Gerard added. “As if we didn’t have enough reasons to hate ponies for what they’ve done to our kind…”

“Well, they’re cleaning house now,” Wind Breaker told him as the four started flying forward again. “Did you hear they Pardoned the entire Fourth Tribe recently?”

“Only because that one changeling had saved them; can you imagine how bad it would have been if they just arrested her after it?” Gerard said. “Same reason to why ended the Hatcheries, just bad PR for them.”

“If they had arrested Page, they’d have had to arrest me too,” Wind Breaker responded. “I was part of that same team.”

He was immediately met with three stares, and then Gordon shook his head. “I see we’ve got a lot more information coming our way,” he said stiffly. “First the Equestrians don’t inform us that they’re sending a large number of our people, people held wrongfully for centuries, our way without us having time to prepare, then they neglect to inform us one of the most famous griffons our times is one of them.”

“Technically, they’re not sending griffons away, they’re just not stopping them if they want to go,” Wind Breaker pointed out. “And they’re not all leaving Equestria - one of the guys I grew up said he was going out to Los Pegasus to meet family there. But I agree on the whole thing being all haphazard - hay, the pony I got my file from said the whole thing had been put together at the last minute when it should have been spread out and better organized.”

Gerard wrinkled his beak. “Something’s rotten in the state of Equestria, that’s for sure,” he said. “I mean you’re dealing with that civil war still in the Crystal Dominance and your king felt it was the best time to have this happen?”

Wind Breaker felt his face flush. “Oh right,” he muttered. “Didn’t realize that was still going on… then again, I don’t blame them. I know what it’s like not having all the same rights as every other pony.”

“Griffon,” Gerard said with Gordon glaring at him. “You’re a griffon, not a pony.”

“I know, and it’s going to take a lot of effort to get rid of old habits like that,” Wind Breaker told him. “It’s a work in progress.”

“Enough, we're here,” Gordon said, hushing them with Wind spotting the orphanage. It was a large rectangular building with a path leading up to it. Wind could spot a few other buildings out around the main building but they all looked in bad repair, something that would never have been allowed in the Upper. “Stay behind us, Wind Breaker, you’re still a civilian.”

“Yes sir,” Wind Breaker said, his talons still going for his crossbow with Gerard giving him a look before flashing him a grin on his beak.

Walking to the door, Gordon was about to knock when a very old looking griffoness opened it. “Mister Gordon, what did one of my charges do this time to grant me the pleasure from four fine officers?” she asked in an overtly sweet tone that did nothing to hide the sarcasm behind it.

“Grendel, we are not here because Gary broke a window,” Gordon said sternly. “We would like to ask you some questions.”

“Do you have any warrants, Mister Gorden?” she asked sharply, raising an eyebrow before she glanced off to to the side. Wind Breaker followed her eyes to see another somewhat elderly griffon watching from the side.

“No, but we have reason to believe that you were not following the law regarding the discharging of those under your care,” he said with the griffon Wind Breaker spotted darting backwards with her eyes wide. His instincts told him to follow her and Wind did so, slipping away as Gordon got into a loud shouting match with Grendel.

Following her along the rooftop, Wind Breaker saw her make her way to small a building that had a lock on it. Gliding downwards quietly in the manner that Night had shown him, Wind Breaker saw that it was an office of sorts and she was grabbing pieces of paper that she was about to destroy in the shredder. Pulling out his crossbow, Wind Breaker fired off a shot that slammed into the wall which made her jump in surprise.

“Don’t even think about it,” he said, aiming his already reloaded crossbow at her.

“You would really sh-shoot a helpless old griffonness like me?” she said in a frail tone but something within Wind Breaker told him not to believe her.

“You’re as helpless as the sky is green,” he said while tilting his head. “Now come out of the-”

“Wind Breaker, what are you doing‽” Gordon shouted.

“Stopping this one from destroying evidence,” Wind called back. “She’s got files and a shredder in here.”

Gordon stepped next to Wind with Garrett grabbing the elderly griffon and pulling her out of the room. “Damn, you’re right,” he said. “In which case, I’d say we’ve got a clear-cut case of criminal activity. Gerard, take that one,” he said as he gestured to Grendel.

“With pleasure, sir,” Gerard responded as he moved behind the other griffon, pulling out a set of cuffs. “Gothel, Grendel, you’re both under arrest for attempted obstruction of justice and interference with an official criminal investigation.”

Gordon turned his head towards the gathering children starting at them with wide eyes. “Sorry kids, this is a crime scene now,” he said. “I’m calling for backup to get this place sealed off as well as social services to find somegriffon that can take care of these kids.” He then slapped Wind on the back. “Quick thinking son; I can only imagine how many pasts you saved there but please, next time, get one of us to do this.”

“Understood sir,” Wind told him. “I’m still getting used to being on the right side of the law again, after that time we spent on the run…”

“Well maybe now you can make a good future for yourself now that you’re back here where you belong.”

“Yeah… maybe,” Wind Breaker said.

As he stepped back towards the fence surrounding the property, he couldn’t help but wonder though.

Was this really where he belonged?

“Wind Breaker?”

Wind Breaker turned around to see Night coming up behind him. “Good, you’re here,” he said. “Wing feeling better, and any sign of Vix-Lei?”

“Somewhat, but I’ll have to get some x-rays to be sure,” Night replied, looking at his wing which was hanging a bit lower than normal. “As for our mutual friend, I think she’s a block or so behind me.” He shook his head. “For as dense as her bones and muscles are, she can move very fast when she wants to.”

Wind Breaker nodded, and the two fell silent as more police arrived, some who began surrounding the buildings and some who were escorting the two griffonesses away. Both gave Wind Breaker very dirty looks as they passed. As they were taken off the grounds, Vix-Lei popped up on the other side of the fence. “Looks like I missed all the fun,” she noted.

“You could say that,” Wind Breaker told her.

“So what now?” Vix-Lei asked.

Taking another look at the scene and wondering if it was possible he had found his home at long last, Wind Breaker shook his head. “I don’t know.”

Chapter Seventeen: Gentle Step, Deep Blade

Chapter Seventeen

Gentle Step

knock knock

“Captain General? Captain General, are you in there?”

The two agents backed up a bit as the door in front of them opened, a blunted snout sticking out for a moment. Seeing this, one started to speak. “Captain General, we-”

The door slammed in their faces, and Gentle Step backed into her living room. “Sorry about the interruption, Mist,” she said brusquely. “You were saying?”

“I was saying, what exactly were you planning to do about the uprising in the Crystal Dominance?” the grizzled acting-Captain General said, his voice coming out of the helmet sitting on one of her chairs. “We’ve still got quite a bit of fighting going on out there, even if the majority of the Crystal Rebels and the Questioning Order seem to have turned to guerilla tactics instead of open-field battles like they started with.”

Gentle Step shook her head. “I’m really not sure,” she said. “Delighted Gem was still here when the uprising started, and even with his help, we weren’t able to get through to the Governor’s house - the Guards say all the communication spells they’ve tried to reach Governor Mighty Glacier go unanswered, and the locks are all sealed. With how they built that house in the first place, it’s almost impossible to physically get in and check on things without demolishing the place now.”

“Stallion’s got good survival instincts, at least,” Mist Flight said, and she could hear him folding his front hooves across his chest. “So. How much longer until they try to get your attention again?”

“Not long, I suspect,” Gentle replied. “What about you, how are things going with your Guards over on Mount Legion?”

“Pretty well,” Mist Flight replied. “So far nopony’s made any comment to any of the reporters who showed up, but sooner or later one of them’s going to get sneaky and figure out what’s going on.”

Gentle sighed. “You know, you could get in a lot of trouble for this,” she said. “So could I, when they find out you called me.”

“I’m using a connection so secure even the snoopiest of reporters couldn’t tap it,” Mist Flight reminded her. “And other precautions too - if anypony sees me talking, they think I’m on the line with my lieutenant. But I do need to go now, just to be safe.”

“Be well, Mist,” she said before he cut the connection. Turning back to the windows, she peered out and saw the IA agents were still on the sidewalk, exchanging hurried whispers.

This whole situation was starting to spin out of control; she had not even thought the Royal Guards would protest en masse or that Mist would do something as radical as abruptly bringing the Hatcheries to justice. She was grateful that the other divisions had moved in to ensure the peace in Canterlot, but such an action shouldn’t have been needed.

She heard noise outside, and glanced out long enough to see a couple of ponies trying to speak to the IA agents, who were in turn trying to usher them away. Reporters, she figured. Sighing, she closed the curtains again and sank into her seat. This inaction was eating her up inside and she hoped that something exciting would happen soon.

bang bang

Frowning as somepony continued to bang on her door. Glancing out her peephole, she saw it was one of her neighbours but Spring Showers was out running her now legal gaming hall at this time.

“Miss Showers, what ar-”

“Step, I want to know what you are planning to do with those pesky ponies outside!” she said, pushing herself into her house. “They have been bothering everypony with all those questions and-”

“Who are you,” Gentle asked, narrowing her eyes while preparing her magic.

“Really Gentle, you can’ttell?” the mare asked her with a raised eyebrow before a wash of green magic rolled over her and turned into Memorizing. “You’re getting rusty in all of this downtime.”

Gentle Step raised an eyebrow at him while dispelling her magic. “Good morning, Mems. I see you didn’t want to deal with those nuisances outside any more than I did,” she ignored his widening grin though not how he nuzzled her face which felt very good. “Is there any particular reason to why you're visiting me?”

“Beyond wishing to see you, there is a bit of news I’ve learned that you’ll want to hear, Gents,” he said as he walked into her kitchen. “Have you eaten yet?”

“No, and what is the ne-”

“Gents,” he said in a lecturing tone which made her frown as she was still his superior. “Do you need me tell your mom you’re not eating properly again?”

“You wouldn’t dare,” she said as she glared at him. “Besides, I’ve barely had time to think about food since I got up this morning, what with everything going on and distracting me.”

“Then let’s remedy that,” Memorizing replied as he began to rifle through her cupboards and fridge with his magic while pulling the blinds down and locking all her doors as to prevent any unwanted visitors seeing the drone in her house. “Go sit down while I get you a nice and hearty breakfast, Gents.”

“So,” she said as she sat down at her own table while he worked. “I’ve already been made well aware of what my Guards are up to over at Mount Legion, and I saw plenty of griffon activity outside last evening. What else is there?”

“Three of the Bearers left the city last night, and we weren’t able to send any Guards to follow them,” he said as he worked.

“What‽” Gentle started to rise out of her seat, but Memorizing turned and gave her a look. “Which ones, and do you know where they went?” she asked.

“Wind Breaker’s file says he was originally from the Griffish Isles, until he was illegally sent here from one of their orphanages,” Memorizing told her. “From what we observed, Night Blade arranged to use his family’s skimmer so he, Wind and Vix-Lei could all go over there to track down Wind’s birth family.” He shook his head. “And he’s just the first of many who will be heading that way… fortunately, our Guards have assured me that the other three Bearers are all still here. Page has her own matters to deal with at the Library, and Rex and Xvital are both at the Academy for their own things.”

“And your Queen has confirmed that they are in the Isles?” she asked, causing him to visibly stiffen.

“We haven’t been able to confirm that directly, but I have been informed that that’s where they were heading,” he said a bit shakely. “Page herself spoke of it in the presence of my brother Sound Record just a short while ago.”

“So when are you going to stop lying to me?” she asked him. “I know she’s your Queen, mister Royal Protector.”

Had it not been for years of training, Memorizing Gaze would have literally jumped out of his shell. “How-”

“I figured it out when I was speaking to her just two days ago, and she confirmed it,” she replied. “There’s no need to hide it from me anymore.”

“So you know,” he said leaning against the counter and sighing before giving her a confused look. “But why didn’t she tell me that you knew?”

“I wouldn’t know that myself,” she said. “I haven’t seen her since then.”

“Still-” He broke off, eyes narrowing. “Wait a minute…”

“Yes?”

“Did she, by chance, know about… well, us? Because I get the feeling she’s known about you and me longer than she’s been letting on.” He shook his head. “Seriously, did she?”

“Who do you think helped me figure it out myself?” she teased him. “Before that meeting, I honestly didn’t realize I was feeling more than friendship for you. She recognized it though.”

Memorizing shook his head. “Were it anyling other than my Queen, I’d have to have words with them for keeping something this big from me,” he muttered. “So. What else did she fill you in on?”

“Oh, not much… besides this one thing,” she smirked, feeling braver than she had ever felt before, almost as exhilarating as when she had fought that demon lord before she had escaped Tartarus.

Memorizing shook his head again. “Well, at least I don’t have to worry about hiding it from you anymore,” he said. “And I have the feeling you’re not the only one of our fellows who knows more than they’re letting on. I think Blazen Sun might be on the track to figuring it out too, if that look he gave me when we were talking yesterday was anything to go by.”

“If he does, we’ll find out soon enough,” Gentle Step said. “But did your Queen, by any chance, inform you that your potential dating pool has been restricted?”

“Why would she do that,” Memorizing asked, trying to focus on making her breakfast. Frowning, he to turned to face her. “I’m her Royal Protector, her last defense. What makes her think that she can do this to me.”

“Oh, nothing much,” Gentle said as she rose and stared him right in the face. “Except she knows just how deeply I feel for you… and didn’t want any others getting any bright ideas of trying to snatch you away from me until I made my own play.”

Memorizing blinked, and then shook his head with a blush on his face. “I knew she supported us as a couple, she told me as much yesterday when my little brothers were teasing me about it, but I didn’t realize it went that far.”

“Well, now you know,” Gentle Step told him as she walked over to him. “And… perhaps once this matter is resolved with Internal Affairs, we could see what exists between us.”

“I’d like that a lot,” Memorizing said with a smile before leaning down to nuzzle her again only for Gentle to lean up and intercept it with a kiss. “And I could get used to this,” he said before giving her another kiss that somehow made feel more awake than she had felt in a long time.

“That,” she said, licking her lips. “Was a love filled kiss, wasn’t it?”

“It certainly was,” he said with a grin. “And there is more where that came from, Gents.” She raised an eyebrow at him with Mems snorting at her. “Not like that; your breakfast is ready,” he said as he tapped his glowing horn to her plate before passing it off to her.

“I much appreciate it, Mems,” she said as she sat back down. “I would also appreciate a more in-depth report to the exact situation concerning the three remaining Bearers as well to the exact status of the protests.”

“Of course,” he said, his tone shifting to match the seriousness of what was going on. “As stated before, Page Turner is within the Great Library today, as are a number of my Guards, since I’ve moved the Hidden Guards’ headquarters to that location. Both Rex and Xvital are in the Academy, Xvital for her lessons in controlling her magic and Rex for an interview with the Director and the Dean of Alchemy, and my Guards escorted them. As for the protests, all of the Royal Guards who were in Canterlot as of yesterday, including acting Captain General Mist Flight, are currently outside the IA offices on Mount Legion, save for those few who are still recuperating in the hospitals from recent injuries sustained during the Nightmare’s time of control.”

Gentle Step nodded as she took another bite of her meal. “Thank you for that information, Captain.” Using her magic to get herself a glass of water, she then asked. “And your other Captains?”

“Captain Blazen Sun has remained in the Captain’s Room for the purpose of coordinating the efforts of the other Guard divisions,” Memorizing reported. “Our other three Captains were out with the rest of their divisions to maintain order yesterday, and are continuing in that role today.”

Gentle Step nodded again. “Status on the celebrations in the streets?”

“Things aren’t as rowdy as they were at their peak yesterday, but there are still plenty of them going on out there,” Memorizing told her. “There are only a hooffull of bonfires remaining, and they’re much more controlled now than they were before. While some injuries have been reported, those responsible have been taken into custody and informed of exactly why they were arrested; the majority of the reported injuries are confirmed as accidental, including more than a few cases of griffons colliding with one another mid-air. No ponies or changelings have been seriously hurt, whether accidentally or deliberately, thank the goddesses.”

Gentle Step regarded him. “Property damage?”

“Being kept to a minimum; there will be some reconstruction once this is all over with, but the majority of it is cosmetic and not threatening to the structures themselves.”

“Good.”

“Now let me ask you something; how are you handling all of this?” Memorizing’s question caused her to snap her eyes at him. “I would like to believe I know you better than anyling or pony alive and I know how you hate sitting around while you can be doing something to help the situation.”

Gentle Step let out a sigh. “You’re right,” she said. “I hate being effectively sidelined, but I did this to myself, and I’m going to stay out of it until there’s no other choice. I trust my lieutenant and my captains to do the right things in the meantime.” Her eyes glanced to the window and sighed. “Though I do wish that the Royal Guards were not doing this on my behalf.”

“I understand your concern,” he said. “With the fact that something like the Nightmare can overshadow anyone like it did to the king, having blind loyalty to one single authority figure is dangerous.”

“You are probably one of the only people that understand this,” Gentle Step told him. “I am the Captain General and if I were to be subverted then it is my greatest hope my division would stand against me.”

“I understand,” Memorizing replied. “With the power you control, it’s no wonder the Bearers initially thought you were the one being controlled by that thing - as you yourself said, you were the logical assumption.”

“If you suspected I were a threat to the nation, would you take the proper steps?”

“Yes,” he said without hesitating. “Why do you think I was keeping such a close eye on you after Page told me of her suspicions when she and I first met?”

“Then you did the right thing,” she said. “Thank you.”

Memorizing bowed. “I just hope it never has to happen, Gent,” he said. “I really hope it never comes to that.”

“So do I, Mems. So do I.”

Deep Blade

Shaking his head as the last of his students left the classroom, the nox pony let out a sigh as he did some clean up before giving up and leaving it for the janitors.

It had been a long day of dealing with privileged kids that thought they were talented when all they really had was their daddy’s money to back them up. Ever since he’d had his argument with the dean, most of his students had decided to test him every day, if not with backtalk then with pushing their luck by producing questionable artworks.

If not for Emerald Forte distracting him with his own gallery work, he would have had done something stupid ages ago. He was so indebted to that mare; he really needed to find her a good colt and help screen away the creeps. He could lean on Crooked, and maybe Night if he was up for it, to act as scary deterrents for messing with her.

Thinking of his little brother, he had to mention it to the family that he had found somepony that was willing to do a proper family portrait in the next few days so they could get rid of that eyesore in the family manor and dispose of it maturely.

And he hoped that Emerald Forte would not get too mad at him setting it on fire as well as help him get out of any trouble for setting something on fire again. Stuffing his satchel with all of his belongings, he huffed himself out of his classroom and began to make his way towards the front door when he saw Dean Clean Canvas and quickly turned the other way. She still wasn’t all that fond of him after the shouting match when that ass drew Night as some sort of bloody horror movie killer and it was best to let things cool down for a while longer.

Going through the back ways to avoid the mare, Deep kept changing hallways and stairs until he was completely lost. Groaning at this happening again, Deep was going to need to ask for help when he saw the ruby of the Cadenza Guards and the grayish black of the Cuanmiztl Kingdom’s guards in the hallway.

Frowning in confusion, Deep walked towards them, only for the guards to glare at him. Rolling his eyes as growing up with Crooked had helped numb any fear he had for these elites, he asked, “Is there something going on?”

The sergeant of the Cadenza Guard snorted at him, placing the butt of her spear in front of Deep, to his surprise. Then, as the lead Cuanmiztl Guard gave his counterpart a look, he turned back to Deep. “Please leave the area, sir,” he said a bit more politely.

“All right, all right, sheesh,” he said as he turned to go. “You’d think, as a staff member here, I’d be allowed to walk through the halls without complaint.” Before he could take a step further, however, one of the Cadenza Guards intercepted him. “I thought you wanted me gone.”

“Can you present your faculty ID card,” the Cadenza Guard asked with their sergeant giving the Cuanmiztlan guard a smirk.

“Sure,” Deep said as he pulled it out and hoofed it over. The Guard accepted it and studied it carefully, then handed it back. “He’s good, sergeant Summer,” he reported. “Deep Blade, Professor of Art.”

“Deep Blade,” the sergeant said with wide eyes before narrowing her eyes. “Does the name Summer Heat ring any bells?” she asked acidly with Deep struggling to recall why that name sounded fami-Ohby the Lady, this wasn’t good! “Because my sister remembers you very well, Bla-”

“Deep, is that you?” a voice from the side caused everypony to turn as the classroom began to empty out and Xvital, Night’s friend, was staring at him.

“Xvital?” he asked, surprised. “What are you doing here?”

“Learning to use my new magic without burning the room down, what are you doing here?”

“I teach here,” Deep told her. “And I took a few wrong turns after my last class…”

Xvital facepalmed with her tail hand - and wasn’t that a rare sight for him. “Right, I almost forgot about that - Crooked mentioned it the first time we met.”

“Lady Xvital, you know this stallion?” her lead Guard asked.

“You remember my friend Night Blade, right? This is one of his older brothers,” Xvital told him. She turned back to Deep. “And I don’t think Night’s been by to see you since you all dropped by a couple of nights ago…”

“No, I haven’t had the chance to talk with any of my family since then,” he said. “Been meaning to discuss a few things with them.”

Xvital shook her head. “Be ready for a surprise then,” she said. “Night’s on speaking terms with your parents again.”

Deep gave her a look of surprise. “Really? That is a surprise…”

“I hate to interrupt, but we really should go,” the lead Cuanmiztlan guard suddenly spoke up. “We don’t need to be blocking the hallways.”

“Right. Deep, you on your way out now?”

“I was,” Deep said.

“Good. So are we, and we’ll be meeting Rex at the front.”

“Right.” Falling in beside her, Deep glanced back to see the Cadenza Guard sergeant giving him a dirty look, but apparently unwilling to speak on it while her charge was present. “So why is Rex here? He’s your Diamond Dog friend, right?”

“Yes, and he’s interviewing for a position in the Alchemy department,” she told him as they walked. “He’s a real genius with potions, alchemy and spell formulas.”

“And he’s a Diamond Dog,” Deep let out a whistle of amazement, shaking his head. “Never thought I’d see the day.”

“I’d be careful about saying things like that around him,” Xvital warned. “He tends to get a little… irked, to put it mildly, when it comes to people assuming he’s dumb because of his species.”

Deep snorted, shaking his head. “Please, I’m not some idiotic racist pony,” he said, rolling his eyes. “If he can do what he says he can, then it’s enough for me.”

“That’s better than most ponies we’ve met,” Xvital said with a shrug. “So why do you want to see Night? Wouldn’t it be best to let things cool down a bit more?”

“Just wanted to let him know that I found someone to do a proper family portrait for us now,” he said with her giving him an odd look as if it wasn’t the most important thing. With a guilty shrug, he added, “And maybe be a bit of better big brother, I guess.”

“Sorry, you missed him,” Xvital said causing the Guards to share a worried look with each other. “He, Wind and Vix-Lei are off to the Griffish Isles for a few days - your folks let them borrow the family skimmer.” Seeing his face pale, she shook her head. “Vix-Lei’s not driving, I promise - they got your family’s pilot to do it.”

“That’s a relief.” Deep said before snickering. “But I do hope Night continues the family tradition of stealing and crashing it.”

Xvital gave him a look as if that was the most insane thing she had ever heard. The Cadenza sergeant, on the other hoof, just gave a harsher look. “I hope you are aware that I can arrest you for this self admit-”

“Oh come off it,” Deep snorted. “We were all young kids back then and I already got the riot act from my parents when I did it.”

“I will need to check this out, Blade,” Sergeant Summer said, narrowing her eyes. “So do not leave the city or I will issue an all out warrant for your arrest.”

“Geeze, what did you do to her sister?” Xvital asked him.

Deep gave her a look. “If you must know, I have a reputation as something of a playstallion, and there are more than a few mares who are annoyed that I didn’t immediately make them part of my family after one date the way they’d have liked me to,” he said. “To put it tactfully.”

“Then are those you used as Goddess damn booty calls and whom you never called back,” the sergeant hissed at him. “Do you have any idea of how much that hurt my sister?”

“And she couldn’t have remembered that we agreed to keep it casual with no real strings attached?” Deep shot back. “I’m not feeling guilty for nothing and there’s nothing you can do to change that.”

“Dude,” Xvital gave him a flat look. “You might have arranged to keep it casual but you could at leastshow some sympathy.”

“I would if this were the first time I’d had to deal with this sort of thing,” Deep shot back. “I’ve also had a number of so called marefriends try and lure me into marrying them with falsified pregnancy tests over the years. If I meant for a relationship to last, I’d let them know, and I don’t appreciate it when a mare tries to force it on me or gets others to do the same.” Deep then turned to look at the sergeant. “I’m sorry for what happened with your sister, but it was almost seven years ago.”

“...I will need to check this claim of attempted line theft, Deep,” Summer Nights said, looking away from him. “Andthanksfor...youknow.” she muttered under her breath.

“It’s no problem,” he told her before shifting his attention back to Xvital. “So how is your magic coming along?”

“Eh, somewhat better?” Xvital shrugged, looking at her tailhand. “I’m trying the techniques of focusing and imagining a flower but it sometimes works for me, sometimes it doesn’t…”

“Eh, that stuff is just basic general foal stuff,” he said scoffing with his wing. “While I was in Mareis, I briefly dated this teacher who told me about how she helped ponies with Thaumatic Moratis and that just focusing on a flower or a flame wasn’t good enough but it had to matter to the pony in question. Like this banker; she told me that none of the conventional techniques worked until she made it all finance-wise and it just clicked for him.”

“Maybe that can work for me,” Xvital said, tapping her chin.

“What’s the harm in trying?” he said.

“The potential danger is that Xvital will set her bed on fire once more,” another voice chimed in, with a black doberman pinscher diamond dog walking by. “Mister Deep Blade, good to see you under happier circumstances.”

“You must be Rex,” Deep said, shaking his paw. “And judging by the fact you have a trail of students following you from the distance and it is roughly the time classes let out, I’m going to guess you did a good job in impressing people?”

“I very much think so,” Rex replied with a smile on his face before looking back at the students trailing behind them that were being blocked by the Guards. “Very much so.”

“As do I, Mister Rex,” Polished Spring said from behind them, causing Deep to jump a bit. She was almost like a chan-Oooo! “I do believe we may have a place for you here yet, Mister Rex.”

“That is all I have ever dreamed of ma’am,” Rex said with utter joy in his voice with Xvital looking very happy for him. “I eagerly await your final decision.”

“I doubt it will be a long wait, Mister Rex,” Polished Spring said. She then turned to face Deep and tipped her head. “Mister Blade.”

“Ma’am,” he said politely. He and Clean Canvas weren’t on the best of terms right now and it wouldn’t help if he were to annoy another one.

Polished Spring then turned her attention to Xvital and gave a more respectful bow to the ahuizotless. “Qu-”

“Oye, oye!” Xvital said pushing herself upright. “Please, just call me ma’am or something… just not thatright now. Please?”

The mare smirked and called her as such, though Deep was curious to what the dean was about to say. But with that, the dean was gone and Deep could ask the-

“Deep, there you are.” Snapping his head to the side, he saw Emerald Forte coming up to them, shaking her long Prance mane. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”

“I’m sorry, I just-”

“Did he do anything wrong,” she said, using her magic to push his lips together, looking straight at the Guards.

“Y-”

“No madamleze,” the ahuizotl said, shaking his head. “Simply escorting our charges out of the Academy and we crossed paths.”

She let out a sigh of relief, before turning to face him. “You were going out of your way to avoid Clean Canvas, qui?”

“Yes, I’m not going to poke that frigid bear,” he grumbled before he turned to face the diamond dog and ahuizotless. “Excuse me, but you said you two were heading to the Great Libra- wait, is it Great or Grand Library?” He turned to ask Emerald, though why, as she was from Prance and not Canterlot, was beyond him. The look she was giving him said she was thinking the same thing.

Both Xvital and Rex were sharing confused looks and then Rex said, “We could ask Page when we see her. I’ve personally heard her call it by both terms though.”

“Speaking of visiting the Library, do you think you could get us in?” Deep asked with Emerald giving him one of her wary and tired looks to whenever he got inspired by something new. “I know it’s under lockdown with all those changelings in there but I would love to get in there.”

“Pourquoi?” Emerald asked him with Deep rolling his eyes.

“Beyond finding the perfect model that can change their shape at ease, mon petite rose,” he said with Emerald giving him a flat look. “How good would it be for me to start my new series; the rebirth of the Fourth Tribe.” Already, ideas were flowing through his head and he was itching to get out his tools to start sketching and painting.

“Hmmm,” Emerald said tapping her chain. “Très bein, qui. But,” she said sharply. “You do it for the Fourth Tribe, Deep.”

“Of course,” he snorted before rethinking what he had just said. “You knew what I meant when I said it would be good for me, Emerald.”

“Just making sure,” she flicked her tail. “We do not need repeats of the past when you failed to think clearly, qui?”

Rolling his eyes, he reached out a wing to hug her. “But if I did that, then what would youdo, my dear lawyer?”

“Have an easier time sleeping at night and not worrying to find out that you got yourself arrested again.” she said shaking off his wing with a huff.

“I’m going to guess that comment about you being a playstallion is more to be in the past tense?” Xvital said with a smirk.

“Sadly, no,” Emerald sighed. “The times I had to go to collect to find some mare passed out on the couch…” She shook her head and muttered a curse under her breath.

“Hey, I’ve gotten a lot better since I’ve come home,” Deep fired back.

“Mostly as you couldn't get away with it here,” Emerald said.

“Eh, true enough but come on,” he protested as they left the Academy.

“You two must be one of the oddest couples I’ve ever seen,” Xvital said with a chuckle as they walked.

“Wha-us? A couple? You’ve got to be kidding!” Deep exclaimed. “We’d drive one another crazy in no time!”

“He drives me crazy now,” she snorted with laughter as Deep gave her a hurt look. “No offense, of course.”

“Some taken,” he said with a bit of stiff lip. “I’m not that bad, Emerald.”

“If you say so,” she said, shaking her head before looking back at the Guards. “Will it be capable for my client to visit the Great Library?”

“Client?” Rex asked, raising an eyebrow.

“She’s my personal lawyer and legal adviser,” Deep said with a shrug before looking at Sergeant Summer, who was talking into her helmet.

“Well mister Blade,” she said after she was finished speaking to whoever she was talking to. “You seem to have enough clearance for the moment, provided that the commander of the Hidden Guards does not revoke it for significant reasons.”

“Thank-” he began only for Emerald to step in front of him.

“He will be on his best behaviour,” she said, giving a look over her shoulder and Deep could begin to see where Xvital got the idea that they were a couple.

“See that he does, ma’am,” the ahuizotl sergeant said before looking at Xvital. “Speaking of, your agenda is clear at the moment so you are also free to attend.”

The ahuizotless bristled at being directed around like that but she didn’t say anything and thanked him.

“Well then,” Deep said turning around and beginning to walk into the confusing streets of his home. “Let’s go.”

It had taken roughly ten minutes with a few of the local Guards complaining about the route he was taking but Deep knew that this way was the least crowded way to the Great Library and it had a few of the more artistic buildings that had him itching to grab his sketching book out of his satchel and start drawing. If it wasn’t for Emerald coughing at him when his wing began to drop, he would more than likely have done it.

Finally, they entered the courtyard of the Library and among the public Guards, Deep could spot all the extras hanging around in the various shops and kiosks around the library; they were obvious with how they were looking about and not like they belonged to what they were doing.

His eyes went towards the statute of the Magi of Stars and briefly studied the curves the artists used to accentuate her figure before he joined the rest of the entourage in going up into the Library with a yellow coated unicorn waiting for them.

“Rex, Xvital, how are you two,” the mare asked, running down to them and Deep realized where he had seen her before - she’d been part of the group when he and the rest of his siblings had all gone to see Night that one evening. “And Deep,” she said as she looked at him, standing next to her friends.

“Miss Turner,” he said, taking her hoof and giving it a polite kiss. “How are you this fine day?” He could practically feel Emerald’s gaze burning into the back of his neck.

“Much better, now that a certain matter has been dealt with,” she said. “What brings you here, mister Blade?”

“Please, call me Deep,” he said in his most soothing voice. “You’re one of my brother’s female friends, after all, so while I lack any embarrassing stories to tell you, it falls to me be overwhelming and friendly to drive him nuts.”

“I’m not sure that’s very smart or safe,” Sergeant Summer said. “Miss Turner is, after all-”

He was cut off when Page raised a hoof. “Thank you, but I believe it is my duty to inform him of that particular detail, assuming he doesn’t know already.”

Deep looked at her in confusion. “Inform me of what?”

“Deep,” Page said as she looked at him. “I’m more than just your younger brother’s friend.” She leaned in close. “I’m his marefriend.”

Deep stared at her in surprise. “Wait, what? When-how in Equestria did that happen?”

“It’s something of a complicated story, and I’d rather we all went inside before I shared it,” Page told him. “Follow me, everypony.” With that, she turned and led them inside, heading for the Library’s main floor.

Deep looked around, his eyes wide at the inside of the building. “This is wonderful,” he said in awe.

Page smiled. “Thank you.”

“Seriously, I would love to know more about the architecture here,” he said. “I’ve always been inspired by beauty, both natural and artistic design, and I see plenty of it here in this Library. It’s just so magnificent.” He then noticed those working in the Library of all different species, including those of the Fourth tribe. Unfurling his wings to get a better vantage point, he quickly landed on top of a bookcase and took out his sketch book to begin to draw when he heard Emerald coughing. Blinking, he turned to see her glaring up at him and shaking her head but before she could lecture him, Page was giggling out something else.

“That is just precious,” she said, holding a hoof to her lips. “Night, your brother, tends to use that spot as a roost when he visits me.”

Emerald looked amused at this. “You don’t say,” she remarked. “By the way, I’m Emerald Forte. I’m Deep’s lawyer and legal consultant.”

“Oh?” Page turned to her. “Nice to meet you.”

“And you as well,” Emerald replied. “Night must really be something if you fell for him - I haven’t really met him myself, I’ve just seen and heard other’s reactions to him. And other ponies’ reactions to those reactions.”

Deep gave her a look, but said nothing and focused on his sketches.

“He is something,” Page agreed. “Come on, we’ve still got some ways to go.”

“Oh?” Deep asked, tilting his head.

“You want to see more of the Library, right?” Page asked before tilting her head. “So please, come along, Deep.”

Nodding his head, he stowed his book back into his bag and flew back down, giving her a look over before tapping his chin. “I wonder…”

“Excuse me?” Page asked, turning to face him.

“There is this thing I did for Crooked, my older brother,” Deep said with Emerald watching him. “Well more as an anniversary gift with his wife for their anniversary.”

“Which is?” a rather tall and somewhat actually threatening looking changeling guard asked him, with an elderly looking griffoness dressed in the garb of matron of Library at the guard’s side.

“Well, mister-”

“Sound Record, commander of the Hidden Guards,” the Guard said with the griffonness placing a talon on his arm. “This is Matron Hush Tone of the Library.”

“I can handle this,” Page said to the Guard before looking back at Deep. “As you were saying?”

“Miss Page,” Record began only for Page and another changeling Guard, a smaller nymph, to stare at him. The nymph gave Page a comforting looking before turning to face the commander who seemed to fume at her but nothing was actually spoken. Then again, changelings were said to have a mindhive and wasn’t this Page Turner herself a changeling? “I’m sorry, miss Page, Lieutenant Ruby,” he tipped his head towards both of them and took a step backwards while still glaring at him.

“Thank you, Record,” Page narrowed her eyes at the Guard only to wilt slightly as Hush Tone gave her a disapproving look for her tone. “You were saying mister Blade?”

“Deep; you are dating my brother and I was trying to say that I can give Night a rather nice gift with your help,” he said, walking over to her and whispering into her ear.

Taking a step back, Deep could see how eager she was for that idea of his- her eyes wide and her tail swishing behind her. “I would love to help you with it.”

“That’s what Soft Breeze said,” Deep said with a shrug and a grin on his face. “And I have it on good authority that Crooked liked the results, even if he was a little annoyed at me for a while.”

“Now I’m curious to what you’re agreeing to Page,” Xvital said with a grin on her face.

“You’ll see if Night feels willing to share,” Deep said with a shrug.

“I stronglydoubt Night will be willing to share,” Page said, still grinning from ear to ear. “When can we do this?”

“Excuse me,” Emerald said, walking up next to Deep. “But am I to guess that this is similar to what you did for their fifth anniversary?”

“Qui, mon-”

“Shush,” she shushed him before looking at Page. “Are you sure of this; if this Night of yours ever lets this out, the public reaction-”

“Please, I thank you for your concern but I trust that Night will enjoy this and he would never let this out to the public,” Page said to her.

“Well then, enjoy being part of his most private models then,” Emerald said with Rex raising an eyebrow.

“I thought as being you as you are, that you would be opposed to being a model,” the diamond dog said.

“Well, yes,” Page said, looking at her hooves. “But this is for Night and I’m being me, not as my changeling self.” That comment got all the changelings he could spot to frown for some reason and Deep took a step forwards.

“Well for my models, miss Turner, I prefer that they be as natural as they can be as well as comfortable too,”Deep said, with the Guards still looking heavy at him. “If you wish to be as you are now, that is fine but…” he paused, tilting his head and stroking his beard wondering if he could swing this. “I am sure you are aware that there is currently no positive artwork of your Tribe. Perhaps this could change?” He then turned to face the lieutenant and matron, both of who were obviously in charge. “Would it be acceptable for me to bring my art class here as to help amend that?”

“I think you would need to clear it with Dean Clean Canvas first,” Emerald said.

“Oh right,” Deep frowned and flicked out his wings but only to blink as a flash of green flame went over Page Turner and revealed her nymph form, looking subtly different compared to the lieutenant.

“I...” Page took a deep breath of air before steeling herself. “I need to get more comfortable being like this so can be a start,” she said with her wings buzzing rather cutely. “So when can we arrange for this… painting to be done, Deep?”

“I believe my schedule isn’t that booked up; Emerald?” Deep turned his head towards the unicorn who nodded her head.

“Your next few days are clear, if you choose to avoid Dean Clean Canvas more,” Emerald said, pocketing the book that held his itinerary into her saddlebag that he had brought her several years ago as a birthday gift.

“Then it is fine,” Page said, her wings still flicking about and he could tell it was her nervous tic. She then turned to face Rex and Xvital, changing back to her unicorn self. “So, how were your days?”

“I’m learning some more control with my magic,” Xvital said with a shrug. “I still have a long way before I’m anywhere good as you are.”

“You are still just learning something I have had years of practice as well as my hive to support me,” Page said, placing a hoof on her shoulder.

“I know, but still,” she shrugged. “It’s just such a pain…”

“You will achieve it one day,” Rex said, patting her on the arm. “As for myself, I had my interview today and I believe I did fairly well.”

“That’s wonderful,” Page said, pulling him into a hug. “I hope you get it.”

“As do I,” Rex said returning the hug with his tail wagging behind him.

“We all do,” Xvital added. “He says that Rex has good shot at it.” She gestured to Deep with her tail hand which caused a bit of flames to flicker into existence. Jumping backwards, Deep smacked at his chin only for Emerald's magic to engulf his face.

“Are you okay, Deep?” she asked him as she leaned in close to his face with the ahuizotless
looking very worried.

“Wouldn’t be the first time some mare tried to set me on fire,” Deep said wincing as Emerald lifted a mirror to his face. “Or even the first time they did it by accident.”

Page raised an eyebrow at this, and shook her head. “I’m not sure I even want to know.”

“Some mares just don’t accept that I’m not interested in dating them,” he said as he examined his chin. “Damn, it took me so long to grow this out too…” he muttered. “But like I said, Xvital, you’re far from the first to set me on fire by accident, so I’m not upset with you for it.”

Xvital breathed a sigh of relief. “I am sorry though…”

“It’s fine,” he said, tilting his head to the side and letting out a sigh, knowing he would need to shave to clear off the patches on his chin, deal with the bald spot and all the questions that would come about it. “Got a new story from it at the very least.”

“You’re very casual about this,” Page said, raising an eyebrow.

“What’s a little bit of fire from beautiful ladies,” Deep said, putting on his best airs as he lifted Xvital’s tailhand to his lips for a kiss.

“Remind me never to leave you alone with Vix-Lei,” Xvital said, pulling her tail back. “And may I remind you, or inform you in case you didn’t know, that I’m engaged?”

Deep withdrew. “In that case, my apologies for being so forward, and my congratulations to the stallion in question. I may have quite the reputation, but if a woman is already claimed, I will back down.”

“Claimed?” Xvital repeated with a raised eyebrow.

“You know what I mean,” Deep said with a sigh. “I won’t knowingly flirt with a woman who’s officially dating, engaged or married to somepony else. Or some non-pony, as the case may be.”

“Good policy,” Xvital told him. “I’m pretty sure that they wouldn’t be too pleased if you tried something and they’re not even our elites.” She gestured to the ahuizotl guards who seemed to be mildly annoyed with him.

“Your elites, the Shorn right?” he said, remembering all those boring soldier games that Crooked had forced him to play with him when they were younger. “They’re even stricter than our Royal Guards if I remember correctly.”

“Si,” the Cuanmiztlan sergeant said and leaned in close. “And her fiance, the prince-king, will appreciate your discretion.”

“So you’re that Xvital,” he said, eyes widening a bit. “I had heard that your wedding dress was specially ordered from the finest dress makes in all of Prance, though that was several years ago.”

“Yeah…” she said with a blush on her face. “First time around my mother-in-law to be kinda scared me off…” She then sighed. “Which reminds me that I will need a new one now for when we finally settle on a date and place.”

“And we can’t wait for it,” Page said with a smile.

“I have already began to look around for proper suits for the day,” Rex said.

“Anything like the… other one?” Page asked causing Deep to raise an eyebrow at the odd comment.

“Well, I am hoping to find a vest of a similar style, at the very least,” Rex replied. “I wish I could have kept the original.”

“Well maybe I can help,” Deep said stroking his chin only to remember it was still semi sore. “I do have good connections and I am part of a rather rich family.”

“I kinda forget that at times,” Xvital said. “Night doesn’t really flaunt it at all.”

“Nor does Deep,” Emerald said with a shrug. “I have met most of his family with exception to Night and they’re mostly modest about their wealth.”

“That’s how we were raised,” Deep added. “Though Crooked really went out of the way to impress Soft Breeze before he kinda wised up and did things right.”

“I dread to think to what you will do for when you find the quote unquote right mare,” Emerald said with a shudder.

“I’m curious Xvital; what did Tizoc do impress you?” Page asked with Xvital just blushing.

“Now that’s a story,” she said as they walked deeper into the Library.

Chapter Nineteen: Violet Lulamoon, Xvital, Vix-Lei, Clear Back

Chapter Nineteen

Violet Lulamoon

The morning after the announcement of the Hatchery’s dissolution, the skies were bright and clear, and the Captain of the Magi-Of-Stars Guards was contentedly working in her kitchen, happy to have at least some of the recent matters cleared up when she heard the door open and a familiar voice said, “Hi, Violet!”

“Hello yourself, Weird Beard,” Violet returned, her casual use of the old nickname showing that she was in good spirits. “I might have known you’d show up when there was food.”

Her red-maned and red-bearded lieutenant stuck his tongue out. “You know I can’t cook worth a hill of beans, oh Enchantrix, and I’d rather have one of your home-cooked meals than anything prepared by most of the so-called professionals out there. Plus, you don’t like to eat alone.” He settled in at the table. “So tell me, how goes the writing?”

“Pretty well, I’d say,” Violet told him as she checked her cooling tray. “I have it all outlined, I’ve just been going over the third chapter and I think it’s about done.” She shook her head. “You know, when I had that first one published, I wasn’t expecting ponies to ask when I was going to write more. Goddesses only know I don’t have nearly as much time as I’d like to focus on it, especially these days.”

“It’s what you get for doing such a good job on your college dissertation,” Lunar Light returned. “The professors were the ones who insisted that it go to print, after all.” He suddenly turned more serious. “Speaking of these days, any idea when our usual boss is coming back?”

Violet sighed as she dumped her first tray of popovers into a bowl on the table. “I really don’t know yet,” she said. “Personally, I think there’s something funny going on out there… they didn’t give you or me any troubles when there were those crazy rumors going about that we were a couple.”

Lunar Light snorted. “Probably because they know I haven’t been looking for anypony ever since that one girl jilted me and broke my heart; that’s why I signed up for the Guard in the first place, so I’d have something to focus on instead.”

“And then you wound up as my second, despite insisting you were more of a parlor magician who was really only good with illusions,” Violet said. “I’ve seen what you can pull off when you really want to.” She sighed. “But I know the feeling; after my husband died young, I threw myself into my work too. Still, I have to wonder…” She turned back to the second oven to check the timer on that batch. “Especially with what Sweet told us yesterday, about what she saw over there. I think we’d better keep an eye out.”

“Quite.” Lunar Light munched on his first popover for a moment before he continued speaking. “Ensuring that the rules are followed is one thing, but threatening one of us over a non-Guard spouse is pushing it.”

“Yes…” Violet frowned, before her eyes narrowed. “Which reminds me, we still haven’t met Sweet’s spouses. Hopefully, once all this mess is done with, we can all get together.”

“I agree,” Lunar Light said. “It would be nice to get to know the stallion and mare who stole our friend’s heart. And in my case, Captain Gaze - I don’t think I’ve ever knowingly crossed his path since he first revealed himself.”

“Another thing to remedy then,” Violet said. “Speaking of remedies, have you remedied the upstairs of your house yet? All that junk that was still there when you moved in...”

“It is not junk, it’s antiques,” Lunar Light said in a dignified tone. “At least, some of it is. And no, I haven’t yet.”

“Better get to work on it then, Weird Beard.”

“I will when I have a good reason, Doll Face.”

“Such as?”

“If I ever have serious reason to suspect that the old owner left something that would fall under your area of expertise.”

Violet shook her head. “You know, that top floor of yours is as big a mess as Sweet’s office.”

“Not possible,” Lunar Light said solemnly. “Nothing is as big a mess as Sweet’s office.”

Violet looked at him for a moment before laughing. “Okay, you’ve got me there.”

“Of course I do,” Lunar Light said with a smirk. “I’m the one who had half the junk on her desk get thrown at him when I misjudged a teleport and she mistook me for a would-be attacker that one day.” He chuckled. “I still remember the look on her face when she realized what she’d done and who I was…”

“You were rather frazzled-looking after bouncing off my wards and getting knocked clean across the city,” Violet returned. “It’s no wonder she thought you were hostile at first.”

Lunar Light chuckled again. “Ah, the memories…”

“Quite.” Violet pulled the second pan out and began venting the popovers. “Now, hurry up - we really do need to get to work soon.”

Lunar Light gave her an indignant look. “I am, I am.”

Setting the second pan aside, Violet helped herself to one of the first batch. But as she ate, she couldn’t help but wonder… her sixth sense was tingling, and she had a feeling that something big was on its way.

Xvital

Page led them to a more private dining hall, thought Xvital was sure that there had to be some of Page’s guards hiding in the room. Ruby and Sound Record had departed with the griffon matron, all of them having been called off to take care of some other matters, but the Cadenza Guard had remained, keeping an eye on them and her Cuanmiztlan bodyguard.

“I don’t think I’ve really told anyone how we met,” Xvital said as they settled in, pulling her tail around her waist.

“So how did it go, miss Xvital?” Night’s brother asked, with his eyes looking over the room.

“Well, I believe that Page will like it as we met in a library,” Xvital’s grin grew as she saw Page’s eyes light up before the ahuizotless began to blush. “I was… practicing my calligraphy skills, shall we say, when a certain someone came into the library and sat next to me. He told me that he was trying to avoid some hassle and would try to be quiet. I was doing my best to ignore him but he kept bothering me until I finally realized who it was when he finally left me alone. Tizoc has never let me live it down,” she groaned as she heard her friends begin to laugh. “The next day when I went back, he was there and offered me a job as a scribe for his mother as a pretense for us to keep meeting.” She shook her head. “Chantico was a pain in the ass from the start, even if she wasn’t vocal about it, and not just to me. She’d always treated any females who worked in the palace without any noble blood like they were less than nothing, from what I heard and I saw. But getting to spend time with Tizoc made it well worth it.” Xvital grinned, remembering the time they had snuck off for a good few hours to enjoy themselves before sighing. “Of course, it would have been better if I’d known that he knew about my background from the start, but considering how things worked out in the long run…”

“You’re back together now though, and that’s what’s important,” Page said. “And you have us too.”

“But wasn’t he engaged back then to another woman?” Deep asked, causing everyone to stare at him and then at Xvital.

“Yes and no…” she said, scratching the back of her head with a blush on her face. “I found out a bit later on that he’d been set up with another woman for a while at that point, but their engagement had yet to be formalized. I wasn’t really in a position to leave then, and of course I couldn’t bring myself to make a huge stink about it, what with me being a commoner and her being a noble and all. The thing is, Itotia was actually very friendly to me back when we first met, and we spent a lot of time together when Tizzy was preoccupied with work and Chantico didn’t need me. And… apparently, he and I weren’t so good at hiding our relationship as she figured out that I had better chemistry with him than she did. When Tizoc made his official proposal to me instead of her, she was happy for us, and she was the first one to congratulate us over it, both publicly and privately.”

Page smiled. “That’s good, that she supported you.”

“Yeah…” Xvital pursed her lips. “Of course, Chantico was furious, since she’d apparently been pushing Itotia as a candidate for some reason or another, but other than that glare she threw my way when she saw us, she never said anything in public. Even after she came to me on our wedding day and told me what she knew about my past so I’d take off, she didn’t make a big deal about it to anyone else. I grabbed a local newspaper the next day, and according to it, all she said afterward was that if I ran off, I must not have been a suitable match for him after all.”

“What, exactly, did she know about your past?” Deep asked curiously and clearly not meaning anything by it but this was getting too close for her.

“No offense, but I’d rather not talk about that,” Xvital said with a sigh. “It’s over and done with, unless there’s some kind of an emergency, and I highly doubt that kind of thing will ever come up again.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Deep said. “One thing I learned in Mareis is that any talent can find itself called for under the right circumstances, no matter how strange it may be.”

“Oui,” Emerald commented. “One of his fellow artistes had to call on a stallion who, shall we say, did a very good impression of a certain mare in order to provide a distraction for him this one time, so he could sneak another mare out of his home.”

Several eyes widened in surprise, before Xvital decided to change the subject. “So. You’ve been working for him long?” she asked Emerald.

“Oh it has been several years now, madam,” the mare said with a start, a faint blush on her face. “Sometimes Deep provides me with a challenge, qui, but it has made my life far more interesting.”

“Oh?” Page asked, leaning close with a seemingly predatory look on her face for gossip. “How so?” Xvital turned her head in time to see Deep pale, no doubt aware of what Page was trying to do and by how Rex’s tail was wagging, so was he.

Thankfully for him, Emerald was also aware and replied, “Sorry, client privileges prevent me from giving any juicy details, ma chère.” Page pouted playfully at that with some good natured laughter following. Page then tilted her head before she stood up with a faint blush on her face.

“Sorry everyone,” Page said as her eyes fell to the door. “They kind of need me in the kitchen to help prepare some meals; Xvital will you come and help me please?”

“I’m really not that great in the kitchen,” Xvital protested. “I don’t want to mess up your work.”

Page gave her a glance. “Oh really? I remember you made that excellent dish when we were out in the Everfree. Pozole, right?”

Xvital hesitated. “Yeah, okay. But that’s really all I can fix, since it’s pretty much just boiling and seasoning existing ingredients - and even then I’m not perfect, since I use dried meat in it instead of fresh, when I’m not making the vegetarian version. Anything more complicated, I’m lousy at.”

“Xvital,” Page said with a look on her face. “What you’ve just said proves that you’re much better at this than you’re willing to admit to yourself.”

Xvital looked back at her, and then sighed. “And here I thought Wind was the Element of Honesty. Okay, so I can do some decent cooking. Just don’t ask me to bake, because that I really am bad at.”

Page gave her a friendly smile. “All right. But seriously, can you help me with this?”

“Sure thing.”

Page beamed up at her before turning to Night’s brother. “I hope to hear from you soon, Mister Blade-”

“It’s Deep; you’re dating my little brother and might one day be my sister,” Deep said as he walked over to her to pull her into a hug that surprised her and, judging by the buzzing that was suddenly very loud in the library, the hive as well. “I don’t hope you or Night will read anything into it if I come back to visit you?”

“Oh no, I don’t think that will be an issue,” Page said with a smile on her face that grew with her tail swishing behind her. “You do need to do that painting of me for Night, after all.”

Deep chuckled and nodded his head. “I will see you soon then, Page.”

Page nodded her head again before looking at Xvital, gesturing for her to follow her out of the room.

The ahuizotless stepped into the hallway with Page giving her a look. “What’s-”

“They’re… they are safe,” Page struggled to say, her lips twisting as if she’d eaten something sour. “One of my changelings snuck aboard the ship to keep an eye on them and… well...”

“What happened, did they find Wind’s family?” Xvital asked.

“Not really,” Page shook her head, looking off to the side, trotting agitatedly. “But they have a lead, which is good.”

“What’s wrong Page?” Xvital asked as she bent down to look her friend in the face.

“It’s Night, his wing… it’s not as healed up as we thought it was.”

Xvital had already pulled her in close before she asked, “How bad?”

“He can’t fly again until they’re sure it’s all better. And that probably won’t be until after he and the others are back here.” Page’s eyes narrowed. “For all that they helped us, I am going to have words with the Questioning Order, if we can find any survivors, for not making sure it was fully healed before they dropped us off.”

“And in a country where almost everyone flies…” Xvital shook her head. “That’s going to be rough on him. But he’s got Wind and Vix-Lei with him, they should be able to keep him out of trouble.”

“I hope so,” Page nuzzled her before she repeated herself.

Vix-Lei

“Come on guys,” Vix-Lei said, slapping Wind on the back as Night left the doc’s office. “Let’s get some shuteye.”

“Seriously?” Night raised an eyebrow at her, holding his wing carefully in its brace. “You want to go to bed early? I mean, I am not one for meeting new people really but I would think that being in a new place would have you wanting to explore everything.”

“Oh don’t get me wrong, Nighty, I’d love to explore this place but one, you aren’t in any shape to party and Wind isn’t in the mindset for it right now either. Two, Wind here needs to be careful not to eat until after his appointment in the morning, so taking him out right now ain’t too smart. Three, if you guys hadn't noticed, this place ain’t really built for those who can’t flap around,” Vix-Lei demonstrated by bending her arms and started to flap them.

Both of the males snorted which meant she was helping them relax. “Still,” Wind said with his talons digging into the ground. “If you guys do want to go out, please don’t stop on my b-”

“Wind, as my friend,” Night said, placing a hoof on his shoulder. “Don’t be a stubborn idiot and don’t think we are one either.” Night then frowned and brought his good wing into the air as if he were going over what he had just said to make sure it was good. Vix-Lei was doing the same in her head and she could tell Wind was doing it too. “It’s all three of us, or none of us. Neither Vix-Lei nor myself is about to just go have fun on our own and leave you at the hotel by yourself.”

“Night, look-” Wind began to protest until Vix-Lei placed a hand on his shoulder.

“No, he said it fine,” she said. “We’re going to stick together while we’re here. If you want to do otherwise, just get by me first.” Wind looked up at her before blinking and shaking his head. “Thought so.”

“You seem very practiced at this, Vix-Lei,” Night said as they walked out of the hospital.

“What can I say; seven little brothers gives a girl a lot of practice herding stubborn guys,” Vix-Lei shrugged her shoulders. “To be honest, you guys aren’t that tough to deal with. Especially compared to Yanni, when he was just a calf. His fashion sense may be odd now, but at least we don’t have to fight to get him to wear clothes anymore, like we did when he was little.”

Wind arched an eyebrow at her, and she shrugged. “It was like trying to dress a seapony - we could get him by one arm, and he’d be slipping out the other side. I was so glad when he grew out of that.”

Wind snickered at that. “Though he could just be copying his big sister?”

Vix-Lei sighed, tilting her head to the side. “Yeah, that was a bit of an issue as I wasn’t one to wear tops.”

“What is the deal with that, anyways?” Wind asked as he tilted his head upward. “I mean, I know that some ponies wear clothes for fancy events and that we had to dress up to serve the but you guys…”

“Well, our privates down there kinda do need to stay private but above the waist…” Vix-Lei placed her hand above her skirt. “Due to ponies and other four legged walkers, this isn’t usually viewed as a sexual zone these days.” Vix-Lei tilted her head. “It used to be though, and there’s a movement to kinda ‘civilize’ our race again. In their eyes, at least, that means full covering for the girls.”

“And I guess your mother is part of the movement?” Night asked as he made his way down the steps. The streets were really wonky, with ridges raising up at random to the point where those who didn’t have wings couldn't readily get around. Just a real pain in the ass.

“You guessed it,” Vix-Lei said. “She’s always been kind of… old-fashioned, shall we say. I think she got it from her own parents, from what little she’s ever said about them. I never got to meet them myself - they both passed before I was born,” she added.

“Ah.” Night nodded. “I never knew mine either, for the same reason.” Night seemed to frown at that but he cheered up for what passed for content Night levels.

“I might be meeting mine,” Wind said softly, causing Vix-Lei and Night to turn back to their friend. “Gordon, that griffon I had to meet earlier, told me he might have a lead for where my mother is.”

“That’s wonderful!” Vix-Lei squealed, picking him up and hugging him tightly. Blinking as she took in his soft coat, Vix-Lei began to register that the loud squeak had come from Wind and that she was causing a scene again.

Night was hissing upwards, much to the surprise of the griffons flying above, but not at them per se. She could see he had flared his wings when she startled everyone, and winced at the prospect that she might have caused him to injure his wing again.

Blushing, she placed Wind down but gave him a good solid pat on the back. “Sorry about all that, but I’m glad to hear the good news. Do you know who they are?”

“Not yet; just where my mother and her family might be,” he said before he began to chew on something in his mouth.

“Tell us where are they and I will have our skimmer set a course for it for after your test tomorrow,” Night said immediately.

Wind shook his head. “Already asked about that. Gordon said there wasn’t a dock up there.”

“So how long is it by foot?” Night asked, narrowing his eyes.

“A few kilometers, he said. But the road isn’t that well maintained.”

“We did worse before guys, so it shouldn’t be that bad,” Vix-Lei said, trying to cheer them up despite knowing how long it would be and how bad it could be if Wind dwelled on meeting his possible family. “So do you know anything about them?”

“Well, she has the same eyes as I do, and apparently it’s a family trait,” Wind said. “And she was unmarried when she dropped her kid off… didn’t want to disgrace the family for having a kid out of wedlock.”

Vix-Lei snorted in disgust. “That’s absurd. We’d never have put up with that kind of thing back home. There, you’re disgraced if you have a kid out of wedlock and don’t take care of them.”

“You mean, you don’t have any orphanages there?” Night asked as the trio started walking.

“We have them, but they’re for kids who don’t have any surviving relatives, at least none we can find,” Vix-Lei answered. “It’s not that common, but it happens from time to time. If their parents aren’t able to raise the kids, the authorities do their best to find other blood relatives to raise them, and if they can’t, they find sometaur who might not be related, but is still willing to watch over them, which isn’t very hard.” She arched an eyebrow. “Family is one of those things that’s very important to my people.”

“That’s something you have over us ponies,” Night said before looking back at Wind. “Anything else?”

“Yeah, her dad was governor of the city we’re going to, which is another reason she didn’t want to disgrace him.”

“That could cause…” Night began before he started to cough loudly to hide what he was saying but it was clear that Wind heard him by the glare the griffon gave him.

“You don’t think I’m aware of all the issues that can come from finding my family?” Wind asked sharply.

Night sighed. “Yes, I am aware, but need I remind you that you’re not the only one here who has trouble with speaking before he thinks? I meant no offense, I promise.”

Wind glowered for a moment, before sighing. “Yeah, you’re right.”

“But Night has a point,” Vix-Lei said sighing. “We don’t know anything about her or possible family. I don’t want to see you getting your hopes dashed if things don’t turn out as exactly as you hope.”

“We’ll see.” Wind sighed. “Right now though, this is my only lead… if it doesn’t pan out, I don’t know what I’ll do.”

“Even if you can’t find any blood family, you’ll always have us,” Night said as they reached the hotel. “We’re friends, remember? Even if we have our rough patches.”

Wind smiled at that. “Yeah.” Vix-Lei was relieved but she could see that he was straining that smile and chewing harder on whatever was in his mouth. A moment later, she realized what it must be, and made a mental note to herself to remind him to ditch the gum before he went to bed.

Clear Back

Clear Back took a deep breath as he kept moving through the streets, more than a few newspapers ensconced in his saddlebags.

He still found it hard to believe all that he’d learned since he’d arrived here. Celestia’s Order being in open rebellion, for one, along with many of the citizens. He’d half-wondered if the Champion of Chaos had had something to do with this, but then the other news had come in about the timing of the rebellion and other events, and he shivered.

That that thing had somehow resurfaced - oh, he saw they were just calling it a “spirit”, but he knew how to read between the lines - in Canterlot, after the rebellion began, was something that sent even worse chills down his spine. That it had been defeated by a group wielding the powers of Celestia’s student and her friends brought immense relief, but still, it explained a lot about what was happening back at the outpost. The chaos alone from that event would have played a big part in the awakening that he needed to report.

Shaking his head, he moved on. He had to find somepony to talk to about this, and soon. The new bearers needed to know what was coming.

Chapter Twenty: Blazen Sun, Night Blade, Page Turner

Chapter Twenty

Blazen Sun

The morning after the announcement of the Hatchery's dissolution...

In an instant, Blazen Sun's eyes opened wide, and he rolled over in time to see the first rays of sunlight coming over the horizon.

As far back as he could remember, the oldest of the Guard Captains had always risen with the sun, and it was this habit which had led to his applying for the Celestia Guard once he was old enough. He had taken an official and previously unplanned multi-day leave of absence only twice in his career, the first for his wedding and honeymoon to his seapony wife Coral, and the second years later so he could be by her side in her last few days. He had adored her, and when she had passed he had devoted himself to his Guard duties and to the rest of his family; even before his marriage, he'd had a reputation for treating mares and children well and expecting the same of his Guards. Still, he mused as he rolled out of bed and began his morning preparations, all of them know better than to disturb me at this hour. It was one of the reasons he still maintained his own home, so he could do what he did in private.

Breathing deeply as he began his daily meditations, the most spiritual of the six Captains let himself be at peace and calm. Finally, he reached within himself to the core of his magic, not just at the base of his horn where the physical carbuncle lay but all throughout his body. He felt the energy flowing, the inner fire and drive to protect that still kept him going after all these years, and remembered how it had felt the first time he had gained this level of contact with his magic.

He had remained in this position for some time, as per his usual routine, when he felt it.

Something on the outer edges of his consciousness. Something he'd felt in the past, just the barest of touches then and now as he meditated. Yet he knew, in his heart of hearts, it was not a physical presence in his quarters, but something so much... more.

Breathing deeply, he tried to reach out to the something in return, yet as always it withdrew, though not without leaving a sensation of warmth and peace where it had been.

Withdrawing, Blazen Sun smiled behind closed eyes. Whatever this force was, it was not something he feared. He rejoiced at these brief moments of contact, and looked forward to the day when they finally met in person.

An hour later, his meditations complete and his breakfast consumed, Blazen Sun walked into his Guard office, and Steady Lance immediately rose from his desk and saluted him.

"Morning, sir," he said. "Things are calming outside, but still wild enough that Captains Lulamoon, Wall and Surprise are all out keeping an eye on matters directly. I was just waiting for you before I went to join them."

"Good to know, lieutenant." Blazen Sun looked directly at him. "And Captain Gaze?"

"Reported in that he had something to take care of personally this morning, but all is well with his Guard."

"Good." Blazen Sun gave him a nod. "Dismissed."

Steady Lance saluted and left the office, leaving Blazen Sun to head for the Captain's Room and another day of coordinating things.

Night Blade

In the Griffish Isles, the day after their arrival...

Night Blade groaned as he felt the sun on his face, and turned over in the bed he'd gotten last night. Then he felt a finger against the tip of his ear, and grimaced.

"Up and at 'em, Nighty," Vix-Lei's voice came from behind. "Big day today."

Night Blade just groaned again.

"I have a foghorn and I'm not afraid to use it."

Night immediately sat bolt upright. "You wouldn't," he hissed.

"No, but it got you moving, didn't it?" He turned back to see Vix-Lei grinning. "Don't want to get kicked out of this place for disturbing the peace. Besides, I was just kidding - Rex still has that foghorn of his, not me."

Night Blade made some grumbling noises before reluctantly throwing the covers aside, and Vix-Lei smirked as she stepped back. "See you outside," she said.

Once she was gone, Night Blade sighed. "There are times when I appreciate her," he said to himself. "And then there are times when she still drives me up the wall."

Still, he could understand why she'd woken him up like she did, and he set to work cleaning and dressing himself. About ten minutes later, he stepped out of the hotel room to find Wind and Vix-Lei in the hall, Wind looking rather fidgety.

The trio were quiet as they headed back the way they'd come the day before, finally arriving at the hospital for Wind to have his tests done. After a few minutes of talking with the receptionist, Wind was led into the office where his doctor was waiting, while Night and Vix-Lei sat down in the waiting room.

"So," Vix-Lei finally said. "I checked up on how long these things take, and we've got about five minutes or so to kill while he gets his samples taken... anything you want to talk about?"

"I really don't know," Night replied. "How did you manage to get to the orphanage, by the way?" He blinked and tilted his head to the side. "I mean, I was able to use the thermal spots to push myself around but there were a few larger gaps."

"Night, my friend," Vix-Lei said. "There is very little that can stand in the way of a minotaur on a charge. No matter how rough the road, I can keep up when I really want to." She grinned. "I still prefer flying, but I manage when that isn't an option."

"Of course," Night said before frowning and looking at his wing with a sigh in his throat. "I just hope I can get this fixed properly when we get back home," he muttered. "For all that we've progressed, the stigma against a winged pony who can't fly is still an issue at times."

"You're a nox pony, you're more durable," Vix-Lei replied. "One of the pegasi who worked at the shipyards part-time busted his wing once, and it was all the way healed after he spent a few days in the hospital and then a week off it."

"There's a difference between busting it up and what I have," Night told her. "Yes, the fractures should heal faster, but there's also damage to the membrane for my wing. That will grow back naturally, albeit a lot slower than it would take a pegasus to regrow their feathers, but I also use my wings to duel. Without them working, it limits my ability to defend myself and others. Which is a large part of why I'm even part of this group." He looked down and growled softly.

"You're more than just a fighter, you know," Vix-Lei said. "I know how much your special talent means to you, but it's not everything. I mean, I talked to Pinkie for a while, and she told me about how her special talent may be parties, but she does a lot more than that - she bakes, she raised a pet alligator, she plays at least a dozen musical instruments, she does practical jokes - heck, she and Rainbow Dash were kind of infamous for pranking ponies back in the day. So don't let your one talent be the only thing about you, m'kay?"

Night Blade looked at her, surprised. "She had a pet alligator?"

"Yeah," Vix-Lei said. "In fact, I think she said she still keeps an eye on his descendents. They're out in the Everfree somewhere, and she's surprised we didn't run into them, since they do tend to keep an eye on things there themselves." She smiled for a moment before looking back at him. "So besides swordplay and Page, what else do you like to do?"

Night couldn't help himself, spluttering and blushing with his friend smirking at him. "Not that way, I know," she said teasingly. "But seriously, what do you do that doesn't involve swords or spending time with your marefriend?"

NIght gave an awkward shrug of his wings before wincing. "There isn't much I did that wasn't either of those things, besides attending all those boring noble parties."

"Oh yeah, Pinkie had some words to say about those," Vix-Lei said. "But aside from that... what about those games you played?" she asked.

Night sighed. "As much fun as they were, I haven't had anyone to really do them with in a long time," he said, looking away. "Nobody wanted to play with someone who was so much better at strategizing and won all the time because of it. That's part of why we stopped using the Crystal World War set, because the player who ran it was too good."

"But that's still something more that you did," Vix-Lei pointed out as she gently cupped his head and tilted it back towards her. "You enjoyed that, I know. And the history stuff."

"I did," Night said. "I wonder if any of the younger changelings at the Library would be interested in using that sort of thing in their lessons..."

Vix-Lei grinned and made like she was about to slap him on the back, but thought better of it. "That's the spirit!"

Night Blade gave her a faint smile. "Thank you, Vix-Lei," he said. Then he considered. "That reminds me, have you ever done that sort of game night?"

"Nah, we mostly stuck to poker and things like that at the 'yards," Vix-Lei said. "Dice games were straight out - Dad was death on those, for some reason. Didn't like 'em even if the players weren't betting anything. But no matter the game, I only ever played the tables where they wagered snack food, for obvious reasons. Good thing too - one of the guys there was so good at it, he ended one game with the losing player owing him enough munchies to equal the annual production line at one of the big companies." She grinned. "One of my favorite tables was the one where they played checkers with cookies instead of the regular pieces. In that game, it didn't matter who the last player standing was - in the long run, everytaur won."

Night Blade chuckled. "Quite."

"Be interesting to give your variety a shot though," Vix-Lei said. "Nice way to practice strategy and resource management."

Whatever Night Blade was about to say next was cut off when Wind Breaker entered the room. "Hey."

"Hey," Vix-Lei said. "How'd it go?"

"They should have the results in three to five days, a week at most," Wind said. "So. Shall we go?"

Night Blade nodded. "Let's; I can always have them send the information to us, depending on where we are when it's ready."

Vix-Lei smiled. "Well. Let's get this show on the road then."

And with that, she stood up and sauntered out the door, the two males following after her.

"Hope you boys can eat on the move," she said as they headed down the street. "I picked up some supplies for breakfast on the road earlier, and a few other things. But if you want to stop someplace in town and sit down to eat instead, we can do that too."

Wind Breaker shook his head. "I'm good to keep moving, thanks. Night?"

"We can keep going," Night said. "We've got a long walk ahead of us."

Vix-Lei nodded, and the trio headed down the road, Vix-Lei handing out some of the protein bars and breakfast pastries she'd picked up.

"Got a couple different flavors of gum for you and me too, Windy," she said. "Just in case. You want any, Night?"

Night shook his head. "No, but thank you," he said. "Gum, caramel and a few other sticky foods tend to get stuck in my kind's fangs, and we have a Tartarus of a time getting them cleaned out afterward, so we usually just avoid them." He grimaced. "Though I still remember that meeting with a group of Neighponese dignitaries where we couldn't just decline the Nattō, no matter how sticky it was. After they had left, when I said I hoped never to have to try that particular food item again and why, it was one of the few times in my life where my parents ever agreed with me on anything."

Vix-Lei nodded understandingly. "Gotcha."

They all chatted amicably as they walked down the road, their eyes flitting back and forth at the sights around them, much as they had during their trip through the Everfree.

It was noon when they finally stopped for lunch at a restaurant in another griffon town, and then continued on their way. Aside from Night wincing periodically from twinges in his wing and his thoughts drifting back to home and what might be happening back there, he found himself really quite enjoying the travels.

He just hoped all would be well when they got back.

Page Turner

At the same time that Night and his group were setting out from their lunch in the Griffish Isles, it was early morning back in Equestria, the second day after the announcement of the Hatchery's dissolution. And as usual, Page Turner had just gotten out of bed for the day, and was reflecting.

Rex and Xvital were both still asleep, and she had no intention of disturbing them. Instead, she sat by the window, looking out over the city and the riots that were still going on. They weren't as chaotic as they'd been before; still, with only five of the Guard Divisions actively working to try and keep things calm, the Royal Guards having largely all gone over to Mount Legion instead (and goddesses had she been surprised when she found out why), she figured things would last another day, two at most, before they finally all subsided.

Xvital still had lessons at the Academy today, and she wasn't sure if Rex was planning to go in with her or to accompany Page herself to the library. While she wouldn't begrudge him going to the Academy, she had to admit to herself that she missed having the company of at least one of her new circle of friends when she was there on her own. Well-meaning or not, and regardless of their intended roles in her hive's life, Memorizing Gaze and his brothers didn't exactly count yet. Oh, she had nothing against them as individuals at this point (aside from her long-standing bitterness over what their ancestors had done), but she had yet to really connect to them like she had her fellow Bearers.

Sighing, Page leaned her head against the wall and wondered if she could find an excuse to go to some place in Canterlot other than the library for the day, like accompanying her friends to the Academy. Or if, by some miracle, Gentle Step was willing to have visitors, since Memorizing had informed her that the Captain-General had some things she wanted to talk with Page and her friends about when she had the time. She knew Tizoc would be busy with work all day, and Vix-Lei's family likely too, while she was still hesitant to approach Night's family by herself.

Now, if any of them wanted to drop in on her, be it here or the library, she wouldn't refuse them. But she'd be surprised if they did - the only one whom she'd spoken to on a personal level was Deep, and he had classes that morning, while Crooked and Striking Blade were most likely either helping at the last few Hatcheries that still needed to give out information, or over with the rest of their fellows at Mount Legion. As far as she knew, Hidden Dagger and Serrated Dagger weren't aware of her closer relationship with Night and so had no reason to want to come and speak to her personally (at least, that was what Deep had said the day before when she'd asked if they knew of her relationship with Night, before he'd gone home for the evening), and Lethal Blade and Sweet Dagger were both waiting to meet her face-to-face until Night got back.

Lost in her thoughts, she barely noticed when Rex padded up beside her, until she caught his reflection in the window.

"Are you still worried about Night, and our other friends?" he asked softly.

"And other things," Page admitted, before smiling at him. "How are you?"

"About as well as can be expected," Rex replied. "Page?"

"Yes?"

"If you want some company at the library this afternoon, I'd be glad to drop in again after I finish my business at the Academy," he said. "I do have a few things I want to ask the Matron about, but otherwise, I am available whenever you wish my aid."

Page smiled. "Thank you, Rex."

"It is not a problem, my friend."

About an hour later, Xvital had gotten up and all three of them had had a small breakfast, before setting off in their separate directions. Rex and Xvital had headed towards the Academy, for lessons and to teach lessons respectively, while Page was on her own except for a small guard escort.

While she was walking towards the Library, Page saw her escort shift and move in front of her as another set of guards appeared. The two groups began to talk to each other with Page frowning in confusion.

"Is everything okay?" she asked as she reached out for her magic.

"We are checking it out, ma'am," one of her guards said cautiously before the leader of her escort walked back with the other group's leader. "These ladies wish to accompany you ma'am; considering their relationship with one of our charges, we are allowing this," he said.

Page looked up at the mares following him, and blinked in surprise as she recognized them, both from a few nights before and the portraits Night had once shown her, back before their adventures had started when he was preparing to introduce her to his family. "Hidden Dagger and Serrated Dagger?" she asked.

The older of the two mares nodded. "Page Turner," she returned, before approaching with her hoof outstretched. "It's good to finally meet you directly."

The younger mare nodded. "Same here," she said.

Accepting Hidden's hoof and shaking it, Page nodded, then did the same with Serrated. "It's good to meet the two of you as well," she said. "How are..."

Serrated shrugged. "Well, seeing as how Deep got to spend part of the day with you yesterday, my sister and I figured it was our turn to do the same, with you and your other friends," she admitted. "We've neglected our little brother for long enough, and since he seems to have at least accepted Mom and Dad's apologies, we wanted to try and learn more about he and his friends."

Page nodded with a blush on her face. "I see."

As the trio and their guards began moving forward again, she looked at the two. "Just how much did Deep tell you about us?"

Serrated shrugged. "Just the basics, and he said something about getting what Crooked was hinting about before the last time we met you," she said. "We tried to get him to explain, but he and Crooked both said it was for Night and his friends to tell us, and Mom and Dad agreed."

"My twin says he wanted us to be as surprised as he was," Hidden added with a smile, while Serrated looked bemused.

"Crooked has always been like that," she said. "He can act professionally when he's on duty or otherwise out in public, but behind closed doors, he is still our brother and he still has a very strange sense of humor." Hidden snorted while nodding her head in agreement.

"You don't say," Page said tilting her head. "I wonder how well he and Vix-Lei would get along."

"That's your minotaur friend, right?" Hidden asked. "The one who led Captain Surprise's guards on a merry chase?"

"The same," Page confirmed with a nod of her head.

"Just how did you meet her, anyway?" Serrated asked. "I've been wondering about it since I found out about all this."

Page hesitated. "You... know what I am, right?" she asked.

"That you're a changeling? Yeah," Serrated said with a nod of her head. "Doesn't bother us. I've always had a few who liked hanging around when I was doing one of my shows, and probably more in the audiences; legally, I couldn't pay them to help out, but I always made sure my actual paid employees gave them all the aid they needed." She grimaced. "Never thought it was fair the way they were treated, to be honest."

"Well thank you for helping them regardless," Page said to her. "Now that we have the Pardon, you can undoubtedly have more apply to be official employees."

"You would think so but there are still some issues," Hidden said with a growl. "From what I have heard, there are cases ongoing to see if employers that had knowingly hired changelings can be charged for past crimes as well as to make sure that other races can compete fairly with changelings. I know that a number of fashion designers are dealing with lawsuits from their former models about that very issue and Deep's lawyer is doing her best to get those dealt with as he plans to work with changelings for some of his future art projects. Something about 'the rebirth of the Fourth tribe', I think he called it?"

Page nodded. "So he said to me yesterday," she said. "And I know my people are already facing challenges since our Pardon, there are certainly enough protestors outside the Library every time I go there now... but at least now we have the chance to have a better life." She sighed. "As it happens, prejudice against my kind is how Night and I met Vix-Lei, by the way. The night of the Honor Festival, I stepped away from Night for a few minutes and ran into a group of ponies who were threatening one of my people. When I tried to defend her, Vix-Lei and our other future friends saw what was going on and joined me. Things snowballed from there."

"You knew Night before that?" Serrated asked.

Page nodded. "The rest of your family already knows by now, so I should tell you too," she said. "Night and I have been dating since shortly after his first talentmitzvah."

Both mares looked startled, and Hidden shook her head. "First talentmitzvah?"

Page nodded. "Vix-Lei heard about how your parents handled what should have been his big day and decided to throw him a proper one with all of us to make up for it," she said. "That's what you and your siblings walked in on the last time I saw you."

"Well, good for her," Serrated said. "Mom and Dad finally confessed how badly they handled things that day, it's good that somepony gave him the kind of party he deserved."

Hidden nodded in agreement. "I just wish we'd known sooner," she said. "Age difference or no, he is still our little brother and we should have done something. But you said you've been with him that long?"

"Yes," Page replied with a nod of her head, smiling at the older mare.

"Well. Thank you for being there for him, when we weren't," Hidden said. "At least somepony was able to do right by him." There was something of a bitter tone in her voice, before she looked at Page again. "So, I guess it's only fair to ask you the same thing I've asked all of my siblings."

"What's that?" Page asked.

"When can I expect you and Night to settle down and give me some nieces and nephews?" she asked with a pointed smile that was not too dissimilar from Night’s own brand of smiles.

Page began to sputter and stammer, while Serrated facehoofed. "Oh, sis..." she groaned.

"If it wasn't me, it would be Mom," Hidden said with a more realistic grin as she placed a wing over Page's side and pulled her close to her side with Page squeaking in surprise. "Besides, since you've been dating my brother for this long, I think it's fair to tease you like I would Serrated or Deep if they had boyfriends or girlfriends."

The younger mare sighed deeper, her tufted ears twitching though Page could taste that Serrated wasn’t actually mad at Hidden. "At least you have the benefit of having a steady partner for her to tease you about," she told Page with a roll of her eyes. "I haven't had a steady partner in my life, something Mom and Dad tend to get on my case about, along with the rest of my siblings - even Deep, and he's a couple of years younger than me." There was an internal twinge of emotion from her that Page immediately noticed, and she made a mental note to ask about it in private later. For now though, she had her own thoughts to voice.

"You don't say," she said faintly. "To be honest, I don't know if Night's ever thought about it; I know I..." Her face fell. "Well, I was rather reluctant to ever bring up the subject." She sighed. "What with his not knowing I was a changeling until recently, and my not wanting to put another foal through what the rest of my people were suffering, I wasn’t sure if he wanted a family with me without foals in our lives."

Hidden nodded sympathetically. "I see." She pulled Page closer into a hug with love emanating from the embrace.

"No matter what happens and what you decide, we'll be there for you," Serrated told her with the same love her sister had towards her. "You're family now."

Page smiled and nuzzled them. "Thank you both."

"And that means we are obligated to treat you as such," Hidden said with a grin on her face. "Have you ever had a tailor-made dress from Sassy Saddles?"

"No, I don't think so," Page replied with wide eyes. "Those are incredibly expensive, and I've never had that kind of funds for personal spending."

"Well, we can certainly afford to splurge on a couple for you," Serrated said. "That is, if you'd let us."

"I don't know," Page brushed her hooves together nervously. "I was never one for fancy stuff myself and I know I would feel guilty if I had all that money spent on myself when it could be used to help others."

"Please, it would be our treat," Hidden said earnestly. "And our family does generally follow the ways of the Lady, I think she'd be understanding if we decided to give to our newest family member."

"And I know that Saddles does donate a portion of their proceedings to charity," Serrated added.

Page blinked, thinking back to what she knew of both the unicorn Rarity and her human self. "Well... I guess," she said.

Hidden smiled. "Well, since that's settled," she started to say, then looked up as she realized they'd reached the Library. "You know, while the Lady is our family's main patron, I have to admit that I never get tired of seeing her," she mused as she looked at the statue outside. "They must have a statue of the Magi of Stars outside every library in this country."

Page nodded. "She lived for books, as I understand it," she said. "And her friends."

The trio quickly headed up the stairs, their guards keeping themselves between the three mares and the small herd of protestors still outside, and soon they had entered the Library.

"Wish we knew more about what the Virtues were like when they were alive," Serrated said softly as they went through the halls. "I mean, it's been a thousand years; there has to have been some distortion in the stories in all that time."

"Oh, you have no idea," Page said with a shake of her head. "During the time we were traveling, my friends and I found ourselves in a rather... unique position, where we were able to find out some very interesting things about their lives in the process."

"Oh?" Hidden asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, for one, despite what we've been led to believe, all six of them were mares," Page told her.

"Even the Stallion of Dedication?" Serrated asked a little skeptically.

Page nodded. "We spoke to her spirit," she said. "According to what we learned, King Blueblood somehow mixed her up with her older brother."

Hidden looked at her in surprise. "Well that's something I didn't expect. Unless they were like Crooked and I?"

"If you mean twins, then no," Page told her. "I can... show you what she really looked like, if you want."

Hidden nodded, and Page, calling on the memories of the pictures she'd seen on the walls of the Sweet Apple Acres farmhouse, transformed. "This was her brother, Big McIntosh," she said, using his voice from his human form. "The one they based all the statues on."

Hidden whistled. "Whew, that's a good-looking stallion," she said admiringly.

"And this," Page said as she transformed again, "Is Applejack. The actual pony they called the Stallion of Dedication," she said in Applejack’s voice.

Serrated's eyebrows rose as she eyed Applejack's form. "And they mixed up these two?" she asked. "How..."

"King Blueblood was mostly working from second-hoof information," Page admitted as she reverted to her unicorn shape and using her own voice again. "He got the rest of them mostly right, looks-wise at least, along with the Lady's generosity and the Magi of Stars' love of books, but other than that..." She shook her head. "Then there's the story of the Stern Warden and what she did with a demon."

Serrated smirked. "You mean the story of a demon she trapped in a bunny? I always thought that one was kind of silly. So what, was it actually a metaphor or something?"

"Close," Page replied. "From what I found out, the Stern Warden - or Fluttershy, as she was properly named - really did have a pet rabbit named Angel. But he wasn't possessed by any sort of demon - he was just bad-tempered, and apparently he mellowed out a lot after she died."

"That would make a lot more sense," Hidden said. "From what Crooked has said when he was stationed outside of the Tartarus Gate for one tour of duty, even the weakest of demons would probably be too strong for a normal rabbit's body to contain one."

"Aren't you not supposed to talk about demons in public?" Serrated asked her sister. "I thought the guard was supposed to keep that kind of thing under wraps."

Hidden shook her head. "First off, this is a library; I expect most of the ponies here already know about all this from the newspaper archives. Second, aside from Page, nopony else is actually in my hearing range and she clearly already knows about their existence, so I think we're safe on that end." She had an apologetic look on her face as she turned to Page. "Sorry for talking around you there," she said.

"It's all right," Page told her, smiling understandingly. Hidden nodded in relief, then turned back to Serrated.

"Second, officially, the Guards are supposed to keep the information about them under wraps," she said. "Unofficially, according to Crooked, they tried to do damage control after the last big attempted incursion, the one where the Captain-General earned her rank, but it didn't work - this was the first time in publicly recorded history that the demons had actually gotten past Cerberus before the Guards could get to them and push them back. So there were a lot of actual civilian witnesses to that event, and they spread the word about what had happened before anyone official could stop it." She shook her head. "After that, the Captains agreed that there was no way of getting things back under wraps, and that trying to cover it up would just make things worse."

"And what happened then?" Serrated asked. "Because I hadn't heard about any of this."

"Crooked says that the Captains just told their troops that if anyone were to ask them, they were to decline to answer, and that no public statements would be made on the matter," Hidden said. "End result, the public knows that there's a wide variety of demons trapped in Tartarus, and that the guards' duties include stopping any attempted escapees, but they don't have any confirmed details about the different breeds and such. Even I don't know any more about them; Crooked's my twin, but that's the one thing he refuses to talk about with me or Soft Breeze."

"Right." Serrated nodded. "Considering the legends about them, I'd think it would have been common knowledge a lot sooner," she remarked as they entered the room that had become Page's office. She could already sense Sound Record and High Finish in the office with the two giving the mares around her a look, though she told them to stand down in the hivemind, explaining the matter quicker than she could with her voice. Nodding, the pair stepped out to give them some space.

"Before that incident, all we had were legends, but there hadn't been any physical proof that got out," Hidden said. "This last incursion though... to use a metaphor from old Byzantion, they removed the cork from the bottle and allowed the genie to escape."

"Ah." Serrated nodded again.

"You're familiar with old Byzantion?" Page asked, looking surprised.

Hidden nodded. "I've been to modern Byzantion on business trips, and I've visited some of the local museums and other cultural sites there," she said. "Is there something... wrong about that?"

Page shook her head. "No, it's just... Night used to play historical strategy games based on the old world, and Byzantion was his preferred set," she said. "He knew so much about that time and was so good at winning with it that the other players finally asked him to stop coming."

Hidden blinked in surprise. "I had no idea," she said. "I mean, if he had the same history lessons I did, he'd have had to hear about it, but I never knew he had something else to apply that sort of knowledge to."

"I didn't know he was into games period," Serrated commented. "I guess you and he have another thing to bond over, sis."

Hidden made a face. "Please don't remind me," she muttered.

Page looked at them curiously, and Serrated giggled. "Our sister," she said, "Has never lost a game of Monopony, or any other finance-based game, in her life. She was just too good at it for people to ever want to play against her more than a few times. I am now curious to see which of them would win."

"I see," Page said with a smile at her how Serrated was grinning; it was the same type that Night had on his face during one of his duels. "Were you good at any in particular?"

"Not really," Serrated replied. "I did family game nights with everypony when we were all still living at home, but that was it most of the time. Music has always been more my kind of thing."

Page nodded. "Night said you were a famous singer."

"And she writes all her own songs too," Hidden added, prompting Serrated to duck her head and blush.

"That's actually what I'm supposed to be doing soon," she said. "Between tours, I take a while off and work on new songs in private. But then the very first day I was back in Canterlot from my last one, Crooked called a Fruit Juice - our private name for a family meeting - and we all had to come to the manor." She sighed. "And that's how we found out about Night's reaction to Mom and Dad when they came to meet with him, and why we dropped by your place that night." She blinked. "Crooked was actually surprised I got to the manor as fast as I did, he'd called my manager to pass on the message. I guess Crush, my manager, didn't get the chance to tell him I was already back in my Canterlot apartment before he hung up."

Page nodded. "I see."

"I actually was out of town when he called, right after he got out of his meeting with your friend Xvital," Hidden said. "Luckily, I was the first one he called, so I had time to hop in one of our faster skimmers and zip back in a few hours."

"Just like old times, huh?" Serrated asked teasingly.

"Except this time, I didn't crash," Hidden said as she reached over and ruffled her sister's mane, prompting Serrated to swat her hoof with one wing.

Page nodded and smiled. "Deep said something about that to Xvital the other day, and he repeated it to me later," she said. "Something about you having a family tradition of stealing one of your own skimmers and going for a joyride, and hoping Night did the same?"

Serrated facehoofed. "Of course he would," she muttered. "I just hope he waits to do it until he's home and not overseas. A lot easier on the insurance and the family if he does where we can do damage control opposed to somewhere we needed to go and bail him out."

"I have it on... good authority that he won't have the chance for a day or so," Page said carefully. "We got a message saying that the town they're going to next doesn't have a dock for them to fly to, so they're having to walk."

"Not even a place for a passenger chariot or something?" Hidden asked, frowning.

Page shook her head. "Apparently not," she said. "And the roads between the town they started in and the one they're going to aren't that well-maintained, so they can't take land transport either. The message didn't say why though."

"I wonder if they'd accept a donation to have it fixed, and to have at least a small landing area put in for passenger chariots," Serrated said thoughtfully. "I mean, even if they don't use it that often, you'd think they'd keep it up for emergencies."

"You'd think," Hidden said with a sigh. "The Griffons in the Griffish Isles aren't as stingy as their mainland cousins, but there are some places where they still cut corners. And since they can fly on their own and they don't get a lot of non-flying visitors, public transportation between towns isn't a high priority for them."

"Right." Serrated looked at Page. "Speaking of flying, do you do that often?"

"I..." Page looked uncomfortable. "Not really," she admitted. "I've spent most of my life disguised as a unicorn, and I actually do have unicorn ancestors, so it's the form I'm most comfortable in. I can fly in my changeling form, and I can make myself into any other flying species if I need to... but I don't usually, because I always had to hide that I was a changeling."

Serrated nodded sympathetically. "Well, you don't have to hide that anymore," she said. "And if you want a few pointers in flying like a nox pony so you and my brother can have some special night flights, I'd be glad to show you."

Page blushed as she thought of the nights that Night flew her up to a cloud and how much it could change now, then smiled gratefully. "I might just take you up on that." Then she frowned. "Of course, right now your parents have asked us to be chaperoned when we're together from now on, for a while at least, so the other noble houses don't start openly prying into our relationship."

Hidden groaned. "They're still doing that?" she asked. "Good grief."

"And they wonder why I haven't found a partner, when I know we'd never get a moment's peace to ourselves," Serrated muttered. "The paparazzi doing that kind of thing is annoying enough... don't get me wrong, I love my work and my fans, but when it comes to being famous, there are some serious drawbacks from time to time."

"The same for me, and for Crooked," Hidden said with a sigh. "And I wouldn't be surprised if it's why Deep ended up being a playstallion like he did, flitting around from mare to mare instead of having a steady relationship."

"Or..." Page said slowly. "Because he just doesn't realize he's already found the right pony."

"That's... another possibility; Emerald Forte has been working with him for a long time," Hidden said thoughtfully with a twinkle in her eye that Serrated shared, and she looked at Page curiously. "You could feel that sort of thing from somepony, couldn't you?"

Page nodded. "We all can," she said. "Like I told my friends a long time ago, when others are broadcasting strong emotions, I actually have a harder time not feeling them than trying to feel them. And..." She blushed. "It actually makes it easier to feed without being detected that way, when we can just absorb the ambient emotions in an area full of strong ones."

"No wonder other changelings come to my concerts so much then," Serrated said, shaking her head. "All the love and happiness everypony's always giving off there, it must be a veritable smorgasbord for them."

Page smiled. "I'm sure it is," she said.

Serrated smiled back. "Then they're very welcome to it," she said, before leaning in and pulling Page into a hug of her own, which Page gladly returned, smiling as she felt the honest love the other mare was giving off, just as she had from Hidden earlier.

She could also feel a touch of love from just outside her door, and looked up past Serrated and Hidden to see said door open a crack and Matron Hush Tone smiling in at them too, before the older griffon nudged the door shut again and moved on to give them their space.

Now this is a good way to start the day, she thought happily to herself.

Chapter Twenty One: Serrated Dagger, Page Turner, Night Blade, Sweet Dagger, Crooked Blade

Chapter Twenty-One

Serrated Dagger

"So tell me," Serrated asked when she and Page had separated. "How did you and Night meet anyway?"

"Here in the library, actually," Page admitted. "This is where I grew up, and... well, it was right after his first talentmitzvah, when he came here to get some space away from his parents after... you know, I guess."

Both mares nodded somberly, and Page continued. "Really, it was love at first sight for the both of us."

Serrated bowed her head at that. "Well, I guess at least some good came out of that day," she said.

Hidden nodded too. "Mom and Dad were not happy with themselves when we asked them what happened then and they realized how badly they'd messed up, both then and afterward," she said. "Like I said earlier, I wish I'd known about this a lot sooner."

"Me too," Serrated said.

Then she blushed. "Um, I hate to say this, but... I need to step around the corner for a bit, I'll be back."

Page nodded understandingly and gave her directions, for which Serrated gratefully thanked her before exiting the room.

Some minutes later, having finished her business and washed her hooves, she re-entered the hall and found an elderly griffon standing there. "Um, hello," she said.

The griffon smiled. "Hello yourself," she said. "Serrated Dagger, sister of young Night Blade?"

"That's me," Serrated said. "Can I help you?"

"Hopefully, yes," the griffon replied. "Follow me."

Serrated did so, until they entered an office marked with the name Hush Tone. There, the griffon sat behind the desk, and gazed at her silently. Finally, she spoke.

"So, what are your intentions towards my ward?" she asked.

Serrated blinked. "Intentions? I..."

The griffon clicked her beak. "I am the High Matron of this library, and Page's guardian," she said. "I understand you're her coltfriend's sister. I also know that one of your other brothers spent some time here with her yesterday, both because he was fascinated by our library and because of reasons of his own involving some of our new residents. So now, I ask. What exactly do you want with Page?"

Serrated felt her hackles rise at this line of questioning. "I want to try and connect with all of my baby brother's friends," she said. "I want to get to know him, seeing as how badly I failed to do so before as it is only recently that it has been brought home to me just how much we all screwed up on that end. I want he, his friends and his marefriend to know how much I regret that screwing up." She bowed her head. "And I especially want to welcome Page into the family, since she's been there for him when we weren't," she said softer. "I've only known her a short time, but I can tell she is a good person, and I already see her as a sister."

For a moment Hush Tone was silent, and then she nodded approvingly. "And I can see that you mean every word of that," the elderly griffon said. "That's good."

Serrated looked at her. "Did... you do this sort of thing with Deep when he was here the other day?" she asked.

"Well, I would have, but his lawyer was there," Hush Tone said with a chuckle. "That mare was about as protective of him as I am of Page."

Serrated smiled. "Yeah, she is," she said.

"So tell me young lady," Hush Tone said. "I have a pretty good idea on some of this, but how is it that you don't know much about your own brother?"

"Because he's the youngest of five, and all of us were out of the house and living our own lives, in places other than Canterlot, by the time he was even born," Serrated said. "My oldest brother, Crooked Blade... his son is a year older than Night, if that tells you anything."

Hush Tone raised an eyebrow. "Really."

Serrated nodded. "Night was a total surprise," she said. "Mom and Dad were actually getting ready to retire when they found out, and... I guess they weren't exactly expecting to have to go back into the family business and everything else they'd been set to leave behind."

"And what were you doing all this time?" Hush Tone asked.

"I'm a singer," Serrated replied, looking down at her cutie mark, a microphone over a piece of sheet music before turning back at Hush Tone. "I hold concerts all over the world... Deep, he's an artist. Hidden took over running the family business from Mom and Dad when they officially stepped down, Crooked and my nephew Striking are in the Royal Guard, and... well, from what I've been told, I guess Night does sword-fighting tournaments and helps save the world from monsters."

Hush Tone smiled faintly. "Quite," she said. "And apparently has falling-outs with his parents."

Serrated winced. "Yes, he... they came to see him a couple of days ago and he blew up at them because he felt they hadn't cared about him before and were only interested in his life now that he was a hero," she said. "Then we all came to see him and he exploded at us too. And we deserved it." She bowed her head. "After that... I don't know how, but before we went to try and see him, Mom and Dad realized how badly they had messed up their relationship with him. After our little meeting with him, they both met up with him again in private and all of them talked things out long enough to come to an understanding."

Hush Tone nodded. "At least they are making steps in the right direction," she said. "Some families don't get the chance before it's too late."

Serrated had the feeling this was a sensitive topic for her. "Yeah," she said.

"Well then." Hush Tone rose. "I expect my ward is wondering what's keeping you, so I'll let you go back to her."

Serrated nodded. "Yes... and Matron Hush Tone?"

"Hmm?"

"It was good to meet you."

Hush Tone smiled. "Thank you, young lady," she said.

Serrated made it back to Page's office without any further encounters, where she found Hidden and the younger mare chatting happily.

"So," Hidden was saying. "There we were, all covered in mud and feathers, right in the middle of an entire room full of nobles - including our parents - in their best outfits. Everypony was just staring at us, like they'd never seen anything so absurd."

Page laughed. "Oh my."

Hidden nodded. "Mom and Dad didn't know whether to laugh or ground us for a month," she said. "As I recall, they did both."

Page was still giggling. "That is still funny," she said.

Hidden nodded again with a smile. "As Clean Home was ushering me and Crooked out to get cleaned up, I heard somepony else saying something like Kids will be kids, I suppose," she said. "Which is true enough. Deep and Serrated have their own stories about their more wild moments, and not just the ones involving the family airskimmers." Then she looked up and saw Serrated standing in the doorway. "Hey, sis."

"Hey." Serrated smiled. "Sorry it took me so long, I had a run-in with one of your colleagues on the way back, Page."

Page groaned. "Please tell me it wasn't Polished Apple," she said. "I hate to speak ill of one of my coworkers, but that mare gives me such a headache sometimes."

"No, it was the Head Matron, actually," Serrated said. "She's nice. Stern, but nice."

Page's eyes widened. "Oh..."

Serrated nodded. "I don't mind that she wanted to talk to me though," she said. "It just shows how much she cares."

Page nodded slowly, and smiled at Serrated. "That's good."

She looked like she was about to say more, when suddenly she tilted her head, and after a few moments of silence, groaned. "I'm sorry to say this, but duty calls," she said. "One of my people is apparently here for another visit and wants to talk with me about some financial matters that involve providing support for our hive."

Hidden straightened up and looked directly at Page. "Do you think he'd agree to talk with me instead?" she asked. "I do run one of Equestria's biggest business firms. And I might be out on vacation for this week, but I certainly don't mind doing a little work to help you with this sort of thing."

Page smiled again. "I'd be honored if you would speak with him for me," she said, then tilted her head again. "Tymbal will show you the way."

Even as she said that, there was a timid knock on the door, and Page's horn lit up to open it and let a smaller drone in, his ears flicking as he looked at the two nox ponies curiously.

"Tymbal, these are Night Blade's sisters, Hidden Dagger and Serrated Dagger," Page told him. "Hidden Dagger has offered to meet with Stock Market in my place, so if you would escort her to the appropriate conference room?"

The other changeling nodded. "Come with me, please," he said.

When the two had left, Serrated found herself a spot to sit down. "This happen a lot?" she asked.

"Until our Queen formally reveals herself to the rest of the world, which isn't likely to happen anytime soon, I'm the highest visible authority in our Hive, and her assigned proxy when it comes to working with the Equestrian and other governmental officials," Page said with a sigh and an ear-flick. "Which means things like this come to me, whether I like it or not."

Serrated nodded sympathetically. "Every performer needs a manager, and they stuck you with that job, huh?" she asked.

"Interesting way of putting it," Page said. "But essentially, yes." She sighed. "All I ever really wanted was to be a librarian here, even before I got my Cutie Mark, and later to spend my life with your brother. But then things happened, and I find myself with a lot more responsibilities."

Serrated nodded understandingly, then tilted her head. "I didn't know changelings could get Cutie Marks," she said.

"Pureblood changelings still can't," Page said. "But several generations ago, there was... well, one of my ancestors had relations with a unicorn stallion and gave birth to another of my many times great-grandmothers as a result. There've been a few more who mated into our line since then, and their magic is what allows me, and other mixed-blood changelings born of similar pairings, to get Cutie Marks."

Serrated blinked. "Really?"

Page nodded. "It's a very rare practice, but there are a few - a very few - families who've done it," she said. "Most of us don't approve of the practice, and before the Pardon, a majority of Equestrians would have viewed it as an outright crime if they knew about it. Tribalism and blood purity may have been generally abolished among ponies, but... well, you know that despite their labeling us the 'fourth tribe', most wouldn't consider us as real ponies and there isn’t much lost love towards ponies from the more…” Page paused, probably thinking of how best to say this. “Thickheaded purists. Sorry; there is no real better way of saying it without using the old changeling way of describing emotions and that doesn’t translate well.” She flashed her a sad smile. “There are probably some who would still think of mixing our tribes as indecent and wrong even now, despite our new legal status."

"Well, you can count me out of that group," Serrated said. "Love is love, no matter who the ones involved are."

Page smiled at Serrated. "I appreciate that," she said. Then she looked more serious. "Serrated, I have to ask," she said. "Earlier, when you said you'd never had a steady partner... I felt a small twinge of emotion from you, one I recognized." She gave her another smile. "Is there something you want to talk about?"

Serrated looked around. "Promise not to tell my family until I figure this out?" she asked.

Page nodded.

"All right," Serrated said. "The truth is, there's this pony who's been one of my roadies for so long, and we've gotten to be... really good friends." She blushed. "And I'd like for it to be more. But... they've never implied that they like me as anything more, and I'm afraid that if I try and make a move..." She trailed off, but Page was nodding understandingly.

"You're afraid it'll ruin your friendship," she said knowingly.

"Exactly," Serrated said. "Not to mention how my parents might react. They've never voiced any opinions on this sort of thing, but... well..." She sighed. "I'd like to think they'd be okay if I came home with a marefriend, but I just don't know."

Page nodded. "I can't say I know how they'd feel about such a relationship," she said. "But I can promise that if you do find you have a problem, I'll be here for you."

Serrated smiled gratefully.

Page Turner

About an hour later, Page and Serrated were still happily talking when the door opened again, and Hidden Dagger entered. "I'm back."

"Welcome back," Page said. "How did it go?"

"Can I make a confession?" Hidden asked. At Page's nod, she continued. "I have been a career businesspony since I graduated. I've learned the ways of political and bureaucratic maneuvering for even longer than that, it's kind of a necessity to survive in the business world, and I love putting those techniques to use when I'm facing other businessponies, to make sure that everypony involved in our deals gets exactly what they need. The whole challenge involved... for me, it's fun. And today, when mister Stock Market and I were negotiating a very productive outcome for he and your people as a whole, it was one of the most enjoyable rounds of business talk I have ever had." She grinned and pulled out a small slip of paper. "If you ever need me to do this kind of thing again, just give me a call, and I'll be there as soon as I can."

Page accepted the slip with a smile. "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself," she said. "And thank you for everything."

"It was my pleasure," Hidden said. "Oh, and I think he wants to talk some more, over lunch here. If you don't mind, that is."

Page shook her head. While she wasn’t completely trusting that Stock had given up his plans completely, she had to listen to him as he was one of the few changelings that had the means to provide wealth to her tribe. "It's actually a good time," she said. "I help out in the kitchen a lot, and I'd love to fix something for the two of you." She blushed. "I just have to remember to watch the spices."

"Don't hold them on my account," Serrated said. "I like things zingy sometimes."

Hidden chuckled at her sister's comment. "We'll let you take care of that then," she said.

Both nox ponies headed for the door after getting a promise from Page to let the two take her shopping, and Page followed them, only to see it open and one of the older-looking changelings come in. "Miss Turner, can I have a word with you?" she asked.

Page nodded. "Of course." She turned to Hidden and Serrated, who were looking concerned. "I'll be with you in just a bit," she said.

The pair nodded, and headed out. When they were gone and the door was shut, she turned to the Sage in front of her. "What is it?" she asked, a little more harshly than she had intended but she couldn’t let them think they could walk over her. Once again, all the issues of being the Queen were starting to come up again.

The Sage bowed. "My Queen... I understand you are concerned about your consort, and your friends with him," she said. "And I feel there is an ability you should be aware of, that would let you communicate with him from a distance, even if he is not actively part of the hivemind at this time."

Page regarded her closer now. "Tell me," she said.

"It is an ability unique to our queens," the Sage said. "And one that can only be safely used if the Hivemind Body is intact. It will allow you, if you so desire, to reach out to another of our people and, if they are willing, to use them as a channel. Their body will speak to another, but it will be your words and voice. But again, they must be willing to let you do this; they cannot be forced."

Page's eyes widened, and she nodded slowly. "I thank you for sharing this with me," she said honestly, diverting some love towards the Sage.

The elder changeling nodded. "It's the least I can do," she said. "Not all of us may agree with your choice of consort, but I can tell you two are crazy about one another. If being able to reach out to him will help your peace of mind, I'll gladly help with it."

Page smiled at that. "Tell me what to do," she said.

A little while later, having made contact with a changeling named Gareth, who'd promised to go and find Night and her other friends so she could speak with them later on, she headed for the kitchen to start her work on fixing lunch.

As she passed the dining room where the others were settling in, she quirked her ears as she heard them speaking.

"You know, I like it here," Serrated was saying. "I really do. I like spending time with Page, and this library as a whole... it's so welcoming."

Hidden's chuckle was also audible. "I feel the same way, sis," she said. "I just wish we'd come sooner."

Page smiled as she felt the happiness wafting off the two, and trotted off to the kitchen.

Night Blade

"Oog." Vix-Lei winced as she settled into a sitting position on a convenient rock and lifted one of her legs up to rub the bottom of her hoof. "That was a schlep."

"You don't say," Night Blade said wryly as he and Wind Breaker began setting up the campfire. "And we have a few days yet to go both ways."

"Yeah, I know," Vix-Lei said, switching her leg out for the other. "I wish I could have packed a smaller airskimmer in my gear."

"With your driving, the locals would probably not be too happy if you did," Wind Breaker said with a sigh.

"Yeah, but I can dream, can't I?" Vix-Lei asked. "I know I carry a lot of stuff with me, but being able to store something bigger than myself in a tiny pouch would be convenient."

"It would," Night agreed. "Maybe Rex could figure something out for you when we're back."

Vix-Lei nodded, and then rose again to start fixing dinner for them as the two males set up the rest of the camp. They ate quickly, intending to get an early start on the night's rest and then get going first thing in the morning.

Vix-Lei yawned and stretched as she headed towards the tree she'd be sleeping against, when suddenly, she tilted her ears up. "Sometaur's coming," she said.

About a moment later, a griffon swooped down and landed at the edge of their camp. "Hello!" he said. "Misters... Night Blade, Wind Breaker, and miss Vix-Lei?"

"That's us," Night answered warily. "Can we help you?"

The griffon nodded. "I'm here as a message from my Queen," he said.

Vix-Lei raised an eyebrow. "Didn't know griffons had a queen," she said. "Don't they have a purely democratic setup?"

The griffon blushed. "Ah, well..." Green flames enveloped him, and when they faded, a male changeling stood before them. "This better?"

Night Blade relaxed and nodded as he realized who had sent the changeling. "What does your Queen want to tell us?" he asked, uncertain if there was anypony in hearing range.

"Hold on a second," the drone replied. "It's safe to talk, I can tell. But still whatever you do, don't freak out on me, 'cause it'll make it harder to maintain the connection."

"What do you mean?" Wind Breaker asked.

The drone's eyes went flat, and then turned to a familiar shade of blue. "He means this," a familiar female voice said.

"Page‽" three voices asked in astonishment, before Night took the lead. "What- how are you doing this? How long have you been able to?"

"Gareth agreed to let me speak through him for a little while," Page's voice said. "As for when, I only found out a few hours ago, and how... according to my Sages, it's an ability all changeling queens have had, though it has its limitations. I've only been able to do it safely since I remade the Hivemind Body, not that I ever tried before, and I can only do it if the changeling lending me their voice does so willingly."

"Right." Night Blade calmed himself. "So, what's happened?"

"I wanted to check up on you," Page admitted. "One of my people... er, saw the three of you going into the hospital the other day, and that you had what looked like a hurt wing. Since the entire hivemind knows how I feel about you, they told me, and I couldn't help but be concerned."

Night grimaced a little, but nodded. "Apparently my injuries from our fight with Sharp Point were not entirely fixed, and chose now to flare up," he said. "I can't use my wings until they're fully healed again, which probably won't be until after we get home."

The changeling drone's face adopted a worried expression. "Night..."

"I'll manage," Night said stiffly. "And I promise, I'll be careful." He smiled. "I love you, Page."

"I love you too, Night," Page said. "There's another thing I should say."

"What's that?" Night asked.

"Your brother, Deep Blade, dropped by the library with Rex and Xvital the other day," Page said. "We had a nice long conversation, and he's... well, I can tell he wants to make up for his neglecting you all this time." Gareth's ears flicked, just as Page's must have. "And your sisters came to visit me this morning; they wanted to get to know your friends. Since it was just me they could see then, we spent a lot of time talking, and I could feel that they really do regret neglecting you all this time." The drone's ears flicked again. "They want to try and get to know you better when you get back."

Night nodded slowly. "I see," he said. "That is... good to hear."

Gareth's face smiled. "I also told all three of them, Deep the day before and Hidden and Serrated today, about my being your marefriend, since the rest of your family already knows," she said. "All of them were surprised but supportive."

"That's also good," Night said with a nod.

Page nodded back through Gareth. "I can't keep up the connection much longer, and Hidden and Serrated are waiting for me in my office, so I'll make this quick," she said. "Wind, one of my drones also told me that you found some information that could lead you to your family. How are you doing?"

"I'm doing," Wind said with a sigh. "It'll be at least another day or two walking to get up there, and the same time back."

Gareth's head nodded. "I hope it goes well," she said. "And Vix-Lei, how about you?"

"Doing good," Vix-Lei said. "You take care of yourself, and Rex and Xvital too, okay?"

"I will," Page said. "I don't know if I can contact you like this again anytime soon... if I can send another message in a few days, I will, but if I can't? Be safe, all of you."

"We will be," the trio chorused, before Gareth's eyes went flat again, and then he shook his head.

"That was a humdinger of an experience," he muttered.

"But a much appreciated one," Wind Breaker said. "Thank you, for agreeing to it."

"Ah, it's nothin'," Gareth said. "Least I could do for the people who got us all pardoned." He stretched his front legs, shifting back into griffon form as he did. "Gotta go now; the missus is getting supper ready but... you take care, okay?"

"We will," Night replied, before the changeling-turned-griffon flapped his wings and took off again.

"Well," Vix-Lei said. "That was unexpected."

Night and Wind Breaker nodded simultaneously, before Wind spoke. "Good to know she's keeping an eye out for us," he said.

Night nodded again. "I appreciate it too," he said, and Vix-Lei nodded her own agreement.

For a moment, there was silence, and then Wind Breaker looked at the two of them. "Guys... I think I need to say something," he said.

"What's that, kitty-bird?" Vix-Lei asked.

"It's just... ever since the Nightmare, and realizing that one aspect of my powers, I've kind of felt a deeper connection to Page," Wind admitted. "Not a romantic one," he said as Night started to open his mouth. "But at the same time, more than just friendship. I just... somehow, I think we were linked even before we met, in some way. But I don't know how."

Vix-Lei blinked. "That's... unexpected," she muttered, unusually serious for once.

Night nodded. "Have you told her about this?" he asked.

"No," Wind confessed. "I've been trying to figure it out since it hit me, but between everything going on, I just haven't been able to. I am going to talk to Page about it though at some point." He sighed. "Maybe all it is, is that I have a couple of changeling ancestors too. But that's just a wild guess, and I don't really know." He sighed. "It's really been bothering me, not knowing."

Night laid a hoof on his shoulder. "We'll figure it out, my friend," he said. "Somehow."

Wind smiled at him gratefully.

"You aren't alone in this, Windy," Vix-Lei added. "None of us are." She smiled. "Now, come on. Let's get some shut-eye."

Wind nodded as he and Night headed for their own resting spots, Night only closing his eyes when he saw his friend had done the same.

Somehow, despite Wind's words, he could not bring himself to feel jealous of the other male, yet at the same time, he wondered what links Wind and his marefriend could have.

With a yawn, he drifted off to sleep.

Sweet Dagger

It was early evening when five members of the Blade family sat down to dinner, three of them having been specifically invited to join their parents at the manor (Crooked and Striking had also been invited, but respectfully declined on the grounds that they were both out handling guard duties, or so Crooked had said when his mother had contacted their headquarters to ask if they could come). After a few minutes of silence, Sweet Dagger spoke up. "So, how was everypony's day?"

"It was a day," Deep Blade said. "Students being students. Wish I could have gone to the library after classes again, but I had a parent-teacher meeting this afternoon that I couldn't skip out on."

Hidden nodded understandingly. "I don't blame you for wanting to go back," she said. "Serrated and I spent the entire day at the library with Page and later some of her friends, and we certainly enjoyed ourselves."

Sweet Dagger's eyes widened. So that's what they meant when they said they had something important to do today, she realized. I should have guessed.

"No disrespect meant, but shouldn't you have been taking care of the family business in Manehatten?" Deep asked, drawing Sweet out of her thoughts.

"I have executive directors for a reason, Deep," Hidden replied. "Ms. Hackney can handle most things in Manehatten while I'm away, and if an emergency comes up where she really needs me, she has my numbers for both here and our Canterlot offices." She frowned. "I can't stay out forever, but I can certainly manage a week or two of vacation."

Deep looked like he wanted to say something more, but Lethal Blade raised a hoof, getting his children's attention. "How was your time at the library?" he asked, looking towards Hidden and Serrated. "Deep has already given us his view on miss Turner and her friends there, but I'd like to hear yours too."

"It was great," Serrated Dagger replied happily. "Page is wonderful, and I can't wait to officially have her as a sister."

Sweet Dagger smiled at that. "That's good to hear," she said happily.

Hidden nodded in agreement. "For all that she's nearly half our age, it was very easy to forget that and relate to her as a responsible adult," she said. "Our youngest brother's marefriend is very easy to get along with."

Lethal Blade nodded. "Your mother and I look forward to meeting her as well," he said. "Once Night and his other two friends have returned to Canterlot, of course."

"Speaking of Night, did miss Turner say when she expects him to be back?" Sweet asked.

"She said something about having gotten a message saying that the three of them are having to walk from the town they landed at to another one further away, though I don't know how far," Hidden replied. "Apparently the place doesn't have a dock for skimmers or passenger chariots to land at, and the roads between it and their initial landing area are kind of rough. And since their minotaur friend doesn't have wings..."

Sweet and Lethal both nodded understandingly.

"Speaking of, we found out how they all met for the first time," Serrated spoke up. "Page says that she and Night were on a date the night of the Honor Festival, and while she was away from him for a bit, she saw this other changeling being harassed by a gang of thugs. She stood up for them, then Night and these four strangers all came to help her, including Vix-Lei - the minotaur who flies like crazy," she added for her parents' benefit. "After that, they went through a lot of stuff and got to be friends, though Page didn't give all the details. She did say the papers got at least some of it wrong, that most of the time they just wanted to get around without getting caught and had to defend themselves, but the papers reported that as deliberate sabotage or attacks on Equestrian soil."

"Did she say anything about what happened during the Battle of the Everfree Forest?" Sweet asked. "Your father and I have read that article again recently, and we were wondering how... accurate certain parts were. Obviously, the part about her being a changeling was true, but the rest, we were... willing to give Night and his friends the benefit of the doubt, considering it has since been reported that they were all being framed as traitors before."

"We didn't think to ask about that part of their travels," Hidden admitted. "I get the feeling they're not happy about it though."

Lethal nodded. "Crooked and Striking haven't said anything about it either, just that even before that, they were... under suspicion for a while, until Night and his friends returned and were found to be innocent of the crimes they were being accused of," he said. "I can't help but wonder if that's when he lost Determined Point."

"He what?" Deep suddenly shot to his hooves. "How-"

"Deep Blade!" Sweet looked at him sternly. "Sit down. Now."

Deep did, his nostrils flaring as he tried to calm himself. Finally, he looked at his parents questioningly, and they exchanged looks for a moment before Lethal spoke again. "The night of our family meeting, while you and your siblings went to try and talk to Night at the hotel, your mother and I went to the gym where Night and his team trained," he said. "We wanted to look at their records of all the tournaments he was in. As it happens, he was there too, and we had another talk. He was... more willing to listen to us this time, and we agreed to try and start over."

Deep nodded. "Xvital mentioned he was on speaking terms with you again when we were talking yesterday, but she didn't say how it happened," he said.

"Well, that's how," Lethal said. "At any rate, during our talk, I noticed he was carrying a different sword than usual. He explained that Determined Point had broken while he was fighting to protect his friends. That is also when he got the scar over his eye, though he did not get into the specifics of the fight." He paused to look around. "At some point after this, he had free access to an armory belonging to some people who were willing to let him re-arm himself. I don't know who they were, but apparently they had a Masamane blade in their possession, which he's been using as a replacement weapon since."

"Whoa." Serrated Dagger muttered. "I'm no expert, but I didn't know there were still any of those around."

"Supposedly, Masamane himself had them all destroyed before he died," Hidden told her. "If one survived..."

"Night himself doesn't know where they got it, or so he told us," Sweet Dagger said. "The people it belonged to weren't in any mood to explain, from what he said."

Deep nodded slowly, finally looking calm again. "Well, if Determined Point broke in a battle to protect its owner's friends, then it had a good and worthy end," he said. "Shame it's gone, but c'est la vie."

"Getting back to Vix-Lei," Sweet suddenly said. "You said you heard how she and Night met. Did they say where she learned to drive?"

Serrated nodded. "That, I did ask about, after Rex and Xvital came in this afternoon," she said. "According to Rex, her father is the shipmaster of Ledra in the Minos Islands, and she and her brothers all grew up around airskimmers. He also said their employees include a number of minotaurs who earned extra money driving passenger chariots while they were in college, and they taught her most of what she knows."

"Xvital had more than a few grumbles about that," Hidden added. "Apparently her stomach and airships do not get along."

Sweet Dagger tutted sympathetically. "I see," she said.

"We also found out that apparently, the night we went to see him, Vix-Lei had taken it upon herself to throw him a proper talentmitzvah, with their friends and a couple of her brothers," Hidden said, giving her parents a pointed look. "That's what the four of us walked in on, though we didn't realize it at the time."

Both elder nox ponies looked down. "At least someone was able to give him the celebration he deserved," Sweet Dagger finally said.

Lethal nodded. "We will have to thank her for doing so when she, Night and their other friend..."

"Wind Breaker," Sweet Dagger said, prompting a snort of laughter from Deep, though his mother's firm glance his direction cut him short.

"Wind Breaker," Lethal said with a nod. "Return from their travels." He glanced at his son, who was clearly trying to hold back another laugh. "Is there something you wish to say, Deep?"

"I'm sorry, it's just... who on Equuis would name a kid Wind Breaker?" Deep asked. "When I was at the library, they mentioned him a few times, but they just called him Wind the entire time, I think this is the first time I've heard his full name."

"He was a Hatchery griffon, Deep," Hidden said sternly. "It's not something to laugh about."

"I... oh." Deep was suddenly very quiet. "I guess I didn't read all the papers that closely," he admitted. "Just the parts about Night."

"Well, you know now," Serrated said with a sigh. "Goddesses only know who thought that was a good name for a kid, griffon or otherwise."

There was a moment of silence before Sweet Dagger cleared her throat. "So, did anything else happen there that we should know about?"

Serrated perked up. "Oh, yeah! Page said they found out some stuff about the Virtues while they were traveling, that we'd gotten wrong all these years."

"Really?" Sweet asked.

Hidden nodded. "And some that we'd gotten right, such as the Lady's generosity," she said. "As Rex later explained, she inspired others with her selflessness and desiring the best for others."

"Oh my." Sweet looked at her daughters. "That... how did they learn such things?"

"Page didn't say," Serrated said. "But I think one of the biggest parts they got wrong was the Stallion of Dedication." She glanced in Hidden's direction. "Apparently, the stallion they made all those statues of was the big brother of the real pony of dedication. They got her hat right though."

"Wait, seriously?" Deep asked. "That's... how?"

Hidden shrugged. "Apparently, King Blueblood was relying mostly on second-hoof information and didn't understand all of it."

"And since it's been a thousand years, it's only understandable that the truth might have been distorted as it was retold," Lethal mused. "That would make a lot of sense."

"Does that mean... all those statues of the Magi of Stars they have outside of libraries..." Sweet started, looking at her daughters questioningly.

"Are right where they belong," Serrated told her. "She, the Magi of Stars, absolutely loved books and reading, from what we were told."

Sweet relaxed at that. "That's good to hear," she said.

"In fact, Page... well, have you seen her Cutie Mark?" Hidden asked.

Lethal nodded. "It was on her wanted poster," he said. "Actually, I didn't know changelings could get Cutie Marks; I suppose I assumed it was just a part of her disguise."

"I was kind of curious about that myself," Deep said. "But she still had it when she was in her changeling form the other day. I didn't think to ask about it while Emerald and I were there though."

Serrated nodded. "I was wondering about it too," she said. "When I asked her, Page explained that pureblood changelings still can't get them, as far as anypony knows. But mixed-bloods can, and since she has unicorn ancestors..."

"Ah." Lethal nodded.

"Anyway, she got hers for helping another pony find the book he was looking for," Serrated continued.

Deep nodded. "Wouldn't be the first member of the family with a book of some kind for a cutie mark," he said as he gestured to the business ledger on Hidden's flank.

"True," Hidden acknowledged.

"Hey - you said you talked to Rex and Xvital too?" Deep asked. "I didn't get to see them today 'cause of work, so how are they doing?"

"They're good," Serrated said. "Xvital said your advice helped her a lot in her lessons today."

"And Rex and I talked business for a while," Hidden said. "You know, that's two people I've gotten to talk with about that today 'cause of Page." She smiled.

"Well," Sweet Dagger said. "The more I hear, the more I'm looking forward to meeting her and Night's other friends."

Lethal nodded. "The same goes for me," he said. "And I expect Crooked and Striking will agree too."

The others nodded, and then focused on their food. But as she ate, Sweet's thoughts drifted to her eldest and his son.

Be safe, wherever you're on duty tonight, she thought to them silently. Goddesses be with you.

Crooked Blade

Crooked Blade looked around the mass of his fellow Royal Guards, and the IA agents who were watching them from the windows of the building in front of them. He had been out here with his squad since 1400 and was doing his best to ignore his grumbling stomach.

"I hope those ponies up there drop their case soon so we can go home," one of the other Guards grouched next to him.

"Watch your tongue, soldier," Mist Flight snapped as he passed by. "We're doing this to support our Captain."

"I know, and I get it," the other pony answered. "But you'd think those guys up there would take the hint and give up on this already!"

"They think they can wait us out," Striking Blade said, making a beam of pride soar in Crooked's heart. "The Captain has made sure we are more stubborn than most dragons in our duties."

That was received by a round of chuckles from Guards nearby with Mist giving a smirk.

"Damn straight," he said. "We are Royal Guards, and we do our duty to the end. And that includes supporting our Captain when she's been unfairly targeted."

"Absolutely, sir," Crooked Blade said, speaking for the first time. "Gentle Step is our Captain, we stand by her." He gazed up at the IA building again. "At least their Deputy Commissioner is a decent sort," he muttered quietly.

Mist Flight nodded. "True," he said. "And boys... keep holding the line. I've a feeling things are about to take a turn for the better."

Crooked nodded and saluted his commanding officer, and every other Guard around followed suit.

"Crooked, a moment," Mist said, drawing his attention towards the grizzled acting Captain-General. "There is something I would like to ask of you."

"Sir?" Crooked asked.

Mist led them off to the side, creating a shield around them that canceled the sound out. "Do you know where your youngest brother is?" he asked. "I've gotten reports that he apparently left the city with two of his friends."

Crooked shook his head. "News to me, sir," he said. "I've been here since the start."

"Hmm." Mist considered. "Do you think any of your siblings would know?" he asked. "I've also gotten reports that they were seen visiting with miss Turner and two of the others who stayed in the city."

"That's... news to me too, sir," Crooked said. "I haven't had the chance to speak to them since this whole situation started." He considered, looking off where Striking was standing. "My son might; I understand that one of Night's friends is a Hatchery Griffon, and Striking was on duty for giving out the necessary information, so he may know more on that end."

Mist nodded with a look on his face. "They are doubtlessly in the Griffish Isles, though if we knew exactly where they were, it would be a weight off of my mind," he said. He then turned to face Crooked. "For reasons that are classified, it would be best for all of us if they were under Royal Guard protection. However, as we are not to revoke their freedom to move about, we need to keep better track of them. As such, I would appreciate it if you were to go inquire your siblings if they knew their location."

"I'll do what I can, sir," Crooked said. "If I could call in to my parents' manor, I'd probably be able to reach them; Mother invited us all over tonight, so I expect my siblings are still there."

Mist nodded. "Major Blade, I hereby grant you permission to depart this area and do as you've stated," he said. "We'll cover for you."

"I appreciate that, sir," Crooked said.

With that, he faded into the shadows behind him, and was gone.

It was nearly half an hour before he returned to his post, and saluted Mist Flight.

"How'd it go?" the other stallion asked.

"According to Mother, our family pilot did indeed take Night, his friends Wind Breaker and Vix-Lei to the Griffish Isles," Crooked reported. "And while Miss Turner did not give any of my siblings the specific location, we do know that they were able to safely land in one city and are currently proceeding to another, over land, that lacks official landing areas of any kind. They believe Breaker may have family there."

Mist grunted. "Well, it's more than we knew before," he said. "What about your pilot?"

"From what we understand, he's staying with the skimmer," Crooked said. "Sir, have you spoken to Striking yet?"

"I was waiting for you to get back," Mist said. He raised a hoof to his helmet and said something into it. A moment later, Striking Blade trotted over.

"Reporting for duty, sir," he said.

Mist nodded. "I have an important question for you," he said. "Did you, in the course of doing your duties, have reason to encounter a Hatchery griffon named Wind Breaker?"

"I did, sir," Striking said.

Mist nodded. "And did you have chance to review his folder and identify where he was originally from?"

Striking nodded. "Yes, sir. He is from the Essex Region of the Griffish Isles, sir, and is one of the young griffons obtained illegally from an orphanage in that area."

"Damn." Mist shook his head. "So it would be reasonable to assume that's where he went first when he and two non-griffon friends of his went overseas to that country?"

"I believe it would, sir," Striking said.

"And... how did he strike you as a person, guardsman?" Mist asked.

Striking considered. "He seemed like a decent fellow who'd heard too many jokes about his name, sir," he said.

"That doesn't surprise me," Mist said with a chuckle.

"And apparently, I reminded him of Uncle Night," Striking said, causing Crooked to look at him in surprise. "Something about the expression on my face."

"Hmm." Mist nodded. "Well, thank you for your help, both of you," he said.

Both nodded, and then, at his dismissal, headed back into the crowd of protesting guards.

"So, what was that about?" Striking asked quietly.

"Concern over the whereabouts of your uncle Night and some of his friends," Crooked replied just as quietly. "I'll explain more after all this is over."

"Right." Striking nodded, then turned his eyes to the IA building again.

Crooked looked in the same direction, but his mind was running elsewhere.

I suppose it's my turn to visit miss Turner and Night's other friends next, he thought to himself. Once our Captain is no longer being targeted and we are free to return to our standard duties.

Something tells me it will be an... interesting experience.

Chapter 22: Gentle Step, Hidden Dagger, Wind Breaker, Night Blade, Clear Back

Chapter Twenty-Two

Gentle Step

knock knock

Gentle Step raised an eyebrow as she went to peer out her front door. It was still very early in the morning, and she wasn't expecting friendly company; Memorizing Gaze had admitted to her the previous evening that he was going to be very busy today and wouldn't be able to stop by. Still, she supposed she ought to at least find out who was there.

At the sight of a changeling on her doorstep, albeit one who was clearly not the stallion she fancied - he was a lot shorter, for one thing - she raised her eyebrows even further, but opened the door. "Can I help you?" she asked.

"Special edition, sir," the changeling replied before thrusting a folded newspaper at her. "The word's getting out all over the city."

Accepting the paper, Gentle nodded. "Thank you, young one," she said.

"You're welcome, sir," the changeling said, bowing and then turning and buzzing away.

Closing and re-locking the door, Gentle took the paper back to her table, and unfolded it, then stared at the headline. If she could have raised her eyebrows any further, they'd surely have seceded from her face.

Royal Guards Protest Unfair Treatment of their Captain, the paper declared. Below, a second smaller line read: Internal Affairs up in arms over Captain-General Gentle Step's romantic embrace with fellow Captain Memorizing Gaze. The article that followed described how her guards felt the initial newspaper reveal of this relationship had been a blatant violation of their captain's privacy, and that Internal Affairs had no business trying to punish her for finally finding love with one of the few ponies who could equal her in combat, essentially negating the reasons for the regulation that they were accusing her of violating. This, the paper declared, was why they'd gone to Mount Legion to protest, driven by their loyalty to their captain and their trust in their fellows to handle matters in their absence.

As she read the article, she saw that the writer, though intended to be neutral, was clearly showing sympathies towards her. Her lips curled into a thin smile at this, and she set the paper aside before heading into the kitchen.

She had a feeling she'd be seeing more IA agents on her doorstep soon, and she had no desire to go a day without eating because their presence had killed her appetite. She quickly prepared her own meal, nothing of the quality that Mems was capable of but it was satisfactory for her, and certainly better than the survival rations she'd relied on in the past.

It had only been two hours since she had retrieved the newspaper and made her meal but already a hooffull of Internal Affairs agents had tried to bother her multiple times to halt the protests. The operative word was try as she had refused to allow them more than a few seconds before closing the door on them. It was technically rude but she did not truly care about their hurt feelings as they were only trying to cover their own hides now that the public were turning against them. It would take a lot more than that sort of thing to get her to step in when she had plenty of time on her side and even when her vacation time ran out, she had other means to avoid a direct conflict.

Thinking on what it would take to force her to step up directly, Gentle Step frowned. She had her doubts that IA and its ponies would be able to go that far, but they could certainly try to avoid being in the wrong. Whether King Well Banded would listen to them, however, was another story. As her only real superior, he had the authority to order her to step up if he so chose, and she had to admit he did have a case to do so. It probably did not look good to have his elite Captain acting as she was over a potential lover, so ordering her to face IA to save face in regards to the world's stage was a distinct possibility.

However, she thought to herself. Even if Internal Affairs went directly to him to request that he give that order, they certainly wouldn't be able to make him do so if he didn't want to. As she had once heard him say, only the Goddesses, if they had lived to see this day, or another divine entity (and given the Nightmare's nature and that of the magic that the Six had wielded against it, it would not surprise her if there were indeed others of their kind out there), would have had the authority to order him around. And she could call Internal Affairs many things (most of which involved non-foal friendly language, if she had to be honest with herself), but divinity was most certainly not one of them.

No, Internal Affairs would not be able to force the King to order her to do as they said. Yet she still felt a twinge of concern. Even if they failed then, there was another option available to them, a contingency rule that allowed the governors to issue emergency orders in the absence of any members of the Royal Family. But she had her doubts that it would be successful. First, in order to even enact it, King Well Banded and his family would have to be outside Canterlot at the time, and as far as she knew, he wasn't planning to go anywhere anytime soon. Second, to succeed, IA would have to go through the same process that had pardoned the Fourth Tribe: a mass vote requiring a majority of the Captains and the twelve governors of Canterlot (this law having been set up for speedy emergency actions, it did not require the one hundred thirty six senators to be called in, since the process of summoning them would have only delayed things).

Shaking her head, Gentle Step looked around the room, trying to clear her thoughts. Life, she reflected, had gotten far more complicated than she'd ever expected since the day of the most recent Honor Festival. But while she had the distinct feeling that there were still more troubles to come, she had no intention of standing back and letting them overwhelm her.

When the time was right, she would act.

And she would remind them of just why they had made her Captain-General in the first place. Her integrity, her determination, and her loyalty to her country and her companions had all seen her through before, and she would not compromise those parts of her. Not now, not ever.

With that thought in mind, she headed downstairs. She may be waiting for the right moment to act, but, as she reflected to herself, she might as well do something else constructive until that time, and making use of one of her exercise rooms would serve that purpose just fine.

Hidden Dagger

Around the rest of Canterlot, the news was spreading as well, including the Blade family manor, where Lethal was looking over the morning paper as Hidden and her mother looked on.

"So that's why Crooked and Striking couldn't make it home last night," the family patriarch said. "They were with the protestors on Mount Legion."

His wife nodded. "I just hope they don't get in trouble for this," she said worriedly.

"I doubt it," Hidden said from her own seat at the table, where she'd just finished her breakfast. "Right of Assembly, including protesting, is guaranteed under the Equestrian Constitution. Also, if IA tried to charge the guards doing the protesting with dereliction of duty, they'd probably find they didn't have a case."

Lethal looked at his oldest daughter. "Have you run into this sort of thing before?" he asked.

Hidden nodded. "During one of my visits to Mareis to see Deep, I arrived right in the middle of a riot about some tax increase or another," she said with a shrug of her wings. "Not long before that, one of Mareis's Guard brigades had had one of its officers dismissed on what all his fellows felt was unfair grounds, so when the riots happened, that brigade's Commissaire assigned his people to act as a protection detail for the headquarters for the Ministry of the Interior. Ostensibly, it was to protect the ponies inside from the rioters in the other parts of the city, but the guards on duty were also all carrying protest signs, demanding reinstatement for the officer they were supporting." She paused for a breath before continuing. "When the case was finally brought to trial, the judges ruled that since the paperwork had been properly filed, they were legally still on duty, even if they were carrying signs while they were doing it, so they couldn't be charged with dereliction."

"Does that mean they could do the same here?" Sweet asked.

Hidden nodded. "I've read the law books, and they have a similar clause in place. So as long as Lieutenant Mist Flight has filled out the proper paperwork to assign them as a protection detail for Mount Legion during the griffon riots, none of the Guards over there can actually be charged with anything."

"That's a relief," Lethal said with a sigh.

Hidden nodded, then rose from her seat. "Mom, Dad, I hate to eat and run, but I got a call from somepony earlier, and I need to go meet with them," she said. "See you this evening?"

Both elder nox ponies nodded, and Sweet Dagger trotted over to hug her daughter. "Be safe," she said.

"I will Mom," Hidden promised. "Do you want me to wake up Deep and Serrated before I go?"

Sweet shook her head. "Let them sleep," she said. "They'll get up on their own soon enough."

Hidden nodded, while silently reminding herself to at least peek in on the two's rooms (like her, they'd opted to stay at the family manor the night before for safety reasons, instead of going back to their own apartments) and check to see if they were still sound asleep, like she had earlier on her way to breakfast. "All right, Mom."

Sweet smiled. "I know you care about them, dear," she said. "But don't worry about it for now."

Hidden nodded again, then trotted out of the room.

Once she'd gotten ready, Hidden passed by her siblings' doors and peered in, despite her mother's words. Deep was still snoring away, but Serrated looked to be stirring a bit and Hidden figured she would probably get up and join their parents soon after Hidden herself had left for the day. While both of them were still relatively young and their careers were not as potentially stressful as running the Blade Enterprises was, she couldn’t help but be concerned for them and still found herself looking after her younger siblings from time to time.

Bidding her parents one more farewell, Hidden went out the front door, then took flight.

Soaring over Canterlot, she frowned as she saw traces of the more rambunctious celebrations, and quietly hissed to herself as she flew past the Great (or was it Grand?) Library and saw there was still a group of anti-Changeling protestors outside, apparently having nothing better to do with their time. She hoped Page was still okay, despite their presence, and promised herself that she'd drop in later to check on the other mare and say hello at the least. While she had yet to see how Night and Page truly interacted, she was hopeful that she would join the family and she’d have another sister to spend time with. Besides, she had heard that Deep was planning to draw Page like he did Breeze for Crooked and it would give them all something to talk about. She blushed as she remembered Deep promising ages ago to do the same for her and Serrated when they got their special somepony.

Veering away from the Library, she flew for several more minutes to settle her face before landing at the manor where she'd be having her meeting, and knocked on the door.

The pony who let her in led her to the owner's conference room, where a chorus of voices greeted her with a cheery cry of "Hidden!"

Hidden Dagger slid into her seat with a smile. "Morning, everypony," she said, looking around. "Are we all here?"

"Just one more to go," one of the group said. "The stallion you recommended to us just the other day, and whom we reached out to after your call?"

Hidden nodded. "Well, once Stock Market gets in, we can start our 'meeting'," she said. "So, who brought the deck this time?"

One of the group held up a fresh, unsealed pack. "Got it right here, Hidden," he said.

Hidden smiled as she broke the seal on the cards. Whoever said all businessponies were stuck-ups who didn't know how to have fun? she thought to himself. These periodic gatherings to chat and have a friendly game or six (not anything based on finance, that way led to fierce disagreements, but others were good) helped she and her colleagues to all relax and enjoy themselves between the more strenuous times, and she had a feeling her new friend was going to fit right in.

Wind Breaker

A few days later...

It was the morning of the fifth day since they'd set off from their hotel, and though they'd made much better time than they'd figured on, Wind Breaker was still wondering how much further it was when he heard wings overhead.

Then a familiar griffon landed in front of them, a second by his side, and Wind recognized the first one and grinned. "Gareth!"

"Good to see you again, good sirs and madam," the disguised changeling said with a grin of his own. "How goes everything?"

"Well enough," Night Blade answered. "How about you?"

"Oh, about the usual," Gareth said. "My wife here and I decided to check on you all again, see how things were doing."

"Eh, depends," Vix-Lei said. "We're not entirely sure how far we have to go yet."

"A few hours still, on foot," the griffette by Gareth's side said. "We'll show you the rest of the way, if you don't mind the company."

"Not at all," the trio answered in unison.

Once they'd set off again, Vix-Lei ventured to ask, "So, did you-know-who ask you to come check on us again?"

Gareth chuckled. "Not hardly," he said. "I got to wondering how you were doing all on my own, and figured I should come by and see how you were doing. And my wife decided to come with me, since I'd told her about you."

Vix-Lei nodded. "Does she know about..."

Gareth nodded back. "She's known about my true form for ages," he said.

"Must have been a surprise on your honeymoon," Vix-Lei joked before cringing. "Oh, that was bad," she muttered. "I am so sorry, I didn't mean to offend you..."

Both the transformed griffon and the natural one traded glances, before laughing.

"It's no trouble at all," the griffette said with a laugh. "Actually, Gareth was the one who was surprised. The day I told him I knew about his real species was also the day I proposed."

Gareth blushed at her remark, rubbing the back of his neck with his wing. "Could never hide stuff from you, love,” he said.

The griffette nodded and smiled. "I'm Gwendolyn, by the way," she said. "It's nice to meet all of you."

"Likewise," Wind Breaker said with a smile of his own.

Looking back, Wind Breaker reflected that it had been a nice walk after that, with Gwendolyn asking him all about his life back in Equestria. He in turn had asked her what it was like growing up in the Griffish Isles, and the conversation had lasted all the way to the edge of town.

Finally, they came to a halt, and Gareth nodded.

"Well, here we are," he said. "Gwendolyn and I will wait here. But if you need any help, just call. I've got friends here who'll help out if you need it."

“Thank you,” Wind Breaker said, eyes flicking to the sky full of griffons and briefly wondering who else was a changeling among them before shaking his head. There was no real way of knowing and he could tell he was also starting to find ways to delay his meeting with his possible mother. “Everyone, I mean it, thank you.”

“You’ll be fine Windy,” Vix-Lei said, patting him on the back with Night nodding his head. “Come on, let’s go. Don’t want to be late, right?”

"Right," Wind Breaker said. Steeling himself, he marched across the town border, the other two at his side.

It took them some doing, but soon enough they'd reached the address he'd been given. It was a relatively big mansion with a lot of griffons coming and leaving the place, giving them an odd look. Wind Breaker wasn’t really sure where to begin, never being on this side of the whole working for the rich people before but Night had simply walked up to the door and begun to talk to a griffon in the calmest of tones, gesturing towards Wind Breaker as he spoke. He seemed to be getting angrier as he continued to talk before Wind Breaker decided to walk over.

The butler looked over him with a narrow gaze before tipping his head and began to walk towards the doors. “Follow me, sir,” he said in a tone that suggested it was painful for him to say it. “Her ladyship has been expecting you, sir, though I cannot begin to imagine why.”

Wind Breaker glared at him but kept himself from snapping at the other griffon. “If her Ladyship wishes to meet with me, then that is her business,” he finally said hotly.

“Does the young Equestrian even know her ladyship’s name, by any chance?” the butler sneered at him with Wind Breaker looking off to the side as they walked down the hallways.

"No, I don't," he said. "But I was assured by Chief Constable Gordon that she knows of me and wishes to see me."

The butler scoffed, clicking his beak hard in derision. "As you say, sir," he said. "But what her ladyship would want with a scruffy little-"

"Glyndwr!" A female voice rang out. "That’s enough."

Wind Breaker looked up to see another griffon with a satchel along their side hover into the hallway. She had a very stern look on her face and flew in to press her beak into the butler's. “Firstly, you’re going to get yourself fired if you keep doing it, you idiot,” she snapped, landing with a large thud. “Secondly, I thought you could read and realize who thatis,” she pointed a talon at Wind Breaker. “Thirdly, stop being an ass to anyone from out of the country you bloody git and most importantly, you know that Gloria has been waiting for this meeting so stop being a dunce and giving our guest a hard time.” The butler grumbled loudly, his feathers and fur sticking up in anger with the other griffon, a large mountain griffon flashing Wind Breaker a smile. “Nice to meet a hero, Wind Breaker.” she said, taking his talon into hers and shaking it.

“Um thanks, but how do you know about me?” Wind Breaker asked, struggling not to wince at her grip. He thought Diamond Back was big but she was massive.

“Eh, you Equestrians like to try and keep quiet but the news always leaks out,” she said with a laugh, patting him on the back with a solid weight, almost as hard as Vix-Lei.

“I would say you must forgive Glinda for believing those trashy third party news organizations but then it would imply I care about either her or you,” the butler snarked, brushing his jacket off.

Glinda stuck her tongue out at him, then turned back to Wind Breaker. "I'll show you the rest of the way," she said. "Since he can't seem to behave himself and do what he's supposed to."

Glyndwr stuck his beak up in the air. "Very well," he said stiffly before turning and stalking off.

Glinda shook her head. "I swear, the only reason Glyndwr gets away with as much as he does is because of how he came to serve the old master," she said. "Though even he has his limits. But that's a story for another time. This way, please."

Wind Breaker followed after her, as she led him the rest of the way down the hall. When she stopped, she turned and gave him a very serious look.

"Lady Gloria is in here," she said, gesturing to the door. "I’m not sure exactly why she has been expecting you but she seemed to be very hopeful, more than I’ve ever seen her.” She then leaned in close. “So if I learn you did something to change that, then we would have a nice talk with me and my big brothers.”

Wind Breaker nodded. "Believe me, I have no intention of deliberately upsetting her," he said with his talon resting on the doorknob.

Glinda nodded back.

Taking a last deep breath, Wind Breaker turned the knob and went in.

The room's only occupant was facing away from him as he shut the door behind himself, and he tapped his talons nervously on the floor. "Um, excuse me? Miss?"

Slowly, the other griffon turned around to face him and Wind could see the resemblances in them right away. Their coats were similar but their eyes also were mismatched, just like Chief Constable Gordon had said. She stared at him and suddenly looked shocked and saddened. “Oh, Wind Breaker,” she lifted a talon to her beak.

And Wind could understand why.

While one of his eyes was blue and the other was gold, hers were green and brown, respectively.

Wait, that doesn't mean she isn’t-

“I’m so sorry,” she said, walking towards him with Wind’s heart beginning to race. “I... I am aware you've come a long way to meet with me on the chance that you...” she stopped, placing a talon on his shoulder while the other one held a letter. A letter that had the Canterlot adoption agency seal on it.

Oh.

“I’m sorry, but I am hope-” she began to say but Wind Breaker had already run out of the room, tears streaming down his face.

Night Blade

There was a sudden whoosh of motion, and Night Blade barely got out of the way in time. Looking up, he saw Wind Breaker flying out the door, and his eyes widened. "What the..."

"I'll go after him," Vix-Lei said hurriedly, rising and following Wind out the door.

Night nodded, then looked back as he saw another griffon coming into the room. Looking closer, he saw she had mismatched eyes, though not the same colors as Wind's.

"What happened?" he asked quietly.

The other griffon looked worried. "I'm... not the one he was looking for," she said quietly. “I just received a letter from the child I had given up so long ago.”

Night blinked, uncertain if he should congratulate her or not. "Oh." he said awkwardly.

Straightening himself, he approached the griffette and bowed. "My apologies for our disturbing you then, ma'am," he said. "We'll be on our way."

The griffon bowed back. "I'm sorry for upsetting your friend," she said. "I know he was so looking forward to finding..." She fell silent for a moment, then looked at him. "I hope you can find him," she said. "And that he can find the ones he's looking for."

Night bowed again, then headed out the door.

It was some time before he finally caught up with his friends. It had taken all his self-control not to take flight so he could move faster, but thankfully, another griffon had seen the direction that Wind had flown off in, and had already guided Vix-Lei after him. When Night had exited the mansion, the same griffon had gladly shown him the way she'd gone, flying with him.

Now, hours later, Night could see her some ways ahead. Hurrying on, he finally came to a halt next to where Vix-Lei was standing, a worried look on her face.

Wind was still some ways ahead of them, sitting on the edge of a rocky bluff that had a number of broken glass bottles scattered on the ground down below. Night couldn't see his face, but he could tell his friend was still obviously upset. Vix-Lei also looked like she wanted to say something, but for once she seemed to be at a loss for words.

Looking up at her, Night gave a nod, before the two backed away a little.

"We'll set up camp," he said quietly. "Then you rest. I'll keep an eye on Wind for a while."

Vix-Lei nodded. "Okay," she said. "Oh, and that griffon who gave me directions? I asked him to find Gareth and Gwendolyn, and tell them where we went."

Night nodded back. "Good thinking," he said. "I suppose they'll find us soon enough."

After that, the two went to work. But as they did, Night couldn't shake the feeling that he and his friends weren't alone, though he couldn't see anypony else around. He also had the strange sense that whoever was watching, they weren't hostile.

Looking out at Wind, who was still hunched over, Night shook his head. I'm sorry you couldn't find what you were looking for, my friend, he thought to himself.

But you'll always have us.

Clear Back

Miles away, Clear Back continued his private mission. Going towards the Crystal Empire had been an unfortunate fool’s errand; with a lot of precious time wasted even after attempting to reach the Royal Guards, who'd been all occupied with their efforts to try and track down the rebellious members of Princess Celestia’s defenders.

Maybe he'd have better luck with them, he thought wryly to himself. The members of the Order should at least have some idea of the cause he represented, and if they did, they'd be more likely to take him seriously, though reaching them had proven near impossible and had almost got him arrested and sent away to the currently undisclosed detention area the Royal Guards were keeping the rebels in.

Now he just had to find the new Bearers without getting caught leaving this city and having his belongings searched. All indications were that they were back in Canterlot, so he'd head that way as soon as he could, assuming he did not run into anything on the way.

But he needed to find the Bearers before he escaped.

Chapter Twenty-Three: Vix-Lei, Night Blade, Xvital

Chapter Twenty-Three: Vix-Lei, Night Blade, Xvital

Chapter Twenty-Three

Vix-Lei

The sun was just coming up as Vix-Lei yawned and stretched, before she looked over to where Wind Breaker had been the night before. Night Blade had let her sleep for about half the night while he kept watch, then she'd taken over. Somewhere along the line, Wind had fallen asleep himself, but she'd still kept an eye on him.

Her heart ached for her friend and the sadness and disappointment he'd suffered, and she'd wished she could say something more to him to help him feel better. But she was learning, and she could tell that right now, most of all, he needed his space.

There was a slight rustling, and then she saw Night coming out of his tent, wincing a bit as he moved.

"Rough night?" she asked quietly.

Night nodded, then looked over at Wind. "How's he doing?" he asked quietly.

"Slept like the dead, near as I can tell," she said. "Still breathing though, I double-checked."

Night nodded, and was about to say more, when Wind's head rose and he shot them both a dirty look. "I can hear you both, you know," he said flying down to them.

Vix-Lei cringed. "Sorry we woke you," she said.

"You didn't wake me," Wind said as he landed next to them, shaking himself off. "I've been up for a while." Looking down, he sighed, before muttering, "I guess it was too much to ask that we found the right one on the first try."

"Right," Vix-Lei said. "So what do we do now?"

"We try again," Night Blade said. "It may take some time, but we'll do everything we can, Wind. In the meantime, I suggest we eat, and then head back to Essex."

"I don't know," Wind Breaker said. "There are countless griffons out there; the odds of me finding my parents are incredibly slim." He let out a low, long sigh. "And I don't know if I want to find them. I rushed into this pretty hard without really thinking. And as you guys said, we're more like family than anyone who just gave me up or had me stolen away."

"That may be the case," Night said. "But I promise you, no matter how long it takes in the end, or how many other things we have to do in the interim, we will not give up. You're our friend, and this is important to you. So we'll keep going until we find something."

"Again Night, I appreciate this but I had a long time to think this over last night," he chuckled, holding up an empty pack. "I cannot begin to tell you how tempted I was late night but every time I picked a bottle up, I just thought; is that how I wanted to show myself to my future possible family? After I had run out of bottles, it got me thinking to what I said before; did I even want to find them or know them?" He let out another tired sigh, rubbing the back of his neck. "I really think I rushed too fast in this; I still haven't really got through my head that the Hatcheries are gone and I'm legally allowed to be here, let alone I could find my parents. I still need to think of what I want and stop just running ahead at the latest drop of information."

Vix-Lei smiled and reached over to pull him into a hug. "No matter what you decide, we're here for you," she said.

Wind nodded as he returned the hug. "Thank you," he said, with Night giving them a friendly nod.

For a while there was silence, and then she gave a small laugh. "I think we should take care of all the broken glass, though," she rubbed the back of her head.

"Yeah, that was kinda in the heat of the moment last night," he chuckled awkwardly.

"I'm impressed that you were able to do it, Wind," Night said, placing a wing on their friend's shoulder. "I know they were a sense of control for you."

"They were and me too," Wind laughed again, rubbing his arm. "It helps if I don't really focus on it..." He chuckled again, squeezing his arm before he broke eye contact.

"So what say we take care of this, and then feed our faces?" Vix-Lei asked.

Both males nodded, and then the trio set to work.

It took some time, but they managed to get as much of it as they could. Finally, Vix-Lei stood with a spine-popping stretch, and looked around.

"Did we miss anything?" she asked.

"If you did, we'll take care of it," another voice said before a set of griffons came out of the bushes nearby, with the lead one continuing. "But we appreciate the effort."

"Gareth," Night Blade acknowledged, and then gave a nod to Gwendolyn, whom he could also see in the group. "I see you got Vix-Lei's message. Good to see you again."

"You too," the disguised changeling returned. "And if you're all done here, we've got a little surprise for you."

Vix-Lei nodded. "We were going to have breakfast first..."

"Not a problem," Gareth replied. "You three eat, we'll finish up here."

Food and cleanup followed, and once they were done, Gareth and his companions led them down the hill to a clear area, where to their surprise, they found a pair of chariots waiting for them.

"My friends and I are giving you a lift back to Essex," Gareth explained. "There aren't any official docks we could take off from, but we pulled a few strings to get a hold of these. Figured you could use the ride, after all that walking you've been doing lately."

"Much appreciated," Night Blade said.

The two males climbed into one chariot, while Vix-Lei took the other, and soon the griffons had all hooked themselves up and were ready to fly.

Then they were off, and Vix-Lei let her head hang back, her mane blowing in the wind.

Gods and goddesses, that breeze feels good, she thought to herself.

She looked in the direction of the other chariot, and saw Wind and Nighty looking a lot more relaxed than they had been, which made her smile.

So glad you two are getting along like this, boys, she thought.

Night Blade

By the time they got back to the docks in Essex, it was mid-afternoon, and the trio disembarked from their chariots. Once they were out, all the other griffons detached themselves and headed into town, but Gareth and Gwendolyn stayed behind a little longer, Gwendolyn taking Wind and Vix-Lei aside while Gareth and Night stood together, watching them.

"Again, I cannot thank you enough for all the help you've given us," Night finally told his companion.

The disguised changeling smiled. "'Tweren't no problem," he said. "You needed the help, and my friends and I were glad to do it. If you're ever here in the Isles again, just give us a holler."

Night nodded. "We'll take you up on that," he said, before looking over to see Wind Breaker accepting a hug from Gwendolyn, who was speaking quietly to him, before the pair separated and she came back over to her husband.

"Well, gotta fly," Gareth said. "See you all again sometime, I hope."

Night nodded, and watched as the pair left.

"So," Vix-Lei said as she came up to him, Wind Breaker by her side. "Think we should check into the hotel again, then head back in the morning?"

"That would probably be the best option," Night said. "It'll take at least a few hours to file a flight plan so we can leave, and we might as well get a good night's rest before we go."

Vix-Lei nodded. "I'll take care of the hotel this time," she said. "You boys go talk to Gray Cloud, then find a place where we can have dinner, I'll meet you there."

Both males nodded, and then she left.

It was half an hour later when they got settled into a booth. Things had gone smoothly so far, but Night couldn't help but notice that Wind had still been unusually quiet for a long while.

"You okay?" he asked.

Wind flicked a talon across the table. "Just... thinking," he said. "About stuff." He sighed. "Wondering how things are going back home. It's been a few days since we heard from them."

Night nodded understandingly. "Well, we'll find out soon enough," he said.

"Evening, boys."

Both of them looked up to see a familiar griffon walking up to them, and Wind nodded. "Chief Gordon," he said.

Gordon nodded back, then sighed. "Heard the news from up north this morning," he said. "I'm sorry we didn't actually find her this time. But we're not going to give up until we've exhausted all the possible options, and if we do find something, we'll let you know."

Wind nodded again. "I appreciate that," he said, his voice audibly trembling. "Thank you for everything, Chief."

Gordon tipped his head, then smiled. "You're very welcome, son," he said as he placed some gum on the table, which Wind Breaker happily took.

The pair exchanged a bit more small talk, and then the chief had to go answer a call elsewhere, leaving Wind and Night by themselves. Finally, Wind sighed.

"So, what are we going to do once we get back home?" he asked. "I mean, I know most of us have personal stuff to take care of, but... well, I don't really have anything else to do now. I'm effectively out of work, and aside from that, I can't just sit around in a hotel forever."

Night shrugged. "Good question," he said. "Technically, we're all still in protective custody, and I'm surprised the Guards even allowed the three of us to leave Canterlot. I am certain that we can find something for you to keep busy with once we return though."

"At times like this, I kinda wish I had something like your talent emblem to tell me what I'm supposed to do with my life," Wind said, resting his beak on his balled up talon.

"It's not that easy or simple," Night replied. "A talent emblem represents what we're good at, not what we have to do with ourselves. You were in the doctor's office when Vix-Lei and I were discussing this very topic a few days ago, but our emblems don't have to limit us to what we got them for."

"Still would be nice to have a guide at least," Wind said.

"Still isn't that easy; Page and I got lucky in retrospect," Night shook his head. "It was a tradition to pass down the family sword to the youngest, I was fortunate that Deep gave it to me instead of my nephew. And Page works and lives in the Library. We were in the right place at the right time for ours to appear. Most aren't that lucky and it is a real self examination and true understanding of who you are before you get your talent emblem or cutie mark. If you were a pony, you might be a blank flank now and only get yours when you discover what you're good at, like we did... and like our predecessors did."

Wind straightened at that. "Right..." he muttered. "I remember that talk."

"And if all else fails, you can spend a lot of time at the library," Night said. "There's plenty of stories and histories you can enjoy yourself with."

Wind smiled. "I'll think about it," he said. Then he tilted his head. "Maybe I can find some of the ones I remember hearing when I was just a cub."

"And maybe I can help you find some of the ones I enjoyed reading then too," Night told him.

"Besides Wind," Vix-Lei said as she slid into the booth. "You can always try traveling to see what fits you. There is a whole world beyond Canterlot and as corny as it sounds, it's just magical to experience it all. Was kinda planning on traveling more if Canterlot didn't work out, but then I met you guys and ended up on the wildest ride of my life." She flashed a smile at them both. "Still don't know what I'll do next but I'm sure it will be a blast with you guys in it."

Night nodded and smiled. "I certainly agree," he said. Then he looked more serious. "Are things all set with the hotel?"

Vix-Lei flashed him a thumbs-up. "Got it covered," she said, and Night and Wind both nodded in return.

It was then that a waiter came over to ask for their orders, and they were quickly preoccupied with food for a while. When they'd finished, the three settled their bill, then exited and headed back to the hotel for the night.

They were well-rested by the time the sun rose, even Night, to his surprise. He still grumbled a bit, but the others weren't bothered by it this time.

"According to the flight plan, if we leave on schedule, the time zone differences mean we'll be getting back in Canterlot a little after sunrise there," he told Vix-Lei after they'd checked out and headed back to the restaurant for breakfast.

"Sounds good to me," Vix-Lei said as she began to make her plate. "You know, it reminds me of one of my people's legends."

"Oh?" Wind asked as he filled his plate with pancakes and other sweets while Night settled on some mango juice as well as mango slices.

Vix-Lei nodded. "I know ponies have their own legends about their goddesses moving the sun and moon, and Rex is convinced it's just gravity, but according to our legends, there's this chariot that one of our gods flies across the sky, and it's what moves the sun. Then there's some who say it just creates the illusion of the sun moving. They say stuff like that about the moon too." She shrugged. "Personally, I don't know what's more accurate, but it's fun to read and compare the different versions. What I do know is that according to Dad, us minotaurs were inspired to create our first airskimmers by the stories about the sun and moon chariots."

"Moon chariot?" Night asked, ears perking up as they sat down at the table. "Can you tell us more about that?"

"Well, according to the legend, one of our goddesses flies this chariot representing the moon, or that is the moon, across the sky at night, just like her brother flies the chariot that is or represents the sun during the daytime," Vix-Lei said as she started to cut into her sausages. She had taken a big plate of the breakfast options offered, scrambled eggs with bacon and others odds and ends. "The moon chariot is all silver and is pulled by flying reindeer. The sun chariot is pulled through the sky by a team of red oxen that burn like fire. They also say that the god flying it has to be careful to keep it on its path through the sky, so it doesn't get too far away and make the planet freeze, or get too close and set everything on fire." She shrugged. "Supposedly, our sun god let his own son pilot the chariot once, and he lost control, making things freeze and burn until his father took back the reins. Though I've also heard that he did just fine until some monster flew up and freaked out the oxen, and that's why the sun went wild that day."

"I'm guessing that was about a thousand years ago?" Night asked.

Vix-Lei scratched her head. "More like a little over two thousand or so," she said. "Long before what you-know-who pulled. The moon wasn't affected, as far as I know. Or if it was, the version I read didn't mention it."

"There is so little we know about that time," Wind sighed. "I mean, there might be some records but we already know that the most of the information of the past is wrong, or at least misinterpreted." He grimaced. "And that's going to bug me until they get it fixed and have the truth printed."

Night Blade nodded in understanding. "With that aspect of your Element, I can see why it would bother you," he said.

Vix-Lei suddenly looked worried. "Does my telling you these stories bother you, with that?" she asked.

Wind shook his head. "No, it doesn't," he said. "Stories that are meant to entertain, or to explain a culture's point of view, don't bother me. I've been trying to figure this side of things out, and as far as I can tell, it's when somepony - or other being - is deliberately trying to mislead people, or is presenting something as the truth because they don't know any better, that I get bothered."

"Oh. Phew." Vix-Lei looked relieved. "Didn't want to be hurting you, Wind."

"It's okay," Wind told her. "If you were, I'd make sure you knew." He tilted his head. "Wish I knew why mine affected me so much more than yours," he muttered.

"Maybe it is a balancing thing?" Night said with his friends looking at him curiously. "You were always honest to begin with, but you were given alcohol to suppress it. So it could be you are just getting back into proper order with your Element surging now."

Wind looked thoughtful. "Could be," he said, then nodded. "It makes more sense than anything I can think of. Thank you."

"It's no problem Wind," Night said. "I'm glad I could help you. I just hope I'm right."

Wind nodded. "The impressions I'm getting... I'm pretty sure you are," he said.

Then he glanced at the wall and back to his friends. "Also, we've got maybe half an hour until lift-off time," he said.

The other two nodded, and began focusing on their food, Wind doing the same.

Once they'd settled things there, they headed back to the docks, Vix-Lei stretching as she went.

"You know, in some ways, it's been fun here," she said. "Just getting to see new places, meet new people. But it'll be nice to get back home."

Both males nodded in agreement.

Xvital

Xvital yawned and stretched as she got out of bed for the day, her ears twitching as she heard voices in the other room.

Then there was a tapping on her door. "Xvital? Are you decent?"

"Sort of," Xvital said. "Come on in, Page."

The door opened, and Page poked her head in. "Good news," she said. "We just heard from the guard, Night's family's airskimmer is due to arrive at the docks in about an hour."

Xvital froze for a moment, then grinned. "Well all right," she said. "Give me a few, I'll be out so we can go meet them."

Page nodded, and closed the door.

Soon enough, Xvital, Page and Rex were all on their way to the docks, with members of the Cadenza guards still around them, though mixed in with those from the other districts. The city had finally calmed down for the most part, the last of the celebrating griffons finally gone on their way, but the trio were still persons of interest.

As they approached, one Guard looked up to see a shadow approaching and started to shout a warning, but Page had already felt her coming. "It's okay," she said. "She's a friend."

Moments later, Serrated Dagger landed on the street, folding her wings and looking relieved. "Good, I'm not too late," she said.

Rex bowed from where he was standing. "Miss Dagger," he said.

Serrated smiled. "Rex," she said. "Page, Xvital. How are you all this morning?"

"Good enough," Xvital said. "How are you?"

"Excited," Serrated said. "When we heard Night was on his way back, we all wanted to come and meet him, but..." She hesitated a moment, then continued. "We didn't want to overwhelm him. We still felt at least one of us should be here though, and I volunteered first."

All three nodded but frowned when one of the guards walked forward to Serrated. "I'm sorry ma'am, but we will need to inspect that." he said, pointing towards the rolled up tube case she had on her back.

Without hesitation, Serrated handed it over while giving Page an embarrassed look. "Sorry, Deep asked me to hoof this over to you so Night could get it," she said as the guard opened the tube and took out the painting with his magic. Inspecting it, he noticeably blushed before returning it to the tube and then giving it over to Page with his partner grinning and elbowing him.

"Do we want to know Page?" Xvital asked with Page blushing and shaking her head.

"No, I really think this should stay between Night and I," she said with a giggle and a swish of her tail, giving Xvital a nice hint to what it was. Page, for all her nice and kind outward appearance, truly did have a fiery strike within her. "And the painter."

Xvital nodded, and that settled, the four and their guards headed into the docks and to a waiting area not far from where the airskimmer would land.

They made small talk as they waited, watching the skies. Finally though, they saw what they'd been waiting for, the ZRX-29 Nova. Descending, it came in for a landing, and once its engines had turned off and the door unsealed, they watched as their friends emerged.

First came Vix-Lei, carrying her bags and for once wearing a shirt though, without any sleeves, with Wind behind her. Finally, Night emerged, blinking a little in the sunlight, before his head turned to Page and he immediately hurried over to her.

"It's so good to see you again," he said as he pulled her into a hug.

Page hugged him back. "It's good to see you too," she said. "All of you."

Xvital stood back and let the couple have their reunion, then saw Wind looking at them with a smile. "Hey," she said. "How are you?"

"It's been a trip. Not what I hoped for but I'm okay with it. Mostly," Wind said. "But it's good to see you all again." He nodded to her and Rex, and Page as well, before his eyes drifted over to Serrated, and he looked at her in surprise and curiosity.

So did Night, when he finally drew apart from Page, and he blinked in surprise at the sight of her.

"Hey, little brother," she said shyly.

Night blinked again. "Serrated?"

Serrated nodded. "It's me," she said. "Long time no see, Night."

Night looked as if he were trying to figure out what to say, and finally cleared his throat. "So it has," he said. "How... how are you?"

"Doing well," Serrated said.

The two looked at one another rather awkwardly, and Xvital was about to say something when Vix-Lei suddenly came around Night. "Serrated... Dagger, right?" she asked. "What brings you out here this morning?"

Serrated ducked her head. "My family found out Night was coming home, and we felt at least one of us should be here to greet him," she said, repeating her earlier words. "I volunteered first."

"Ah. Well," Vix-Lei held out a hand. "Nice to formally meet you then."

As they shook hand and hoof, Wind Breaker trotted up and, when Vix-Lei had let go of Serrated's hoof, he held out a talon of his own to shake. Serrated smiled and took it, and looked at the two.

"It's good to meet the rest of my brother's friends too," she said. Then she looked back at Night. "We have got a lot to catch up on, you and me," she said with a smile on her face, placing a wing over him. "If you feel ready."

Night smiled back. "I believe I do," he said before chuckling. "I'd hug you back if I could but I can't right now. My wing wasn't actually fully healed and I was advised to not move it more than needed."

Serrated instantly looked concerned. "What happened?"

"Sharp Point," Night said with a grimace. "I fought him in the Everfree Forest several months ago, and sustained a few injuries in the process. I thought they were all healed, especially after the Harmony wave, but apparently not, as my recent exertions showed me."

Serrated hissed. "Well, we'll make sure you get it properly treated," she said.

Night nodded. "I appreciate that," he said.

Xvital nodded too. "I wish we'd known about this sooner," she said. "I know Tizoc's doctors checked us all over, but..."

"But they might have missed something," Night said. "I'm almost wondering if it wasn't something our enemy left that caused them to flare up. I know he stabbed my wing at least once..."

"Whatever the case is, we will have a top expert looking you over, Night," Serrated promised. "As well as your friends if that's okay with them."

All of them nodded.

"That would be appreciated, especially for Page as now she doesn't have a reason to avoid doctors anymore," Night said with the mare giving him a pointed look. "What? It's true."

Page gave him another look, then sighed. "I suppose you're right," she muttered. "But the elders of my hive already took care of that for me while you were away. They're still rather paranoid about letting non-changelings treat any of us, and as the Queen's representative..."

Wind raised a talon. "Technically, I've already had some tests back in the Isles," he said. "They'll be sending the results here. Not that I'd object to a second opinion, but I'm... not eager to repeat that experience." He shuddered. "Getting stuck with needles is not fun."

"And as good as your elders might be Page, I still think it would be good for you to have the best doctors money can buy," Xvital said. "I'm already due for a check-up with Tizy's personal doctors but if I can get a second look, I'm not going to pass it up."

Page sighed. "All right..."

"Come on," Serrated said as she beckoned to them. "I can lead you there."

Everyone nodded, and they headed out of the landing area, the guards still following behind them.

"So, how are things back here?" Wind asked as they walked to the hanger area. "And what is that you're carrying Page?"

"Well, the celebrations are over," Page said. "But the political situation with the guards is... still a little shaky."

Night looked at her in concern, and she continued. "The story came out while you were away. Apparently, someone caught two of the Captains in a... compromising situation, and decided that the Captain-General was breaking the anti-fraternization rules," she said. "Internal Affairs confronted her about it. She chose to go on leave rather than accede to their demands, but they've been harassing her ever since. Her guards found out about it and started protesting outside their headquarters in return, including your oldest brother and his son."

Night looked astonished, and so did Wind and Vix-Lei.

"When the news came out, there was a rather wide outcry of support for the Captains in question," Rex said. "According to the latest reports in the newspapers, there is to be a court hearing tomorrow, where Captain-General Gentle Step and Captain Memorizing Gaze will meet their accuser and settle things openly. Naturally, we are among the civilians expressing support for the Captains, but given the situation, it has been suggested that we... not be present for the event."

"As for this..." Page gestured to the tube, then blushed. "It's a little something for Night's eyes only. You can understand that, right?"

Vix-Lei gave her a wink and a thumbs-up. "I gotcha, girl," she said with Night looking confused, but thankfully no longer hurt that he wasn’t part of the loop.

Laughing and chatting, the seven headed into the city, Xvital smiling as they went.

Ah, I've missed having us all together, she thought to herself.

"So you are just going to walk past your own mother, just like that?" Xvital ducked at the sudden and unfamiliar voice, as before she saw Vix-Lei spin around to look at the much small minotaur walking up to her.

"Mama!" she cried happily, reaching down to hug the new arrival only to pull back when the relatively short minotaur glared at her.

"Don't you mama me, young lady," she wagged a finger up at Vix-Lei who was now backing up nervously. "First you leave home with not so much as a word and then when you decide to let us know you are alive it is because you are half naked while joyriding in a stolen speeder and wanted for such terrible crimes!" She groaned, leaning into a confused Serrated. "It's enough to break a mother's heart."

"In my defense, the being wanted part is because my friends and I were being framed," Vix-Lei said weakly, holding up her hands.

"And who did I learn that from?" she asked angrily, back into Vix-Lei's face once again. "Not from my only daughter but from your brothers! Herakles, Argus and Eusebios were all willing to vouch for you, but where were you when I learned this? Out of the country, again!" She began to cry, leaning on Page now. "It is like you are ashamed of me; want to do all you can to avoid me."

"Mom, that's not true," Vix-Lei said, bending down to place her hands on her mother's shoulders but she turned away.

"It's enough to break a mother's heart to know that your own child you haven't seen for so long leaves when they know you are coming," she cried with Page patting her back.

"Mama..." Vix-Lei looked aghast as she leaned in closer to her mother. "I feel a lot of ways about you, but ashamed has never been one of them. I-"

That was as far as she got before her mother reached up and grabbed her ear, twisting with a steel grip. "Vix-Lei of Ledra, was I finished speaking?" Vix-Lei quickly shook her head, wincing as her mother continued to twist her ear. "You and I are going to have a nice long talk afterwards, but I think it's time you introduce me to your little friends first."

Vix-Lei nodded quickly, still wincing until the shorter minotaur let go of her ear. "Everytaur, this is my mother, Ianthe," she said. "Mom, these are my friends. Night Blade, his sister Serrated Dagger, his marefriend Page Turner, Xvital, Rex and Wind Breaker."

"Ah, I heard so much about you from my daughter's brothers," she said it sweetly until the last words, giving Vix-Lei an angry look which made her gulp. She walked over to Night and Wind Breaker and tsked. "Such skinny boys. Come, I have a breakfast prepared and with eight children and a husband, I always make more."

"We appreciate the offer but we wouldn't want to intrud-" Night began only for Ianthe to shush him.

"You wouldn't be intruding dear," she said, placing a hand on his shoulder as well as Wind Breaker and began to push off into the minotaur section of the Canterlot. "Come, you both are far too thin. I will put meat on those bones of yours."

"Vix-Lei, I am scared, should I be scared?" Wind Breaker asked.

In response, Ianthe whacked his beak with her wooden spoon, and Xvital looked nervous. Where had she even been hiding that? she wondered.

"...yeah, that's a reasonable response," Vix-Lei said with a sigh. "Come on, everytaur. Once Mom makes up her mind about feeding sometaur, there's no changing it."

"Watch how you talk about your mother, young lady; I can still punish you like when you were younger," Ianthe said as she gave Vix-Lei a look.

Vix-Lei cringed. "Yes, Mama."

The trip to the minotaur embassy didn't take too long, and Xvital looked up and let out a low whistle. "Impressive."

"It's the most fortified building in the city, except for the castle at the very top," Vix-Lei said. "We build things to last."

Before they could approach the door though, it opened, revealing a tall minotaur with a graying mane, who looked out at them and nodded. "Vix-Lei. I see your mother found you."

"Yeah," Vix-Lei said, smiling up to him. "Guys, this is my dad, Shipmaster Petros."

Xvital stepped forward to offer her hand. "It's an honor to meet you, sir," she said.

"The honor is all mine," Petros answered, taking her hand with his own and squeezing it, showing her where Vix-Lei got her strength from. "But you should all come in, my younger sons are looking forward to meeting all of you too."

He led the way inside, with Ianthe bringing up the rear - probably to make sure none of them tried to sneak off, Xvital thought wryly to herself. They followed him into one of the dining rooms, where seven other minotaurs were already seated. Looking at them, Xvital recognized Herakles, Argus and Eusebios, and three of the others must have been Baltsaros, Marinos and Pyrrhus. The shortest of them, sporting a bright orange tie (which she suspected was the cause of Vix-Lei's facepalming as she also spotted it), was obviously the youngest, Yanni.

"Heya squirts," Vix-Lei called out to her brothers, with her older brothers not lifting their heads while Marinos, Pyrrhus and Yanni made the mistake of actually reacting to her words. Groaning and laughing, each of her brothers got up to pull her into a hug with Vix-Lei thudding their backs back as she returned each hug.

"It's good to see you again sis," Yanni said, the shorter minotaur grinning. "How's it going?"

"Got to ride in a ZRX-29 Nova a little while ago, baby brother," Vix-Lei told him as she ruffled his mane.

At that, one of the larger minotaurs actually looked up. "Really?"

"You didn't crash it, did you?" one of the smaller trio asked, sounding concerned.

Vix-Lei shook her head. "I said I got to ride in it, not that I got to pilot it," she said.

"And our family's insurance agent thanks you for that," Night Blade said, though the smirk on his face showed he was at least somewhat joking.

"A wise decision," the smaller minotaur said, before approaching him. "I'm Marinos."

"Night Blade," Night told him, reaching out a hoof.

A full round of introductions followed, before everyone got started to get seated. The guards were invited by Ianthe to join them but they had managed to safely refuse by telling her they were still on duty. She accepted it with a huff and went into the kitchen to fetch more of the food, missing her family's awed reaction.

After she was gone, Xvital noticed Baltsaros looking at his sister. "I see you finally improved your style, sis," he told her, tilting his head at her vest. "Good timing, too."

Vix-Lei let out a tired sigh. "Am I never going to live down my wardrobe choices?" she asked.

"Probably not," Herakles remarked from where he was sitting. "Still better than Yanni's."

Vix-Lei gave him a stink-eye and muttered something that Xvital couldn't quite make out, but she was fairly certain it involved the word "twerp". Herakles just laughed though.

"So, what all have you been up to?" he asked. "How were the Isles?"

"Could have been better," Vix-Lei said. "Did you know they have towns without official docks?"

That got a round of "Ooooh"s from her brothers, and she nodded. "We had to walk five days, almost three hundred kilometers, to get from the town we landed in to the one we were going to after that. Over rough roads."

"Fortunately, we made some friends along the way who were willing to fly us back south afterward," Night interjected. "No skimmers, but the passenger chariots they had were comfortable enough."

"Still, no aerial docks," Petros muttered, rubbing his chin which drew the attention of all of Vix-Lei's brothers and Vix-Lei herself.

"What are you thinking, Dad?" Vix-Lei asked, sharing concerned looks with Herakles and Argus.

"I-" he began only to stop talking when Ianthe walked back in with more food.

"Sit, everytaur," she said in a no-nonsense tone. "Eat now. Talk business later." She gave her husband a look who nodded his head towards her.

Everyone else quickly nodded, then watched as she began handing out plates, some a little more forcefully than others.

"Here," she said as she set one in front of Wind Breaker. "Eat. Eat!"

Wind Breaker accepted it, but gave her a nervous look. "Um, ma'am, I am a valley griffon, so I'm always going to be kind of small," he said.

"Bah." Ianthe waved it off, squeezing his arm. "You still need good nutrition, boy. You are just bones, eat up!" Wind nodded and did so under her watch gazing. Night made a mistake of accidentally snorting, with Ianthe turning her gaze onto him. "You too; so thin and small. Eat."

"Yes ma'am," Night folded without even trying to fight back as he began to eat with none of the fancy noble way of doing it.

Ianthe then turned her head towards Page who shook her head at the large amount of food on her plate. "I'm sorry ma'am but I already had an early breakfast and the background love in the air already filled me up before you came back in. I will try to eat as much as I can but I cannot promise to eat everything."

Ianthe waved it off. "Changeling biology, I know. You do what you can, dear."

Page looked relieved before delcitaly picking at her plate, eyeing the table undoubtedly for any hot sauce.

Xvital accepted her own plate happily, and she saw that Rex did too, as did Serrated, who beamed when she saw the orange juice accompanying it and thanked Ianthe.

"It is my pleasure, miss," Ianthe replied. "Now, eat up!"

Serrated did, though not before trading looks with her brother. "This is very good. Almost like Generous Spoon," she said with Night nodding his head. "She's our family's cook; been with us since she was around Night's age."

"Your mother not do the cooking?" Ianthe asked.

"Mother and Father were always busy with running the family business and working with other members of the nobility," Night Blade said a little stiffly. Then he sighed. "While I cannot vouch for any of my siblings' skills, I myself couldn't do much more than sandwiches until recently, when your daughter offered to help remedy my lackings in that area."

Xvital could tell Page was clearly surprised by this, but pleasantly so, if the smile she was giving off was anything to go by. Ianthe, on the other hand, was looking at Vix-Lei critically, her eyebrow arched. "Is this true?" she asked.

Vix-Lei nodded. "I taught him how to make omelettes while we were away," she said. "And a few other basics on the way north."

"That's good, very good Vix-Lei," Ianthe said with a smile. "I know that working with your father was difficult for you in the past but maybe this is your true calling, even be a true career." Xvital tensed as she saw all of her brothers either sigh, sink into their seats or look like they wanted to leave, giving her a bad feeling that something unpleasant was going to happen.

"Ianthe," Petros said with a warning tone, with Xvital seeing Vix-Lei dig her fingers into the table and clearly biting her tongue. "Let us not do this now."

"Do what?" Ianthe said with a huff, looking at her daughter. "We can cook together back at home and you can put all this silly comedian nonsense to rest."

"Here we go," Argus muttered as he sunk lower into his chair as Vix-Lei slapped her hands onto the table.

"Mama," she hissed, suddenly sounding angrier than Xvital had ever heard her since they'd met. "Cooking is something I'm good at. But comedy is who I am. I'm the new Wise Oracle - the new Bearer of Laughter - for a reason!"

For a moment, there was silence, and then Petros spoke softly. "The Wise Oracle, as in one of Equestria's six Virtues?"

"Exactly," Rex said. "We six, like the Virtues of old and the goddess-Princesses before them, bear the long-lost Elements of Harmony - Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Loyalty, and Magic. Together, our friendship unlocked the powers that defeated the monster that had been holding Equestria in its sway. Vix-Lei is our friend, and a vital part of our team, for she keeps our spirits up."

"She was really helpful when the person I thought was my mom turned out not to be her," WInd Breaker said with Xvital hissing at that news. "Both Night and her really helped me with it; I think I’d have had a relapse without them around."

"Laughter also helps brings matters into perspective," Xvital said, while giving Wind Breaker a look that said they would talk about this later. "The point is, while Vix-Lei's sense of humor may have seemed insensitive at times, it was meant to be her way of helping, and it did help us out a lot."

"Mama, mom," Vix-Lei had walked over to her mother and knelt before her, placing a hand on her mother's shoulder. "Look, I know I didn't leave on exactly good terms and I kinda made a mess of things back home. I know there are apologies I need to make to you and Dad for how I acted and I know that this isn't the future you had envisioned for me but this is who I am, Mom. I... I..."

Ianthe studied her daughter critically, and then placed a hand on her shoulder. "You're the only daughter I've ever had, Vix-Lei," she said. "There were many things about you that I could not understand. But you are still my child, my eldest, and I love you. I will try to understand you better, if you will forgive me for my failures."

"You've got failures?" Vix-Lei said with a snerk, with Ianthe cuffing her head lightly though she was smiling.

"Failures to understand that you are your own person," she said. "And not a carbon copy of your father or I. I had such high hopes for you, but I failed to see that you are uniquely you, my little Vix-Lei. Now that I know better, I am going to try better to see you for you." She smiled. "Stand, Vix-Lei. Go eat. You do not want this meal to go to waste now, do you?"

"It certainly won't," Vix-Lei said with a grin. "Might go to my waist, but never to waste."

Ianthe let out a laugh of her own. "Ah, now that one I get!"

With that, everyone could breathe a sigh of relief, and settle back down to focus on their food. But as they ate, Petros was clearly still eying Vix-Lei curiously. Finally, he set his empty plate aside, and asked what must have been on his mind. "So tell me," he said. "They say that Equestria's Wise Oracle was known for her master planning due to her ability to see the future. Yet you say you are Bearer of Laughter. I think something is clearly missing in translation."

Vix-Lei still had her mouth full, but Page spoke up. "Over the course of our travels, we learned from the spirits of our predecessors that King Blueblood had acquired most of his information on them second-hoof," she said. "He may have been a good ruler in the long run, but he didn't truly understand what he was hearing about the Virtues."

At that, Wind Breaker snorted. "Didn't understand is right," he said. "He mixed up my predecessor with her brother. Though he got the hat right."

"And if the talent he thought was Pinkie's focus was right, it would have been Argus who was her successor, not me," Vix-Lei spoke up, having finished chewing. "She had a sixth sense, all right, but that was just something that ran in the family, not her Element."

"My own predecessor, the Lady, and Xvital's, the Magi of Stars, were the ones whom he came the closest to getting right," Rex noted, looking over at the Shipmaster. "Miss Rarity Belle is the Lady, who inspired others with her selflessness, while the Magi of Stars was indeed a powerful magic-user who loved knowledge."

Pyrrhus looked interested at that. "What about the one who sealed a demon in a rabbit?" he asked.

Page groaned and face-hoofed. "When we get the go-ahead to start officially releasing this to people outside our friends and family, that is one of the first stories I am going to have fixed," she said. "As Fluttershy herself said, Angel Bunny was not a demon of any kind, just a normal, bad-tempered rabbit."

"Said to you?" Ianthe asked.

"We met their spirits when we earned our Elements," Night Blade explained. "And on one other occasion."

"This isn't something we're telling everypony, but Captain Memorizing Gaze talked with me and said we had permission to tell our families about certain events we went through, as long as we swore them to secrecy," Page said. "Eventually, a public announcement will be made, and everypony can talk about it freely then, but until then, we'll have to ask you not to keep it quiet."

"My lips are sealed," Argus promised, and the others all nodded in agreement, including Serrated, as Xvital noticed. A second confirmation, she guessed - she'd been there when Page swore the other mare, and her sister, to secrecy while telling them they could share some of this with their parents.

"So, your predecessor was named... Fluttershy?" Petros asked. At her nod, Petros continued. "The Stern Warden. How does that match with any of the Elements you described?"

"Her Element, and mine, is Kindness," Page said. "We're the moral center for our respective teams."

"I see," Ianthe said with a nod. "Like our lady Vesta, Goddess of home and hearth. She is the one who keeps the peace in her family."

Page looked surprised, but Vix-Lei nodded too. "Now that you mention it, that is a good comparison, Mom," she said. "And like Rex once said, his is based on agapé."

Nine minotaurs suddenly looked at him with very impressed expressions on their faces, causing him to blush. "It is what it is," he said. "We inspire with selflessness, out of a desire for the best for others." He looked at Wind Breaker. "Tell them of yours, my friend."

"Honesty," Wind said. "We - Applejack and I - inspire it by staying honest with ourselves." He glanced up at Ianthe. "Switching topics briefly, I think I heard a story once about a minotaur who went on a long voyage, and had this huge bow - do you know the one I'm talking about?"

Ianthe nodded. "The Odyssey," she said. "One of our great legends, about a 'taur whose loyalty to his people was only matched by his love for and loyalty to his family, and his refusal to give up until he was home again, even after twenty years away. His wife and others were just as loyal to him as well."

Wind Breaker looked very happy. "Thank you," he said. "I found this one big bow in an armory while we were traveling, and it reminded me of the story. I've been trying to remember more about it ever since."

"I am glad I could help you," Ianthe told him with a smile. "If you are going to stay here longer, I could tell you the story."

"I'd appreciate that," Wind told her. "Maybe not right this second, but when we have the time. We were kind of on our way somewhere else when you met us." He gestured to Night. "He needs his wings checked."

"Well, I will be here for a good long while," Ianthe told him with a smile, which he returned. "When you are ready, come see me."

"I will," Wind promised.

"So," Argus said, looking around and drawing their attention to him. "Four of you have had your Elements described, and of the remaining two, I can deduce that miss Xvital is Magic."

Xvital nodded as she flicked some fire into being with her tail hand. "The balance between the other five," she said. "For friendship is magic."

There was some mild snickering from one of the minotaurs, she couldn't tell who, but one look from Petros made it stop before Argus spoke again. "That leaves Loyalty as yours, Mr. Blade?" he asked.

Night Blade nodded. "Loyalty is the one who protects the others, even at cost to themselves," he said, with a hoof resting on his scar. Xvital noticed his sister had looked terribly sad at his comment and she could tell that Serrated really did care about him. "It took me a while to truly understand what it meant."

"But you did in the end, and that's what counts," Wind said. "We all had some trouble with realizing ours. Well, except maybe Rex but then again, it is Rex."

"So... he'd be successor to the Warrior?" Herakles asked. "I mean, you already said four of the other names, and I guess Windy here, from his comments, is the one who got the Stallion of Dedication's Element?"

"Right on both counts," Wind told him.

"The Warrior... wasn't that the one who led a bunch of lightning-spewing fighters into battle?" Yanni asked.

Night shook his head. "Another misunderstanding," he said. "They were the Wonderbolts, a team of aerial stunt fliers that she wanted to join, but she died with her friends before she had the chance."

"Now I wish I could have met her," Marinos said with a grin on his face that got Ianthe frowning. "Stunt fliers, huh?"

Night Blade nodded. "I didn't hear anything more about them, unfortunately. But since I had never heard their group's name before, nor of any who served such a purpose, I can presume they are are no longer an active team in the present day."

"That's disappointing," Marinos said. "They sound like they'd be fun to watch."

Night nodded. "I expect they would be."

Conversation turned to other things from there, and finally, once everyone had finished their food, Xvital rose. "As fun as it's been getting to know you, we really need to head on to the hospital so Night can get his wings checked," she said.

Petros nodded. "The pleasure has been ours," he said. "And as my daughter's friends, you are more than welcome to come and visit with us some more when you are ready."

Xvital nodded back with a smile.

Gradually, everyone rose from their places, and after a final round of goodbyes, they made their way out the door. Vix-Lei lingered a bit, giving her mom one more hug, before joining them. With Xvital and Serrated in the lead, and the guards still behind them, they headed out into the streets.

"I've got to go guys," Xvital said as she spotted several Cuanmiztlan guards approach her, with Shorn Ones hiding around no doubt. "Tizoc and I are going over stuff regarding my future responsibilities today and I need to head over to our embassy."

"That's perfectly understandable," Rex said, tipping his head. "I have plans to head towards the Library for some research for my classes. Perhaps you could assist me Wind Breaker."

"Yeah, I can do that," Wind said. "Page, which way are you going?"

He glanced at her, then at the look on her face. "Page?"

Page grimaced, then turned to Night. "As much as I hate to leave you again so soon, I need to go have words with one of my people," she said, turning to the older nox pony. "Serrated... take care of him for me, please?"

"Sure thing," the other mare said, nuzzling Page. "You might want to give him his gift first, though."

Page nodded, then picked up the tube Serrated had been giving her. "A little something Deep and I had prepared for you," she said, levitating it over to Night. "But you should open it in private."

Night accepted it. "I will," he promised.

With another round of goodbyes and promises to reconvene at their hotel later, or at the library if they could manage it sooner, the seven split up. Page led Wind and Rex off in the direction of the library, Vix-Lei having chosen to stick with the two Nox Ponies, and Xvital headed to her embassy.

As she watched her friends going, she smiled. It's good to have everyone home again, she thought.

Chapter Twenty-Four: Page Turner, Serrated Dagger, Wind Breaker

Chapter Twenty-Four

Page Turner

Page did her best not to bite her lip as her hive continued to chatter within her mind. They were still not entirely happy with her being with Night but while she had been able to convince most of them to let her have her own say in this matter, a lot of them were pushing for her and some of the elders to leave and return to the old hive, if not somewhere else. Being their Queen and this exposed made a lot of them worried and her place as her own representative could always be explained away as Page being replaced for a more seasoned changeling.

However, she still had her own arguments for why she should stay. Her status as one of the new Virtues, for example, which Memorizing had already cautioned her would make the other Equestrians not want to see her leave. Her own desire to stay was also a strong factor, and with a large number of her changelings backing her no matter what she chose, the Sages weren't ready to outvote her just yet.

There were also the other ties she was making. Stock Market's new business and personal partnerships with Hidden Dagger and her existing circle of businessponies had taken off within a surprisingly short amount of time, and he had privately thanked Page for putting him in position to make those partnerships. He wasn't ready to publicly reveal himself as a changeling and was waiting for the laws to become clearer so he could start donating to the hive, but her actions had helped clear the way for that to happen in the future, and for that, he was grateful.

And Night's family... a few of the more independently free thinking Sages were starting to realize that Night's family held the official deeds to where their old hive was and they thought she could use her connection to Night to get them back. While she was hesitant to do so, she could admit, even to herself, that they had a point. The hive may have bad associations for her, if only because it was once home to the changeling she would never forgive for their actions, but she knew that she had to put the needs of her hive ahead of her personal desires in some matters.

Not when it came to choosing her love partner though. That was something she would not allow herself to be bullied into changing her mind on.

"Everything okay Page?" Wind Breaker asked with Page blinking.

"Sorry if I seem a little spacey," she said. "The Hivemind's rather loud at the moment, and I'm having to sort out a few of my own thoughts too."

"Are they still insistent on that matter from before?" Rex asked with Wind Breaker looking confused.

"No, fortunately," Page said. "Just some things in general." Seeing Wind Breaker's expression, she added, "Some of them were wanting me to choose a pureblood changeling as my partner rather than a non-changeling. I put a stop to that as soon as I found out."

"Really?" Wind Breaker asked in complete surprise before shaking his head. "They are so lucky that Night wasn't here to hear that. I don't think any of us could have stopped him. Though I think I would have been there with him to be honest." He chuckled.

Page smiled. "Fortunately, the one they had in mind saw reason," she said. "And for other reasons, it's a good thing I was able to speak with him anyway. I may have no romantic interest in anypony other than Night, but the changeling who was put forward as a candidate has other resources that are proving helpful to us. And, as it turns out, I was able to introduce him to Night's oldest sister, since they have similar interests in business, and she in turn introduced him to a number of her associates." She sighed. "But other than that, there is still a lot of work the Queen wishes me to do in her stead, including trying to get the land where our hive once stood back. Though some say that having an open location for our hive is a bad idea."

Wind looked as if he was about to say something, but then tilted his head, and nodded understandingly. "I get what you mean," he said. "Don't want to put all your eggs in one basket, and all that."

"There is also the fact that King Well Banded still wishes to meet with the Queen," Page let out a groan. "To finalize papers and make official ties with our hive and any other hives." And I still need to find some time to sneak away so I could meet them, she thought to herself. Those were not people she could put off meeting with for too long. Her hive still had a lot to answer for regarding what Chrysalis did and she had no idea how the other Queens would respond to her.

"And your Queen still has yet to reveal herself," Rex hummed, while Wind blinked.

"I didn't realize there were other hives," he said.

Page nodded. "Most don't," she said, looking at the guards who might be telling others of these secrets. "And for all I know-" the words almost caught in her throat, but she continued. "There aren't any others left. From what I've been told by the Queen and the Sages, Chrysalis was very obsessive about maintaining control, and part of how she rose to power was by eliminating the Queens of smaller hives and assimilating those hives into her own. She may well have taken over and assimilated all of them by the time she launched her invasion." She looked grim. "If any survived, our Queen hasn't admitted to ever speaking to them, nor have any of our Sages."

Which is the truth, she thought to herself. She had been very surprised to discover that the Griffish Isles hive had been an independent one, with its own distinct hivemind, rather than just being changelings from her own hive that had escaped Equestria like she'd thought. Oh, there were enough of them that shared blood ties with members of her own hive, and those ties had been sufficient for her to form a link to their hivemind. That, coupled with their general friendliness and welcoming attitude towards her, had enabled her to speak through one of them. But none of the changelings she had spoken to had said so much as a word about their Queen. She knew, through logical deduction, that at least one had to exist. But they had not spoken to her, and she was not in any hurry to reveal their continued survival to anyone, not even her friends, or Memorizing and his brothers.

I do owe their Queen a meeting though, she thought to herself. To thank them for all the help their people gave my friends.

She shook herself to clear her thoughts as they approached the Library and Page focused on other stuff, namely her friend. "I'm sorry Wind, I've been completely distracted. You said you were not able to find your parents?" she asked, placing a hoof on his shoulder.

Wind nodded. "Found somegriff who might have been my mom, but by the time we got there... she had the wrong eyes, and a letter from her actual kid." He sighed sadly, though he didn't feel sad. "Five days of walking, and that's what it got me." He tilted his head upwards as he continued up the steps. "Night and some others have promised to keep helping me with trying to find my family. I've got to think about what I really want to do first, though."

"Hmmm," Rex tapped his chin as he pulled out his notebook. "I wonder," he mused to himself as he walked up the steps. "I will need to borrow some of your feathers, Wind Breaker. I might be able to achieve something."

Wind looked at him curiously, but shrugged. "All right."

Rex looked at him, and placed a paw on his shoulder. "Again, this is no guarantee," he stated, squeezing Wind's shoulder. "But I might be able to do a genetic tracker based on my work with Page's necklace, or our vanquished foe."

"Excuse me, but did you say a genetic tracker?" one of the Magi of Stars Guards asked, looking at him with interest. "As in, something that could help us find someone based on DNA alone?"

Rex nodded. "It is certainly a possibility," he said. "I presume you are thinking of the use that such a thing could have in tracking criminals who left DNA evidence at a crime scene?"

The guard nodded. "That sort of thing could revolutionize our work!" he said excitedly. "The Captain has been theorizing and working up some markups before all of this started. She will definitely wish to hear this." He placed a hoof against his helmet and began to talk into it with a conversation quickly unfolding. It seemed that the helmet had a spell that blocked speech as Page couldn't hear what was being said. Finally, he took his hoof away, and looked at Rex. "She is too busy to talk now, but she's very interested, and she says she'll speak with you about it when she has the chance," he reported. "I have not heard the Captain this excited in a long time."

"Excuse me, but did you say you might be able to find his mother?" Hush Tone asked as she suddenly stepped out of the Library's doors and looked at Rex hopefully.

"I might," Rex repeated, stressing the last word. "It would work on similar principles to other trackers I have developed. I still need time to actually create it though."

Hush Tone nodded, rubbing her arms. "I was curious if you could try and find my own child," she said with shame radiating off of her and Page was already by her side. "I gave them up long ago as per one of the means to pay off my debt. I am not proud of it, and I wish I had never done so."

Rex bowed to her. "I shall do my best," he said.

Page looked at the griffon who had been like a mother to her, and nuzzled her. "Let's go inside," she said. "All of us."

Hush Tone looked at her gratefully, and then the two walked in, side by side. Page could hear Wind and Rex behind them, and the guards as well, but for now, she tuned the latter, and as much of the hivemind as she could, out.

Right now, more than anything, her mother needed her.

Serrated Dagger

Night Blade visibly winced as the doctors removed the wrappings from his wings, and Serrated couldn't help but flinch as she saw the wounds.

The doctors didn't look too happy either. "Just what did you do to yourself, young colt?" one of them asked.

"Got in a bad fight with some ponies trying to kill my friends and I a few months ago, and then another one when I was helping fight that monster possessing the king," Night grumbled and winced again. "Ouch."

"And you didn't wait for it to heal up before you started flying again?" another of them asked, clicking their tongue in clear disapproval.

"I had been under the impression that I was physically fit to do so from the magic I was exposed to shortly after that second injury," Night replied. "It healed everything and everypony else I could see, except my scar up here. I don't know why it started acting up again."

"I'll vouch for that," Vix-Lei volunteered. The doctors had been hesitant to let her into the examining room at first, since she wasn't related to their newest patient, but Serrated herself had spoken in her favor. The minotaur was now sitting off to one side, and Serrated could tell she too looked worried about Night and his injuries. "Broke my arm and my hammers in a few places during the same fight, but after that rainbow wave, they were all good as new."

The doctor who'd spoken first shook his head. "Some of these injuries look a lot older than that," he said. "You must not have received proper treatment after the fight where you got them."

"We got as best as we could," Night said with a grunt. "But the Questioning Order are not exactly known for their bedside manners."

The same doctor gave him a surprised look, and then shook his head. "Describe for us exactly what kind of treatment they gave you," he said.

As Night began doing so, Serrated turned to Vix-Lei. "You know him better than I do," she said quietly. "And Page didn't say anything about it when we were talking, but I have to ask. Is he... always like this when it comes to getting medical treatment?"

"Pretty much," the minotaur said. "He's stubborn that way. I had to carry him a few times so he wouldn't strain himself when he was recovering from those wounds the first time, and he was not happy about it." She shook her head. "Under all that crankiness, your brother's a great guy, and loyal to a fault; he loves Page, and he's risked his life to save the rest of us more than once. I don't know what we'd have done without him."

Serrated nodded. "Thank you for taking care of him," she said.

"Hey, it's the least I could do," Vix-Lei said. "He's a friend, even if we didn't realize that's what we were all becoming at first." Then she looked at Serrated curiously. "Nighty hasn't said much about his family, other than his biggest brother and his nephew being in the Guard," she said. "And how he got his mark for matching his other brother in swordplay. He didn't even mention any sisters that I remember, at least before we saw the four of you when you all dropped in that night. So... what do you do for a living?"

Serrated looked a bit uncomfortable at Vix-Lei's words, but then perked up at the last part. "I'm a singer," she said.

Vix-Lei smiled. "Really? What kind of songs do you do?"

"Oh, a little of this and that," Serrated said. "What kinds do you like?"

"Pretty much anything," Vix-Lei said. "Back at the shipyards, we liked to sing whatever came to mind while we worked. As long as it wasn't anything bawdy, that is. Mom wouldn't stand for that kind of stuff."

Serrated giggled as she imagined the diminutive minotaur browbeating the shipmaster and any other minotaur with ease. "I don't have anything like that," she said. "My songs tend to be more of the classical and modern range, though I have been thinking of branching out to others."

"Ahem," one of the doctors coughed, looking at them. "If you two wish to continue your discussion, I would appreciate it if you would take it outside."

Both blushed and looked back at where Night was still sitting. "How's he doing?" Serrated asked.

"As long as he stays off his wings and out of any more fights, he should recover fully within a few weeks," the other doctor said. "And if one of you will keep putting the medicine he needs on his wing to speed the process, that will help a great deal. We still have a few other things to examine though, like this scar for one thing."

"His sides didn't start bleeding again, did they?" Vix-Lei asked nervously.

"No, those injuries at least have recovered," the doctor told her.

"Good." The minotaur looked relieved, though Night seemed to be unhappy. "Now mister Blade, I need you to keep your eye on as much as possible."

Night grumbled something under his breath, but did as he was told as the light was shined on his eye and the doctor peered at it through one of his medical tools. After hemming and hawing, he nodded his head. "Despite the scarring, you seem to have full function in your eye and eyelid," he said.

"I was unconscious when my friends and I were first rescued and treated, but I was told afterward that healing my eye was the first thing they did," Night said stiffly, blinking his eyes angrily. "Though they would have been fine if I had lost it; me being intact was not their highest priority but transferring us to their headquarters was. At least, that's what I was able to determine based on other comments I heard once I was awake again."

The doctor shook his head. "And they wonder why so many ponies didn't like them," he said. "You were very lucky not to have lost that eye. I don't know as I've ever seen that kind of scarring on one before - what exactly happened to it?"

"My sword broke when I used it to block another blade, and some of the shards hit me in the face," Night told him sourly. "I'd rather not think too much on that day, in all honesty."

The doctor nodded. "Well, thankfully your eye remains functional," he said. "I think we're done here. Just remember what I said: stay off your wings until they're fully healed, and change the bandages and have that medicine put on them at least once a day."

Night nodded back. "I will," he said.

"And miss Dagger," the doctor said. "Make sure he comes in for another checkup in a week, all right?"

Serrated nodded, then watched as Night got down off the examination table. "Come on," she said. "Let's go get that set up."

Night grimaced, but did as she told him.

It was nearly half an hour before the three of them were out of the hospital and on their way.

"So, where to now?" Vix-Lei asked. "We're joining the others at the library, or what?"

"Don't see why not," Serrated told her. "I don't have anywhere else to be, and I certainly don't mind spending more time getting to know all of you." She shrugged. "One of the benefits of being a famous singer, I get to take several months off at a time so I can work on my music as the inspiration comes."

Night huffed angrily which made Serrated pause and stare at her younger brother before realizing that he was no doubt thinking if she could have taken off time beforehoof, then she could have tried to make an effort to see him before.

"Night, I am sorry that I didn't make more of an effort to be here for you earlier," she said. "I..."

"It's... not something that's okay, though I am learning how to accept it and not hold it against any of you," Night said with a sigh and gave her a smile. "Any of my friends can tell you I can be a real grumpy asshole and hold grudges for a long time and it is something I should work on."

Serrated smiled back. "It's something we all need to work on," she said. "And trust me, I know from experience what it's like to deal with somepony who's cranky all the time. Crooked can be a professional most of the time now, and behind closed doors he has a strange sense of humor, but there were a few of his teenage years when he was always in one of those moods."

"Really?" Night asked, looking interested.

Serrated nodded. "I don't know how Hidden, or Mom or Dad, put up with it," she said. "Deep and I mostly just stayed out of his way when he was like that, until he finally calmed down. Going into the Guards was the best thing for him in the end."

Night nodded. "I never really knew any of this," he said. "What other stories can you tell me?"

"Oh, quite a few," Serrated told him. "Like the time Hidden short-sheeted Crooked's bed while he was asleep in it. Without getting caught."

Vix-Lei let out a hoot of laughter. "Now this, I have to hear!"

Serrated grinned, and began describing the sequence of events that had led up to the night in question and what came after. By the time she'd finished the entire story, both her brother and his friend were cracking up.

"And that's when our parents both facehooved and grounded them until they'd gotten over the headaches those two were giving them," Serrated concluded.

Night winced a little as his wing shifted, but he was still grinning. "I can understand why," he said. "There is a lot I've got to learn Serrated and... I'm happy that you can teach me."

"I'm happy I can teach you too," Serrated told him. "And Hidden and Deep will both be glad to be able to do the same, when they can - Hidden's actually gone back to Manehatten for a day or so, she needed to deal with a few urgent meetings that couldn't be handled remotely, but she should be back later this week. Crooked too, once everything's straightened out with his Captain." She sighed. "I haven't seen him in person since this whole thing started, though as far as we know, he and Striking are both managing over on Mount Legion."

Vix-Lei scratched her head. "The reason for this whole thing is because IA is throwing a hissy fit over two captains being together, right? Why? I mean, the Captain-General's a Flare, and the other guy's on the same level. They're both fully capable of handling pretty much anything, so it's not like one of them really needs to worry about the other getting hurt, right? Isn't that the main reason for the anti-fraternization regs?"

"There's more to it than that," Serrated said with a wince. "It's complicated, and I don't fully understand everything myself."

"It seems that they were expecting her to fold," Night said. "Who would gain anything from her stepping down?"

Vix-Lei tilted her head. "Cui bono indeed," she mused.

"Exactly," Night told her. "Who benefits."

"We've been wondering that ourselves, sir," one of the guards who was walking nearby said, and Serrated started with a jolt - she'd been so focused on chatting with Night and Vix-Lei, she hadn't realized when the guards had appeared around them again. "We're hoping it all gets settled tomorrow."

"What could happen in the trial?" Night asked.

"We really don't know, sir," the guard replied. "If the Captain-General has a planned response, she's keeping it under her hat. Metaphorically speaking. Though the judge could rule in IA favour and force her to choose between her career and Captain Gaze."

Vix-Lei looked disgusted. "That's just not right," she muttered.

"No, it isn't," the guard said with a sigh. "What I'd like to know is who took the picture in the first place; from what I've heard Captain Gaze is really observant and is aware of his surroundings and the Captain-General is the Captain-General so I'm surprised that someone managed to sneak a picture of them."

"What Captain Gaze really wants to know," one of the guards said with a toothy grin that made Serrated think they were one of those secret changeling guards that were starting to come to light. "Is how someone knew to be there. That was an impromptu meeting between the two and the guards do not turn on one of their own unless absolutely needed."

Vix-Lei gave him a curious look. "Why would they need to turn on one of their own?" she asked. "I mean, you guys are all loyal to the crown and Equestria."

"If one of us turned out to be a crook trying to infiltrate the guard, then they were never really one of us, and we'd take them down and see to it that they got what they deserved," the guard said with the others looking at him suspiciously now that his disguise fell away and revealed himself to be one of those Hidden Guards. "Or if one of us turned out to be mind-controlled, the rest of us would do what we needed to do to free them of it. Among other, more private matters that either we or the IA take care of before it gets out to the public. But this... this isn't something that any of us would have gone after them for." He grimaced, then continued.

"There are a few reasons I can think of for someone to have done this," he said, all of them looking at him. "First, is that someone did this out of spite. The Captain-General does have a few enemies out there, after all. The other is that it might have been one of those anti-changeling nuts. Captain Gaze did reveal himself and our Guards and there are still anti-changeling sentiments out there." His ears flicked about as he looked at his fellow guards. "The only real people who knew of where they were were the other Captains and those in the upper echelons of the Hivemind guard section. But we know none of the Captains would have done this, and the Hidden Guard are all loyal to Captain Gaze."

"You hope," Night Blade said with the guards, all of them, nodding reluctantly. "You also hope it was just someone who was at the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Exactly," the guard replied. "I still think there's something suspicious going on though, and we are investigating." He shot a look at Night and Vix-Lei. "I shouldn't have to tell you, but you two and the rest of your group need to watch out, just in case somepony decides to pull the same thing on you. You and your friends are national heroes now, but there are some people out there who just don't like the idea of heroes for whatever reason and would do their best to tear them down. Especially those of you who aren't ponies."

"Bronze Sheet-your name is Bronze Sheet, right?" one of the other guards, one of the Luna Guards, looked at the changeling who nodded his head. "Bronze is right; your protection is paramount for your duty to the nation and other stuff that is classified and beyond our clearance."

Night nodded. "We're aware," he said. "We've been careful, and we intend to continue to do so." Serrated's eyes were drawn to Night's sword and Vix-Lei's hammers and was reminded that both had participated in fights that had resulted in losses of life, more on Night's part if the stories were accurate. But then he spoke again. "We can only hope that it won't be necessary anytime soon for us to have to defend ourselves as fiercely as we have before. Especially with my wings being like they are."

The guards around them all nodded in approval.

"And if something does come up, the rest of us can pick up the slack until you get all better," Vix-Lei said. "Wish I'd kept that extra hammer..."

"Somehow, I doubt our hosts of the time would have been too happy if you had," Night told her rather dryly. "They were reluctant enough to let me re-arm myself as it was once we got back, even if they understood why. But regardless, we should keep moving. The quicker we get back to the Library to meet our friends and not be out in the open, the safer we'll be."

"And you can go thank Page for that gift," Vix-Lei chuckled with her brother turning red at the ears and face. She remembered how Night had, while momentarily stopping at the manor so they could contact the hospital for the exam, opened the tube and saw the painting Deep made. Deep, who had been eating breakfast at the time, had told him it was something he had done for Crooked and his wife and it felt right that Night had something similar from his own special somepony. Night had blushed just as hard then, before thanking him.

Night had also got stuck promising to sit in for the new family painting that Deep had arranged, much to his and Serrated's annoyance in a few days. Serrated had told Night how dull those were and how long they were required to sit there. Crooked was going to get lucky as he would be painted first due to needing to head back to Vanhoover after all of the business with the Hatcheries and the Internal Affairs were over and they would be required to still be there, even when they were not being painted at the moment. The only reason Serrated was even remotely happy for it was it gave her and Night something to complain over together.

"Quite," Night said now, looking elsewhere.

With that, the three began to move again, the guards keeping around them. But as they went, Serrated gave Night a curious look.

She was definitely going to have to talk more with him about his adventures, she decided. She had the distinct feeling that they'd been through a lot more than what he and the others had already said.

Wind Breaker

Wind Breaker was at a bit of a loss, he had to admit. He had tried to help Rex with getting the books he needed but the librarians here had quickly taken over and his friend had more or less locked himself in a makeshift workshop, with guards teleporting off to get more of the precision tools that he needed from the shop he'd owned in the Middle. His apprentices Magic Mixture and Secured Connection were running the shop now, though Secured had been out when the Guards arrived. Her absence was nothing really, they'd assured Rex when they told him about it, but something was just pricklingly at the back at Wind's head. Thankfully, he was able to push it out of his mind as he helped the guards set up the workplace for his friend.

After that, he ended up with little to do as Page had left to talk to her Sages. With the only other people he knew in the Library being busy with their own things, Wind Breaker found himself wandering the aisles. He had pulled a few books out to look at the first few pages before putting them back; his mind still distracted by all that had happened in his life so far and what his friend was trying to do for him.

And not just for me, he thought to himself. He'd had a feeling about Hush Tone ever since they met, and she'd made her remark about the Hatcheries. Knowing she was like him, a former resident of one of those places, explained a lot.

Then he heard someone clearing their throat, and looked up to see the Matron he'd just been thinking about. "Hello, ma'am."

"Hello, young Wind," Hush Tone returned. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Just trying to figure out something I can keep busy with," Wind said with a sigh.

"Lost in thoughts of what could have beens, aren't you?" she asked with her own sigh, walking alongside him.

"Yeah," Wind said. "Not the first time I've wondered what life would be like if I'd grown up with an actual family."

"I expect most of us are the same," Hush Tone said. "I know I certainly did enough times." She looked down. "And I expect my child also did so. I don't even know if they were a boy or a girl..."

Wind nodded. "The griffons overseas don't like us much for that," he said. "When I told a couple of them I used to be a Hatchery griffon, they looked so disgusted when they thought I might have done that kind of thing to pay off my debt. Then I told them the Hatcheries had been shut down, and they all had a whole other expression for me."

"Surprise?" Hush Tone asked.

"Exactly," Wind said. "Also annoyance that the government hadn't bothered to tell them about it."

"As if our government would do anything else," she said with a huff. "Though I expect they had simply not had the time to inform the proper channels yet before you left."

"Oh, that reminds me," Wind said with a snap of his fingers, causing Hush to turn to face him. "I need to talk to one of the Hidden Guards later about something. Somehow they knew about me over there, even though our names should have been suppressed - something about third party news organizations, I think they said."

Hush Tone grimaced. "Sludgenews, in other words," she said. "Obnoxious troublemakers in general, but even they can get a few things right from time to time. Still, from what Page told me, this shouldn't have even reached them with how many are working to protect you six."

Wind nodded. "And that worries me. I can understand our family members being told about us, those of us who have family that we know about, but the rest of the public..."

Hush Tone nodded her head. "Sludgenews reporters are like that, I suppose," she said. "Whether their information is accurate or not, they tend to be just as efficient, if not more so, at finding things out as the Hidden Guards. At least, that's what I understand, from what I have been told of the latter's function."

Wind nodded again. "I can't imagine any of them are happy at this." He sighed. "Goddesses, all this is so messed up..."

Hush Tone looked down at him. "What will be, will be," she said sadly. "You fret over what you could say to those who you were taken from while I fret over what I would say to the one I gave up."

Wind nodded, then was silent for a moment before he made up his mind. "When... when we were fighting our enemy, after we got back to Canterlot," he said. "It created illusions for five of us - not Xvital, she was somewhere else. But the rest of us had to deal with these fake versions of our lives where we were all happy. Illusions we had to work our way out of so we could fight back, because we'd all realized something was wrong with them. Mine was... was a life where I was living at home with my mom, in Griffonstone. And for a moment, I heard her voice."

Hush Tone gave him a somber look, before he shook his head and continued. "The thing is, I don't know if it was really her voice, something that got pulled out of my subconscious memories from before I hatched, or just something that monster came up with out of nowhere."

"Who but the goddesses can say?" Hush Tone asked. "Once your friend finishes his work, hopefully we can find out."

"Maybe not right away, but there is something," Rex suddenly said from behind them, the two turning to see him approaching, accompanied by Page and a ring of guards. Page, Wind noticed, was smiling from ear to ear.

"I would have been here sooner, though I had to test my results multiple times as the results proved to be unexpected," Rex continued. "While I have yet to produce a tracker for these spells, they did produce a reaction towards each other that indicated a faint connection between the two. This is what prompted me to do my tests and request the aid of Sound Record and High Finish and..." he paused, his tail wagging behind him, as he nudged Page to finish. She stepped forward, her grin having increased even more.

"Matron Hush Tone, we would like to introduce you to your grandson, Wind Breaker," Page said before looking at him. "And Wind Breaker, we would also like to introduce you to your grandmother, Hush Tone."

Both griffons' beaks fell open in shock.

And then Wind felt it. A distinct twinge within himself, as he looked around at all of them, then finally back to Hush Tone.

"It's true," he breathed. "You're..."

Before he could continue, he felt the older griffon's arms around him.

"Grandson," she breathed.

And then nothing more was said as they embraced.

When the two finally drew apart, Hush Tone looked down at him. "I never thought I would see the day," she said.

"All this time," Wind said with a smile. "You were right here, and I never knew it."

"Neither of us did," Hush Tone said. "But now we know..." She turned to Rex, and gave him a smile. "Thank you so much, good sir," she said. "For helping us."

"The same from me," Wind said.

Rex bowed. "It was my pleasure," he said.

Wind smiled back. Then he glanced over at Page, and suddenly, something clicked. "Hey... um... Matron..."

"You can call me Grandma now," Hush Tone said with a smile.

"Right. Um, Grandma... Page is your daughter in all but blood."

"Yes," Hush Tone said, looking at him curiously.

"Does that make her my aunt?"

Page's eyes widened, and Hush Tone looked amused. "I suppose it does," she said.

"That explains it." Wind smiled again, before looking at Page. "Since we fought you-know-who, I've felt this kind of deeper, platonic connection to you," he said. "Like I told Night and Vix-Lei while we were away, I didn't understand it then, but now I know what it means."

Page blushed. "I... suppose it fits," she said. "Well... welcome to the family."

Wind smiled at her again. "Good to have family," he said. "Both of you."

Near her, the two changeling brothers both beamed. "Congratulations, you two," one of them said.

Wind smiled. "Thanks, guys."

Rex clapped his paws. "Well then!" he said. "I am very happy to have helped you find one another, but I feel I should let you all have your space. I have more work to do, and I will see you again later." With that, he turned and headed away, a detachment of guards following him.

Hush Tone nodded. "Page, grandson... come with me," she said. "To my office, if you don't mind."

Both nodded, and followed after her.

When they'd entered her office and she'd shut the door behind them, she closed her eyes for a minute, then looked at both Page and Wind.

"Grandson," she said. "I want you to tell me everything. All there is to know about your life... the life I've missed out on."

Wind nodded, and began speaking.

It took him quite some time to get through parts of it, and he noticed Page casting a few spells to prevent eavesdropping when they got to certain parts. He also had to stop and clarify a few points when Hush Tone or Page asked about them. But finally, he finished his description of their travels through the Griffish Isles and then their meeting Vix-Lei's family after they got back, and that was the end.

"So that's it," he concluded. "It's been a wild ride, but that was my life."

Page stood up, came over and hugged him. "I'm so proud of you," she whispered, gesturing to his saddlebags.

"As am I," Hush Tone said. "You made an old hen very happy today, Wind Breaker."

Wind blushed and scratched his head. "Aw, shucks."

Page smiled at him again, then her ears flicked. "And it looks like the rest of our friends just arrived from the hospital," she said. "Do you want me to go get them, or..."

"Stay," Hush Tone said. "Ask one of your guards to bring them."

Page nodded, and did as she was told. A few minutes later, two Nox Ponies and Vix-Lei entered the office, Vix-Lei looking around with interest.

"Nice architecture you've got," she said. "Don't think I've ever been by here since I met you, Page." Then she looked at the Matron, and bowed. "You must be Matron Hush Tone. Nice to meet you, ma'am," she said.

"It's good to meet the last of Page's friends too," Hush Tone said. "Sit, sit."

Night, Serrated and Vix-Lei all sat, once Vix-Lei had closed the door behind them, and Night looked around. "How is everything?" he asked.

Wind smiled. "It's great," he said. "I got some very good news today."

"Oh?" Night looked at him. "What's happened?"

"Rex decided to put his expertise to work," Wind said. "He thought he could make a tracker to find my parents, like the one he made to find you-know-who. I know, I know, I wasn't going to jump into that sort of thing again," he said as he saw the look on Night's face. "But he offered, I accepted, and... well, he didn't exactly get it working like he planned yet, but he did find something, and double-checked it. And it turns out I had family here all along."

Vix-Lei looked eager. "What'd he find?"

"My grandmother," Wind said, gesturing to Hush Tone.

Night's eyes grew wide, and he broke out into a smile. "Well, congratulations."

Serrated and Vix-Lei echoed his words, both looking very happy. Then Vix-Lei looked at Page and at Hush Tone, and her eyes brightened. "Say... you two are practically mom and daughter, right? Doesn't that make Windy your nephew, Page?"

Hush Tone looked amused, and Wind nodded. "Which explains the connection I'd started feeling between us, that I told you about," he said.

Night's own eyes went wide, and Wind had a feeling he knew what the other male was thinking. "Don't think too hard about it right now," he advised him. "Plenty of time for that later."

Night nodded, with Serrated looking at them curiously. But before she could speak, Page did, her eyes on Night. "How did things go at the hospital?" she asked softly.

"My wings will recover," Night said gruffly. "I have to stay off them for a few weeks more until the doctors confirm they have healed up fully, and I have appointments to have them checked on a regular basis for the foreseeable future."

Page nodded.

"Which means we might have to ask Deep to delay that new family painting until you can pose for it without your bandages," Serrated whispered to him, though not quietly enough to not be overheard. Night's ears flicked at her words, and he nodded.

Hush Tone looked at him now, and her own ears flicked. "I do hope your injuries aren't sufficient to prevent myself and Page from having that dinner with your parents and yourself," she said.

Night shook his head. "As long as I don't have to use my wings for it, that shouldn't be a problem," he said, sounding a little nervous. "We'll make the arrangements to do it as soon as possible."

Hush Tone nodded in satisfaction, and Wind mentally snickered to himself.

Who'd have imagined, he thought to himself. Night and I used to get on like... well, like two things that don't get along. Now, not only are we friends, once he marries Page - my friend, and my aunt - some day... he'll be my uncle too!

Then he looked around at the group in the room, and smiled once more. It feels good to have a family.

Chapter Twenty-Five: Gentle Step, Mist Flight, Memorizing Gaze

Chapter Twenty-Five

Gentle Step

Gentle Step had finished getting ready and entered her living room to wait when the knock came on the door, and the pony on the other side called to her. "Sir? It's time."

Head held high, she opened the door and exited the house, where her escort team to the court hearing was waiting. Like her, its members were wearing their dress uniforms as opposed to their plate; this had been arranged in advance, as she had been informed by Captain Sun and Captain Surprise that it was felt that the latter would have sent the wrong message, as if they were escorting a common criminal instead of one of their own with important testimony. She had also discussed wearing her swords with her two fellows, but had been talked out of it.

She frowned inwardly, remembering the discussion; Captain Surprise had seemed oddly distracted at the time. There was something bothering her, though Gentle had to put it out of her mind for the time being.

Though her escorts were a mixture of all the six divisions (and she suspected there were more Hidden Guards surveying the area ahead for any possible danger), they each marched or flew with Royal Guard precision. She could not be prouder of her Guards and the work they had done so far and she would prefer that she would not need to leave them.

As they got closer towards the courthouse where this trial would be taking place, she saw more and more Royal Guards standing at attention and watching her pass, intermingled with Internal Affairs officers who were looking very nervous. No doubt they feared that if the trial did not go her way, she could ensure a far worse riot than the griffons did or another more extreme measure, one which she had no intention of enacting nor did she hope the Royal Guards would do. The protests were one thing, but she would not stand for them to betray their nation on her behalf. She had, after all, installed their loyalty to Equestria first, the King second, and herself third.

Walking towards the doors to the courthouse, Gentle could see Captain Sun, Captain Wall, Captain Lulamoon, Captain Surprise and Captain Gaze, along with Acting-Captain Flight, all waiting at the entrance in their dress uniforms, as were the Guards who surrounded them. She had been fully expecting this, and also knew that King Well Banded would be in attendance, having entered before all of them.

Acting-Captain Flight walked up to her first, parting the Guards acting as protection for him, and standing before her in perfect attention. "You are relieved of your duty, Acting-Captain Flight," she said. "I am prepared to return to my position as Captain-General, pending the results of today."

Mist Flight nodded. "I so accept," he said.

That done, Gentle Step looked around, acknowledging each of her Captains in turn, before marching into the courthouse. She would wait in the antechamber until the bailiff called her in, after the occupants of the gallery - her fellow Captains and the King among them - were all seated.

It was not too long before that happened, and she took her position at the defendant's table, with a lawyer next to her, though she had little expectation that she would actually need him to say anything on her behalf. At the same time, Internal Affairs' Commissioner and his lawyer also entered, taking a spot at the plaintiff's table on the opposite side of the room. She had never met the Commissioner until today, despite her invitation when she first became the Captain-General. It had been part of the procedures of her office to meet the different leaders of the nation and he had been the only one never to properly schedule a meeting in all the years since, rejecting or stating other business when she sent him a message in the prevailing years. As she looked him over, she saw he was a much older stallion, near Lieutenant Mist's own age, and he carried himself with the body gesture and appearance of a retired Guard, though he seemed to radiate hostility towards her, no doubt for forcing this trial to even occur.

Finally, the bailiff called everyone to order. "All rise. The honorable Judge Diamond Knot presiding."

The judge in question, a tall unicorn pony, entered and sat down at his bench, a calm yet serious look on his face as he studied the attendees.

"Judge Knot," the bailiff began, and Gentle Step watched the stallion's eyes narrow. "We are here today because of charges that have been brought against the defendant, Captain-General Gentle Step, on behalf of the plaintiff, Internal Affairs Commissioner Hardy Rule. She has been charged with a violation of Guard Regulation 600-20, paragraph 4-14, prohibiting inappropriate leader-subordinate relationships."

"I see," Judge Knot said, tipping his head towards the both of them, looking at Hardy Rule. "And I suppose there is a reason that you have not charged Captain Gaze with this violation as well? It takes two Guards to commit this violation, after all."

Hardy Rule scowled, but calmed himself. "Captain Gaze will have his day in court," he said, briefly looking at Mems. "It is the Captain-General, the higher-ranking of the parties involved, and whose actions are a direct inspiration and influence upon the rest of the Guard, who is the one we seek to have face justice today, not to mention the inaction the Royal Guards took during the griffon riots that have cost thousands in damages due to being more loyal to her than the crown."

"As I am understood, the protests were issued on the orders of the acting Captain-General at the time, while he was carrying out his duties as a protection detail for your own offices," Judge Knot said, narrowing his eyes. "And if you wish to be bringing lieutenant Mist Flight up on charges, then do so properly. This case is against Captain Gentle Step and it will remain on her. Am I understood?"

"Yes sir," Hardy said bitterly but respectfully.

"Now to you, Captain Step," he said, eyeing her. "You are aware of the rules and regulations of the Guards, are you not?"

"I am indeed sir," she said, aware that his omission of her full title was not a mistake but to make a point.

"And you are aware, Flare or Hollow, Captain-General or recruit, the rules apply to the Guards equally without bias or favouritism," he asked, driving the point forwards.

"Yes si-" she began before Captain Surprise gasped loudly from the gallery with Judge Knot banging his gavel.

"Order, Captain Surprise," he cautioned as she stood up.

"I'm sorry your honour, but I must momentarily depart," she said, bowing her head and showing more deferral to him than she ever saw of the mare. "This is both relevant and important to this trial, I assure you, sir. With your permission, sir."

"Approach the bench and tell me exactly what you mean, Captain," the Judge asked

"Sir, I object to this," the Commissioner argued, glaring at Captain Surprise as she marched towards Judge Knot. "This is just her trying to buy more time for a simple and shut case. I move that the Gentle Step either deal with her inappropriate interactions with Captain Gaze by terminating it or stepping down."

The Judge glared at Hardy, which only intensified as to whatever Surprise was telling him behind the sound barrier the bailiff had set up. "I will allow you to retrieve this piece of potential evidence; I have a team of experts in the building that are trained in carbon dating." He raised his voice. "Court is hereby recessed for one hour, so as to give the Captain time to recover the item in question." Captain Surprised nodded her head in thanks and actually teleported away.

"I object," Hardy Rule snapped, slamming his hooves onto the desk. "She is just using this as another excuse to keep an office she does not deserve. She was only a Guard for five days before her failure of a team did not follow proper procedure and made up a story of actually going inside of Tartarus when clearly she and her fellow squads just hid from everypony to sell their story. Her placement was an embarrassment and an insult for the senior Guards who served for years to be passed for a recruit then and the other Guards are making excuses for her now." He glared at her. "You do not deserve those stripes."

Judge Knot lifted his gavel to bang it and call for order again, but before he could, there was a burst of magic in the front of the court, revealing Captain Surprise.

"Because you thought you'd get them," she said with a bitter tone, two ponies behind her as she teleported back in. They both looked queasy; understandably so as teleporting was never easy for those experiencing it for the first few times. Thankfully, there were Luna Guards already helping them both and moving them to the rest of the audience. "I knew your name was familiar to me, Commissioner, and then it finally hit me. You were on the short list of Guards to be promoted to Captain-General, with it being the only way you could still serve as a Guard."

"Those are baseless lies!" Hardy Rule shouted. "You have no proof!"

"I have the original list of names right here," Surprise said, holding up a framed picture towards the judge. "I had gone celebrating the night after appointing the new Captain-General and had used the only piece of paper I had to write my number to both the stallion and mare behind me which was the aforementioned list."

"You cannot honestly expect to believe this," Hardy continued to shout, glaring murderously at Gentle and Surprise. "Her opinion is biased and she could have falsified those papers."

"Then Judge Knot will need to weigh the words of several Captains against your own," Captain Sun said through narrowed eyes as he, Captain Lulamoon and Captain Wall all stood up. "I do recall discussing your potential elevation to that of the Captain-General but I was not convinced of your temperament being suited for that which the role required. I am glad now that I was an obstinate old ass about it and refusing to consent to my other Captains' wishes more than ever now."

There was an angry muttering now from the audience, with Guards glaring at Internal Affairs agents and Internal Affairs agents beginning to light up their horns towards the overwhelming Guard presence.

"Order, order," Judge Knot banged his gavel against the bench, his voice cutting through the rising voices of discontent. "This trial will come to order!" the unicorn glared at her Captains. "Any of you speak out of turn again and I will hold you all in contempt." He then turned towards the Commissioner. "And for you," he said holding his gavel like a sword towards the unicorn. "There will be an investigation towards these allegations and you will step down in the meantime until we get to the bottom of this!" He glared one more time, then banged his gavel. "As Captain Surprise has returned, court is now back in session."

"I refuse to accept your damn ruling!" Hardy Rule shouted slamming the desk forward before glaring at Gentle. "You stole my rightful position and now you are doing the same damn thing again! I will not let you!" he said with his horn already glowing, preparing to throw a spell at her.

Gentle, of course, had seen the writing on the wall and was already acting. She had been preparing her own auraless magic spell in preparation and as soon as he took a step towards her, she unleashed a small prick of magic to each pressure point in his entire body, rendering him a non-threat as they both took a step forwards. As he began to react to her spell which she allowed to be seen, she rotated her body around to perform a textbook case buck into his jaw, sending him into the air before she grabbed him with her magic and slammed him down to the ground as to avoid injuring anyone with his body.

All of which transpired in less than five seconds.

That done, she turned to the bench and bowed. "Apologies for acting without permission, your honor," she said. "But as the plaintiff was acting with intention to cause harm, I reacted on instinct."

"I'll allow it," Judge Knot replied, a bemused look on his face. He then turned to the lawyer who had been sitting quietly next to Hardy Rule's seat this entire time, and gestured. "Do you have anything to say in your client's defense?"

The pony gulped nervously, fidgeting with his tie, then straightened himself. "Sir, as it would seem my client has managed to incriminate himself as a person of bias against the defendant, I would like to recuse myself. I cannot stand in support of him."

"You're excused," Judge Knot told him. He looked around the court once more, then banged his gavel. "As the claimant has been deemed a hostile witness and attempted to attack the defendant in clear violation of court regulations, I'm ordering court to be adjourned for a week. Captain," he said, gesturing to Captain Surprise. "We will still need to examine the item you have brought forth, as it is now evidence in a clear case against Commissioner Hardy Rule."

Sweet Surprise nodded, and hoofed the frame over. "Be careful, I'm going to want that back when you're done with it," she said. "It is a cherished memory for the ponies I eventually married and myself."

"We will, Captain," Judge Knot told her. "Now, as we are adjourned, I'd appreciate it if everypony would please clear the courtroom until such time as necessary. We will reconvene in one week, I will see you then." He rose, bowed in the direction of King Well Banded (who had been sitting quietly in the gallery the entire time, Gentle noted), and exited the room. A small troupe of guards followed him, holding Hardy Rule steady in the bindings they'd put around him after Gentle had turned to speak to the judge.

Gentle Step looked around. "I admit, I did not expect things to turn out this way," she said.

"Me neither," Captain Gaze said, walking towards her with the rest of the Captain. "I feel embarrassed and ashamed I didn't uncover this myself."

"Nonsense Gaze," Volet Lulamoon said. "There was no indication that he was acting out of selfish motivation and you had no reason to investigate him."

"Besides, as a person of interest in the case, it could have been said that you were also required to recuse yourself from any investigation," Blazen Sun told him.

Memorizing nodded. "Yeah, you're right," he said.

The other Captains, and Lieutenant Mist Flight, all smiled, before they heard somepony clearing their throat behind them. Instantly, they turned, eyes widened, and saluted, as did Gentle Step.

"Your highness," she said.

King Well Banded met her gaze for a moment, before smiling. "Captain-General, it is good to have you back," he said. "It has been an interesting trial today."

"Yes, sir," she said.

The King suddenly looked more serious. "Quite frankly, I believe there is already enough evidence to see that individual dismissed with prejudice from his rank, for his actions here today at the very least," he said. "There will need to be an official investigation and trial. But in the interim, I am issuing a Royal Proclamation. Scribe!"

"Yes, your highness?" another, smaller unicorn asked as they trotted over, scroll and quill in their magic.

"Here ye, here ye," King Well Banded said. "I, King Well Banded, on this-" and he gave the date - "do hereby declare that as the Commissioner of Internal Affairs, one Hardy Rule, has been taken into custody for crimes including attempted assault against the Captain-General of Our Royal Guards, he is hereby dismissed from his position pending investigation of his actions. Until further notice, Deputy Commissioner Iron Gates is hereby promoted to Acting Commissioner of Internal Affairs, and as such, is to discharge the powers and duties of the office of the Commissioner of Internal Affairs. Should the former Commissioner, Hardy Rule, be found guilty, Acting Commissioner of Internal Affairs Iron Gates shall be promoted to the full rank of Commissioner of Internal Affairs in his place, with all the powers and duties thereof."

Signing the document and pressing his Royal Seal against it, he beckoned to two other ponies who had been by his side in the gallery, and they placed their own signatures and seals on it in the place marked for witnesses.

When the ink was dry, the scribe rolled up the scroll, and King Well Banded nodded. "So it is written, so it is done," he said.

"My king," Acting Commissioner Iron Gates, whom Gentle noted must have also been in the gallery, said as she walked up to him and bowed, clearly not used to her new position or the proper procedures. "I will not disappoint you," she said before turning towards her and Mems. "Captain Gaze, Captain-General Step, I understand you two are involved with each other; I trust you two can use discretion and that this relationship will not interfere in any of your work."

Both of them nodded their heads. "If the latter starts to occur, we will begin to discuss means to address that situation." Captain Gaze promised with Gentle nodding her head in agreement again.

"Good, then as far as I am concerned, the matter is resolved," she said.

King Well Banded nodded approvingly as well, then raised a hoof. "Captain-General, I must take my leave now, but I also need to borrow your lieutenant for a while. If that is no objection."

"Of course." Gentle Step turned to Mist Flight. "I'll see you later, Lieutenant."

Mist Flight bowed, then followed after the King as he and his small retinue departed. Watching him go, Gentle turned her attention to Sweet Surprise. "My thanks to you for your part in this day," she said. "But now, there is something else I would have you do."

Surprise looked nervous, and Gentle had the feeling her fellow Captain already knew what she wanted. She said it anyway. "I would have you properly introduce your spouses to the rest of us, since they are present."

"I think that would need to wait, they will need time to recover from the teleport, sir," Surprise said, trying to delay the inevitable.

"That's alright, we're fine, Sweet," the red stallion said, walking beside the light blue pegasus mare. "Nice to meet you at long last, sirs." he said, holding his hoof out to Blazen Sun while their wife held out a hoof to Violet. "She's told us so much about you all."

"And yet we only have heard of the two of you so recently," Gentle Step said as she looked over the duo who continued to shake the hooves of her captains while the rest of the Guards watched them. "Except for Captain Gaze, of course. He knows everything about us."

The two ponies turned to him with odd looks, and he shrugged. "Who do you think is responsible for the protection detail you never knew was there? And don't panic," he said as Sound Mind started to open her mouth. "We don't spy on your private moments, if that's what you're worried about. Our mandate is to keep you safe, not to be peeping toms." It wasn't technically true as Mems told her privately. Though any overheard client details with Mind's patients, for instance, were sealed unless a situation was deemed important enough to open them up, along with the rest of them. It was a really odd compartmentalization Mems and his Guards could do without issue due to their Hivemind, take some memories and put it to the side.

Sound Mind closed her mouth at the drone's words, and nodded, looking rather relieved.

"I never have figured out where that expression came from," Hot Rod muttered.

"If our information is accurate... male cats, both Abyssinians and their non-sapient cousins, that like attention at the least convenient moments," Memorizing replied rather dryly.

"Right." Gentle rolled her eyes. "In any case, it is pleasant to see you two at last. Your wife was very indiscrete about your relationship; the rest of us only found out about you a short while after the Six returned to Canterlot with Prince-King Tizoc."

"As per our decision, ma'am," Hot Rod said, shaking her hoof. "We all knew what it meant for us being together and we decided not get into that headache of announcing of who we're married to. I sure as Luna's holy moon wouldn't be allowed to do my current job if there was a chance that the Captain's husband got hurt."

"And it will cause extra screening to be installed at my hospital now," Sound sounded unhappy at that. "Which could scare people away who need help."

"Technically, that sort of thing's always been there, in the form of my Guard," Memorizing pointed out. "It just hasn't been visible." At the looks they gave him, he shrugged. "Protecting the families of our fellow Guards, without their knowing, has been under the Hidden Guard's purview since it was founded a thousand years ago. Whether said family members were publicly known or not." He chuckled. "Though according to the records, some of them were more than capable of taking care of themselves and didn't really need protecting. We were standing by regardless."

"Dare I ask?" Hot Rod asked.

"Let's just say that one Captain had made some enemies, and they decided to get back at that Captain through their parents," Memorizing said. "The ponies in question had just tried to break down the door, and the Secret Protector of the time was about to move in, when the Captain's parents started pelting their attackers with crockery from an upstairs window. They had very good aim with the saucers in particular, from what I read." He chuckled again. "The attackers were all unconscious within a few minutes, so the Guard swooped in and took them into custody then and there."

"That reminds me of your Dad, Sweets," Hot Rod teased with Sweet Surprise blushing and groaning.

"Wasn't he a retired Guard himself?" Standing Wall asked.

"No," Sweet said, shaking her head. "Doesn't stop Dad being Dad."

"So tell us about this incident," Blazen Sun said, looking rather amused.

Sweet looked embarrassed. "Well..."

Mist Flight

King Well Banded had been silent since he and Mist Flight had left the courthouse, and now were both back in the King's private office, sitting across from one another. As he gazed down at the Lieutenant, he finally spoke. "So, I must congratulate you on your plan working out," he said. "Though I did not expect matters to take the turn they did."

"It did, your highness," Mist said. "And neither did I." He looked a little amused. "Who'd have thought Captain Surprise had the physical evidence we needed to back up our objection to that stallion's charges?"

"Quite," the King agreed. "And in doing so, she ensured I did not have to visibly act. I'll have to see about giving her a private commendation; something to thank her. She cannot know that I was already planning to step in if I had to though."

Mist nodded, albeit somewhat disturbed by the King's words.

This had been the plan all along, after all. Set up things so Internal Affairs would look bad by their prosecution of the Captain-General, via convincing King Well Banded of the good publicity that ending the Hatcheries would bring, and thus giving the Royal Guard the opportunity to slip away on an alternate assignment that would double as their protesting their Captains' treatment. Meanwhile, they would figure out a way to publicly embarrass IA so they wouldn't be harassing her any longer, if only through asking King Well Banded to personally pardon the two Captains when he knew they were both more than capable of handling anything that could come their way, and order Internal Affairs to back down. When Hardy Rule had started to lose his temper in public and Captain Sweet Surprise had come up with proof that would shut him down as a credible witness against Gentle Step, that had been more than enough to achieve what they wanted without the King publicly involving his hoof in things. Privately, he wished King Well Banded would give his public support to his Captain-General, but he understood his King's reasons for not doing that so soon after dealing with IA once before, in order to prevent them from prosecuting Memorizing Gaze for his species.

"Changing subjects," King Well Banded said. "Was young Wind Breaker leaving Equestria for a time an intended effect of your plan to publicly end the Hatchery system?"

"No," Mist said. "If I'd known he'd go flying off so soon, I'd have had a message delivered asking him to hold off until we could send some of our own with them, for his protection."

"Mm. And did you know he had family already here?" the King asked.

Mist shook his head. "That came as a surprise to all of us," he said. "It's a relief, it means he has less reason to want to leave the country. There's still a chance, we haven't been able to confirm the identity of either of his parents yet, so for all we know they are back overseas and he just missed them. I'm hoping he'll choose to stay regardless."

"Hmm." King Well Banded regarded him, then sighed, suddenly looking far older than he really was. "I wish I knew what it would take," he said, "For us to be sure that the Bearers would stay here. I have no desire to use force of arms against them, but quite frankly, we need them to stay here. The powers of Harmony have been centered in Equestria for so long, to have it slip away would be politically disastrous. And as I understand, it requires all six of them to be together; the Nightmare kept a tight guard on its thoughts, but it let that slip to me, at least. A detail we already knew, from the Scrolls of the Magi of Stars."

Mist nodded. "Though it would seem that at least some of the information about the original Six may not have been entirely accurate, based on the reports we've been getting," he said. "Wind Breaker has said, within hearing range of our Guard, that apparently the Stallion of Dedication is the one we got the most wrong."

King Well Banded frowned. "Oh?"

"He claims that while their symbol, the hat they wear, is right... the real Virtue was a mare, and that your ancestor got her mixed up with her older brother."

"And how much more do they know," the King asked, looking very sharp and intent now.

"We haven't been able to figure that out," Mist said. "I understand that Gentle was planning to interview them all about it at some point, once things calmed down."

"Good; at which point we can cross-check what the journal of King Blueblood the First said to see if we can glean any actual truths." King Well Banded looked at him, a very serious expression on his face. "Equestria's history must be confirmed and, if necessary, corrected to show the truth."

Mist Flight bowed. "Indeed, sir."

The King nodded back. "Now that that is settled, you are dismissed," he said. "I expect your Captain will have much to discuss with you."

Mist Flight saluted him, then left.

Memorizing Gaze

"So," Sound was saying. "I told her no I wasn’t mad, just really disappointed."

Memorizing chuckled as he slid another hayfry into his mouth. After they'd wrapped things up at the courthouse, they'd all gone out to eat - it was getting to be the lunch hour, after all - and let Sound and Hot Rod regale them with stories of their lives both before and after they'd gotten together with Sweet. Especially the latter. Violet in particular had been most interested in hearing what stories they had to tell about her friend, in part (as she had admitted) because she was still irked at having missed out on their wedding all those years ago.

Surprise had been accommodating to all the stories despite the embarrassment she displayed. She was actually enjoying this and was very happy, as well as her spouses. Even if he hadn't been a changeling, he knew he'd have been able to feel the love they all had for one another; it was radiating off them like heat off the sun.

Speaking of suns... He glanced over at Blazen Sun, who'd been most pleased to see Hot Rod. It seemed this wasn't actually the first time they'd met, though apparently it had only been in passing, when the Captain of the Celestia Guard had made one of his annual inspection tours of Canterlot's firehouses. They had spoken only briefly at the time, but Hot Rod's immediate superior had had nothing but praise for his work.

Memorizing doubted that Hot Rod would ever get promoted now, though. Far too many connections to the higher ups that it could ever be thought of anything else but favouritism or brownnosing. He wished it didn't have to be that way; the stallion was clearly a good person and a hard worker but Memorizing had to be realistic.

Sound Mind was also a good person, from all he knew of her, even before they were formally introduced. She had a spotless record, and her private practice was very successful. He doubted the knowledge of who she was married to would actually affect her too much in her career but now her practice would be under even more scrutiny.

Still, they were good ponies, and he and all the Hidden Guard who'd ever been assigned to their protection details would vouch for them if needed, though he would try to stay out of it as to prevent any accusations of bias due to his growing connection with the couple.

Speaking of couples... He stared at Gentle, and found himself smiling. Despite the feelings he'd had for her for years, he had not counted on he and his old foalhood friend coming into a relationship like this, especially not when she was his boss. It would be difficult to make things work between them now that he and their relationship were in the public eye, but he had faith that they would be able to do it.

Just then, Hot Rod looked at the clock on the wall. "I hate to say it, but I really need to get back to the firehouse now," he said. "Captains, it's been great getting to meet all of you. Sweet, Sound, I'll see you both tonight?"

The two nodded, embraced him, and once all had said their goodbyes, they watched as he headed out. Then, Sound Mind looked regretful. "I actually need to get going too," she said. "Like Hot Rod said, I'm glad I could get to meet all of you."

Violet smiled. "It was good getting to know my friend's spouses," she said. "And I hope we get the chance to sit down and chat some more soon."

"I'll make sure to do that," Sound told her as she took out a small notebook and wrote down a date for the two to meet up again.

Another round of goodbyes ensued, and then she left. Once she had gone, Gentle Step looked around. "Well," she said. "That was enjoyable. But we do need to get back to business now."

"What do you mean, Gents?" Memorizing asked.

Gentle Step looked at him, a very serious expression on her face. "Now that I've resumed my position," she said. "There's something I've been meaning to take care of, and I'm not willing to put it off any longer."

"Meaning..." five Captains said at once, looking at her expectantly.

Gentle Step looked at them all, then spoke.

"It's time we had a long overdue talk with the Six."

Chapter Twenty-Five: Omake

Omake, Chapter 25: The Princess of Love Reacts

"Ee-yes!"

Shining Armor looked up from the forms he'd been filling out (one would think that such a thing was unnecessary in Elysium, but this was partly his Paradise, and he actually found the work relaxing, even if they were never actually submitted anywhere after being done) and saw the love of his life, and his afterlife, hopping around with glee. "What is it?"

"Love conquers all, Shiny!" Cadance giggled. "The ponies pushing those ridiculous anti-fraternization regulations - who had no business doing that sort of thing, no matter how well-intentioned they may have thought they were being - just got the book thrown at them, and now Gentle Step and Memorizing Gaze are free to be together!"

Shining Armor smiled. "That's great, dear," he said.

Then he was caught off-guard as Cadance's face suddenly met his, and... well, for a few minutes, he was very preoccupied. When they finally split apart, he had a dazed and goofy smile on his face.

"I love you," she told him, smiling.

"I love you too," he replied. Then he tilted his head. "Speaking of loving couples, how are Page and Night doing?"

"Much better," Cadance told him. "They're working through things." She smiled at him. "Your granddaughter is a wonderful pony, you know?"

"I do," Shining Armor replied, his mind wandering for a moment. He'd been horrified when he'd realized what Chrysalis had done to him... but he couldn't bring himself to hate the child they'd brought into the world together. She hadn't tricked him into conceiving her, after all. He'd watched over Lamella Armor the First as she grew up, and when she'd passed on, he'd been there to greet her at the gates, to reassure her that he didn't blame her for her mother's actions.

Then he'd done the same with each of her descendants in turn, watching over them as best as he could from his Paradise, and being there to welcome them when they passed on. Cadance had accompanied him each time, and his parents and his little brother slash nephew had met them soon afterward. All his descendants had been, and still were, special to him and his family... but of all of them so far, Page was the one who'd made him, and Cadance, proudest.

She had a bright future ahead of her, and though many dangers still lay in her path, he had faith that she and her friends would overcome them all.

Feeling Cadance's gaze on him again, he looked at her and smiled. "So, was there something else you wanted?"

"Oh, there might be," Cadance said with a light giggle as she pressed her side against his. "Are you... mm, interested?"

Shining Armor grinned as he realized what she had in mind, and then threw up a large opaque dome-like shield around them.

We draw away from the happy couple now, and leave what happened underneath that dome afterward for you, the readers, to imagine. But suffice to say, they had a good time.

Chapter Twenty-Six: Rex, Gentle Step

Chapter Twenty-Six

Rex

It was a new day, and the Bearers were restless.

Five of them had finished their day at the Library the evening before, saying their goodbyes to Hush Tone (with Wind and Page each exchanging a fond hug with her before going) and then all returning to their hotel suite. Serrated had accompanied them most of the way before saying her own goodbyes at the door and promising to visit Night again soon, then departed. Xvital had returned to them soon afterward, and the six had settled in for dinner and a good night's rest.

The next morning though, when Page had been preparing to return to the Library, she was informed that it had been 'requested' that they stay in their suite that day, for their own safety, while the Captains were otherwise occupied with their Captain-General's hearing.

Page had been most irritated, as had Wind Breaker; as he had explained, he had wanted to spend more time with Hush Tone. Rex, however, had quickly taken charge of the situation and calmly asked if some of the Guard could retrieve a few things from the workshop he had set up at the Library, so he and Page could work on the trackers he'd been setting up. They'd agreed, and so he and Page had spent the morning doing that. Vix-Lei, on the other paw, had dragged Night into their suite's kitchen for another cooking lesson (as she had pointed out, he'd managed just fine with only his hooves before).

That left Wind Breaker and Xvital. The former, Rex could tell, was rather fidgety, until Page reminded him of the books she'd brought home the day before, and he'd managed to engross himself in one of those. Xvital, meanwhile, had been focused on the official reading material from her country that she'd come in with the day before, up until Vix-Lei announced that lunch was served.

They found it quite enjoyable, and congratulated Night, who looked rather embarrassed at the praise he was being given.

"So," Xvital said, changing subjects. "Any word from the outside?"

"Not yet," Rex said. "Hearings like this can go on for hours, depending on how much the defendant and the plaintiff have to say, and how much evidence needs to be presented."

Vix-Lei nodded. "Plus there's how long a judge needs to deliberate. Or the jury, if there is one."

"I just hope everything works out," Page said. "Gentle Step may be... intimidating, and I may have my issues with Memorizing Gaze. But they don't deserve this."

Rex nodded back. "According to the news, Judge Diamond Knot is presiding," he said.

Vix-Lei smirked. "Judge Knot, eh? Lest ye be judged?"

Night Blade and Wind Breaker both rolled their eyes at the pun, while Rex facepawed. "It's a good thing you're making that joke in private," he informed her. "I read up on his record when they announced who would be presiding. According to the news articles, the last time somedog said that in his presence, he told them he'd heard that joke more times than he cared to remember, finds it very annoying, and threatened them with contempt of court for it."

Vix-Lei made a face, but nodded. "I guess I can see that."

"New subject!" Xvital said quickly, before turning to Rex. "So how's the trackers coming?" she asked.

"I've finished a pair for Wind Breaker and Hush Tone," Rex said, before looking at Wind. "I had to tweak the formulae in order to work two DNA samples into it at once, so as to create one that will specifically find the griffon who is related to both of you. I am hoping that at some point, we will be allowed to either trace its path ourselves, or to submit it to members of the Guard so they can travel to the Griffish Isles with it. Though if the latter case comes through, I suspect we might have to wait longer for results. They may wish me to create trackers for a number of other griffons as well, so as to allow them to make just one trip there instead of repeated ones."

Wind Breaker looked relieved. "Thanks, Rex."

Talk turned to other things until they'd finished lunch, and then Page disappeared into the back room for a bit. "I'd be glad to help with the cleanup, but I need to talk with my Sages about something," she explained.

Rex nodded understandingly, and he and the others set to work. They were soon all back in the living room, Page included, and Wind was fidgeting again.

"So when do you think-" He was cut off when the door opened and a unicorn mare walked in.

Gentle Step

"Good, you're all here." Gentle Step looked around. "Ladies, gentlecolts." She stepped aside so three other mares and two stallions could follow her in, and each of them took a seat. When everyone was settled in, Gentle spoke.

"I think it's time," she said, "that we get some answers and explanations."

Wind Breaker squirmed uncomfortably. "What kind of answers and explanations?"

"Preferably truthful ones," the Captain-General replied as she took out a notepad and began skimming over it. "First and foremost, how all this situation got started." She arched an eyebrow at them, before continuing. "According to the reports, the earliest that the six of you came together was the night of the Honour Festival, during a fight with a particularly unpleasant unicorn by the name of Sharp Point." She heard Page hiss softly at this, but let it slide. "This fight, in which you all acted in defense of a changeling nymph and her child, led to you being held in jail overnight, and released the next morning with the intention that you would be returning for a court hearing in a few days. You then," and she consulted the file she was holding, though it was more for show than an actual need to refresh her memory. "Were involved in a fire at the old Museum of Victory, a location which was fortunately otherwise empty. You informed the Guards that Sharp Point was responsible for this fire, which we have since determined was not in fact the case, and I will be questioning you on that soon.

"A short time afterward, you bribed one of our Guards to let you into another quarter of the city, a situation that has since been dealt with via his demotion for dereliction of duty and later for his leading other Cadenza Guards in a temporary insurrection on your behalf after your return to Canterlot. You were next seen attempting to pass through the Blas Bridge, which resulted in a massive blackout throughout that portion of the city due to the actions of Mister Wind Breaker, a blackout which we are still dealing with the aftereffects of." She gave him a look, prompting Wind to squirm uncomfortably once more, and she made a mental note to herself that he would be key to gaining any truths the rest of them would try to hide from she and her captains.

She continued on. "The following day, you successfully escaped from Canterlot via a stolen skimmer - an event which our Full Moon has some questions about - and into the Everfree Forest. Two days later, Captain Gaze and his team met you in and outside of Sunny Town, at which point Miss Turner informed him that you had learned of an entity that had taken control of the government, an entity which only the six of you could defeat, and then you had your second fight with Sharp Point, during which Mister Blade here earned his rather unfortunate moniker." She heard Night Blade growl at that, and was not surprised in the least. It was an ugly one and painted him in an unpleasant light.

"This fight ended when you were rescued by the Questioning Order of the Goddess-Princess Celestia, despite one of you being a changeling - one of the beings they had sworn to eliminate." She flipped a page. "The next event we have is the sudden rebellion in the Crystal Dominance, brought on by the Questioning Order and which is still going on even months later. Then you turned up in the Cuanmiztl Kingdom, where you encountered and gained the aid of Prince-King Tizoc, and with him returned to Canterlot, where you fought and defeated the divine spirit known as the Nightmare, which was possessing King Well Banded at the time, and somehow channeled the divine spirit of Harmony to do so." She closed the file and leaned in closer to them, giving each a piercing look. Some were more telling than others, though Xvital and Page gave nothing away unsurprisingly considering their pasts. "There are more than a few details I would like to hear regarding your adventures, in order to fill in the gaps in our records."

"What, precisely, do you wish to know first?" Rex asked. He spoke with a careful, cultured tone and manner. From her own reports and observations, this was his attempt to appear beyond his species and was an act that was all but second nature for him at this point. She would keep in mind the times that his speech patterns were more akin to those of a typical diamond dog as to be more alert of potential dangers.

Gentle Step regarded him with a slight nod of her head. "Going by chronological order, how did the fire in the Museum of Victory really start?"

"The fire was an unfortunate side-effect of the physical manifestation of the spirit of Harmony, though we were unaware of its true identity at that point, since it had taken a new form suited for its current mission and was calling itself Balance," Rex replied. "It briefly explained that it had chosen us to inherit its Elements, and then departed in such a manner that caused the fire. We could not explain this to the authorities in a way that would sound believable, so we blamed Sharp Point in the hopes that you would arrest him instead. I confess, given his behavior the night before, that I would not have been surprised in the least if he'd already had some other reason to be arrested anyway. Because of this, he made a logical choice for a scapegoat."

Gentle Step raised an eyebrow. "I see." She looked at them. "The next question..."

Sweet Surprise stood up. "Begging your pardon, Captain-General," she said. "Request permission to ask this next part, and my apologies in advance if I sound unprofessional while doing so."

Gentle gave her a look as this was out of the agreed plan, but nodded. "Go ahead."

"Right." Looking straight at Vix-Lei, she asked, "Who the fuck taught you how to drive like a batpony out of Tartarus‽" She glanced at Night. "Er, no offense intended."

"None taken," Night replied. "Considering that apparently my own siblings went joyriding in our family skimmers when they were younger - and I have been assured that they have all long since been punished for doing so - and at least one of them crashed during such a joyride, I would say such a description is fairly accurate."

Sweet looked at him in surprise, then turned back to Vix-Lei. "Ahem."

Vix-Lei laughed. "You mean, when I led you and your Guards on a merry chase?" She sobered with the pointed glare directed at her and no doubt recalling that Sweet was actually a very potent unicorn. "Sorry about causing you so much trouble there, but it was nothing personal. We were just trying to escape and save the world, and you were trying to catch us because you'd been tricked by the thing we were trying to stop."

Sweet nodded. "In hindsight, it makes a lot more sense. But answer the question, if you will."

"Right, right. Well, back in Ledra, I grew up around a shipyard, you know? Flying's practically in my blood." Vix-Lei stretched her arms out in what seemed to be a casual gesture or possibly a subconscious means to demonstrate her strength as a deterrent. "And I picked up more than a few tricks from my dad's employees. Most of them worked part time driving passenger chariots when they were in college, so they knew how to do all kinds of sick turns!"

"Cab drivers. Right." Sweet sighed. "That explains a lot, and it sounds like I'll have to see about getting some of them as teachers for our Guards now." She heard Gentle scribbling something down, and then backed up.

"Next question," Gentle stated, looking at the nymph in the room. "The Questioning Order. They helped you. Why?"

"Because we were the Element-Bearers," Page answered. "They still hate me for what I am... but apparently, part of their mandate was to help the new Bearers when they surfaced, regardless of species."

Gentle laid her notes down. "And how, precisely, did starting a rebellion in the Crystal Dominance help with this?"

Page looked embarrassed. "The... last one we met, said they started the Crystal Dominance Rebellion as a distraction," she said. "To keep the Guards from finding us when we... er."

"They might as well know," Wind Breaker said with a sigh, tapping the surface next to him with a claw. "The Order had been holding onto the sixth Element all these years, in one of their storage vaults. They also had this weird mirror that led to another dimension, and we wound up having to go there to get Xvital's Element after it got swiped out of her hands by this one unicorn who'd been living there. Her name was Sunset Shimmer, and she used to be Celestia's student; ring any bells?"

Gentle Step was already on her hooves, but the other five Captains were standing in an instant, and Memorizing Gaze in particular was looking very surprised. "She's still alive?" he asked.

"Yeah," Wind said with a nod of his head. "We left her on the other side after magically knocking some sense into her - kind of a weaker version of what happened when we purged the Nightmare, and channeled through some of the locals, but it worked."

"How exactly do you know about her?" Xvital asked, leaning across the table.

Gentle Step gestured for the other Captains to sit back down, and then regarded her. "There is much about Sunset Shimmer that you do not yet know," she said, evaluating the situation and making mental preparations. "But continue. What exactly was this other dimension like?"

"Well, we came out in front of a high school, and turned into new forms to match the locals," Vix-Lei spoke up. "Nice place, but a little odd, considering some of the people we met there. Apparently that dimension was linked to this one, kind of a parallel development, they said. A lot of the locals are based off of ponies who used to live in this world, including the goddesses and our predecessors, and some others too."

"New forms?" Sweet Surprise sounded interested. "What kind of new forms?"

Gentle Step gave her a look, but then nodded at Vix-Lei to continue.

"They called themselves humans," Vix-Lei said. "Same basic shape as minotaurs, but shorter and no horns or hooves. And I could actually see my knees." She shrugged. "Weird."

"Their faces were much flatter as well," Rex said. "And their teeth were omnivore's, but nowhere near as sharp as I'm used to."

Sweet considered this, looking almost uncharacteristically serious but Gentle could easily see why considering her own talents in transformation. "I don't suppose any of you could draw what they looked like?" she said.

"I can try," Xvital said. Sweet passed her some paper, and she went to work. After a few minutes, she'd turned out a decent sketch of her other form, and handed it over.

Studying it carefully, Sweet lit up her horn, and a moment later had popped into a new shape. "Like this?"

The five males in the room instantly looked away, and Gentle Step curled her lip. Before she could speak though, Page did. "Just like that," she said. "Except... they were fully clothed." She concentrated and a moment later had transformed herself. "Like this."

Sweet looked at her, then down at her own bare body, and shrugged. "I see..."

"And so do we all, more than we'd like to, so if you'd mind changing back?" Violet suddenly said.

"Right." Sweet popped back into her natural form. "Okay, I'm good."

One by one, the males in the room opened their eyes, and looked at Page's current form. Memorizing looked interested. "I've been a two-legged form before, but that one's new on me," he said.

"It was new to me too," Page said as she returned to her unicorn state. "I'd never been a two-legged form before myself, but we all got used to it very quickly."

"So," Blazen Sun said from his seat, stroking his beard. "You said the locals were based off of ponies from this world. Including the goddesses?"

Page nodded. "I can... show you one of them, if you want."

"Please, do," he said.

With a deep breath, Page nodded and shifted forms, and the others' eyes widened as they saw the form she'd taken.

"This is Principal Celestia," she explained in the woman's voice. "The local version of our long-passed goddess. She was in charge of Canterlot High, alongside her younger sister-" and she shifted form and voice again. "Vice-Principal Luna."

"My word," Violet breathed. "This is... incredible!"

"Excuse me, you said younger sister?" Blazen Sun asked with a raised eyebrow with Sweet Surprise also looking interested. No doubt due to the fact that this was about their goddesses that they were the high priests for.

Night nodded. "From first observations of the two, Vice-Principal Luna was visibly younger than Principal Celestia, and when one of us asked -" and here he shot a glance at Vix-Lei. "While we were in the Vice-Principal's office filling out paperwork, she confirmed that her sister was three years older than herself. We don't know for sure if the same is true of the goddesses here, but it would make sense."

Meanwhile, Page had reverted once more, and picked up when Night nodded at her. "We were really surprised at seeing them," she said. "And even more so when we met some of the other locals. Including the local version of my predecessor." With a pop, she transformed again. "Meet Fluttershy," she said in the other mare's soft voice.

"The Stern Warden." Standing Wall shook her head. "And I presume the others were all there too? The Warrior, the Lady, the Wise Oracle, the Stallion of Dedication, and the Magi of Stars?"

"Well, we never actually met the Magi of Stars there," Wind Breaker said. "But we did meet the rest. And the ones from this world."

"What do you mean?" Standing Wall asked with narrowed eyes.

"When we each earned our Elements," Night Blade said, "We were mentally transported to our predecessor's Paradise in the Elysium Fields. We got to meet them there, and learn a little bit more about our new situation. We also discovered that through physical contact with their counterparts in the world of Canterlot High, we and they were sent back there temporarily. During this time, we had the opportunity to speak with the spirits of five of the original Virtuous Six in greater depth, and to learn the truth behind some of the histories, which had been misinterpreted by King Blueblood due to his receiving the information second-hoof."

Gentle Step looked contemplative. "Misinterpreted, you say."

Page nodded. "Most of the so-called villains, like the Blue Sorceress-" and here she transformed again, into the blue-skinned girl's form and voice. "Were actually nowhere near as bad as we thought. The Blue Sorceress, for instance, was a showmare named Trixie who accidentally inspired a couple of colts to lure an Ursa Minor into town, and the Magi of Stars saved her life as a result. When the invasion happened and Twilight was assumed dead, Trixie vowed to honor her memory." She looked at Violet. "According to Applejack, you're actually Trixie's descendant, and she's proud of what you've accomplished."

Violet's eyes went wide at that, and so did all the others'. After a moment, Gentle Step signaled for her to continue.

"At any rate, we learned a lot." Page reverted to unicorn form. "For instance, most of the Virtuous Six actually aren't happy about their monikers."

"Especially Applejack," Wind Breaker threw in, drawing attention back to him. "Turns out the 'Stallion' of Dedication with the Element of Honesty, the one who keeps the others honest by being honest, is actually a mare - ponies got her mixed up with her brother Big McIntosh. And she is really not happy at how her family's turned out since her time. They used to do quality product, but it's gone way downhill since then. I personally tasted one of the ones she grew herself in her Paradise and it was really good."

The Captains exchanged glances. "And what about the rest?" Standing Wall asked.

"Well, my predecessor was Pinkie Pie, the Wise Oracle," Vix-Lei stated. "Also known as the Element of Laughter. Earth pony with a big poofy mane. And she just loves throwing parties for people." She chuckled. "Really, she's like a pink rocket-skimmer made of happiness, and boy can that girl bake. But the second time we talked, she explained that she thinks being called the 'Wise Oracle' makes her sound too serious - sure, she had kind of a sixth sense for random stuff, but she had to figure out what the reactions meant through trial and error. My brother Argus has the same kind of thing."

Blazen Sun looked thoughtful at Vix-Lei's words, and then she continued. "Pinkie told me that she can be serious when it's really called for, but keeping it up all the time just isn't our thing. Our Element means we're supposed to generally lighten the mood so everytaur around us doesn't get so wound up that they snap and go crazy."

"So if you were in the Guard, you'd be your squad's morale officer, then," Standing Wall said. "Always good to have."

"Sounds about right," Vix-Lei replied. She looked at Rex, gesturing for him to speak, and he did.

"Mine was the Lady," he said. "Rarity Belle, the Element of Generosity. She was the least displeased with her nickname, because while it has been mainly used to inspire elitism, those who follow her have at least made some effort towards honoring the values of her element, giving charitable aid to those who need it. In fact, I believe her sister's descendants are among those who have best stayed true to her Element. True generosity is selfless, brought on out of a desire out of the greatest good for others."

"I am the successor to the Warrior," Night Blade said a bit stiffly, looking slightly uncomfortable. It was just a sideway glance with a flicker of his healthy wing, but Gentle saw it and made a mental note to ask about it later. "Who is none too thrilled by the fact that she died before she could join her favorite stunt fliers, the Wonderbolts - the so-called 'Thunder Warriors' of legend. Our Element is Loyalty, and we are the ones who protect our friends, even at great personal cost to ourselves."

"And Fluttershy's and my Element, the moral center of the group, is Kindness," Page said. "She didn't like being called the Stern Warden because it made her sound scary, when she was really quite shy most of the time." She turned to Xvital, who looked the most uncomfortable.

"The Magi of Stars," she said. "Her Element, and mine, is Magic... or Friendship. The balance between all the others. And her real name was Twilight Sparkle." She took a deep breath. "She was the student of Celestia and the younger sister of Shining Armor, the consort of the demigoddess-Princess Mi Amore Cadenza."

"Twilight..." Memorizing breathed sharply, no doubt feeling a swirl of emotions considering his ancestors's involvement with them. He looked at Xvital. "Did the other Virtues say anything about her Cutie Mark? Did it have stars, like the ones on her statue?"

"Er, yes," Wind Breaker said. "Applejack said the statues of the six of them got her Cutie Mark right."

Violet looked down at the emblem she wore on her uniform. "So it matches," she muttered. "Good to know."

Page looked concerned. "Is something wrong?"

"No," Gentle Step said. "In fact, I believe something may be very right. But we're getting a little off topic. You got to know the original Bearers, and their human counterparts, and then you channeled Harmony's powers through these same counterparts, I presume, thus healing Sunset Shimmer?"

"Exactly," Night said. "Healed, as it turns out, of something the Nightmare and some of its allies had done to her, if what it said during our confrontation with it was to be believed. We left her in the care of the human Elements, before returning here with Xvital's crown."

At that, Xvital snapped her fingers. "Oh nuts."

"What?" Page asked.

"Oh, I just remembered," Xvital said. "In all the chaos of everything that's happened since then, I completely forgot about it. We promised to show our Elements to-" and then she clapped a hand over her mouth, aghast.

"To whom?" Gentle Step asked.

"Er... the... guy who helped us with Wind's tracker after he saw we had them," Xvital said nervously as she glanced in the Captains' direction, well aware that their status as heroes didn't excuse breaking the law. "Payment for his helping us."

"Oh?" Violet leaned in. "And who might this 'guy' be?"

Xvital looked very nervous before answering. "One of my... contacts?"

Memorizing Gaze gave her a look of his own. "And I'm guessing you don't want to say anything that might make him think you turned state's evidence on him," he said.

Xvital nodded weakly.

"If it's the same person I think it is, we already know about him," Memorizing said. He leaned over and whispered a name in her ear, and her fur stood on end.

"That's the guy!" she said with a squeak. "How-"

"I've got agents keeping an eye on him," Memorizing said, rolling his eyes. "He's comparatively harmless, seeing as he's just in it for the money and to satisfy his own lust for wealth and pleasure, and he has no idea that one of his people is actually one of my Guards. Or that they alerted another one that was with Sweet's people, so she'd know that you were in the area."

Sweet looked at him in surprise, and he shrugged. "I told you I had some of my own Guards in each of your divisions," he said with a pointed grin that only a changeling could pull off. "All part of the job of keeping Canterlot and the rest of Equestria safe."

"And I take it that this... person is someone you feel is better off where he is, since you are able to use his presence to keep an eye on a portion of the criminal underworld in Canterlot?" Gentle asked with a raised eyebrow, knowing she should take a further look into this herself.

"Exactly," Memorizing said, before turning to Xvital. "I'd appreciate it if you kept that fact quiet when you see him next time though. He is still useful and we are retrieving all the relics that he sold, so we can restore them to their rightful place eventually," he told her and his fellow Captains with Sweet staring harder at him.

Xvital nodded. "Will do."

"So what happened then?" Standing Wall asked. "As Captain-General Step said, the next thing we knew, there'd been a rebellion in the Crystal Dominance, and you six were seen heading south to the Cuanmiztl Kingdom."

Xvital nodded. "The Questioning Order put the mirror on their airship and flew it away, then, as Page said, started the rebellion as a distraction. We weren't too happy when we came back through and found out about what they'd done while we were away - if it had been up to me, we'd have used stealth to escape. They decided to start things all on their own."

Gentle Step nodded back. "It is good to know you were not advocating for violent rebellion," she said. "Any idea of the mirror's current location?"

"No," Page said. "They dropped us off a while later, after... well, I'll let Xvital explain that part. But they didn't say where they were going after that."

Gentle Step nodded, then turned to Xvital. But it was Blazen Sun who asked, with grandfatherly concern, "So what happened next?"

"Well, we were still on the ship when I put on my crown, and..." Xvital shuddered. "I... met Twilight. Except she wasn't herself at the time. The Nightmare was holding her prisoner and torturing her, and she'd taken on this other persona to try and protect herself - at least, I think that's why she did it." She sighed. "She was actually still alive, even after a thousand years."

The six captains' eyes widened, but Gentle Step gestured for Xvital to continue. It was Page who spoke instead though.

"When Xvital put on her crown, she screamed and fell into a coma," she said. "Since none of us had the expertise to really treat a member of her species, we went to the Cuanmiztl Kingdom for help. She came out of it once we were there and told us what she'd found out, then we ran into Prince-King Tizoc, and he and Xvital had a long talk about their past. And once they'd made up, he agreed to help us."

"After all that, once we were back here, Page found out that King Well-Banded was the one who'd been possessed," Vix-Lei added. "So we split up - not that it did us a whole lot of good, since the Nightmare caught us all in the end. It tried playing some kind of mind games with the rest of us, then we fought it for a while until it accidentally gave us the clue to beating it. That's when Xvital came back, we triggered the Elements' powers, and we sent the Nightmare packing."

"And where were you?" Gentle Step asked, directing this question to Xvital.

"The Nightmare had me locked up with Twilight's body, though I don't know exactly where it is," Xvital said. "It forced us to watch as it fought my friends... but I didn't realize that's what they'd all become, until it actually said the word 'friends'. That's when Twilight broke out of her shell, set me free and gave me everything I needed to know about my purpose as a Bearer, telling me about being the bridge between the other five and kicking off my magic. Then, like Vix-Lei said, I teleported to my friends and we kicked Nightmare butt. Everything after that, you already know."

"And... what happened to Twilight?" Violet asked, tapping the note pad with her pen.

Xvital looked down. "When she broke free, it let her spirit finally move on to Elysium," she said. "I didn't see it happen, but somehow... I just know," she said. "I felt it, in here." She pointed to her heart.

"Then she is finally at peace," Blazen Sun said. "I wish her all the best." The oldest of the captains suddenly looked very tired, no doubt feeling his age.

"Yeah," Xvital said. "We all do."

There were a few minutes of silence, before Gentle spoke up.

"I've been wanting to ask you something of personal interest," she said to Night, staring at him intently. "We found the shards of your old sword in the Everfree, yet you had a new one by the time you returned to Canterlot. Some presumed it was given to you in the Cuanmiztl Kingdom, but I could tell at a distance that it was not one of their style. So where did it come from?"

Night looked surprised. "The Questioning Order had it in their vault," he said. "They allowed me to take it as a replacement for Determined Point."

"May I see it?"

"Certainly." Night Blade drew the weapon out and presented it to her.

"As I expected; a Masamane blade," she said with a knowing smile, giving it a few practice sword spins before returning it to him. "He said he'd destroyed all of them, though he wasn't completely sure. I guess he was mistaken after all."

Night Blade arched an eyebrow. "He said? How..."

Sweet Surprise spoke up before anyone else could. "How much do you know about how our Captain-General was promoted to her current rank?"

"Rex and Night Blade confirmed the stories when I asked about them a while back," Vix-Lei said. "About her breaking into Tartarus, rescuing a couple of other guards and then breaking back out with them. I still had a hard time believing it then, but I trust them."

Gentle Step nodded. "If I hadn't been the one it was happening to, I might have had a hard time believing it myself. But I was." She faced the group. "What a lot of people don't know is that time in Tartarus is... different. While the rest of the world experienced five days, to myself and my companions, it was five months. During this time, I encountered many wandering demons, and bore witness to a number of the realm's most dangerous prisoners who were still in their cages, including the centaur lord Tirek. But I also met Masamane himself, whose spirit had taken up residence in that place millennia ago, for reasons which are his to tell. We became friends of sorts, and he taught me how to forge my own weapons after some time, though I doubt he would ever approve of me saying that they are in his style." She half-drew her two swords, staring at them with pride. "I personally made Justice and Protector under his instruction, out of the horn of a demon I had fought and spared. I would have inherited his land and issues if I had slain him," Gentle said with a wider grin on her face as she recalled the event. "Instead, I made him look weak in front of his fellow demons by not killing him, thus implying it wasn't worth my effort to do so." She chuckled at the memory of the outraged face on the demon when she had done that. "I used them to secure the return of my companions from the High Lord Demon's remaining lackeys that came after us, and saw us safely back to Equestria."

"And then Captain-General Rocky Peak recommended you for his successor, and all the active captains agreed," Sweet Surprise said. "He was so proud of you when he found out what you'd done..."

Gentle Step felt the faintest traces of a blush on her face. "We always had it drilled into our heads that no one gets left behind," she said. "I just held true to that as best as I could during that period."

"With a record like that, it's a wonder you weren't the new Loyalty," Wind Breaker said. "Actually... I can't help but wonder which of you would have been which Element if Balance had chosen the six of you instead of us."

"Laughter," Violet instantly said, pointing towards Sweet Surprise. "No question about it. You keep our moods up."

"Generosity," Memorizing added, pointing at Blazen Sun. "I've seen enough of you to know that you're always willing to give of yourself when needed."

"Violet would probably be Honesty," Standing Wall said. "She's certainly direct enough and doesn't hold back when it comes to cutting through the chaff."

"That leaves Kindness and Magic," Gentle Step said. "Mems would probably be Kindness, actually." She noticed him blushing. "What? You do tend to treat those you've brought in far better than many think they deserve."

"I'm a protector," Memorizing replied. "That includes making sure there's no brutality when we're bringing in suspects, even those for particularly heinous crimes."

Standing Wall raised a hoof. "That leaves Magic, and while I may be magically talented, I doubt I'd really fit what you said about it. Gents here would actually be better as the balance between us six, so she'd be Magic and I'd be Loyalty."

Gentle Step nodded. "I agree, you would be a good fit for that one," she said. "But at any rate, all this is just speculation, and since we already have an active team of Bearers, the point is rather moot." She looked at her fellows. "Does anyone else have anything in particular they'd like to ask about?"

"Actually, I'd like to speak with both Miss Turner and Rex on some things," Violet said. She turned to Page, and pulled a book out of her saddlebags. "I understand you're actually a fan of my work?"

Page's eyes lit up. "Oh, yes!"

"And seeing as I'm currently working on the next volume..." Violet turned to Rex. "I've heard about the Reclaimed spell you were working into a necklace, and I'd like to hear more about it from you. It sounds like something that would be interesting to work into my book. And that genetic tracker that one of my guards contacted me about the other day."

Rex smiled. "I would be honored to have my work, and that of my friends and students, included in such a publication," he said. "And for my creations to provide you with assistance in your own work."

As the two moved to one side of the room, Gentle noticed Standing Wall looking at Xvital.

"Xvital, if I may ask you a few questions?" she asked. "What do you recall of where you were kept when the Nightmare kidnapped you?"

"Not much, to be honest," Xvital said. "It didn't look like it did the first time I met Twilight, that's for sure. Other than that, I didn't catch a lot of it; I was kind of distracted by watching the Nightmare fighting my friends."

"Can you recall anything; anything at all," Standing Wall asked, leaning in. "How it smelt; was there any difference in air pressure when you arrived in the Gem Room?"

"Maybe some?" Xvital said with a shrug, clearly trying to recall but shaking her head in the end.

"Hmm," Gentle summoned a map of Old Canterlot and one of the current state of the South-West. "If I am to guess correctly, it would have placed her in a location that meant something to her as to be further cruel; either her residence with the Goddess Celestia or the place of her beginnings."

"It can't be the former; we would have found her if that were the case," Standing said as she crossed out the section of the old Canterlot castle before looking at the city surrounding the residence of the Goddesses. "So her remains should be buried under the Middle South-West corner, maybe even in the Under."

Xvital nodded. "Maybe," she said. "I wish there was a way to trace my teleport; I went straight from where I was being held to where my friends were."

"Too long ago to do so now," Gentle said bluntly, regretting the missed opportunity.

"I kind of figured," Xvital said.

Rex, turning from Violet, nodded solemnly. "Even an expert in magic present at the start of all this would have needed some time, an afternoon probably, to disentangle the traces and determine the new whereabouts of somedog who had used a transportation method of that nature," he said. "And I suspect the strong energies present in the Gem Room after all that happened would have only further confused the issue."

"That and any possible evidence and traces are long since gone," Standing Wall said. "Unless you haven't cleaned yourself since your kidnapping from the Nightmare, I doubt there is any chance of me tracing the soil back to its location."

"No chance of that," Xvital said. She clenched all three of her fists in frustration. "Wherever we were, Twilight deserves better than to be left there," she muttered.

"Could you have truly traced the soil back to its location from just a handful of minerals?" Rex inquired, looking at Standing.

"Of course, if I had the materials," Standing Wall replied.

"Fascinating." Rex's eyes gleamed. "I have always been interested in the assorted fields of thaumatical practices. If I could see that variety in action, it would add greatly to my stores of knowledge and understanding of them."

"I have been trying to get Standing to try and write a book on Earth Pony magic for years now, but as she always says it is too abstract to put down on paper," Violet replied with a glowering Standing Wall giving her a dirty look. "That, and if she tried, it would end up drier than the San Palomino Desert."

"And I suppose your thaumatical treatises and theories are a romantic adventure best seller?" Standing shot back.

"No, but while my works are concise and clear, they at least get the point across without being as stiff as a priest's collar," Violet returned. "My college dissertation was well-received in part because it got the point across in a logical manner and in part because it wasn't as dull as some of my classmates' were. I still don't know what Dark Meadow was thinking, including so many 'mayhaps' and 'perchances' and 'wherefores' all strung together and repeatedly comparing one thing to another that no average reader would have heard about without specifically looking it up." She sighed. "It gave me a headache just trying to read more than a page at a time when he gave me a copy after graduation, I don't know how the thesis committee ever got through it."

"Perhaps," Memorizing said, drawing attention towards him as he moved in the middle of them. "You two can collaborate on this topic, as you have the experience to explain such material and the status of an established writer."

The two mares looked thoughtful, and Violet nodded. "Maybe," she said. "I'd like to get my current one finished before the year is out though."

"I will need to think on it myself," Standing Wall said. "Some of this is very hard even for me to explain, and I'm the one who figured out how to do it in the first place."

Rex nodded. "Regardless, if you are able to find a way to do so, I'd be very interested in hearing it," he said. "My own people may not be able to practice thaumatism, but any varieties of it have always been of interest to me."

Standing Wall nodded, then gestured to Xvital before the two stepped away from the group and off to one side, speaking quietly.

Turning her attention to the other Bearers, Gentle Step eyed each of them in turn. Vix-Lei seemed rather calm, while Wind Breaker was still fidgeting and Night Blade looked not quite as grumpy as he usually did. Page was still listening intently to Violet and asking or answering questions, while Rex sat and looked as if he were genuinely understanding of everything that she was saying.

Either he really does know his stuff, or he's a better actor than I thought, she thought to herself.

Blazen, Memorizing and Sweet were all rather calm, though Sweet was still eying Vix-Lei as if she wanted to say something more to her; what, Gentle wasn't quite sure yet. It was Memorizing who first spoke though.

"My team and I still have some work to do, tracing one part of your journey," he said. "The Everfree is still wild and dangerous. But as we understand, you spent two full nights there before the Questioning Order found you and recovered you for the third night. How was the experience?"

"It was an experience," Night Blade said with a sigh. "The terrain was rough, though luckily we did not encounter any dangerous wildlife."

Memorizing nodded. "You also found a constructed shelter of some kind at one point," he said. "A lucky find, I'm guessing."

Page looked up and nodded. "In more ways than one," she said. "The cottage we found had somehow survived for over a thousand years."

"That old?" Sweet asked skeptically. "I realize they had stronger magic back then, but still, how did they manage to pull that little trick off?"

Page looked down. "It was Fluttershy's home," she said. "The second time I met with her, she said their families had protection spells put on it after she died."

That drew a round of startled noises, and Vix-Lei nodded. "That's about how we reacted too, when we figured it out," she said. "A piece of the lost City of the Virtues - or Ponyville, as they called it. And then five of us got to see other parts of what it looked like when we had our big meeting with five of the Bearers and their human selves, and it was great. Really welcoming and homey, if you know what I mean." She sighed. "I figure the rest is all filled in with trees and such now, but back in the day, it was a sight."

"Did they have preservation spells put on the rest of it?" Blazen inquired.

"We didn't think to ask," Wind Breaker said, sounding embarrassed. "At least, I didn't."

"While I can't speak for everypony else, I can safely say that Rainbow Dash's home is not likely to be around anymore," Night Blade said. "I presume you've read the histories that tell of the city of Cloudsdale, made entirely out of clouds, before magic's weakening caused the pegasi that lived there to have to evacuate and reestablish themselves in what we now call the Cloudsdale Mountains instead. Rainbow Dash lived in what she called a cloudiminium, a three-story house floating in the sky and made entirely out of clouds, using the same methods as that lost city." He tilted his head. "It also included a rainbow waterfall, though how such a thing was possible is beyond me."

"I know I'd like to visit Sugarcube Corner again," Vix-Lei said with a smile, before she sighed. "Wouldn't be the same without Pinkie being there to bake for us though."

"Rarity's Carousel Boutique was also a pleasant place to experience," Rex contributed.

"And Sweet Apple Acres was a nice place too," Wind Breaker said. "That's where we had our big meeting with all of the Bearers who could be there at the time."

Gentle Step resisted the urge to look startled. Instead, she checked her notes. "The inn that four of you were staying at the night of the Honor Festival isn't anywhere near that old," she stated. "So I presume you're referring to a different business."

Rex nodded. "The inn of which you speak is owned by Rarity's family," he said. "Presumably the descendents of her younger sister. We have determined that young Sweetie Belle must have been the ancestor of the family that shares her and her sister's surname, a minor noble clan in the West who have long been associated with the priests of the Lady."

Gentle Step nodded, and Rex continued. "The place I speak of was an actual boutique that Rarity owned and operated, where she made custom outfits for her clients," he said. "There is also a store of that name that does the same type of work on the other side of the mirror, and the human Rarity is one of its employees. Though from her comments, it seems she wishes to own it for herself someday."

"That's interesting to know," Gentle noted, jotting a few sentences down. "Do you know if any of the others have living families in present times?"

"The Apple clan, of course," Wind Breaker said with a sigh. "She was the middle of three siblings - we already mentioned her big brother, and she had a little sister too."

"Haven't run into anytaur from the Pie family on this side yet," Vix-Lei said. "She had three sisters though, so it's likely there are some out there."

"Rainbow Dash was an only child, as far as we know," Night Blade said. "At least, her human self was."

"Didn't they say something about the Trio Wood Nymphs being their little sisters though?" Vix-Lei asked. "Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and... who was the third again?"

"Scootaloo," Rex stated. "Presumably the same one for whom the colloquial term for Thaumatic Moratus is derived from."

Night Blade shook his head. "If they were sisters, it was purely honorary," he said. "I questioned the human Rainbow Dash on the subject at one point, since it had been brought up before. She informed me that the young Scootaloo of that world looks up to her greatly, and they are part of a charitable youth mentoring organization together with Rainbow Dash as her mentor, but they are not blood relatives."

Page bowed her head. "Fluttershy had a younger brother, who changed for the better after she died," she said. "His name was Zephyr Breeze. We haven't met any of his descendents yet, but Fluttershy says they exist."

"And I suppose that since Twilight Sparkle was captured and her brother died on his wedding day, their family has died out," Standing Wall said.

Page cringed slightly, and Gentle Step eyed her carefully, while Night Blade moved over to her side and wrapped one hoof around her. She leaned in against him, but still looked down.

As he moved though, Night Blade's saddlebag shifted, and he grimaced, gesturing to Wind Breaker. The griffon quickly moved to take it from him, and as he did, a small piece of paper fell out, which Wind snatched up. He was about to put it back in the bag when Night beckoned with his head, and Wind hoofed it over to him.

Studying the card, Night blinked. "Hmm, almost forgot I had this," he remarked as he hoofed it back to Wind to put away.

Sweet Surprise, who was standing close enough to catch a glance of the card in Wind's talon, suddenly froze. "How do you have my wife's card?" she hissed.

"Your wife?" Night blinked before his eyes widened. "So you're the one who accidentally flooded her study?"

In an instant, the mare was in his face. "You'd better not have-"

"Peace, peace!" Night held his hooves up. "After we found out we were supposed to be the new Bearers, we started making our way out of Canterlot, and we had to make a few stops along the way. During one of those, we got a little... confused about where exactly in the city we were, and which way we needed to go. I got sent out to ask for directions, and your wife - who had no idea who I was - was kind enough to give me a map of the area and some advice." He sighed. "I should probably make an appointment with her, see about straightening up my many personal issues."

"An appointment?" Page asked, straightening into an upright position. "Is she a doctor?"

"Not just any doctor," Sweet said as she turned to the other mare, puffing out her chest. "The best damn psychiatrist in Canterlot."

Page looked at her in surprise, then nodded. "Maybe I should see about talking with her then too..."

"Probably wouldn't hurt if I did either," Wind Breaker threw in. "Does she do addiction counseling, and if she doesn't, can she recommend somepony who does?"

"I'd have to check with her," Sweet replied. "Though if she doesn't, then Hot Rod would probably know of one. With his work as a firepony, he does see some unfortunate stuff at times. He does talk to us about it, but he has mentioned how a few of his fellow fireponies and those that they have rescued talk to counselors and therapists."

Wind nodded. "I appreciate that," he said. "I've already gotten a little advice from a fellow recovering addict, but I could use all the help I can get."

Page blinked though, and tilted her head. "Talks to you two?" she asked. "Is he that close to you and your wife?"

"He'd better be, considering he's our husband," Sweet said with a playful grunt.

Night blinked, then looked as if he was trying to remember something. Suddenly, his ears flicked. "I thought I saw your wife wearing two rings when she was walking away from me that day, but I wasn't sure," he said. "This explains a lot."

Sweet nodded with a grin, but declined to comment.

"Didn't know herding was a thing here," Vix-Lei remarked.

"It's not common, but it happens from time to time," Sweet said with a sigh. "Most just think it's about the physical aspect of it but that's just a side effect of our relationship. We truly do love each other and by the goddess-princesses I cannot begin to imagine how badly Hot Rod is getting ribbed by his fellow fireponies about us now that we've publicly revealed ourselves." She groaned into her hoof. "And he won't be up for mentioning him getting teased about Sound Mind and me to us."

"Hey, as long as you guys are happy, that's what matters most," Vix-Lei told her. "And I'd say you're lucky to have found two ponies who love you and one another like that." She looked down. "I wish I was lucky enough to find even one for myself. Only guy I know for sure who's ever been interested in me for me is on the other side of the mirror."

"Love is a wonderful thing, as I know well from personal experience," Blazen Sun said. "But as I have also seen in my long life, sometimes the lack of respect from your fellow soldier or coworker can lead to serious issues." He stroked his beard. "I will be looking into these possible matters on your behalf, as the fire departments are under my jurisdiction."

Sweet looked gratefully in his direction. "I appreciate that," she said. She then turned her attention towards Page. "You seem to know something about Twilight and Shining's family. You reacted towards it. Can you elaborate?"

Page suddenly looked terrified. "I..."

Night and Wind were at her side in an instant, the former not surprising to Gentle Step in the least, though she mentally quirked an eyebrow at Wind reacting just as quickly. Both had fierce expressions on their faces.

The other three moved to surround Page as well. They all looked very protective of her, and for a moment, even Memorizing looked stiff as his loyalties were now being tested, torn between his inborn position as Royal Protector and his oaths to Equestria as Captain of the Hidden Guard.

Looking at her other four Captains and their own surprised looks (three of them moreso than the fourth), Gentle Step had the feeling she knew what was going on in their minds at their reaction, and she would need to head it off now.

"Captains, this is a highly sensitive topic and you are under the strictest of orders not to share this information with anyone, including the King himself," she snapped with her Captains staring at her in surprise but they nodded their heads in agreement. "Page here is the direct descendant of Shining Armor and Queen Chrysalis."

There were several startled exclamations from both Captains and Bearers alike, but not from the eldest of the Captains, who had looked far more calm than the others from the beginning. Looking at Blazen Sun queryingly, Gentle made a gesture inviting him to speak, and he did.

"That would make her the current Queen of the Badlands Hive, Step," he said, stroking his beard. "I thought that was the case."

"And I had the feeling you'd already figured it out on your own," Memorizing told Blazen, who gave him a friendly nod of affirmation.

Page, who still looked nervous, suddenly turned Gentle Step. "How did you figure out I was Shining Armor's descendant?" she asked. "I admitted I was the Queen to you, but I never said anything about my many times-great-grandfather's identity."

"Highly classified historical pages from the personal journal of King Blueblood the First," Gentle answered. "I was allowed access to it when I became the Captain-General and it revealed, among other information, the fact that the two copulated while Chrysalis was disguised as Princess Mi Amore Cadenza."

Several pairs of eyes blinked in surprise at this piece of information.

"How did Blueblood know this?" Sweet Surprise asked.

Gentle Step looked at Page. "The answer also lies in his journal," she said. "I know it, but do you?"

"What my grandmothers' memories have told me is that Blueblood learned the information by Chrysalis's own dying breath," Page said with a sigh. "I was also told he was the one that had a chance to end our Hive's queen lineage but chose not to kill an infant in its crib which made my hive feel indebted to him and is why we mostly stayed in Canterlot instead of regrouping elsewhere."

Gentle Step nodded. "That's just what his journal said," she said. "Not the part about the debt, but all the rest of it. He felt that Chrysalis was a monster, but her child was an innocent... also, because he had some respect for the late Shining Armor, and couldn't bring himself to kill that stallion's child, no matter her other parent's identity."

Page nodded. "That... that part was not specified in the memories I inherited, but I'm not surprised," she said. Then she looked around at all six Captains, before speaking again.

"Shining Armor has been my hero for a long time," she said. "My ancestor was named for him, in fact, a name that has been passed down to each succeeding generation." Suddenly, her body language shifted, and she looked more regal than Gentle Step had ever seen, even when she'd first admitted the truth. "I am Lamella Armor the Tenth, and all I seek is for my hive to be able to live in peace."

Then she was back to the unicorn pony they had been observing before, and looking very tired. "That's all I've ever wanted for us," she said quietly.

"Rest assured, child," Blazen Sun said. "You and your hive have nothing to fear now, not from any of us. We have long wondered of the Queen's identity, but you are not Chrysalis, and I for one have no desire to persecute you for her actions."

Page looked rather relieved, and at her nod, the other Bearers all sat back down where they had been, though Night and Wind stayed close to her.

"Just how long have you known about her being the Queen?" Violet asked Gentle suddenly. "Not very long, I can presume."

"You presume correctly," Gentle told her. "I found out the day before Mems' and my photo ended up in the paper. And save for those of us currently in this room, I have not spoken of her identity to anypony else since that time."

Memorizing looked at her a little questioningly, and she arched an eyebrow back at him. "Yes, I'm counting you in that." To the others, who were looking confused, she explained. "By virtue of his own birthright, Memorizing has known of the Queen's bloodline before any of us. He did not know her personal identity until recently though. Furthermore, I let him know I had learned it during the time I was off duty. But that was the only time I have spoken to anypony about it before here and now."

Page looked grateful at her statement.

"All of this to the side," Standing Wall said, looking uncertain and no doubt uncomfortable with withholding key information from the King. "You mentioned previously that the Nightmare had allies that did something to Sunset. Do you know who they are?"

Rex looked as if he were thinking deeply, before he answered. "Not by name. The Nightmare said itself and other 'Champions of Chaos', a term I did not recognize, were responsible. It did not identify the specific individuals though." He stopped, appearing to be thinking again and putting his words in order, and Gentle waited patiently for him to do so.

At last, he continued. "At the time, the Nightmare said something about this being 'a little present to the Champion of Order'. By deductive reasoning, I presume that this was another title for Princess Celestia, based on Sunset having been her student, along with other things it said. I can also infer from some of its words, such as it voicing a regret that Sunset's actions in her transformed state only affected a few due to her being in another land, that it intended for her to somehow achieve the Element of Magic here in Equestria in order to cause maximum damage. The Nightmare said that if she had done so, it would have caused Equestria to tear itself apart, but her fleeing to Canterlot High reduced the harm she could have done."

He frowned. "The Nightmare also said some other things that make me wonder," he said. "It said something about us, and it, having Opposites. It also claims to have been responsible for inspiring Chrysalis to attack Equestria, claiming that if she had interpreted the nightmares it sent her correctly, she would have made peace with Celestia - the Lady of the Day, it called her, but it was rather obvious whom it meant - instead of invading."

Page was growling softly at that, and Gentle couldn't blame her. If she was interpreting this correctly... "Did it say why it sent her those nightmares?" she asked calmly.

"The Nightmare said it was supposed to scare those who stray back onto the right path, and that it sent bad dreams to more than a few ponies, like Celestia - she figured out what her dreams meant and sent Sunset away so that whatever they'd inflicted on her wouldn't kick in, while Chrysalis wasn't so lucky and ended up its pawn," Wind Breaker said. "But as Honesty, I figured out that part of my powers involve Knowledge, or Facts. And from that, I was able to tell that it wasn't saying the whole truth when it was talking to us. It was trying to control the world and cut off one of its great Powers, which is way beyond its intended Duties."

The others looked at him, and he shrugged. "My Element's apparently been going into overdrive since we started fighting the Nightmare that day," he said. "I've been able to read deeper truths out of things, including what it was telling us. And how Page and I had a deeper but still platonic connection."

Memorizing nodded. "So my brothers' reports said," he said, before looking at his fellow Captains. "And I presume your Guards have the same information in their end-of-day reports."

"I haven't had time for an in-depth reading of the ones I got yet, what with this morning's events, and I doubt any of the rest of us have either," Standing Wall said. "Except for maybe Lieutenant Flight, he was in the office very early before we all met up to go to the courthouse. Care to fill us in?"

Memorizing looked over at Wind Breaker, who raised a talon. "May I?" he asked.

When Memorizing nodded, Wind looked at the other Captains. "It turns out I had family here in Canterlot all along," he said. "Rex's DNA tracker put him on the trail, and he did some extra testing to be sure. According to the results, Matron Hush Tone of the Library is actually my grandmother."

"And since she's my guardian and practically my mother," Page added. "That makes Wind my honorary nephew."

Gentle Step mentally nodded. That would explain his reaction and quick protectiveness of her, she thought.

Meanwhile, Blazen smiled. "Congratulations, young one," he said. "I am glad you have found your family."

Wind blushed. "Thanks."

Blazen then frowned. "Though this issue will not be unique or isolated. I think we should start setting up an agency to assist the griffons who need aid in finding their blood relatives."

"That was the original plan, before Lieutenant Flight chose to speed things up," Memorizing informed him. "Rex, I don't suppose you'd be willing to lend us your expertise in creating those trackers, like the one that helped your friend find his grandmother, to help us do this?"

"I would be honoured to lend my assistance," Rex said.

Violet cleared her throat. "You said earlier that these are based, to some extent, off the Reclaimed spell you were working with," she said. "Are there other methods, besides magic and DNA, that could be used to create trackers from?"

"Potentially," Rex said. "Those are the two methods I have used before though. In fact, aside from my work on the Reclaimed spell, I created an aura tracer based on it that... well, it used traces of magic that had been left on Xvital when the Nightmare attempted to attack her after her first use of her Element led her to Twilight. There was enough left of both its and Twilight's auras that I could transmute them into a form that could be inserted into a physical object, and thus track it back to its source." He frowned. "Unfortunately, those trackers all went missing between the time we were captured and the time we awoke. The Nightmare may have destroyed them, or it may have just hidden them away." There was a light growl in his voice as he said the first part, before he looked calm again.

"With us being at the epicenter of Harmony's wave of magic, it wiped away any traces of the Nightmare's magic that may have been on us, so I cannot recreate that specific tracker; ones based on those schematics are not beyond my doing though," he said. "I am both distressed and relieved by this. While knowing its influence has been removed is good, it is also most infuriating that doing so has made things more difficult for us. Theoretically, with one such tracker, I might have been able to find the others - and the ones meant for Twilight, assuming it kept them all together - if they still exist."

Several of her fellows' eyes looked rather wide at this, and Gentle decided to speak. "If we could find those aura trackers, we could potentially find where Twilight's body is," she said.

"Just what I was thinking," Violet told her. "I don't suppose Prince-King Tizoc had one too, did he?"

"Unfortunately not," Rex said. "I wish I had thought to give him one for Twilight, at least. I would not inflict one for the Nightmare's magic on anydog, as negative as it was, unless it was absolutely necessary, as it was in our case. I can work out magical formulae, but I have no real magic of my own, requiring the assistance of a unicorn for the transmutation process. Yet despite this lack, even I felt uncomfortable working with it."

"I'm like Rex, no real magic of my own to let me feel it, but that aura gave me the creeps just looking at it even before we met its source," Vix-Lei grumbled. "Much worse than the Order ponies did."

Gentle Step nodded. "Divine origin or not, the darkness within its aura was disturbing to me too," she said.

Violet tapped a hoof on the ground. "Moving away from how disturbing this being was, and speaking of divine auras," she said. "Is there any chance I might be able to study your Elements at some point? I know you have already promised to let this other individual see them, but as magical artifacts of any variety, they are of interest to me."

Wind Breaker eyed her, and she gave a shrug. "Also, King Well Banded has asked me to study them, if I can."

The griffon nodded, clearly satisfied at the answer.

Xvital shrugged. "So long as nobody tries to run off with them while you're doing it," she said. "And we probably ought to be around while you're checking them out. No telling how they'd react in the hands, or hooves, of someone other than their wielders if they didn't like what was going on." She looked at the other Bearers, who all nodded in agreement and Gentle had to admit that was sound logic.

"Speaking of checking things out," Vix-Lei started. "How'd that hearing go? I guess you're back on the job, seeing as you're here and all."

Gentle Step gave her a look. "I am certain the news will be all over the papers tomorrow," she said. "But yes, I have been reinstated, seeing as how the individual attempting to have me either break up with Memorizing or be removed entirely has himself been arrested for abuse of power and attempting to do physical harm to me in court."

Xvital facepalmed. "Good grief."

"Why did he try to do that?" Wind asked, looking rather stunned himself.

"Because he was pissed that she got the Captain-General spot instead of him all those years ago," Sweet said with a grumble. "Guy's been holding onto a grudge all this time."

"Eesh." Vix-Lei looked a little disgruntled. "Doesn't he know that's one of the fatal flaws that can ruin a 'taur?"

"If one lets negative emotions take control of them, they often do not care at that point," Rex replied. "And I expect this individual may have had such issues for a lot longer than just the length of your captaincy," he said, gesturing to Gentle.

Gentle nodded. "Either way, he has exposed himself, and our people are investigating him more thoroughly now to see what other abuses he may have conducted in his work, so that we can see justice is properly done," she said.

"As long as he's punished for his betrayals," Night said, sounding disgusted. Page leaned over and nuzzled him, causing his eyes to lighten a little.

Gentle made a mental note of that. "At any rate, I think we have learned most of what we needed to know from you for now," she said. "Though I expect some of us may wish to speak to each of you individually again on some of these things. If there is any more, we'll make sure to contact you about it. And when Captain Lulamoon is ready to make her examination of your Elements, we'll let you know that too, so you can all make arrangements to be available."

Xvital nodded. "Thank you, sir," she said.

Gentle nodded. "One other thing, since I haven't read the most recent reports yet," she said. "How have your lessons in magic been going?"

"They're going," Xvital said. "Control's improving so I don't set my bed on fire anymore, which is a relief, but I'm still working on other stuff. The advice I got from Deep Blade has helped a lot."

Gentle nodded again. "I see. And I will be sitting in on one of your classes soon, so I can evaluate things for myself."

Xvital dipped her head at that, looking nervous again. "Right..."

"Until we meet again." Gentle gave them all a nod, and then headed back out the door, her companions following her.

Once they'd made it back to Gentle's office, she made a point of sealing the room, and then faced all her captains. "Well. Your impressions?"

"They were telling the truth," Violet said. "At least, the truth as they knew it." She let out a sigh. "Including the part about my ancestor, which I'm still surprised about."

Standing Wall nodded in agreement. "I couldn't sense any dishonesty from them either," she said. "Their loyalty to one another is clear, but they never lied, not even to protect Miss Turner, though I get the definite impression that if you had not stepped in, they would have been most willing to act to protect her from us."

Blazen Sun also nodded. "Fear for their friends' safety was at the forefront then," he said. "I can understand why. They are all as close as family, and would do what they had to do to keep their own safe."

"And I don't blame them," Sweet added. "Going to have to talk to my wife about this..."

Gentle Step nodded understandingly, then turned to her last Captain. "Memorizing?"

Memorizing Gaze looked uncomfortable, but finally nodded. "My team will double-check on some of the things they said, but I didn't feel any dishonesty either," he said. "I felt fear, concern... determination. And a lot of crankiness from Blade, which I expected. But no deceit."

Standing Wall snorted in what looked like amusement at his words. "No kidding about the crankiness," she said. "That boy's going to send himself to an early grave, putting stress on his heart like that."

"Actually, according to the reports I got last evening, he had an echocardiogram while he was in the Griffish Isles and his heart's doing just fine," Memorizing told her. "He filed the report on it at the hospital he visited here yesterday when he went to have them check on his wing."

He was met with some surprised looks, but Gentle raised a hoof. "That aside, I'd like each of you to write your own reports on everything," she said. "Submit them to me, along with anything else you feel you wish to speak to them about. I'll make sure we each get the chance to speak to them again about anything else you feel the need to discuss with them, so we can expand on it and put them together into as complete and coherent a report as possible. Once that's done, I will personally see to it that the King gets and reads this report. But remember what I said: for her own safety, and by my promise not to reveal her true identity, Miss Turner's direct ancestors are not to be brought up."

All of them nodded, and she continued. "Meeting adjourned, and I'll expect your preliminary reports as soon as possible. I'll see you all later; for now, I need to talk to my lieutenant and catch up on everything else that's been happening while I was out."

The five saluted, and once she'd unsealed the room, each left in their own way.

Going to her desk, Gentle Step sat down, before hitting the button that would signal Mist to come and see her.

The day wasn't over yet, and they had a lot of work to do still.

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Gentle Step, Xvital, Rex, Night Blade

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Gentle Step

The rest of that day, and then all of the next, passed. And then it was the second morning after she'd faced Hardy Rule in court, and with a final review of her work, Gentle Step nodded to herself in a satisfied manner. Things were finally in as much order as she could get them.

Her guards, and the rest, had handled things rather well in her absence, she was proud to see. Except for the somewhat haphazard means in disseminating the griffons' information, and she'd already spoken to Mist Flight about remedying that. Even now, he was working with the other lieutenants, preparing a statement announcing the Guard's plans for aiding any griffon who required aid in finding their relatives.

Shortly after she and her fellows had held their initial group talk with the Six, she'd sent a brief notice to King Well Banded informing him that they'd held such a meeting and, once they'd conducted further interviews with the Six so as to gather as much information as possible, would be compiling and submitting a full report to him. He had in turn sent back a note of his own, acknowledging hers and giving his approval to her request for more time, along with a request of his own that she and her fellows question the Six as much as they could about the Virtues of the past; apparently Mist had already let him know that the Six had learned details about their predecessors that conflicted with what was publicly known. She'd sent back a reply acknowledging his request and promising to carry it out.

The following morning, she'd read the first news articles about her hearing. Some were more accurate than others about exactly what had happened in the courtroom, but all agreed that Hardy Rule had overstepped his bounds in attempting to have her removed for his own personal reasons.

Others also noted the reveal of Sweet's husband and wife, and speculated on why she'd kept it secret. At least one guessed correctly that she'd done so to avoid making them targets, which Gentle Step had appreciated. Others were less than amusing, and she made a few notes to make a public statement on the matter and set things straight, once she'd discussed it with Sweet and her partners.

After completing that task, she'd gone back to focusing on other concerns, such as issuing a statement to Major Blade and to his son, extending their temporary stationing in Canterlot while also granting them leave back to Vanhoover for a few days. She understood and empathized with the Major's desire to see his wife again, but his family ties to one of the Six meant that she had her own reasons to keep he and his son close by.

By the end of the work day, she'd gotten preliminary reports from her Captains based on their group talk with the Six, along with notes on what else they each hoped to learn from them. The specifics varied, but in each case, she'd approved, and sent back messages saying so.

Now, checking the time, she rose. Thanks to the efficiency of her soldiers during her absence, she had caught up on everything that needed her attention quite easily since returning to work, allowing her to make arrangements with the Academy to sit in on one of Xvital's classes this very morning. The time to attend it was soon, and she let her lieutenant know as she passed him on the way out.

"Understood, sir," he said with a salute.

Gentle Step returned it. "I'll let you know if anything else comes up, Mist," she said.

Mist Flight nodded, holding his salute, until she departed.

Xvital

She really wasn't looking forward to another class but it was a necessary evil. The advice Deep had given her about finding something important to her to focus on, rather than a generic image, was helping. She still needed more practice though, which meant dealing with everyone else. They weren't bad by any stretch of the word, but the gap between her and them was just massive. In no small part because she was the only non-pony in the class and she was still learning all of this stuff.

Tapping the memories Twilight had given her wasn't helping much, unfortunately. They had been a great boost at the time but they had faded away quickly. Not to mention that Twilight had been a prodigy when it came to magic, and Xvital... well, wasn't, she would readily admit.

She half-wished she could just learn directly from Page; her friend was very skilled in magic, and Xvital expected she had read up on some of these techniques during her life. Plus, she'd always done better in a one-on-one setting; her time learning from Machtia. But she also knew that Page's work with her hive had to be a priority for now, so that idea was out.

So was asking Rex for help; while his grasp of theory was incredible, he was busy with the trackers the Guards had asked for and with his own classes and he also couldn't actually use magic on his own, beyond studying and interpreting it into a written form.

Come to think of it, until she'd gotten her powers, Page had been the only one of their group who could actually use magic for spellcasting.

She shook her head as she suddenly remembered a conversation they'd all had a long time ago - or at least, that Vix-Lei and Rex had had, and repeated to the rest of them later during dinner that night. Half of us were one thing and the other half were the opposite for a lot of stuff, and one thing they thought of is actually the case now, she mused. All we need is for a third one of us to be able to use magic, and that'll be balanced too.

Just then, there was a knock on the door, and the teacher heaved a huge sigh and went to answer it. A moment later, they said, rather nervously Xvital thought, "Come in, Captain-General."

Xvital froze, like everyone else in the room, as Gentle Step entered, and looked around.

"First off, nopony here is in trouble," she said. "I simply wished to observe your progress."

There was an almost audible sigh of relief as most of the students seemed to relax, and the tension level in the room could be felt dropping, though everyone kept their eyes on her as she moved to the back of the room, and stared forwards.

Knowing that the Captain-General was there mainly for her, even if she wasn't saying so aloud, Xvital did her best to relax and focus on tuning out her surroundings, trying to concentrate on the magic within. Unfortunately, it wasn't working very well with her magic sparking as she failed to pull it together.

She tried to repeat the same mental exercises but none of them were working for her and she could feel the weight of eyes on her now which was not helping!

"ARRRGH!!!" she finally groaned out. "Why. Won't. This. Work?"

There was a moment of silence around the room, and then she looked up to see Gentle Step standing over her.

"Perhaps," the Captain-General said. "You and I should take this elsewhere."

She spoke briefly to the teacher, then headed for the door, Xvital following her. Once they were outside, Gentle Step placed a hoof on her back, then teleported them both away.

They landed in a place Xvital didn't recognize, but Gentle Step gestured for her to sit down on a rather plain looking sofa, before speaking. "What seems to be the problem?"

Xvital sighed before wincing, her ears popping from the sudden change in altitude. "I... I can't figure this out," she admitted. "I'm trying to visualize something personal to me, like Deep suggested, to help me concentrate. But I just can't stay focused."

Gentle Step nodded, seeing the problem. "I have found that when someone is trying to force themselves to stay calm, it is a surefire way to ensure that they do not succeed," she said. "And you have been under a great deal of stress lately, what with having new powers and responsibilities suddenly dumped on you, which isn't helping."

Xvital grunted. "Exactly," she said. "I mean, before all of this, all I had to worry about was what my latest mark would be or what my latest scam would entail. Now I have to worry about my friends' safety, learning all this new way of thinking and doing things and my marriage to Tizoc is coming up. I mean, I'm going to become queen of an entire nation that I haven't even seen in ages, and if I mess up, it's not just on me but Tizy too. Not to mention having to put up with the mother-in-law from Mictlan."

Gentle Step resisted the urge to snort in amusement. "I see," she said instead. "And there is also the issue of your Element. It requires all six of you present to activate the full powers of Harmony, and having one of you living elsewhere would be an issue when an emergency that requires them comes up."

Xvital gave her a dirty look. "Just having five of them is still effective," she said. "Case in point, purifying Sunset Shimmer. But Tizy and I have already discussed this, and that's one of the reasons I need to get this whole magic thing down, so I can teleport to them again like I did when we were fighting the Nightmare."

"Hm," Gentle tilted her head at that nugget of information. "A teleportation network would help address matters but that spell is one of the more complex spells and not one that is normally taught to civilians. Myself and all of my fellow Captains can use it. Even Standing Wall, before you say anything," she said as she saw the startled look on Xvital's face, and guessed what she was thinking. "She has worked out her own version using Earth Pony magic. All six of our lieutenants can also use the spell, but it took them a very long time to perfect it."

"Yeah..." Xvital said. "I'm not surprised. The only reason I was able to do it as fast as I did was because Twilight dropped some of her knowledge and skill into my head for a little while. I remember what she said directly to be, but I haven't been able to really access any of the rest of it since that day though."

"Still, you are expecting yourself to run a marathon when you have just discovered you could walk," Gentle Step said with a frown. "Perhaps we should redirect your teacher to adjust your curriculum."

"To what, exactly," Xvital asked, eyeing her very carefully.

"To what you need, as a beginner," Gentle Step said. "You have power, and you have an idea of what can be done with it. But most unicorns who are just starting out learn the focus that will let them tap that power properly before they start learning specific spells that will help them build up their stores. The lessons you've been receiving seem to be focusing on trying to teach you specific spells, but that focus, to let you access your magic at will, is more important at this stage."

"And that's exactly what I'm having trouble with," Xvital said with a sigh. "Maybe I'm focused on the wrong thing."

"Hmm." Gentle Step tapped her chin. "Is there something you ever felt truly at ease with, something that would let you go through the motions without thinking, rather than forcing it?"

"I... yeah," Xvital admitted. "My calligraphy. If I was trying to copy specific handwriting, it was tricky at first, but once I got the feel of it, it just came out."

"Then I suggest you try to remember the sensation of that moment, when the words flowed and came out," Gentle Step said. "Apply that to your magic."

Xvital nodded, and closed her eyes, trying to get into the proper mindset but it still felt off, unreal to her. She was about to say something when she felt a pen slid into her hand. Blinking her eyes open, she saw that there was a desk before her with a blank piece of paper and inkwell in the corner.

"The motions itself might help you focus more, for now," Gentle Step said. "In time you will learn how to call on the focus without external aid. But to start, use this with it."

Xvital nodded again, and set the pen to the paper.

And then she began to write, something she half-remembered copying down when she was first practicing under Machtia.

Bit by bit, she felt that old sensation come back, and then she reached.

Slowly, she saw her hand lighting up with the magic within, and did her best to hold onto that feeling. Then she looked at Gentle Step, and saw the proud expression on her face.

"Well done," the other woman said. "Congratulations, Xvital."

Breathing slowly, Xvital let go of the magic, and watched the glow fade. "That was... incredible," she said.

Gentle Step nodded. "Now, you must learn how to call upon that feeling more readily," she said. "With practice, it will become second nature. And then we will start to work on your repertoire of spells, from the basics to the more complex. In time, you will be able to achieve what you desire most when it comes to magic."

"Right now, I'll settle for keeping it from surging and burning stuff when I'm not paying attention," Xvital said.

"That would be natural, all things considered," Gentle said. "As to lean on the metaphor before, you are a child just learning how to use your magic. All ponies capable of magic do have their surges when young until they learn how to control it."

"Right." Xvital nodded, then set her pen to the paper.

Practice, she told herself. Remember what you've learned.

Then she set to work, writing once again and focusing on the sensations from before.

And as she practiced, she could feel Gentle Step's eyes on her, a faint hint of a smile from the mare.

Thanks, Captain, she thought. For everything you've taught me here today.

For a moment, her mind drifted, wondering if Twilight would have been as good a teacher in a direct one-on-one setting, before she set back to work.

Rex

The tip of Rex's tongue stuck out from his mouth as he concentrated on the formulae in front of him. "Just a bit more..." he whispered to himself, before he added the last line. "There!"

Looking up from the table, he studied the completed formula and smiled. "Perfect."

Then he heard a knock on the door, and at his "Yes?", one of the Guards stuck his head in.

"Sir, you have a visitor," he said, before moving aside to reveal a familiar face.

"Ah, Captain!" Rex greeted the unicorn mare as she entered his library workshop. "It's good to see you again."

"The same to you, Rex," Violet returned with a smile before moving aside to let a unicorn stallion with a bushy red mane and beard enter. "This is my lieutenant, Lunar Light."

Rex nodded and held out his hand. "A pleasure, sir."

"The pleasure is all mine," Lunar Light replied as he returned the handshake with his hoof. "Vi here was quite impressed with your work, from what she's told me, so I just had to see it for myself. Amulets aren't my specialty, but it's still a good topic to know about."

Rex smiled. "Indeed."

For the next several minutes, he showed the two unicorns his work, explaining what he had accomplished so far, and how. Both were very impressed, but finally, Rex saw Violet looking a little distracted.

"Is there something on your mind?" he asked.

Violet nodded. "First off, you can say anything you have to in front of my lieutenant," she said. "I share everything important with him, unless ordered by a superior officer. And this was important."

Rex nodded back. There had been a tone to her voice that left no doubt in his mind to what she was referring to, but he said nothing as she looked around a little more before turning back to him, a serious look on her face.

"I have to ask," she said. "Twilight Sparkle, the Magi of Stars. We revere her as the patron saint of knowledge, and this library was founded in her memory. How accurate was that description of her though?"

"If I am interpreting things correctly, it was very accurate," Rex said. "When Page described how she got her Cutie Mark, for helping another pony find the book they needed, Twilight's friends said she'd be proud of Page for having such a talent. And as I recall, when Xvital first donned her Element, she described herself as appearing in a room full of books before she actually met Twilight in her other guise."

Violet smiled. "That's good to know," she said. "At least we got some things right."

Rex nodded. "They say that legend fades to myth, given enough time," he said. "My own people have forgotten how we came to exist. Some say we evolved from normal canines over millions of years, others that the first Diamond Dogs came about when magic was infused into rock and turned it to flesh. But we simply do not know the truth. Personally, I am more inclined to believe the former story is more accurate."

"Do you think there is any way you could communicate with the spirits of the Virtues again, so as to ask them for some of this information?" Lunar Light asked.

"I doubt it," Rex replied, shaking his head. "Unless we were to regain access to the mirror that sent us across worlds, and be able to come in contact with our friends there again. But we have no idea where the mirror even is, or when we'd be able to use it a second time. Before we parted ways with its last guardian, they informed us that it only opened at a set interval, and then only for a few days. They did not give us an exact time, however."

Violet shook her head. "I wish I could have seen it," she said. "It sounds like it would have been fascinating to study."

"I quite agree," Rex replied. "The Order had many fascinating artifacts in their vault when we were there, all of which have since been relocated. I regret that we did not have time to study all of them in-depth." He looked at her. "Though I expect that Page remembers most of what was on the inventory list she found when we first arrived. I did not get a chance to see it myself, unfortunately, and she was not allowed to keep it when we left, so her memories are the only source of knowledge we currently have of what was there."

"Just how many of them did you get to see?" Violet asked.

Rex considered. "Night, Wind and Vix-Lei spent more of their time studying the armory," he said. "Page and Xvital were the ones who actually went through the crates. I looked through some of them too, but I must admit, I spent more time trying to resist the urge to start eating the walls." At Violet's raised eyebrow, he looked somewhat embarrassed. "They were made of crystal, and such things tend to whet my appetite."

"Quite," Violet said.

"I must also admit to getting distracted by the sight of the mirror that Sunset Shimmer used, and trying to figure out why it was there," Rex said. "It seemed... rather unusual, but I could not recall any specific legends about such an item. I wish now I had thought to ask Rarity and her friends, when we had the chance, if they knew anything about it beyond what we had already learned through simple observation and usage."

"What could have been," Violet agreed. "And speaking of what you saw on the other side, you met my ancestor's counterpart, correct?"

Rex nodded. "She was a teenage girl, just like the human Bearers that we met," he said. "A talented stage magician, from what I observed, skilled with sleight of hand tricks that created the illusion of effects being produced by real thaumatology. And she seemed to have quite the fondness for peanut butter."

"That last part sounds like Vi, all right," Lunar Light said with a smirk. "She bakes all kinds of goodies when she isn't working or writing. Especially peanut butter cookies."

"And of course Weird Beard here tends to eat most of what I make," Violet said sharply, before softening. "Not that I'd have it any other way. He's one of my best friends, after all."

Rex smiled. "I quite understand," he said. "Friends may have their differences, but in the end, we are friends, and can work our way past any issues that crop up between us."

"Wiser words have rarely been spoken," Violet said, looking at him with a smile. "Are you sure you aren't the moral center of your group?"

"No, that is definitely Page," Rex said. "I am the one who understands and inspires others with my words and actions."

Violet nodded. "In that case, do you think you could inspire my lieutenant to finally do some spring cleaning? That topmost floor of his house has been a disaster area since he moved in."

At that, Lunar Light made a face and stuck his tongue out at her, prompting laughs from both she and Rex.

Night Blade

Wind was fidgeting as they walked, and Night looked at him in concern. "Are you all right?" he asked.

"Just... nervous, I guess," Wind admitted. "Not every day one of the Captains calls and asks you to meet with them. Even if he is one of the nicer ones."

Night nodded understandingly. He'd been quite surprised when he and Wind had gotten the message requesting their presence at the Celestia Guards' primary Guardhouse, where Blazen Sun kept his personal office. They'd also gotten an escort, and he had the feeling at least some of them had been told specifically to keep an eye on him for his own good; he'd caught them peering at his bandaged wing more than once.

Inwardly, he sighed; he could understand the reasoning but he did not like being treated like a foal.

Idly, he wondered if any of their other friends were meeting with Captains today. Page and Rex were back at the Library, Page to do her duties as Queen and Rex to work with the Magi of Stars Guards on his trackers, while Xvital was in class again and Vix-Lei had disappeared off on some personal mission that she hadn't explained; when he'd asked what she was up to, she'd just smiled and winked before heading out.

The pair kept walking until they finally reached their destination, the central Guardhouse of the East, and were led into the building. It was a rather tall guardhouse, covered in the traditional golden sunburst sigils of the solar goddess Celestia, all emblazoned against a white marble surface. In some places, reddish carvings resembling phoenix feathers could also be seen as it was stated in some of the stories that she had owned such a creature, supposedly the same Philomena that could be seen roosting on the statue of her in the senate building at the top of Canterlot from time to time.

Night could see Wind craning his head around as he looked at everything in obvious awe. "Impressive, isn't it?" he asked quietly.

Wind nodded. "Very."

"Thank you," a voice said ahead of them, and both looked up to see a unicorn stallion. "I'll take it from here, gentlecolts," he said to the other Guards, and they saluted him instantly.

Night studied their new escort as he led them down the hall towards what must have been Blazen Sun's personal office. He was tall, for a pony, and well-muscled with an almost silver sheen to his otherwise purplish-red coat and deep yellow mane.

"Lieutenant Steady Lance," he said by way of introduction. "My captain's been expecting you."

Both nodded, and followed him to their destination, which was a pair of doors engraved with a single massive golden sunburst.

At a quick knock and a call of "Come in!", they entered into Blazen Sun's office, which Night could immediately tell had been styled to be... well, "welcoming" was the best way he could describe it. Among the desk, filing cabinets and every other surface were pictures of ponies who Night assumed were of the Captain's massive family. The carpet was a lush and deep yellow, with Night’s hooves sinking to his fetlocks.

The Captain himself was sitting at his desk, studying some paperwork, but at the sight of his guests his eyes lit up. "Greetings, young ones."

Both bowed, while the Lieutenant saluted until Blazen Sun dismissed him. Once the door had shut and he had activated something on his desk that Night expected was intended to prevent eavesdropping, he studied Night and Wind for a minute, then gestured for them to sit down wherever they felt appropriate.

"So." He settled back into his own seat. "I expect you are wondering why I have called you here."

"We were, kind of," Wind admitted. "I mean, it's not like we had anything else planned to do today, and it's nice to get out of the hotel again, but why us specifically?"

Night would have elbowed him if he thought he could get away with it; Wind's nervous babbling was making his hackles raise. Blazen Sun, however, merely seemed amused.

"You are here because I wished to speak more about your adventures, and yourselves," he said. "I must confess that even before it came out that you and your friends were being set up by the Nightmare, I had my doubts about the accusations made against you. I could not see any reason for any of you to be plotting regicide and overthrowing the government. While I admit to carrying out extreme measures in our attempted pursuit of your group, it was done so we could get to the truth behind everything."

Wind nodded slowly, and Night saw that he was looking calmer. "Honestly, we were as surprised as anypony else when we discovered what was going on," he said. "Balance's showing up and telling us what it did freaked me out, not to mention the idea of what we were up against. I don't know if you know or not, but at the time we figured that our bad guy was acting through the Captain-General."

Blazen nodded. "Captain Gaze informed us of that detail, when he was explaining about his own position as one of us," he said. "It was a logical assumption, one that no one can fault you for."

Wind nodded back. "Page was freaked out when she actually saw the Nightmare where it was really hiding," he said.

"Given the aura it was giving off, I don't blame her," Night said. "But... the other day, the Captain-General described it as divine?"

Blazen nodded again. "Its aura, though dark, was not a demonic one," he said. "We believe it to have come from the same source, or a similar one, as Harmony itself. How this is possible, we do not know. Though it is clear that unlike Harmony, its actions were malevolent rather than beneficial." He sighed, shaking his head. "The ramifications of this, once it has been declassified, will cause some serious theoretical reorganization in the churches."

Wind nodded. "No kidding. Like I said the other day, I could tell it was going way beyond its assigned duties. I can see the benefits of using fear to try and turn people away from doing bad stuff - goddesses only know how many times the Sisters at the Hatchery pulled that sort of thing on some of us, especially when we were younger. I mean, they just had to look at us a certain way just to scare us into behaving. But trying to use it to take over the world? That was breaking the Rules it was supposed to abide by."

Then he cocked his head. "I wonder how many others like it and Harmony there are? I think Celestia, Luna and Mi Amore Cadenza were among them, Applejack never said anything about them not being goddesses when we called them that..."

"One can only guess," Blazen said. "We can be certain there are more, but how many or what they represent is a mystery."

Wind nodded again, then suddenly cringed. "That reminds me," he said with a sigh. "There's something else I meant to tell you and the other Captains about when we were talking the other day."

"Oh?" Blazen regarded him.

"Yeah." Wind sighed again. "First off, when we first met Balance, it told us that by appearing to us and giving us our mission, it had to tell our enemy about us, and that because of what it had already told us, the Nightmare - not that it actually said that's who we were up against, we didn't learn its name until we all woke up in the Gem Room - would be allowed to take over the government to balance the scales."

Blazen arched an eyebrow, and Wind continued. "Then, the first time I met Applejack, she told me there was something out there that was even worse than the Nightmare. Something we weren't ready for. And later we found out that if we learned too much directly from our predecessors about our then current bad guy, Balance would have to both bring the Nightmare to where we were and release this other villain and sic it on us, essentially, just like it had already had to help the Nightmare once."

The older stallion suddenly looked more serious than he ever had during either of their talks. "And you didn't tell us about this before, why?"

"Because you guys scare me!" Wind admitted. "I mean, you're the Captains. The most powerful, physically and magically, ponies in all of Equestria. Can you blame me for being too intimidated by your presence to remember everything all at once?"

Blazen Sun regarded him, then shifted back in his seat. "I suppose not," he said. "So, this other enemy of yours is still out there?"

Wind nodded. "No idea who he is. Applejack called him a... rattlesnake, during our first talk, but that was probably just an expression. Then Balance took over and said if I tried to make her tell us who it was, he'd be forced to let it free, and it would End the world." He sighed. "After that, I was told it was time for me to wake up, and I did."

Blazen nodded. "Did they, by chance, explain any of their other old enemies?"

"Some," Night said. "The Griffon Scourge, the Trio Wood Nymphs and their Fearless Followers, the All-Seeing Pegasus of Thunder... they were all either harmless, or in the first's case, just rude. But when King Blueblood read about them, he misunderstood, and his own stories about them made them all out to be much worse than they'd really been."

"Ah." Blazen nodded understandingly. "I believe you said the Trio Wood Nymphs were actually family members of some of the original Virtues?"

"Yeah," Wind said. "Their little sisters - Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. What did Fluttershy say... oh yeah, that they were just three little fillies who could be rambunctious some of the time, and got into a lot of mishaps. And that tree sap was involved in those mishaps more than once, by accident."

Blazen smiled. "Typical precocious children, in other words. They sound like some of my own little ones and their little ones in turn, in their younger days."

"That sounds about right," Night agreed. "As for their so-called fearless followers, they were the exact opposite of what King Blueblood described. As we were told, they were three mares who ran the local flower shop and freaked out when anything went wrong." He sounded amused. "I met their human versions, teenage girls at Canterlot High, and they panicked and almost passed out just because I blinked at them!"

"Goodness!" Blazen laughed.

"As for the All-Seeing Pegasus of Thunder, she was a real sweetheart and a loving mom who had an accident one day where she shocked herself and another pony when she was bouncing on a cloud and made it shoot lightning," Wind said. "No malice intended, she was just clumsy. And her human self was nice too. She actually danced with the both of us at the Fall Formal we attended at her school - we got hired to work there as assistant teachers for a few days, and went to the big fall dance as chaperones," he explained when Blazen raised an eyebrow at him. "Long story, but Principal Celestia had taken custody of Xvital's Element after Sunset stole it, and we couldn't officially get it back from her until after the dance. She gave us a reasonable excuse for staying in the school during that time."

"Ah." Blazen nodded. "I will be asking more about that later, but for now... the Griffon Scourge?"

"An old friend of Rainbow Dash's who came to town one day and was grouchy and rude to her other friends," Night told him. "Rainbow Dash seems to have forgiven her; she blames Gilda's behavior on her upbringing and what her hometown was like. Unfortunately, she didn't name it or describe it to me, but I got the impression that it wasn't the best sort of place." He sighed. "I can understand her upbringing making her grouchy a lot of the time, I've had enough of that problem myself."

"No kidding," Wind said. "I fully admit I had a lot of problems with my Element, admitting the truth to myself that I was an alcoholic." Suddenly, he stopped, and then facetaloned. "Of course..."

"What?" Night asked him.

Wind looked up. "I remember now that Balance said that some of us just needed to stop suppressing our Elements. They must have been talking about me, specifically." He turned to Night. "And he also said that for some of us, our actions were suppressing our Element. No offense intended, but he probably meant you when he said that - you were kind of focused on Page rather than the rest of us."

Night bowed his head. "I know," he admitted. "Balance had to come and speak to me directly when I abandoned you all, to tell me just how badly I'd screwed up, blaming everypony but myself for my actions. I almost wonder if it had to help the Nightmare with something more because of it."

"The fact that you have learned from this experience is evident," Blazen said, speaking up suddenly. "As is the fact that if Loyalty accepted you, you must have met its standards, even if you did not realize it at the time."

Wind nodded. "You came back for us," he said. "You risked your life to save us. A truly selfish pony wouldn't have done that, they'd have damned the world without a second thought even if it cost them their own life. Sure, it may have taken you a while to realize you cared, but that's because you were lying to yourself and managed to convince yourself about how much you didn't care for anypony. Deep inside though, you really did, and you came back to us because of it. And that's what counts in the end."

Night looked at him skeptically, but Wind put a talon on his shoulder. "Take it from the guy who knows all about lying to himself, and whose Element is still in overdrive and can see the truth," he said. "You are Loyalty, no matter what some ponies might say."

Night nodded slowly. "Thank... thank you," he said.

Wind smiled. "What are friends for?" he asked. "You and I may have had a rougher start than some of the others, but we bonded after a while. And not just because of how we each feel about Page."

Night raised an eyebrow. "Wind, I am trying very hard not to think about the fact that if things go well for Page and I, I'm going to end up with a second nephew about my own age."

Wind laughed. "Right. But still, we did connect, you and I." He suddenly blinked. "Hay, if Xvital hadn't suddenly barged in because she thought we were fighting again, we might well have realized the truth about friendship being the key to our Elements before we ever made it to the Crystal Dominance."

Night nodded. "True."

Then he looked at Blazen. "Speaking of the Crystal Dominance and what we encountered there, I cannot help but recall that Captain-General Step never did answer our questions about Sunset Shimmer."

Blazen nodded. "I am afraid I cannot say much about her without Step's direct permission," he said. "But the fact that Sunset Shimmer is alive and has been freed of the Nightmare's manipulations is a very good sign."

Wind nodded back. "Applejack said she wasn't beyond saving," he said. "And that she'd need the girls to help guide her along the right path, but that it'd be worth it in the long run."

"Considering how horrified she looked when we first told her that the Celestia of our world was dead, and that she promised to avenge her once she came back to Equestria..." Night sighed. "I can certainly believe that she still cared in some way about her former teacher. Even if it was twisted by her negative emotions."

Wind snapped his talons. "That's another thing," he said. "Sunset claimed at one point that Celestia used to be the Bearer of three of the Elements, and that her sister Luna had the other three until she got turned into a monster by some curse, so Celestia took her three Elements away and used all six of them to imprison her. And that doing this caused all of them to abandon her for a thousand years, until they found Twilight and her friends." He grimaced. "I can tell, in here-" and he tapped his chest - "That she was telling the truth. And I can guess, given that Luna was around when Chrysalis invaded, and that the Virtues were active for a good while before that time, that Twilight and her friends were the ones to save Luna from whatever was afflicting her when she returned from wherever Celestia had to send her - just like their human selves were able to purify Sunset of what the Nightmare and its allies did to her before she came to the human world."

Both stallions looked at him in stunned surprise, and then Blazen shook his head. "We are clearly going to have to seek out some way of determining just how accurate all of this is," he said. "I suspect that there is much more going on than any of us, Sunset Shimmer included, are aware."

"Yeah." Wind breathed heavily for a moment. "Yeah, there's definitely something more going on. What, I can't tell, but there's definitely more."

"It's clear to me that we really need to find where the Questioning Order took that mirror, and see if there's a way we can send a message through it to Sunset," Night said. "We aren't sure how she missed out on finding out about Princess Celestia's death until we told her, but she did seem to know about the Bearers of that time and could probably answer more than a few of our questions about the past."

Blazen nodded, a serious expression on his face. "Quite. I will make sure to inform Captain Gaze of our need to find them and why."

For a moment, there was silence, and then Wind cleared his throat. "Was there anything else in particular you were wanting to ask us?" he asked.

Blazen considered. "A few things," he said. "Of you in particular, young Blade."

Night looked at him questioningly, and Blazen continued. "How are you and your family getting along since you got back from overseas? I have heard that they had reached out to you."

Night relaxed. "Surprisingly well," he said. "I have yet to speak to my parents since then, or my eldest siblings - Hidden had to go out of town again, and I'm not sure where Crooked and Striking actually are; they had both been stationed here in Canterlot by the time we returned from the Cuanmiztl Kingdom, but I haven't met either face to face since then. Though Wind met Striking when he got the file that sent us to the Griffish Isles."

Blazen nodded. "We Captains were told that they were both in attendance at the gathering on Mount Legion, as I recall," he said.

Night looked a little startled. "I see." Then he continued. "Serrated and I spent a fair amount of time together the day we got back, and I spoke with Deep briefly during that time. Then he visited me yesterday after he got off work for the day. We had a long talk about things."

Blazen nodded again. "It is good to hear that they are making the effort at last," he said. "Family is important to me, and the reports we received while investigating each of you, stating that you barely interacted with any of your siblings... well, I don't mind saying that that aspect bothered me. I almost wonder if outside forces may have been involved in this... not the Nightmare itself, but perhaps one or more of its allies, attempting to weaken your ability to form bonds so as to remove Harmony's ability to fight back against the Nightmare."

"Now that's a scary thought," Wind muttered.

Night winced at the Captain's words. "While I am tempted to wish that was the case, I doubt it was," he said. "As my friend has so aptly pointed out, the simple truth is that I messed things up all on my own, with my denying the truth to myself for so long."

Wind suddenly broke out in a massive coughing fit, and both stallions looked at him in concern.

"Wind, are you all right?" Night asked. He would have said more, but Wind raised a talon, signaling him to wait. Once his coughing fit had subsided, he shook his head.

"Goddesses, that was a bad one," he muttered, before looking at Night. "Night, I think you were half right. You did mess up, but I don't think it was just you. Something else was involved too. Not directly - it didn't force you into making any of the decisions you did. But it did something way back that set things up in a way that majorly influenced your life."

At that pronunciation, all three males suddenly had the strangest feeling, like a chill going down their spines.

"Whatever it is," Blazen Sun said gravely, "We shall keep an eye out for it as best as we can, in case it seeks to act against us further. Equestria will not let itself be caught off guard again."

The other two nodded in agreement.

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Vix-Lei, Steady Lance, Clear Back, Page Turner

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Vix-Lei

Vix-Lei hummed contentedly to herself as she walked down the streets. She hadn't quite been lying when she told the others she had some personal mission; she just hadn't said that it was more to get herself some fresh air and a little time to herself. Sure, her friends were great, but a girl needed a little space occasionally.

And she needed to stretch her legs and arms more with how small things were in Canterlot. Though they did tend to make things a bit bigger, she was still a very tall girl.

Doing her best to ignore the guards who weren't as good at hiding their presence as they thought, she continued her walk, glancing around from time to time and catching looks from a couple of other passers-by, some of whom were still surprised at the sight of a minotaur out for a casual stroll. Others recognized her specifically for what she'd done, both by herself and as part of a group action, if their whispers were anything to go by.

"Ah, there you are," a voice said, appearing by her side. Turning to look, she saw Standing Wall walking alongside her, though what really threw Vix-Lei off was that she had just walked out of a sheer wall. "I had heard that you were out and about and I decided to see what you were up to."

"How did you do that?" Vix-Lei asked, staring at the pony.

"Magic," Standing replied with a bit of a smirk. "Earth pony magic is capable of more than just boosting physical strength and encouraging plant growth; I've personally been coming up with all kinds of new uses for it for years."

"That's impressive," Vix-Lei said cautiously, staring at the mare. "So you can phase through rocks and stuff?"

"Exactly," Standing Wall said, sounding pleased. "So, what brings you out this way?"

"Just felt the need to get out, stretch my legs, catch some fresh air," Vix-Lei said. "No particular place to go." She shrugged. "Besides, everytaur else had places to be today, and I didn't want to just sit around by myself."

"Ah." Standing Wall nodded. "I can certainly understand that. My fellow captains have all managed to secure themselves with interesting tasks today."

"Yeah, we'd gotten the message that Captain Sun wanted to see Night and Wind, and since Xvital's at class, I figure the Captain-General's sitting on that like she said she wanted to do?" At Standing Wall's nod, Vix-Lei continued. "And I can guess Captain Gaze is at the library with Page, since that's where his office is now. Don't know for sure about the rest."

"Captain Lulamoon would also be at the library, working with Rex," Standing Wall said. "As for Captain Surprise, she has her own work to do."

Vix-Lei nodded. "So, aside from keeping an eye on me, what brings you out here?" she asked. "Like I said, I'm just out for a walk."

"Out for a walk for myself," Standing Wall said, shrugging her shoulder with a grin on her face. "And I don't need to be around you to keep an eye on you."

"Right..." Vix-Lei said, blinking at the mare.

"Just some of the very finer points of Earth Pony magic," Standing Wall said. "With proper training, one can sense and detect the vibrations in the earth."

Vix-Lei nodded. "I think you and Rex might want to talk about that kind of stuff," she said. "He mentioned once that he could identify sometaur by the sound of their footstep."

"Not completely surprised, considering he is a Diamond Dog; they are very close to the earth itself and he is one of the most intelligent people I have ever seen."

"No kidding," Vix-Lei agreed. "I made the mistake of misunderestimating him once just 'cause he was a Diamond Dog; never again."

"When did you two meet, before that first fight with Sharp Point anyway?" Standing Wall asked.

"Ran into him when he was moving some boxes for his stall at the Honor Festival," Vix-Lei said. "I wound up offering to carry a couple of them for him, but then I made him mad by acting like he was an idiot just because of his species. Looking back, I can't say as I blame him." She shook her head. "One of the things I had to learn, to watch my tongue there and not be so offensive."

"Mm." Standing Wall nodded. "A good lesson to learn."

The two continued on, chatting casually as they went, and Vix-Lei smiled as she relaxed.

"You know, with your knowledge of Earth magic and stuff like that, you probably would have liked Pinkie's sister," she mused. "She was big into rock science, going to college and getting her degree in it. She even had a pet rock, his name was Boulder."

Standing Wall smiled. "You're probably right," she said. "What was her name?"

"Maud Pie," Vix-Lei said. "She was the second of four; the others were their older sister Limestone Pie, and Pinkie's younger twin Marble Pie. They were both out of town though."

"Huh, Maud Pie you said?" Standing Wall blinked. "There is some mention of her in some of the oldest ancient books, talking about the possibility of rocks having a connection with each other, which was the foundation of my magic development."

"Really?" Vix-Lei looked impressed. "Neat. Was there anything else on her?"

"Not that I can recall," Standing Wall said. "It was a very old book about rocks from an Earth Pony; there weren't many reprints made."

"Well, if you remember or find anything more, make sure to tell me," Vix-Lei said. "I've been wanting to find out more about Pinkie's family on this side since I met her." She grinned. "Maud was a real hoot, you know. She and Pinkie were really close; they even went to the Fall Formal together."

"Really?" Standing Wall gave her a curious look.

"Yeah," Vix-Lei said. "They were really good. Of course, they weren't the only sibling pair out there - Rainbow Dash gave Scoots a ride around on her back after she got wings during the whole rainbow blast thing, and we saw Applejack and her brother dancing together." At Standing's look, she shrugged. "It was a high school dance, they were just kids being kids."

Standing nodded. "It sounds like you enjoyed yourself there," she said.

"Yeah, we did," Vix-Lei agreed. "No offense intended, but it was nice knowing we didn't have to keep looking around to be sure we didn't have the Guard on our tails while we were there." She then frowned and blinked at her. "Hey, how come you didn't track us while we were still running from you in Canterlot?"

"I didn't have a trace to follow your magic in my city," Standing Wall said. "The first time any of us got close enough to even try to get a trace was right before you got hold of that skimmer; after that, Captain Gaze would have had the next best chance when he came face to face with miss Turner, but for his own reasons he opted not to do so, and at any rate he had his own means of tracking you."

Vix-Lei nodded. "That makes sense."

"Anyway." Standing Wall regarded her. "Did you learn anything else about miss Pie's other sisters?"

"Not much," Vix-Lei said. "From what they said, Limestone was a grouch a lot of the time, and she wanted to run her own mining company some day. And Marble... well, she was really shy and liked the quiet, but that's about all. Pinkie said she and their parents was visiting their cousins in Rockville that week." She paused. "Oh! Our Pinkie, she said her parents' family farm was in a place called Rockville too."

"Hmm." Standing Wall nodded. "Good to know. It might help us locate Ponyville."

"We could just show you the way to the one place we know of, and figure it out from there," Vix-Lei offered. "I'm sure we could figure out the path again. Plus Captain Gaze found us in it, he should remember the way he took to get to where we were then." She tilted her head. "I get the impression Rockville was somewhere else though."

"Well, it's still a good start." Standing Wall smiled. "I do appreciate the help, Vix-Lei."

"No problem," Vix-Lei told her. She looked up. "Wish I could have met this side's Maud and Pinkie's other sisters. They lived elsewhere most of the time, but they still meant the world to her, and I'm sure they'd have been as fun as Maud was over there."

Standing Wall smiled and nodded. "I don't doubt that for a minute," she said.

With that, the pair set on their way again, Vix-Lei feeling more relaxed than she'd expected.

Steady Lance

When the door to his captain's office had shut and he could tell the security system had been activated, Lieutenant Steady Lance turned around and left the building.

This was something he'd arranged with his captain in advance, of course. It was just good timing that it was happening now.

A short while later, he arrived at the Guardhouse of the West, where his own scheduled meeting was due to take place. Entering the building, he identified himself to the Guard on duty, and was immediately directed to his destination.

A quick knock and an equally quick "Come in" later, he was sitting in Lieutenant Dazzling Aura's office.

"Lance," she said by way of greetings, barely raising her head from the paperwork she was doing. "How are you this morning?"

"Fairly well, I'd say," Steady Lance replied. "You?"

"The same." She looked up, for real this time. "Still getting some reports from the Crystal Dominance. The rebels have been pretty quiet lately, and the Guards out there are very concerned." She frowned. "Also, there was one individual who was seen around that they're suspicious of. A recent arrival. He seemed harmless enough, but there was just something a little off about him."

Steady Lance nodded, then leaned in a little closer. "Must be awkward, you being assigned to this in particular," he said.

Dazzling Aura snorted. "What, because I came from there?" The highest-ranking Crystal Unicorn in all the Guard branches gestured to her shimmering coat. "I was just a foal when I left the Crystal Dominance and came to Canterlot, Lance. I haven't been back there since. That place has no hold over me."

"Right." Steady Lance nodded. "So, switching subjects," he said. "What's your take on all this business with the Six?"

Dazzling Aura shrugged. "They're obviously important," she said. "I haven't really met any of them, so I can't say personally. But it's obvious that our captains are very invested in their safety and the information they could hold. Captain Wall mentioned she was hoping to run into one of them while she was out."

"And my captain's talking with two of them right now," Steady Lance replied. "The griffon, and the nox pony."

Dazzling Aura nodded. "Makes sense," she said. Then she opened a drawer of her desk, and pulled out some folders, hoofing them over. "By the way, here's the files you were supposed to pick up today."

Steady Lance accepted them, double-checking the contents, and then tucked them into his panniers. "Thanks, Dazzler."

The other unicorn smiled at her friend and fellow lieutenant. "No problem, Lance."

Clear Back

He let out a sigh as he stared up at the massive mountain city. It had taken longer than he had liked to reach it, but he was finally at Canterlot.

The city had changed vastly from what his ancestors had known, of course. Even without the destruction that Chrysalis had caused, one could not expect a city to go that long without some amount of change. But it was in many ways still just as awe-inspiring as the stories of old Canterlot described that city.

Now was the time to head towards the summit and speak with these Captains so they could warn the Bearers. Attempting to find them directly would only draw attention to himself, what with the city still being on alert, and that was the last thing he wanted.

Not to mention that he had no idea where to start looking for them. The Captains, at least, would be easier to find.

Taking a deep breath, Clear Back headed for the gate to the city, so he could get inside and continue his mission.

Page Turner

Page shook her mane out as she entered their hotel suite. It had been a productive day, but still a tiring one, and she was ready to relax for the evening.

She could see most of her friends had arrived ahead of her and were all seated, and as she joined them and sat down herself, Rex emerged from the kitchen to join them.

"Dinner will be arriving shortly," he said. "So, how are all of you?"

"Doing good," Vix-Lei said as she stretched. "Went out and stretched my legs, had a nice chat with Captain Standing Wall. You?"

"Captain Lulamoon and her lieutenant stopped by where I was working," Rex replied. "We are doing very well on our work with creating trackers to help the griffons who are still seeking their families."

Wind smiled at that. "Good to hear," he said. "Night and I spent most of the day with Captain Sun, and once I mostly got over my nervousness at being around him, it was pretty good. He's a nice guy, really. But we did figure out some worrying things - like how there must have been some entity meddling in Night's life at some point."

Page looked horrified. "What-"

"We don't know much more than that," Night said. "Whatever it was, or what exactly it did, we are not certain. But we are keeping an eye out for any sign of further action."

His expression seemed to be begging for somepony to change the subject, and Page wasn't sure whether to be glad or not when Xvital did.

"I got to do a little one-on-one learning from the Captain-General herself," she said. "She's helping me with my magic now, really worked well."

Page smiled. "That's good," she said. "I guess I'm the only one of us who didn't spend much, if any, personal time with any of the Captains - Captain Gaze was around today, but that was just all business. He still is the spymaster of Equestria and he has a lot of work to go through; especially for the Crystal Dominance. He is thinking of creating a hivemind for the Guards there, like I did for us, as a more secure means of communication but that would require my direct help."

"And I am guessing having you travel to a hostile area is out of the question?" Wind asked.

Page nodded her head. "All of the Sages rejected the idea before I could even weigh in. As it is easier to keep us all safe in one place, Captain Gaze would need to convince the Captain-General that it would be worth it and create a cover story for me going there."

"A lot of no gos there, right?" Vix-Lei said with a shrug.

"Exactly," Page said.

"Speaking of the Captains and the Crystal Dominance," Rex said. "Do you think you could write down as much of the inventory list for the vault there as you can remember? Captain Lulamoon expressed considerable interest in the contents thereof, given her own specialty."

"Oh that will be easy," Page smiled at him as she levitated a notepad and began to write down the inventory list. "Something that my type of changelings can do is review parts of their memory if we store it away prior. I did copy the list as to make it easier to cross reference as we examined all the stuff Xvital."

"So that's why you were able to catalogue the books so well; you literally memorized them," Night said with her puffing out her cheeks as their friends began to snicker.

"Nothing wrong with that," Wind said to Page. "I bet a lot of your fellows wish they could do the same."

Page nodded, blushing a little. "It would explain one of the reasons why some of them were jealous of me," she said. "Though some of them were changelings; they were the ones who helped hide me during my younger years."

Xvital nodded. "Yeah, it would explain some of that," she said. "But going back to what we were talking about before, I wonder if Captain Lulamoon could disenchant that frying pan we found. Heck, I'm surprised the Order didn't try to disenchant it themselves sooner; the protective spells you described made it too dangerous to keep around if you ask me." At Page's curious glance, she added, "What? Sometimes odd things just stick with you for a really long time, even if you'd rather forget them."

Page smiled. "I know," she said. "And they might have but found it too dangerous to actually try it."

"What's this thing you're talking about?" Vix-Lei asked.

"One of the artifacts in the vault was an enchanted frying pan," Page said. "The creator had tried to create an enchanted sword, but he not only hit the wrong object with his spell, the enchantment went completely wrong in the process. It has an 'only the rightful owner can use it' clause built into the spell weave, which I understand was intended, but if it's used to hit somepony by that rightful owner, it transforms them into something non-living. And it had the same fatal effect on anyone who tried to hold it who wasn't the rightful owner."

"Eesh." Vix-Lei nodded. "No wonder they kept it under lock and key."

"That reminds of an odd trinket I found," Rex said, turning to face her. "It was hidden in a wall and shaped like a giant crystal heart, though clearly not the real one... Is something amiss?"

"There was no crystal heart shaped object on the list, Rex, or anything hidden in a wall," Page said with her and Rex's eyes going wide at the implication and most of her friends going very still.

"Someone want to explain?" Xvital asked.

Page looked at her. "There's a legend," she said. "About a totem object associated with the founding of the old Crystal Empire. It's said that it could amplify emotional magic many times over, and with sufficient energy, it not only created the original city and transformed the ponies around into the first Crystal Ponies, it protected them from the effects of the frozen wastes outside. The Crystal Heart was also able to defend against evil magic, and during the Crystal World War, many lost their lives seeking it in the hopes they could use it as a weapon against Sombra; it was believed he'd had it locked away somewhere for that very reason."

"Whoah..." Vix-Lei muttered.

Rex nodded, still clearly stunned. "If that was indeed the true Crystal Heart, it must have been hidden away long before," he said. "When I found it, I thought it was just a copy some child had made, so I put it back where it had been."

Page flicked an ear as she passed the information to Gaze; he would likely pass it on to the Captain-General so they could decide on what to do with it. "If the Crystal Ponies find out about this... my tribe has many legends about them," she said. "They were always meant to be ruled by a God or Goddess of Love, and it's said that Mi Amore Cadenza, whose Cutie Mark bore their Crystal Heart as part of its design, was supposed to be their next ruler; Sombra was an usurper who overthrew the Princess before her, and according to my Sages, if Mi Amore Cadenza had lived long enough, she and her consort would have been able to destroy him much sooner and take the throne together as its rightful heirs." Her lip curled. "Unfortunately, my ancestor and the Nightmare's actions prevented that from happening. Just one more reason for the Nightmare to be punished for their crimes..."

"Hopefully that can be remedied soon," Wind said. "Harmony's Elements found their new bearers eventually, maybe this Princess's Love power is due to get a new Bearer too."

"It makes sense," Vix-Lei said. "It took a thousand years for Harmony to come back; maybe it will be like that again."

"One can only hope," Night said, finally speaking up again. "If that is true for her, then it can be true for the princess-goddesses too." He tilted his head. "I wonder what the reaction would have been if their human selves ever came over here?"

"I think their worshippers would have thrown a celebratory riot bigger than what happened when the Hatcheries closed down," Wind told him. "And I don't think the King would be too happy."

"He might be, actually," Page said. "Heavy is the head that wears the crown." She sighed. "And believe me, I know the feeling entirely."

Xvital nodded. "I can sympathize with you," she said. "I haven't even been crowned and I'm already dreading it. But the only other one eligible for ruling is my future mother-in-law, and nobody wants her back on the throne. Or at least I don't." She shuddered. "Chantico is very... controlling, shall we say, and she's a big part of why I developed my knee-jerk bad reaction to nobles." She looked apologetically towards Night, who smiled and nodded understandingly.

"It's in the past now, and I've forgiven her for how she was reacting to me since I found out exactly why it was happening," he said, which prompted smiles from all around.

Conversation was then interrupted for a few minutes as dinner arrived, but once they were all settled again and happily eating, Wind ventured a question.

"Say, Xvital, I've been wondering about something."

"Oh?" Xvital asked.

Wind nodded. "Well, you're an ahuizotl, but your language is named after a sub-group of donkeys. Why is that?"

Xvital sat back. "Well, that's kind of a long story. See, back in the early days of my people, we didn't have a special name for our language. But eventually, a group of donkeys moved into our territory, and they spoke something similar. After a while, the local lingo got mixed with their language, and both groups started calling the new version Burroñeso. Burro, of course, is our word for their people, and ñeso... I think it's their word for 'the language of', but we don't know for sure anymore." She shrugged. "So that's where it comes from."

Wind nodded. "That makes sense." Then he looked at her again. "And speaking of, another thing I've been wondering about - is there a particular reason Tizoc is called Prince-King instead of just Prince or King?"

"Old tradition," Xvital said. "The heir to the throne is called Prince while the sitting King still rules. Their title changes to Prince-King once they take the throne, and then to King once they're married. If they marry first, they stay a Prince and then go straight to being called the King once they're crowned."

"Right." Wind nodded, satisfied.

"Have there ever been any ruling Queens?" Rex inquired.

"Only if their husband dies first, like Tizy's father did," Xvital said. "And then they're just a regent until the heir comes of age, like Chantico was." She shrugged. "I don't know how the tradition got started, just that it's always been only male heirs who were in line for the throne. Sometimes it goes to a member of a younger offshoot branch if the main line doesn't have a male heir, but they have to be male."

"Almost the same for us," Page said. "There's always been a Queen; any changeling can produce offspring, but one is always more... advanced, I guess you'd say, than the rest, to be physically larger and more powerful in some ways, and she rules the hive. It's traditionally the offspring of the existing Queen, but sometimes if she dies or is at least fatally injured without an heir or is overthrown, another changeling can mature into a new Queen in her place. My line..." She sighed. "Since Chrysalis's death, every Queen has had a child and waited until they could mature enough to take their own place as a Queen. And as soon as the parent was certain the hive would be safely connected to the new Queen, they... ended their own lives." She looked down. "Including my own birth mother," she said quietly. "Between all their own guilt and the guilt the rest of our people felt over what she did, it was too much for them to want to go on living. Biological imperatives kept us going as a species, but that was about it."

She looked up, her eyes firm. "But now that we know the truth about why Chrysalis acted as she did, and are adapting to living our lives fully rather than as fourth-class citizens, that's never going to happen again," she said. "Not if I can help it."

"And what about the future Queen?" Vix-Lei asked. "I mean, will your kids become the new queen or do they stay a princess or..."

Page blushed. "The next generation, when they're born," she said, "Will be brought up the right way. I will teach them everything they need to know in the event that they need to take my place someday, and... well, if they start maturing on their own, they may well end up starting their own hive, separate from but allied with ours. It's happened before in the distant past, if our numbers grew enough."

She looked at Night, who was blushing. "But my husband will also have his own part in raising them," she said, smiling, and there was a chorus of "D'aww..."s from the rest of the group.

"And if you ever need a bunch of honorary aunts and uncles for them, you know where to find us," Vix-Lei said with a grin. She turned to Xvital. "Same for yours and your hubby's kids too."

Xvital grinned back. "I'll hold you to that," she said. "Speaking of; there is an old friend of mine who kinda might have dibs on my maid of honour; she was to be mine during our first wedding. She's Itotia, Tizy's former official betrothed wife. She actually saw how much we were connecting and she stepped down when he proposed to me without any complaint." Xvital chuckled and blushed. "She was the first to actually congratulate me."

Page smiled at that. "Well, if she agrees, then that's fine by me," she said.

Vix-Lei nodded. "Me too," she said. "Must have been a really nice girl to do that."

Xvital nodded back. "She was," she said. "Getting back in touch with her is one of the things I need to do in the next couple of weeks."

Things were quiet for the next while as they concentrated on their food, but finally, empty plates were set aside.

"Now, where were we-" Vix-Lei was just saying when there came a sudden rapping on the door.

Frowning, Page was about to go answer it, when Wind rose and beat her to it. "Can we help you?" he asked the guard outside.

"A situation's come up, and Captain-General Step wants to see you all," the guard replied.

The six traded looks, and instantly rose.

"What's going on?" Xvital asked.

The guard shrugged. "I wasn't told," he said. "Just that the Captain-General needs all of you and all of the other Captains at her office as soon as possible."

Page felt a tremble of foreboding, and nodded. "Right," she said. "Everyone, grab your gear, just in case."

As the others nodded and did as she said, Page sent out a message through the hivemind. Captain Gaze, what's going on? We just had a guard show up saying the Captain-General needed us in her office.

A pony arrived in Canterlot today, Gaze replied back, cutting straight to the point. He somehow made it all the way to the top of the city and into the headquarters for the Royal Guards before we realized who he was. Apparently he was seen in the Crystal Dominance recently, and according to our Guards there, was acting suspiciously.

And what's he doing now? Page asked.

Sitting in a conference room, under guard, Gaze said. When he was caught, he said he was there because he had an important message for the Bearers of Harmony. He paused. And he claimed it was from Princess Celestia herself.

Page's breath caught in her chest, and she broke out into a startled coughing fit. When she'd managed to calm herself, she sent back, We'll be there as soon as possible.

Closing the connection, she looked up to see her friends, all looking worried at her reaction.

"What's happened?" Night asked.

"Captain Gaze filled me in, and you'll understand when we get there," Page said. "We need to go, now."

Five heads nodded, and then, following after their escorts, they headed out.

The trip took a lot less time than they'd expected, as the Captain-General had sent a set of airskimmers to pick them up, having felt that the nature of their mission required fast transport back to the Royal Guards' headquarters. When they arrived, they marched into the building, their escorts leading them to the upper floor where the six Captains were waiting.

Captain-General Gentle Step looked very grim when she came into view, and Page took the lead. "Where is he?" she asked.

"This way," Step replied. "I shouldn't have to tell you, this is a very serious matter. He is aware of secrets that should not be accessible for any civilian."

All six nodded, and followed after the Captains as they were led to the room where their visitor was waiting.

When they arrived, they each took a seat, and then Page studied the pony they'd come to see. He was small, comparatively speaking, and wore a pair of shaded glasses to protect his eyes. His coat was a pale orange with his mane being a similarly pale teal, though it seemed to be in the process of brightening up. And he looked very excited to see all of them.

"Finally," he said with relief pouring off of him. "You're all here. Sweet Celestia's mane, it's good to finally see you."

Xvital blinked. "Um, okay," she said. "You are?"

"My name is Clear Back," the pony said. "I represent the Keepers - a special faction of the Questioning Order."

"And what is the purpose of these Keepers?" Gentle Step asked, narrowing her famous gaze that made most wilt.

Clear Back looked uncertain, so Page spoke up. "Whatever you have to say, you can say in front of the Captains," she said.

Clear Back nodded. "Over a thousand years ago," he said, "Princess Celestia entrusted our ancestors with a special task. We were to retrieve a stone statue from what had been the gardens of Canterlot Castle before its destruction and spirit it away, keep it hidden and under strict guard. For all these years, we have stayed true to our task. But now..." He shivered. "I came to warn you, because the statue is cracking, a sure sign that he is once more awakening. If he breaks loose, you're our only hope of stopping him again."

"Who?" Xvital asked.

"Harmony's Opposite, and greatest enemy," Clear Back said. "The Champion of Chaos, and the Spirit of Disharmony."

He was about to continue speaking, when Page felt a shiver run down her spine, and then...

There was a low, rumbling laughter.

"I don't like the sound of this," Vix-Lei muttered, grabbing her hammers.

"Nor do I," Gentle Step said, her horn blazing as she rose to her hooves.

One by one, the Captains and Bearers rose, each preparing for battle, and then Clear Back's expression shifted to pure panic.

"He's here!" he shouted.

And then there was a swirl of motion around his back, and he cried out in horror as a strange energy lifted off of him, spinning around in a whirlwind of movement before it took solid form.

The creature standing before them was unlike anything Page had ever seen. At its core, it resembled a serpentine dragon, but its body was covered in eagle feathers and it had the head of a goat, one goat horn, one stag horn, one fang, the tongue of a snake, the mane of a pony, one eagle talon, one lion paw, one bat wing, one bird wing, one green dragon leg, one pony leg, and a red dragon tail.

"Hello, Harmony," the creature said with a wicked grin. "I'm back."

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Wind Breaker, Rex, Gentle Step

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Wind Breaker

Even as he clutched his crossbow, Wind Breaker knew in an instant who this was.

"You're that 'rattlesnake' Applejack warned us about," he said.

The creature waved a talon carelessly. "A rattlesnake, am I?" A forked tongue flicked out of his mouth and hissed, while a snake's rattle appeared on the end of his tail and shook, the noise sending a chill down Wind's spine. "Well, I suppose one could call me that... but I much prefer 'Draconequus', for my species. So much shorter than a truly accurate description, but it fits. And then there's my own name." He gave a wicked grin. "I am Discord, young Honesty."

"So you are," Gentle Step said calmly but firmly, horn still glowing. "But why are you here?"

Discord smirked. "Well, when I heard my opposite number had returned after so long, it was only natural that I return to match them," he said, spinning in the air. "And to get a look at their new Bearers... so very different from the last batch, I must say."

He swirled closer, wrapping himself around Page for a moment, and Wind could tell she was clearly unnerved by his physical closeness. "Yes, very different indeed... little Fluttershy had her core of strength under a shell of meekness, yet you are Kindness at the core under a layer of strength." He smirked, then withdrew and appeared over Night. "And Loyalty, so close to Kindness yet again. But quite the different relationship this time, I see. Are we to see little Kindness Loyalty tribreds running around soon?" He chuckled at their blushing while Wind just growled before he paled, realizing what he just said; Discord knew Page was a changeling hybrid.

Vix-Lei was next, and Discord looked quite amused by her. "Ah, Laughter, the unpredictable one," he said. "It ran in her family, I heard. Each special in their own way... but Laughter was the one least understood by them, even if she was still deeply loved, just like you and your own family."

Vix-Lei blinked. "Uh, thanks?"

"And here we have Generosity," Discord said, looking at Rex. "The one who carries beauty and understanding within their own heart, and helps bring it to the surface when they see it in others."

Rex merely nodded, saying nothing in response.

"Magic, the one who makes it all complete," Discord continued as he passed Xvital, grinning and rubbing his paws together. "And last but by no means least, Honesty." He eyed Wind Breaker. "The one who sees through to the truth. Though a bit too much; I can see somegriff has been on a long Power surge."

Wind nodded. "Making up for lost time," he said. "I figure it'll cool off eventually. But right now, I'm seeing that you haven't said anything that wasn't true yet."

"How true, how true," Discord preened. "After all, when used the right way, truths can be even more chaotic than a pack of lies," he said, shuffling a pack of cards between his hands before sending them into Wind's face, causing him to sputter and taking a step backwards.

He grinned at each of them in turn as they drew their weapons, tensing up for what had to be a big fight ahead. "You know, this is going to be so much fun. Dear Celly was quite the stick in the mud. Still is, really. And so were Twilight and the others in their own way. Always spoiling my fun, not understanding the bigger picture; warped by Celly's endless prattling about order and stability. And yet you six... you're so much like me!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Xvital demanded, with all three of her hands coated in controlled fire, seemingly having control over her magic for once.

Discord chuckled, floating on his back. "Because," he said. "I'm a Champion of Chaos, and Chaos is change, my little Opposites. Order, if taken too far, becomes stagnation, the death of all. But despite Harmony being so associated with it, instead of stalling change, you six have brought on so much more change in such a comparatively short period of time than all of your predecessors combined. Why would I not approve? Besides..." He grinned evilly. "Chaos also doesn't play favorites."

Wind frowned as he went over Discord's words in his mind. "Wait a moment..."

Discord pretended to study a nonexistent wristwatch. "Oh dear, look at the time. Must be off, so much more to see, so many Duties to attend to. Tell Celly and Lulu I said hello if they ever drop by! And do keep being fun, you would not like it when things are boring around here because then I'd see the need to spice things up." He let out a cackle, and then there was a puff of smoke as he vanished.

All of them stared at the spot where he'd been, and then Wind shook his head. "That was unnerving," he muttered.

"Hey, I'll take the fact he chose to bugger off as a good sign," Vix-Lei said, as she put her hammers away. "But still, no wonder the girls were freaked out by him. He's crazy."

"Quite," Gentle Step agreed. "That aura... it was similar to Harmony's and the Nightmare's. Still different, but similar. Nothing like a demon, though. It would have been a challenge for me to fight him." She sounded, of all things, regretful at the missed opportunity.

"The question is, what is he planning to do now?" Night asked, looking at her for guidance,.

"I don't know," Clear Back's voice came. The other pony was trembling. "We were always told that if he broke free, it would mean terrible things, until the power of Harmony re-sealed him... but he seemed too amused to do any harm this time."

Gentle Step nodded. "Yes, he was, wasn't he," she said. "Let's hope he stays amused and doesn't go causing trouble."

Then she turned to the six of them. "Just to be on the safe side though, you six might want to keep your Elements on you from now on," she said. "There's no telling when you'll need them again if he decides to try something sneaky."

She then turned back to the stallion. "If you do not mind following me, I have some further questions I would like answers to."

Clear Back nodded. "So long as you are sworn to Princess Celestia as I am," he said. "We who have sworn to follow our Lady of Day will do what we must to keep this world safe from its enemies."

Gentle Step nodded back, then left the room, Clear Back following her.

That left five Captains and the Bearers together, and finally Captain Surprise shook her head. "Well," she said. "That happened."

"Yes," Blazen Sun mused, stroking his beard. "This Discord is quite the perplexing one, I must say."

"So what do we do now?" Standing Wall asked, her hooves moving back and forth.

Captain Gaze looked around. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm going to do what I can to find out if we know anything more about him," he said, tilting his head towards the door the two had just walked out of. "And about Discord too. And given the hour, I think the six of you should go back to your suite for the night, and then get ready for another meeting in the morning. We can stop by the Cuanmiztlan embassy on the way so you can pick up your Elements just in case."

Captain Lulamoon nodded in agreement. "I'll go with them," she said.

The other four agreed, and then let themselves be escorted back to the skimmers outside.

As they climbed in, Wind Breaker looked up at the skies, wondering where Discord might have gone off to.

And if I was reading his words right, he thought, looking at the moon in the sky. Where are they?

Rex

Morning came once more, and the Six rose from their slumber, some more noisily than others, with Night Blade visibly grimacing at the sound of Vix-Lei's back cracking and popping when she stretched in their suite's main room.

"That cannot be comfortable," he muttered.

"To each their own," Rex replied as he looked at their friend, who was bending her torso to one side, her arms over her head now, before doing the same in the other direction. "But I agree, it does sound painful."

Vix-Lei stuck out her tongue, before chuckling. "It's just the sound of popping air bubbles inside the joints," she said. "Doesn't do any good, but it doesn't do any harm either. They'll just reinflate in a little while."

"The things you know, Vix-Lei," Xvital marveled as she came into the room, carrying her bag with her Element inside it.

"Hey, a girl's gotta know a lot of stuff if she's expected to take over the family business someday," Vix-Lei said. "Not to mention I was working in a place where accidents happen, no matter how careful you are, and everytaur was expected to know some of the medical stuff in case of an emergency. I just got off on a tangent when I was studying a few times and picked up some random bits here and there."

"Know the feeling," Xvital said as she shrugged. "Some of the books I had to read when I was learning calligraphy and copying were pretty fascinating."

Wind and Page joined them shortly, Page looking around. "Captain Gaze and Captain Lulamoon should be by soon," she said. "And they're bringing breakfast before we have to go meet the Captain-General again. She's been busy working with Clear Back last night and into the morning, and there's a lot of ground to cover."

"How much ground?" Wind asked.

"Considering that Clear Back has been able to correctly identify the Virtues by their real names as well as give precise information, he is a window to the past," Rex said. "I would imagine there is quite a bit he can tell us that can correct the misunderstandings that have been made, which should please the King to no end."

Page nodded in agreement. "And it'll please me too," she said. "I've been wishing for some way to fill in a lot of the gaps myself for years. Meeting Fluttershy and the rest helped, but this will also be a major benefit for everypony."

"Quite," Rex said.

For a little while there was not much else to say, until their visitors arrived. Captain Lulamoon was carrying some containers in her panniers, and passed them out to each of the group, which they happily accepted when they found the food inside. Captain Gaze walked in behind her, carrying several larger boxes of equipment that he began to unpack.

"I must confess to having an extra reason for coming by this morning," Captain Lulamoon said when she'd finished handing out the food. "Would you mind if I examined your Elements while you eat?"

"Be our guest," Rex said, drawing his out from one of the sealed pouches inside his vest where he'd been keeping it and handing it over.

One by one, the others also drew out their own Elements and laid them out, and examined each of the gems in them in turn. Page's light green open book, Vix-Lei's blue hammer, Wind's orange crossbow, Rex's own violet potion bottle, Night's red sword and Xvital's differently shaded violet starburst, each set in their golden necklaces and crown, gleamed as they sat together.

"I know you said the Questioning Order had been holding onto miss Xvital's," Captain Lulamoon said as she examined them, using a much more sophisticated version of his own inspection glasses, with an array of machines that took readings off of them. "But what about the rest?"

"They appeared on each of us as we demonstrated the values of our Element," Night said. "Page's kindness to a changeling foal and their mother, Vix-Lei's breaking the mood and making us all laugh when we were very stressed, Wind staying honest with himself and his desire to help the rest of us when he refused to give in to temptation on the Blas Bridge, Rex's generosity in giving up his shop to his apprentices, my... loyalty, in returning to our group to save them, when I could have just stayed away, gone back to my old life and left them to their fate..." He sighed, still clearly bothered by it. "We each had to go through our own ordeals to earn them."

"That reminds me," Vix-Lei said, looking at Xvital. "Balance or Harmony said yours would appear when we got ours but it didn't really appear; you found it."

Xvital blinked and stared at the crown, turning it in her hands. "Not really; this isn't the same thing that I put on my head. I know it looks the same but..." She trailed off, stroking the gem at the top of the stem. "The old one was kinda broken, and it was a different color too - Twilight did something to it before she gave it to me."

A paper airplane flew into the room just then, with everyone staring at it in surprise as none of the windows were open and they were very high up.

Captain Lulamoon grabbed it with her magic and quickly read it to herself before sighing. "It is from Discord; he claims that she simply passed on the torch to you, as it was her time to do so. Even in his stone sleep, he could feel what was happening as it related to his Opposites, and Harmony's return in particular is what led to his awakening fully."

They all flinched at hearing from him, looking tense with good reason.

"Has anyone managed to locate where he got off to after leaving us last night?" Rex asked with Captain Gaze sighing.

"Yes and no; we informed the Guards of him and since then, we've had numerous sightings of him performing pranks of all things," he rolled his eyes. "From what we've gathered so far, he isn't doing more as he doesn't want to push you six into stopping him. And none of what he's done has actually harmed anyone, just annoyed them at most."

"Though a greater issue resolves in us trying to deal with him," Captain Lulamoon said, gesturing to herself and Captain Gaze. "Captain-General Step tried to earlier today and... well, it wasn't pretty."

Gentle Step

Earlier that day...

Gentle Step looked around. According to the latest reports, this was where Discord had been seen most recently, and she was examining the evidence of his actions.

"Interesting illustrations," she remarked as she observed the animated painting on the wall, which portrayed a number of ponies wearing baskets of fruit and other strange headgear while pink fluffy clouds drifted overhead and drizzled brown rain onto them as what appeared to be a chorus line of fish with legs danced by.

"Ah, hello little soldier, come to stop my fun?" Discord suddenly asked as he popped into view, hovering in front of the mural with a smock and apron over his chest and a paintbrush in his paw. "I think I have done a great job so far... ah it's you, the one brimming with Order." he said, snaking through the air, coming straight at her. "I remember you; you were itching to tussle with me, weren't you?" he asked, grinning at her.

"The thought did cross my mind," Gentle Step replied honestly. "In a large part to see how you compared to some of the other individuals I've faced."

Discord chuckled. "Oh, you mean those fiends from the Pit? They're nothing like me, I can assure you. So boring; no intelligence, no finesse. All they do is break things. I've no use for anyone of that sort."

He smirked then. "Speaking of down below, I must remember to drop in there sometime and give Tirek an atomic wedgie."

"Considering he wasn't wearing pants or anything else the last time I saw him, that'll be quite a feat," Gentle Step said dryly.

Discord hooted with laughter. "You see? You get it! It's no fun doing things the obvious, easy way. A real artiste is clever in their work."

He was suddenly in her face. "Like you, I must say," he said. "Rather poetic, creating your weapons from that demon's own horn and humiliating him with them."

She chuckled at that. "It was the best way to defeat him and upset the rest of his court," she recalled the memory fondly. "Caused enough chaos and violence that I could make my escape with my comrades."

"That's exactly why I like you," he said, flying closer. "You're not like other ponies. You don't shy away from the battle, the violence."

"No, I don't," Gentle admitted, closing her eyes as she recalled her time in Tartarus.

"And you wish you could be back at it, fighting against those who actually relished the thrill instead of shying away from it," Discord said, his voice close to her now. "The iron taste of blood against you once again, the rush of enjoyment from fighting against those who are your equal."

Gentle nodded her head, feeling alive again as she was forced into tight combat with those actually able to withstand her, proving a true fight for someone like her.

"You can hear it, can't you?"

She could; she could hear the measured steps of her Guards marching out in a thundering crash, she could hear the cheering and shouting of the crowd braying her name, she saw herself fully unleashed and truly being who she was with the drums of war beating loudly in her head.

"You want it all, don't you?" he purred.

Gentle was about to agree when she opened her eyes and saw the victorious grin on his face, holding his fingers close together.

"No," she said, shaking her head, stepping away from him with her heart racing.

"No?" Discord looked somewhat taken aback. "What do you mean, no?"

"I enjoy a good battle," Gentle said, panting a bit as she tried to get control over herself. "And when it is necessary to save lives, I will join in one. But I cannot abandon my responsibilities here for the sake of mindless bloodshed and combat."

"Hmph." Discord scowled. "Well fine, be that way." Muttering under his breath, he added, "Didn't expect anypony to be able to pull that off since Fluttershy."

Gentle Step raised an eyebrow at him.

"Oh, nothing you need concern yourself with," Discord said, smirking at her with victory in his eyes that he nearly got her. "But you should be careful what you wish for; you just might get it. After all, I'm not the only one who might be listening in for an opportune moment to cause a little trouble... or a lot." He leaned in again. "It might not be one of my official aspects, but it still falls under my purview. I can tell that there's still a lot of hatred aimed at you, Captain-General and they might not be so kind as me. Besides, if I Discordify you, then I would be forcing Harmony to really act and I am enjoying my freedom right now without too many annoying pests looking to stop me. So kiddo, be a good blood hungry pony and leave me to my simple pranks. You might think yourself a worthy challenge to a demon king but you're nothing compared to me."

Gentle Step glared at him bringing her age, of all things, into this. It had been a complication that she was younger than most of her senior Guards and didn't have the same level of experience as them; it had been a difficult process to overcome and even now, she still had some of her most senior Guards second guess her actions from time to time. "I appreciate the warning then," she said, ignoring his insults to her. "But I have one more question for you."

"Oh?" Discord asked, appearing genuinely curious. "And what, pray tell, do you wish to know?"

"You identify as the Champion of Chaos," Gentle Step said. "But were you among those who allied with the Nightmare and affected Sunset Shimmer so she would assume a demonic form when she donned the Element of Magic?"

As she had been speaking, Discord's expression changed from curious to a scowl. "Not I, said the great granite draconequus," he finally replied, his tail lashing angrily. "Thanks to Harmony, I was still entombed in stone at the time. I could only watch and listen to what was happening, not affect the outside world in such a manner until just recently. But if I had been active at that time, I would have done something about it... because I am not amused that they decided to trespass on my turf. There is only one true Champion of Chaos in this realm, that's the Rule, and if I catch them around here again, those intruders are going to regret it."

Snapping away his clothes and paintbrush, he was suddenly looking serious. "If you'll excuse me," he said. "I need to go see a duck about a horse."

He snapped his talons and vanished, leaving only his mural behind.

Gentle Step shook her head. "The goddesses only know what he actually meant by that," she muttered to herself.

Then she looked at the mural, the contents of which were still moving, though the motions were never quite the same twice.

"I wonder what Deep Blade and his students would think of this?" she mused to herself.

Rex

"After that," Captain Lulamoon concluded, "We decided that trying to face him directly would not be in the best interests of anypony, and have just been marking those places where we've found traces of his magic."

"What did he mean by Discordify?" Page asked, looking at Captain Gaze who was continuing to place equipment across the room.

"It's something that Clear Back mentioned to us that he can do," the drone muttered as he lifted a rather expensive and complicated looking device in a far corner of their suite. "Discord can apparently flip certain morality aspects of a person with either his magic or words. He did so to the last Bearers of Harmony, according to Clear Back as well as some surviving records from the Magi of-I mean, Twilight." He grunted as he began to unpack another piece of the contraption in the room, clearly straining with his magic to do so. "He was able to turn them all into their opposites. He made Applejack into a liar, Rarity a greedy hoarder, Pinkie Pie depressed and angry, and Rainbow Dash into a selfish, self-serving mare. He had to use his magic directly-" he paused as he had to dig his hooves into the carpet to balance himself as the crate he was lifting began to shake in his thamuatic aura before Captain Lulamoon grabbed it and set it down without so much as any sign of effort. He gave her a glare before he said with a strained voice, wings vibrating in an annoyed tone. "Thank you."

"Is there a reason why you're doing that?" Xvital asked, frowning along side the rest of their friends. "I mean, it looks like she can do it far easier than you. No offense."

"I am trying to exercise and develop my own magical prowess," Captain Gaze said, reaching into his own panniers to pull out a bottle of water. "We are going to have the first full captain's exercise soon and I can for once properly attend." He let out a sigh, shaking his head as he removed his helmet and poured a bit of water onto his forehead. "I am not a Flare, and even with as much training as I have had, there is still a sizable gap between me and my fellow Captains."

"You are doing an amazing job in furthering your abilities, Captain Gaze, though it is not like you can actually catch up," Captain Lulamoon said, though with no malice in her voice. "We're all exceptional cases, but you are talented for a normal changeling."

"Still, as a Captain, it is my duty and obligation to further myself so I can truly do all I can for king and country," Captain Gaze replied. "The King may have confidence in me to deal with a certain level of threat, but I still feel I need to improve even more." He lifted a towel to his forehead and whipped off the sweat before giving them a fanged smile. "In any case, let me continue to what I was saying. During that event, Discord wasn't able to turn Fluttershy with the same trickery as he did the others because she knew her own weaknesses and agreed with what he was saying, so he had to forcibly brainwash her. Twilight was able to get through to all of them eventually though, and talk them down into being their old selves again."

"And he could do that to us, just by using his magic?" Page shivered.

"Only if he wanted to," Captain Gaze replied. "He felt it was more fun to manipulate his targets into that state rather than do it directly. And we feel he won't actually go after you six; it would lead to a confrontation and he seems very averse to that right now."

Rex tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Did Clear Back say if Discord was successful in doing the same with Twilight?" he asked.

Captain Gaze nodded. "According to their records, Discord was able to temporarily break her faith in friendship by showing her what had become of her friends, until her teacher Princess Celestia sent her back either copies or the originals of her letters detailing all of all the lessons she'd been learning on the subject of friendship during her time in Ponyville. Reading them all again helped her overcome the effects of Discord's magic on her, and she was then able to go remind her friends of their true selves and undo his effects. With their bonds having become stronger than before, they defeated Discord, turned him back to stone and undid the effects of his chaos magic on the land and people of Equestria."

"Wow," Xvital muttered.

"Is there anything that really can be done to ensure he doesn't cause harm, outside of re-petrifying him?" Rex asked.

Both captains traded looks, then Captain Lulamoon shrugged as she started to activate some of the machines spread out in the room. "I really don't think so," she said. "As long as you six keep him entertained with your actions, that should be sufficient. But as Clear Back said, Discord has a very different outlook on life than everypony else. What we see as normal, he doesn't, and what he normally sees as fun, we don't."

Captain Gaze nodded. "And for an example, according to their histories, Discord once told Princess Celestia that there was no fun in making sense, or something along those lines."

"We will call upon you six if Discord does progress to a more malicious state or starts to destabilize the land," Captain Lulamoon replied with a bitter tone. "It is wrong that we six can't risk taking him down and that we have to leave him to you, but that is the current situation, though..."

She paused, picking up the paper airplane and opening the window to throw it out, before it broke apart, half falling outside and half remaining inside. She gave a smile at that, nodding her head. "Good; Gentle was right about that."

"About what?" Wind asked, peering at the paper.

"She felt that Discord meant something when he called you his opposites and that he claimed to be the spirit of disharmony; though we don't know the exact details about it, Gentle theorized that if he meant it in a literal sense, the aura of your Elements could counteract his own magic," she said as she continued to adjust some dials and added some thaumagics to them. "This will take some time to properly attune but we're hoping we can replicate the effects of your Harmony magic for use in counteracting anything actually harmful that Discord might do, like what he pulled on the Virtues a thousand years ago."

"Do you think it might be able to counteract the effects of any other harmful magic besides Discord's?" Rex asked. "It worked to drive out the Nightmare and heal the damage that being had caused, and to purge the harmful magic that had been implanted in Sunset Shimmer, after all."

"It worked on them because of Harmony's nature," Discord's voice suddenly said. "Harmony is a healing, helpful, peaceful Power; it goes to set things right and proper and it normally cannot harm anyone." There was a wicked chuckle. "Though this Harmony is different, it seems. Balance really did a number on Harmony; and it is so fascinating."

"What do you-" Vix-Lei caught herself, and frowned. "Wait a moment... are you saying taking a new form had a bad effect on Harmony?"

"Give the 'taur a prize," Discord's voice crowed, and a pair of bracelets and a shirt appeared on her, with Vix-Lei's eyes going wide in shock and she began to actually tremble. "Balance was really naughty. Prevented this from happening to you, for starters."

"Vix-Lei, are you okay?" Night asked, moving to her side with the two Captains flaring their horns as Discord appeared in the room, smirking at the sight.

"This... this is the coat for the lead shipmaster of the entire Minos Islands," Vix-Lei said in a whisper. "All the islands have a few shipmasters each, with one that's in charge of the rest for their island, like my dad. But they all answer to one who's even higher, and this is part of that 'taur's uniform!" she said, panting as she looked at her arms. "And this is the rest. There hasn't been a lead shipmaster in ages!"

"Ah, and you weren't the only one deprived of a greater fate," Discord chuckled as a collar appeared around Rex's neck and he began to tremble now as he reached to unclip and examine it before dropping it onto the ground and leaping backwards.

"You lie," Rex said, too shocked to use his proper tone, slipping back into his natural manner of speaking. "No alpha of packs ever."

"Until you came along," Discord cooed. "Or at least, you would have been the first king of the diamond dogs and led your species to a proper place in the world until Balance caused your packmates to chase you out." Discord cackled again, clapping his hands together. "And now we come to the other would-have been great leader, miss Page Turner. Or should I say, Lamella? The first real High Queen of your people since Chrysalis herself, the one who would have brought peace between your people and the Equestrians if your mother had been around to properly raise you." He frowned, ignoring the clearly shaken Page Turner. "Now that was a move I don't agree with. I may have committed all sorts of acts in the name of Chaos, but not a single pony has ever died because of what I did."

"And let me guess," Xvital said disgustedly. "Chantico wasn't really the mother-in-law from Mictlan, that was all Balance's doing?"

"No, that was real enough," Discord replied. "She was plenty abrasive towards you all on her own, but not quite enough to suit Balance's needs. He might have encouraged her to act even more so, but he didn't get too drastic with it until near the end, when he realized she was moving too slowly for his plan and she was actually becoming fond of you. That's when he possessed her and chased you away."

Xvital snorted angrily, though there were tears in her eyes. "I see."

"And now we come to the last two," he said, stroking his beard with Night beginning to draw his sword with his left wing. "Ah the ever so perpetually angry Night Blade. Did you ever wonder how your mother at her age managed to even get pregnant?" That caused the nox pony to pause with his eyes beginning to go wide as the words began to worm their way into his head. "Balance held you back enough so you'd be their ages and all of those complex issues you've got wouldn't be an issue if you'd been born at right time."

Night dropped his sword, staring at the creature in shock with Discord grinning as he spun towards Wind Breaker.

"And now for the overreacting Honesty of the group," Discord said. "Did you know that you should have been born into freedom, from a griffon who escaped the system much like you yourself did? Except her egg was stolen by a pack of money-grubbing race traitors who'd been doing the same thing for years, and sent back into what amounted to little better than slavery. She's wished from the start she could have stopped them, and that she could come back to find you. It's always been too dangerous for her to come back to Equestria in person before now though."

Wind snorted. "Somehow, I'm not surprised," he said. "But at least now I know she cared."

"Yes, she did, though your sire was nothing like her," Discord said. "He was a real naughty character, believe me."

Then he spun around the room, with glitter and confetti falling from the ceiling. "And here is the best part. You were all onlychosen because Balance knew that the Nightmare wouldn't take you seriously! You were not the actual ones to be chosen; you were just a bet that Balance took with your lives as the chips. And that's not the least of the meddling Balance did to make sure you'd all be in what it felt was the right place at the right time!"

One by one, the six looked around at one another. Then Vix-Lei snorted, taking off the jacket and holding it in her hands.

"Maybe," she said, thumbing the collar before dropping it on the floor. "But there's no sense wondering about what might have been. Balance might have gone mucking about with our lives. But we're all here now, together. We're friends 'til the end. And I wouldn't have it any other way."

Discord snorted. "Optimistic to the core, I see," he said. "Just like Pinkie Pie was. Though I doubt your friends feel all that loyal to Harmony, right Night?"

Night was trembling with anger, but he shook his head. "Maybe Harmony did mess with me," he said. "And I am still furious at what they did, damaging my relationships with my family. But if they hadn't done that, I never would have met the love of my life. Or my other friends." He drew back his lips, exposing his fangs. "Not to mention, where would Regal be if he hadn't had me to watch his back back in the day?"

"Devoted as always," Discord said, sounding disgusted. Then he looked at Page, who was still looking shaken, though she seemed to settle herself quickly.

"I came from a long line of mothers unable to deal with the guilt of that terrible day," she said, taking her changeling form. "You claim I would have made peace with Equestria with her at my side but I have done so already. And it is through helping my friends and others that I had the chance to do so."

"Yes... your compassion towards the innocent," Discord said. "Fluttershy was much the same. Though you certainly don't downplay yourself like she did. A sterner Kindness for a new Age."

Then he looked at Wind Breaker. "And you? Wouldn't you have preferred a life where you didn't have to hide your true colors, where you didn't have an addiction forced on you because some ponies couldn't take hearing the truth?"

Wind shrugged. "Might have been nice," he said. "But this way, I found my grandmother, and my aunt. And yeah, I might have been forced into trying to suppress my honesty because the people at the Hatchery couldn't handle the truth, but it was always there. They tried, but they couldn't turn me into a true liar."

"Mm." Discord nodded. "You have indeed held onto your integrity and moral character, young one," he said, before turning to Rex. "And you... you could have been a leader, still holding onto the persona you have made for yourself."

Rex had composed himself by now. "I might have," he said. "But I have found myself a better place. I am still able to teach what I enjoy, maybe not to my own kind but still to students who are eager to learn. And I have helped my two apprentices to live better lives in the process."

"How charitable," Discord purred. "But would you have done so if you knew just what that little mare was hiding?"

"So long as she is not seeking to do harm, her past is her own business, and I will grant her my trust," Rex replied.

"Hmph. You wouldn't say that if you knew her full background; I am fairly certain that if word got out, there'd be a pony swinging before the hour without anyone complaining," Discord muttered to the confused stares in the room. "Then again, you might care for her anyways if you knew the truth. Hard to say with you."

Finally, he turned to Xvital. "I suppose there's no point in going on," he said. "You're already planning to go back to the life you would have had sooner, just a few years later. Or trying to, anyway. But are you sure it's what you really want? Having a new role of leadership of an entire country thrust upon you, when it was the last thing you expected?"

"Maybe I won't be the best at it," Xvital said. "But as long as I get to spend my life with the man I love, I'm willing to give it a shot. And now that I know my mother in-law had to be forced to scare me away, maybe I can give her another shot."

For a moment, Discord was quiet. Then his nose began to twitch, just a little at first, then faster and harder.

And then it spread to the rest of him, until he was roaring with laughter.

"Hah-hah!" he cackled, rocking in the air, clapping loudly. "You six crack me up! Truly, you are the most entertaining group of Opposites I have ever had! All of you, able to match me at my own games with nothing more than the power of your minds. Oh, you are already so much fun to have around, I can hardly wait to see what you pull off next..." He appeared in front of each of them, shaking their paws eagerly. "I am so glad that Balance picked you six instead of the Captains; I can see we are going to have a lot of fun with each other." He waved his claw. "But for now, toodles!"

With that, he popped out, leaving the eight still present to look around at one another.

"That," Wind said as he sat down in a hurry. "Was an experience."

"I quite agree," Rex murmured, wondering just what Discord had meant about Secured Connection. "I presume he was telling the truth?"

"Every word," Wind confirmed, rubbing his throat. "No matter how disturbing some of it got."

"We will need to relay this information and this mare he spoke of," Captain Gaze said, looking at Rex. "I understand you obviously care for her, but..."

Rex nodded. "She has my full trust," he said. "I will wish to speak to her privately about it."

"No," Captain Gaze said, shaking his head. "If there is truth to what Discord said about her, then she has committed some form of transgression that would see her hanged by a mob and that we would not seek justice for it." He sighed. "I'm sorry, but given what we know, we're going to have to take her into protective custody, for her own safety." He blinked and frowned. "That's... odd."

"What is it Gaze?" Captain Lulamoon said, looking concerned.

"I just reached out to my Guards who were assigned to her and she had managed to elude them a while ago," he said, blinking slowly. "Around the time we put out the warning about Discord in the East." He looked at his fellow Captain. "The Hidden Guard has never lost anypony they've been assigned to protect, that she was able to disappear like that... I don't know how it was possible."

"It is clear to me," Rex said with a heavy voice. "That whatever secret she was keeping, she was afraid Discord would expose it somehow."

"I already have informed Captain-General Step and she ordered a search for her," Captain Gaze said. "Whatever it is, it is imperative that we find her, keep her safe and get to the bottom of this."

Rex nodded reluctantly. "When you find her... I do wish to speak to her," he said. "Secured Connection is still my friend, no matter what she might have done."

Captain Lulamoon nodded. "We'll see what we can do, Rex," she said softly. "But I can't promise anything."

"I suppose that's all I can ask for," Rex said.

Things were very quiet for a while as Captain Lulamoon finished her work with the Elements, taking notes as well as other samples from them directly.

Finally, she and Captain Gaze packed everything up, save for some of the bigger machines. "Captain-General Step still wants to see you," she said. "So we can meet with Clear Back again and discuss what else he has to say. You might have told us what you know, but with him, we might be able to put even more pieces together."

Page nodded. "Does he know... about my heritage?" she asked.

"He at least knows that you're a changeling," Captain Lulamoon said. "Whether he knows the other specifics or not, he hasn't said."

Page let out a deep breath. "Well, he might as well know," she said. "The rest of his Order already knew about me, I confessed the truth to them when we were in their custody."

Vix-Lei snapped her fingers. "So that's what you said to them," she said. "Before they agreed to tell Xvital they had her Element."

Page nodded.

Finally, once all had finished eating and putting everything away, they rose to head out and meet with Clear Back once more. As they left the room though, Rex couldn't help but be troubled.

Where are you, Secured? he thought to himself, still worried about her. And what could you possibly be hiding that others would see as so terrible?

Chapter Eighteen: Tizoc, Standing Wall, Wind Breaker, Clear Back

Chapter Eighteen

Tizoc

It was times like this he wished he was as free as Xvital was.

Letting out a sigh as he looked over one of the many balconies of the royal Equestrian family, he saw the breathtaking view and idly wondered if the ponies had teams of highly skilled pegasi craft the clouds or if that was just a lie that they liked to impose onto the world.

Regardless, it was a nice escape but one that his host was soon to take away from him once more.

“Please, my dear friend, I do believe that the sun will still be there,” King Well Banded said with a light chuckle, a fake sound coming from the normally unpleasant stallion.

“And the business you brought me up here for is still bothering you, I see,” he said with his Shorn guards walking in a protective circle around him, with those hanging below the balcony to catch him in case he was somehow pushed off of it rejoining them onto the floor. The earth pony’s smile flicked, showing his usual pensive frown, a light sneer more than normal for him. “My response to your request will remain the same despite all of this… fancery,” he said with his own sneer, sitting at the table. He allowed his food testers to examine the wine and meal provided before him; after the incident with that unnatural force making the stallion across from him launch an unprovoked attack, his guards were taking no chances.

“That crown is not Cuanmitzlan Kingdom property,” the stallion said sharply. “It has significant cultural and religious meaning for my nation and its people, being once used as a magical amplifier by the Mage of Stars and her official icon of power. Excluding her own star cutie mark, of course.”

“As you have pointed out the last time,” Tizoc said, taking a sip of his wine. “But as you yourself are aware, the crown and all its power has been passed onto Xvital, a private citizen of my nation and I have no authority to force her to return it to you.” Which wasn’t exactly true but he wasn’t going to force his Xy to hand it over the ponies. “Besides which, as we were made aware, the crown and the necklaces that are linked with it are merely a physical representation of the power granted to she and her friends by a spirit that is associated with the entire world, not bound to one nation.”

“A spirit which has always been associated with Equestria as we have had the greatest connection to magic over any other nation in the entire world,” Well Banded replied sharply.

“Which leads us to the next point of contention; while I do not know her exact plans, I cannot see Xvital remaining in Equestria in case of some sort of global catastrophe once we are married,” Tizoc said and, seeing how much it infuriated Well Banded, decided to push a little bit further. “Nor is Vix-Lei, so you have no legal reason to see her remain in Equestria at your beck and call either. And I do believe that with the end of the Hatcheries, Wind Breaker has been given the right to end his ties with your nation as well, correct?”

Well Banded, looking furious, managed to nod and say, “And am I to ignore the fact that yournation’s academia is always looking for new teachers for non equine magic teachers? And that you are starting to expand your nation’s aerial navy and the daughter of the harbour master would be a tremendous boon as no one knows that craft better than minotaurs.” He then tapped the table. “And how am I to forget that your nation was considered a safe haven for changelings, and as the Blade family now owns much of the Badlands where their hive once stood, I can see their Queen taking her hive towards your lands for safety from those of my nation that have yet to let go of their prejudice.”

“If that is their wish, I would need to speak with their Queen but I see no reason why it could not occur,” Tizoc hid a grin.

“And if the Hive were to leave, I doubt Turner would remain here and where she went, I do believe the young Blade would follow her as well,” Well Banded said sternly. “And how am I supposed to take that, old friend?”

Tizoc looked contemplative. “I would remind you that our expansions and national policies began long before any of the events leading to Harmony’s return and the purge of the Spirit that sought to control Equestria through you,” he said. “And I would remind you that that Spirit was our enemy, and it has been removed. Equestria and its people were never our foe, and while we have had our difficulties… I have no desire to see it, or any other nation, fall.”

“At the very least, would you consent to having Captain Violet Lulamoon study the artifacts in question?” the King asked. “She is our nation’s foremost expert in magical artifacts.”

“That is something that I do not have authority to give; despite them being stored in my nation’s embassy, they are there for protection, and only their Bearers can consent to letting them be studied,” Tizoc replied. “Should they agree, I would have no objection, but it has to be their decision.”

“And have you put forth any word towards Xvital?” King Well Banded asked. “We are grateful that she has consented to attending classes to learn how to control her newfound powers, though if it were not for this unpleasant circumstances resulting my Captain General to hole herself up in her house, I would have her teaching Xvital on a one on one basis.”

“Are you sure that it is a good usage of her time?” Tizoc asked as he picked up another fork of his seasoned cooked fish.

“It is not so much that it is a good usage of her time as it would be something that Captain General Step would rather enjoy,” King Well Banded replied. “Given recent events, I feel she would be much appreciative of some time to be more at ease, so as not to burn herself out mentally - all our Captains and other Guards have downtime available to them when Equestria is not undergoing a national emergency, so as to help with their mental health.” He tilted his head to the side, holding the salad fork in his hoof. “I do believe that our Captains are scheduled to have one of their special training exercises in a few months and it would be good to have Captain Gaze with them as to further their cooperation with all six Captains out in the open now.”

Tizoc now winced, his tailhand flicking nervously. Everyone had heard the stories about the citywide no-go zone that the Captains of Equestria had to themselves for their exercises. Due to them all being Dum Soluti Flares, the residual magic that was left over was highly dangerous to anyone that was not properly trained to deal with it. “Quite,” he said.

King Well Banded nodded. “If you are concerned for his safety, we have long ensured that our Secret Protector is capable of handling such power, regardless of their own magical ability,” he said. “One of my predecessors, in order to ensure that he had the best of the best for all the Captains of his Guards, made it a policy that the prospective Secret Protector would have to undergo vast and strenuous training in order to prove themselves before they were promoted to the Captaincy, for their own protection should they fall into a highly dangerous situation as much as for proof of their skills. They might not match the current Captains being as they are all some of the most powerful Flares in ages, but Captain Gaze has my fullest confidence to handle his own demon incursion at the very least.”

Tizoc looked relieved. “A wise policy,” he said before narrowing his eyes. “Have there been any issues with the Tartarus Gate that we should be aware of?”

“Not since the incident which led to Captain General Step receiving her promotion,” King Well Banded replied. “But we are always on guard, just to be safe. Even during the recent incident, the Guard force there remained at full strength, and reported no attempted probes from the other side. There was some mild concern over the wave of magic that swept the land recently, but they have confirmed that it did no harm to the Gate that could be detected, and may have in fact strengthened it.” He lifted his glass to his lips and added, “Cerberus has recently had his annual checkup and he is in fine health; though those researchers still wish to study him in more depth.”

“One of the few creatures from over a thousand years ago that is still alive and retained its full magical nature, even in the wake of so many others failing? I can understand their desire,” Tizoc said. “Though I also understand and agree with your constant refusal to allow them to remove the one natural guardian for that Gate to the underworld for studies.”

“Quite.” King Well Banded regarded him for a moment. “We have taken that duty seriously, ever since the incident with Cerberus abandoning his post some time prior to my ancestor assuming the throne,” he said. “One of the few records we have of that time reports that when the Goddess Celestia discovered Cerberus had left his post, she sent an entire troop of guards to investigate the Gate and ensure that none of its prisoners escaped. While there was one escapee they discovered, it was later caught and dealt with when it resurfaced during the Crystal World War.” He sipped his wine for a moment before continuing. “Fortunately, the soldiers intercepted another attempted escapee, the centaur Tirek, during their investigation. Celestia herself personally oversaw his re-binding when she found out about it.” He leaned forward a bit. “More recently, when Gentle Step made her famous rescue mission into Tartarus, she confirmed that he was still within his cage, and that it was very much secure.”

“That is certainly good news,” Tizoc replied. “What was the successful escapee, if I might ask?”

“It was a Bugbear, a non-sapient creature,” Well Banded said. “They were as they sound; a rather large cross between a bear and a bee. It was not the only one of its kind to exist back then, and not even the only one of its kind that had been imprisoned in Tartarus that we know of, but it was the only one that ever managed to escape, so far as we are aware.” He looked contemplative. “According to the records from the War, it resurfaced some years later when it interrupted a battle and attacked both sides freely, though it seemed to have quite a grudge against one of Equestria’s soldiers in particular - apparently she was part of the team that had originally trapped it and sent it to Tartarus in the first place. We were very fortunate that our troops were able to recapture it and return it to its prison after the battle.”

“Indeed.” Tizoc held his wine glass out. “On the subject of non-sapient creatures, how goes the conservation projects for your star beasts, by the way?”

“The return of magic has vastly improved the health of the extant populations,” the King replied. “We are looking to expand our efforts to improve the rate of their population growth, but it will take time. Still, this is one positive side effect of recent events.”

“And the issue with poachers?” Tizoc asked. “We have had some issues with illegal poaching of our endangered animals.”

“We have a special agency dedicated to locating and dealing with such scum,” King Well Banded said, the disgust in his tone rather obvious. “When caught, they are tried and subject to the harshest of punishments allowable under the law. Perhaps we should go over our methods to protect them?”

With a nod of his head, Tizoc saw this would consume a large amount of his time and idly envied Xvital once more.

Standing Wall

Standing Wall looked out of the window of the Cadenza Guard headquarters and let out a tired sigh. The aftermath of the griffon riots could still be seen though she doubted most would have the right set of eyes for it. The city itself was an old mare and had withstood far worse, but this riot had been widespread throughout the entire city in all three sectors and the city was deeply aching from the lack of her Guards to properly defend her.

With a snort, Standing Wall shook her mane and looked over her reports on her desk again. Except for maybe Step due to how insanely powerful she was, no other pony had as keen connections to the earth as she did. She had tried in the past in vain to explain it to others but it was like explaining a Deep painting to a blind person.

At the very least, her connection to the earth allowed her to raise as far as she had. She was the first earth pony in centuries to become a Captain and she hadn’t worried in decades about some more clever unicorn usurping her position due to them being a unicorn. She flicked an ear and examined the selections of recruits. While it was standard policy to accept anypony that passed the exams, she tended to avoid choosing unicorns as to allow the other tribes a chance to shine. She hadn’t got in any trouble over it as she knew full well that the other Captains tended to do the exact opposite and no one wanted to kick that hornet’s nest open. At any rate, all the divisions valued quality regardless of tribe or parentage.

Speaking of…

“Lieutenant Aura,” she called out as she looked over her finely crafted desk that had countless hearts engraved in it. “Has anypony seen to Sergeant Pants?”

There was a brief moment of quiet before she got an answer. “No ma’am,” she said replied. “I see that Sergeant Boiling Boulder is set to discipline him, pending your decision on if you wish to bring him up on charges or not.”

“Tell him that I have this covered,” Standing said. “I can use a moment outside of this office anyways.”

“Very good ma’am,” Lieutenant Aura said, walking to her doors. Unlike the others, she didn’t feel the need to establish a personal guard detail to protect her office as she didn’t keep dangerous stuff located on site. She had her own secret places to stash them. “Shall I attend to your paperwork while you are out?”

“If you do not mind setting it in proper order for when I return,” Standing said as she picked up her shining ruby helmet and placed it on her head. Without waiting for a proper reply, she used her magic to teleport away, though in truth it was nothing like unicorn teleportation.

She felt the earth swallow her up, the ground parting away and she felt the city around her as she moved herself through the earth to her destination. It was as near impossible to explain as a unicorn’s teleportation was and just as surreal to experience.

Rising out of the earth in the bottom of the holding cells with several of her Guards giving her a sharp salute, she looked around for the ranking officer before marching over to him.

“Sergeant Boulder,” she said, returning the salute he gave her. “How is Pants doing?”

“He is fine, all things considered with what he is being charged with,” Boiling Boulder said stiffly. “He has made no requests and has said nothing beyond reporting in when I had one of my Guards do their check ups.”

“Good,” she said as she walked to the sealed cell, reaching out with her magic to check if the seals were still in place. Without waiting for the Guard to undo the seals, she convinced the magic within the walls to open for her and pulled the door open with her magic.

Stepping into the room, she saw Pants turn to face her with his eyes widening before he calmed himself. “Captain,” he said, snapping a textbook proper salute.

“Pants,” she said, eyeing him carefully and taking note not to use rank. “You are aware that you placed me in a very delicate position in how I am to deal with you.”

“Yes ma’am,” he said, keeping his eyes steady and off her shoulder.

“On one hoof, your actions during the disastrous public meeting between Prince-King Tizoc and King Well Banded went against everything I have worked to instill in my Guards,” she said, narrowing her eyes and forcing him to look at her. “You decided that when six individuals that were on top of the wanted list for treason and regicide you should not only aid one of them to escape capture but incite several of your squad to follow your actions and raise blades against those of the Royal Guards.” She tapped into her magic to make the room shrink to show how utterly furious she was with him and how bad he made her Guards look. “If I were to strip you of your rank and noble status and have your family’s entire wealth and all their properties liquidated with you thrown into the deepest prison, I would still be seen as acting generous.”

He didn’t respond to that, though she feel his nervous hoof steps on the floor.

“On the other hoof,” she said, relaxing the walls of the cell. “Your actions allowed Blade to escape which was instrumental in defeating the spirit which had possessed the King and caused a great deal of trouble for Equestria. If it were not for your actions, that thing would have remained in control, and the goddesses only know what it would have done to Equestria and the rest of the world. One could even argue you should be lauded for saving Equestria and be fully pardoned for all of your actions.” Time to see if Gentle was right about this stallion. “Do you believe you should be pardoned or charged for your crime?”

The stallion again shifted on the floor, eyes defocusing and darting around before he settled himself. “It would be a massive breach of justice if you were to pardon my actions,” he said. “While I do believe that I did the right thing at the time, I still broke the law in doing so, and I will accept whatever punishment you see fit.”

“Good,” she said, nodding her head. “You will be duly charged in time but you followed the proper procedures during a crisis like that; there was a clear breakdown in order during the chaos and you acted on your instincts which were proven to be accurate to the situation overall. It will be a long climb back to where you once were but I have faith that you will rise even higher once you have finished your sentence.”

“T-thank you ma’am,” he said, giving her a revealed look before correcting himself and giving her another salute.

“At ease, cadet,” she said, noticing the wince at the drop of rank that he tried to hide. “You were already at risk of being demoted for sleeping at your gatehouse, Pants, so this was not unexpected.” His ears splayed outwards with his cheeks reddening at that reminder. “You are also lucky you did not try to weasel out of your punishment. If you were foolish enough to say you deserved to be pardoned, I would have personally seen that you were locked up in the Under and the key melted down by the Dragon Lord.”

He saluted again. “I understand, ma’am,” he said.

“Good.” She looked at him contemplatively. “For now, report to the barracks,” she said. “If you take one step out of line, you will be back in here until your day in court. If you attempt to leave Canterlot except under the direct orders and supervision of a superior officer, you’ll be back in here so fast it’ll be like the Captain General herself teleported you between steps. Am I understood?”

“Crystal clear, ma’am,” he answered.

“Good. Now, go,” she said, stepping to the side.

“One question ma’am,” he said, staring at her. “Those that acted under my orders; what is to become of them?”

“They were following orders; bad orders but orders nonetheless,” she said. “They have been disciplined, broken up and sent to different squads across the Cadenza Guards.”

“Good,” he said with a noticeable sigh of relief, sagging before he caught himself. “I will not let you down ma’am.”

“See that you don’t,” she replied. “Now, dismissed.”

Regal threw her another salute before leaving, and she took a moment to compose herself before leaving the cell. As she passed by him, she saw her Sergeant giving her a salute of her own, and returned it before focusing again and teleporting back to her office. She saw that Aura had put her desk into order and on top of the papers was Gentle’s own recommendation for Regal Pants.

With a smile, she saw that Gentle was right on the money and she could see him rising far in the Cadenza Guard, perhaps even to Major, just below lieutenant.

Wind Breaker

“So how do you think he’s doing?” Vix-Lei asked him, with the griffon raising his head. “‘Cause I haven’t heard any cursing yet and this is Night we’re talking about.”

“I have no idea but now I’m worried,” Wind Breaker said, tapping his talons together. With Night’s wing acting up, he had done the smart thing and headed for the nearest hospital, and Wind and Vix-Lei were now in the waiting room while Night had his wing examined. It was a testament to how wealthy he was that he had paid to get the best doctor to actually check up on him and that the doctor in question was trained how to diagnose ponies.

“Can’t be the only thing bothering you, Windy,” Vix-Lei said, elbowing him. “I may not look like it, but I handled seven little brothers so I can tell when a guy is brewing over something.”

“Am I that obvious?” he sighed. “All of this is so… so much?” he vented, confused. “I mean, yeah, I did help stop those old vultures from messing up those kids like I was but Gordon told me that this is just the tip of the iceberg of the entire mess.”

“And now that you have all these free griffons coming here it’s going to make that even more of a mess, right?” Vix-Lei asked.

“Not only that, I have to hope that they kept records that far back and can help track me to my parents; why they even have records is beyond me.”

“I think that legally, they have to keep records of their past residents,” Vix-Lei replied. “For governmental bonus or somethin’. With every griff that they hadonrecord, they get more money to stash away and I doubt that they could hide behind privacy of their clients anymore.”

Wind Breaker tilted his head at her and blinked. “Who are you and what have you done with Vix-Lei?”

“Come on Windy, I ain’t just a pretty face ya know,” Vix-Lei said teasingly. “Remember, I grew up with parents who figured I’d be inheriting the family business some day, and they taught me more than a few things about it when I wasn’t being accidentally obnoxious.”

“Right,” he clicked his beak before his eyes drifted back to the door where Night was and about to say something when the door opened up with the doctor that had been treating Night waved them in. Walking inside, they could see Night was sitting on the medical bed and fuming angrily. His wing had some sort of brace on it with Night glaring at it and than at them.

“You’re his friends right?” the doctor said without waiting for them to really say anything. “Your friend here was lucky for a while but his luck ran out. Whoever took care of his wing last time didn’t do a good enough job or let him go too soon.”

“They weren’t, for the last time, too interested in making sure I was perfectly fine, only that I could move on my own.”

“Then for the last time, you were an idiot for using them,” he waved a talon and pointedly ignoring the murderous look in Night’s face. “In any case, your wing had fractures in it and while you had made some progress in healing it, all that flying around put more and more stress on it. You’re lucky you still have that wing, kid, which is why I want you two to make sure he doesn’t so much as flap those wings of his until he can get it checked out again.”

“Which is just a wonderful suggestion in a town where flying is the main way of traveling,” Night Blade grouched. He glared. “I swear, if I ever run into either of those two who caused these injuries in the first place again, I will take their own hooves and shove them down their throats!”

“As long as you don’t fly while you doing it, I don’t care,” the doctor said. “Now, you two,” he pointed at Vix-Lei and Wind Breaker. “Make sure he wears that as much as possible and don’t listen to his whining.”

“I did not whine!” Night shouted back at him.

“You did and I’ve had to deal with far scarier griffons than you, kid, so this tough act doesn’t phase me,” the doctor scoffed.

“Uh, Night isn’t really the type to act,” Vix-Lei said a bit hesitantly. “If he looks cranky, it’s because he is cranky. After us three and our other friends traveled together for as long and far as we did, I know what he’s like.”

“Then he needs to relax; if this is a typical state for him, then he is in the right way for an early heart attack,” the doctor replied. “Constant stress like that can kill you, you know.”

Night looked grouchy again, and Wind Breaker decided to speak up. “We’ll do what we can,” he said. “But my friend here’s had a stressful life, especially the last few months, so I can’t blame him for being in such a foul mood most of the time.” He glanced at Night. “I think we’d better hope I get some answers soon, so we can get you back to Page. She always helps you, just from being there.”

“Wind,no,” Night said sharply but it was without his usual bite. “We are here for you and we’ll stay as long as it takes. We’re not even thinking about going home early because of me.” He let out a sigh and ran a hoof down the back of his head. “Though maybe I should get an electrocardiogram or something - whatever the proper term is, while I’m here. Just to be on the safe side.”

“If that’s what it takes to make sure you’re healthy, I’m willing to wait for you,” Wind told him.

“Though we are going to tell Page about this, ‘cause I doubt you’ll do so and I’d rather face you than her,” Vix-Lei said with Night wincing.

“She is going to kill me,” Night muttered. He turned to the doctor. “How long would it take to set one up?”

“The term you’re probably looking for is echocardiogram, and we have the equipment right here,” the doctor replied. “Normally I’d require them to be scheduled in advance, but given the circumstances, I think we can arrange one for today.”

“That’s great,” Vix-Lei said, slapping Night on the back. Night gave her a look with Vix-Lei shrugging. “Still more scared of Page than you.”

The doctor raised an eyebrow at this and looked as if he were going to say something, but Wind cut him off. “Let’s just say that Tartarus hath no fury like a mare who’s ticked at her coltfriend for getting hurt when he could have avoided it,” he said. “Or ticked at others for letting him hurt himself.”

“Ah, girlfriends,” the doctor clicked his beak before looking at Night. “Should go without saying but no more sex until we know how bad your stress is.”

“I have not been with her that way, and I don’t intend to be until after we’re married,” Night said harshly. Then he looked embarrassed.

“Smart thinking,” the doctor said. “I’ve seen too many younger folk get involved in that sort of thing before they were ready, and they didn’t much care for the consequences.” He rose from his spot. “I’ll go see about that echocardiogram now,” he added as he left the room.

“Huh,” Vix-Lei said blinking. “So you guys are having a pure white attire wedding, eh?”

Night gave her a dirty look. “Yes, if you must know.”

“Nothing wrong with that,” Wind said. “Hay, I intend mine to be the same way, if it ever happens.” Wind then tilted his head towards Vix-Lei who simply crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow.

“A girl never kisses and tells,” she said. “But I do remember this ‘taur back home I went to school with, and her tailor almost freaked out when she said she wasn’t wearing white for her wedding a few years ago. Started panicking about if they were behind on the local fashions… then my old classmate pointed out it wouldn’t be appropriate because she had a young calf, and was marrying the father when they finally found one another again after about five years.”

She then kicked the ground. “Regardless, if I wear anything but white on my day, my mom will pretty much kill me on the spot for being such a disgrace and degenerate and embarrassing her and being a tart and all of that stupid noise and stuff…” Vix-Lei trailed off, look very awkwardly at them and staring at the ground. She cleared her throat. “Anyway, I know better than to get involved with sometaur outside of marriage.”

“I guess it’s the same for your brothers?” Wind ventured.

“Oh Τάρταρος όχι,” Vix-Lei snorted angrily. “Guys are pretty much expected to sleep around. Something about it being a sign of masculinity. But Τάρταρος forbid a girl even look at a guy the wrong way…” She looked rather disgruntled. “Not that I ever found anytaur I was interested in - never had a serious boyfriend in my life. Makes me wish we could have stayed over on the other side for a while longer, would have been nice to spend more time with Bulky there.”

Night Blade chuckled. “You two did get along rather well, didn’t you?” he said. “Personally, I wouldn’t mind visiting again myself, if only because it was a lot calmer than back home. If we could ever find where they took that mirror…”

“Maybe one of these days,” Wind said. “Once we’ve got everything else straightened out.” He suddenly considered. “Actually, that reminds me… I think Memorizing Gaze and the Captain General might know something about Sunset. A while after that whole battle in the Gem Room was over, Rex told me about how they showed up to try and get in there while the rest of us were caught up in that battle, and that Gaze started to say something about her before he got cut off. I think the rest of you guys were busy with something else when he told me,” he added.

“Another thing to discuss with them when we get back to Canterlot then,” Night replied. “Come to think of it, I need to check on Regal too. I haven’t seen him since he helped me escape the Royal Guards during that fight.”

“And I need to remember to start wearing shirts again,” Vix-Lei sighed. “Especially if Mom’s there before we get back, and she probably will be.”

Wind nodded. “You know, I’m not sure if I’m interested in meeting your mom, or terrified of how she’ll react to me and my habits.”

“She’ll probably take one look at you two and decide you need a proper meal to fill you out and refusal is not an option,” Vix-Lei told him with a shrug.

“Scared it is,” Wind replied. Then he winced as Vix-Lei tweaked his ear. “Ow!”

“Smart decision, just don’t say things like that around her,” she said.

“I appreciate the warning.” Wind Breaker rubbed his ear. “That really hurts.”

“I have seven younger brothers, I have to keep them in line somehow as I’m not allowed to hit them. Or at least not get caught,” Vix-Lei grumbled. “Believe me, I could do worse.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” Wind Breaker replied, looking at Night who flicked a tufted ear and was staring at the door. He was about to ask his friend what he was doing when the door opened up and the doctor walked back in.

“Good news, we can get started right away,” he said. “Walk this way, please.”

As Night Blade got off the table and Wind Breaker followed him, he glanced back to see that Vix-Lei had her head at the same angle as the doctor. “Um… why are you looking like that?”

“He said to walk this way,” Vix-Lei said. “I can’t go on all fours, so I’m doing as close to it as I can.”

All three males groaned as they realized what she meant, but kept going. When they reached the other room, Night Blade lay on his back on the table in there, while Wind and Vix-Lei settled off to the other side to watch.

“This may take a while,” the doctor warned. “Average scan time is twenty-five minutes to half an hour for the entire thing.”

“If it’ll help our friend, it’s worth the wait,” Vix-Lei said firmly, and Wind Breaker nodded, about to add his own comment when a nurse peered into the room.

“Excuse me, the chief is asking for a Wind Breaker?” she then peered at her clipboard. “Is this some sort of joke?”

“Only on me,” Wind Breaker said with a sigh. “I grew up in an Equestrian Hatchery, they gave me a pony-style name and I’ve heard every single crack about it possible.”

“Well, he wants to see you now,” she said. “If you’ll follow me.”

Wind followed after her, hearing the doctor’s comment as he left - “All right. Mr. Blade, brace yourself, because this is going to be a little cold.” Then the door closed behind them as the two headed for the front, the nurse shaking her head.

“Please tell me not all Hatchery griffons had such… poorly thought-out names,” she said as they went.

“Not all of us,” Wind replied. “One of my old group was Diamond Back, and I know a griffon named Hush Tone. Don’t know if she was ever in the system or not though.”

“Well, they may not be griffonish names, but at least they’re more sensible,” the nurse said. “Ah, Chief Gordon - here he is,” she added as they entered the waiting room.

“Mm. Good to see you again son,” Gordon replied as Wind Breaker walked up to him. “Thank you Gloria,” he said to the nurse. “I’ll take it from here.”

When the nurse had left, Gordon looked at Wind Breaker, a serious expression on his face. “Thanks to you, we’ve confirmed that there was quite a mess going on at that place,” he said. “We’re going to be months straightening out everything we found… but those two old hens and a number of others are going to be spending the rest of their lives in jail at the very least.” He sighed. “Though the bigger issue is all of the other ones we’ve got to catch now. I’ve put out the word to raid every orphanage in the country but there are going to be those who get away with what they did and there’ll be those who will continue on what they have done even after all of this is over with. Crime doesn’t end so easily, though I wish it did.”

“I can understand that, sir,” Wind replied. “But you’ve already brought a few to justice, and that’s a few more that won’t get away with it. And for some of us, that’ll make all the difference.”

Chief Gordon smiled at him. “That’s something, at least,” he said. “Now, on to business. We did find your information. Or something close to it.”

“W-what do you mean?” Wind Breaker asked.

“There was only one drop off during the time you would have been brought there and there was some notes written about the griffoness that lets us hope that she is your mom,” Gordon pulled out a piece of paper. “Those old hens noted that the griffonness had the same kind of eyes you have.” Wind Breaker raised a talon to his face. “And she said it was a family trait that they were always the same side for them.”

“That; that has to be her then,” Wind said. “And… you say she willingly gave her child up?”

“Considering that she was an unmarried daughter of the governor of a city a few clicks up north, it would have reflected very poorly on her family to have a kid out of the blue,” Gordon said with a shrug. “That’s if she is your mom; don’t want to get your hopes up. But I did reach out to her and she is willing to meet with you.”

“That’s great, how do I get there?” Wind Breaker asked excitedly.

“It’s a few days flight due north until you reach the place, though it will probably take you longer as your minotaur friend doesn’t have wings and the road isn’t that well maintained.”

Wind Breaker nodded. “And Night can’t fly until his wing’s completely healed, by doctor’s orders.” He considered. “We do have his family skimmer and its pilot - is there a dock we can fly to up there?”

“‘Fraid not,” Gordon shook his head before reaching into his bag and pulling out a stick of gum. “Ya want some?”

“No thanks,” Wind said, shaking his head.

“Eh; it’s fine. I only chew gum as a way to stop smoking.” Gordon said with a shrug.

“Does it work?” Wind Breaker asked.

“Been clean for almost two years now,” Gordon said. “I still feel the cravings, but having something else to replace the nicotine helps. And this way I’m not poisoning my lungs.”

“Maybe I’ll have some gum after all,” Wind said hesitantly, feeling a incredible urge to open one of his bottles right now. “Might help with my problems.”

“Couldn’t hurt,” the larger griffon replied, tossing him a piece.

“Thanks,” Wind Breaker replied as he popped it in his beak and began to chew. Already he felt some of the itch fade but it was still there. “This…. Is actually working.”

“It’s a step, but I feel you’ll need a bit more help considering how young you started drinking,” Gordon said, his eyes flicking around before he placed a pamphlet onto the table between them. “Here’s a support group for alcoholics.”

“I appreciate it,” Wind said as he took the pamphlet. “I swear, I’ve been making an effort to kick the habit… and I understand that the first step to all of it is to be honest with myself and admit I have a problem. I’ve done that.”

“Well, if you’re going to be staying here I’ll be keeping an eye on you and if you need somegriff to talk to and that group doesn’t work, I’ll lend an ear.”

“I definitely appreciate the offer, but… I’ve got a lot of things to do back in Canterlot,” Wind replied. “It’s where my closest friends are, and where most of them are going to be staying. I can’t just leave them for good, especially after all we’ve been through together.” Wind then stopped and blinked. “Though Xvital will probably want to move back to Tenochtitlan when she is married… and Vix-Lei isn’t an Equestrian, so she’ll probably be commuting between there and Ledra eventually, but Rex, Night and Page are definitely staying.”

“And if this pans out, you will have an actual home and family here,” Gordon said. “From what I heard, most Hatchery griffons lived from inn to inn with few ever having rented a place, let alone owned one. And even if she isn’t your mom, I have heard on the grapevine that our government is going to help settle all the freed griffons and nationalize them. One as famous as you wouldn’t have any problems becoming a citizen and getting all sorts of nice perks.”

“That’s incredibly tempting,” Wind admitted more to himself than Gordon. “Almost all that I ever wanted. But this all depends on how things turn out,” he said with a sigh, rubbing his face before he started to chew the gum heavily. “Either way, I’ll be going back at least part of the time if I do stay here.”

“Fair enough; can’t just up and abandon all your friends just like that,” Gordon replied. “Sounds like you’ve got a good bunch there.”

Wind nodded. “We’re a mixed bunch, that’s for sure… never thought I’d have ended up getting along with Night, considering how he and I first met, but after all was said and done, I wouldn’t trade him or any of the others for the world.”

“Sounds like you’ve got a family there already,” Gordon said before snorting with Wind doing the same. “Sorry, I know, corny as hell.”

“Yeah it was pretty bad,” Wind chuckled. “Definitely true though.” He considered. “But seeing as Night, Page and Vix-Lei have all been pretty successful reconnecting with their families so far, I hope I am too.”

“Your other friends have no luck?” Gordon asked.

“Rex isn’t sure if he has any blood family in Canterlot, just a few friends he’s met again recently, and Xvital hasn’t tried to find hers again yet,” Wind said. “But she’s planning on it, and she’s got her fiance with her already, so she’s happy.”

“All the best for them then,” he said, raising a wing. “May they be swarmed with the blessing of countless kids.”

Wind snorted in amusement at that, imagining Xvital being swarmed by little versions of her and Tizoc. “I know they’re certainly thinking about it,” he said. “What about you, you got any?”

“One boy and one girl,” Gordon replied. “My son’s on the force up north; my girl’s head librarian in this town. They’re both good kids.”

“That's good,” Wind said. “I wonder if Page would have liked to meet her; she was a foundling of the Great Library of Canterlot… or was it the Grand Library?” He shook his head. “Either way, she probably would.”

If Gordon had a response, it was cut off by the arrival of the nurse. “Sir, your friend is done.”

“That’s good,” Wind told her. “How is he doing?”

“That’s…” she shook her head. “You need to come, now.”

Wind raised an eyebrow at this, then turned to Chief Gordon. “Thank you for everything, sir.”

“You’re welcome, son.”

Wind Breaker gave him another friendly smile, then turned and hurried to the examination room where Vix-Lei was standing over a stunned looking Night with the doctor looking at the results with a disbelieving look on his face.

“Is it that bad?” Wind asked.

“No, it’s the exact opposite,” Vix-Lei said, rubbing Night’s back.

“What.” Wind Breaker stared at them.

Rubbing a hoof against his face, Night nodded in his direction. “It seems that while my wing still had problems after that… wave, despite what I thought at the time, my heart is in perfect shape.”

“That’s incredible,” Wind said, walking over to pat Night on the back before pausing. “Wait, if your heart is fine when it should be all messed up from how much of a tightass you were, do you think it fixed my liver?” Night initially gave him an annoyed look before his eyes widened.

“Why would your liver need to be fixed?” the doctor asked before turning to Night. “I assume you will be paying for any medical exams your friends has, correct?”

“Absolutely, doctor Gregory,” Night told him. “It’s the least I could do.”

“In which case, I feel I should warn you that unlike your friend’s case, liver function tests require blood samples from the patient,” Doctor Gregory replied as he turned to Wind. “When was the last time you ate anything?”

“Does this count?” Wind asked, with his gum sticking out the edge of his beak.

The doctor sighed. “In which case, you’ll have to wait at least eight hours after finishing that or anything else before I can take samples,” he said. “I recommend fasting overnight and coming in first thing tomorrow morning, and even then it’ll take a few days before we have the confirmed results. Your friend’s test went faster than I expected, but blood tests always take a few days.”

“Will do, sir,” Wind said. “And I understand.”

“But I need to ask, why do you think your liver would be at risk,” the doctor asked. “Especially at your age.”

Wind sighed. “Because I’ve been an alcoholic since I had my first drink forced on me when I was nine, sir. I’ve been trying to stop for a few weeks, but it’s not easy.”

“You’re lying,” the doctor said. “No authority figure would allow that to happen.”

“When they’re Hatchery officials in Equestria, they do,” Wind told him and hefted his pack onto the table with a noticeable clink. The griffon walked over to it and stared in complete shock at his collection.

“This is some sort of joke, right?” he asked, barely keeping his voice contained at the sight. “What kind of…” He uttered something so harsh that every set of ears in the room flattened at it. “Would do that to a kid?”

“The kind who were tired of him getting into fights because he couldn’t stop from telling the truth.” Wind gave him a tired look. “This is the only way I could restrain myself, and I hate it.”

“Damn Equestrians,” he snarled out of his beak before looking at Night. “Um…”

“No offense taken,” Night replied. “After everything that’s come out, a lot of us are offended by what the system did too.”

“At least some of you have some shame,” Doctor Gregory grumbled. “Now if you could do something about it…”

“That’s why we’re here,” Wind told him. “The Hatcheries were all shut down yesterday, and we flew out here overnight - in a skimmer from his family that he is just starting to get on good terms with,” he added with a gesture to Night who was squirming now under this attention. “So I could try and find my family.”

“I see what you mean about telling the truth all the time,” the doctor said. “And… with those places shutting down, there should be less hurt cubs out there. Might as well as start helping one as more will be coming soon, I expect.”

“Yeah, I can only imagine a lot of griffons will want to be here where they belong, though I guess some will be held up due to the riots…”

“Riots?” the doctor asked curiously.

“They were partying in the streets over being free, and some of them got a little rowdy,” Vix-Lei spoke up. “It was still happening all over Canterlot when we left.”

“Thankfully Night got me out of there before it got too crazy,” Wind said with Night muttering under his breath and starting to blush of all things. “I don’t mind admitting that I was getting more than a little nervous out there in the open after everything we saw happening.”

“Well as long as you didn’t do anything illegal, I don’t truly care,” the doctor said. “Remember, no eating until morning.”

“Yes sir,” Wind said, bobbing his head.

“And get rid… that, if you really are an alcoholic,” he waved a talon at his bottles and Wind could feel his heart squeeze tightly. He was about to chew on the gum when he felt Vix-Lei’s hand on his shoulder.

“Doc,” she said softly. “He isn’t ready for that yet.”

“Ah, my mistake,” the doctor’s eyes softened and reached out to clasp Wind’s arm. “I do hope you find your parents, kid.”

“Thanks,” Wind replied. “Me too.”

Clear Back

Clear Back stared with wide eyes, though they were not exactly thatwide as the light from the sun was still too bright and painful. After nearly blinding himself after he had left, Clear Back had learned to use the shades the rest of colony had given him.

“The Crystal Empire,” he whispered to himself. “Exactly as Princess Celestia’s record described it to be.” Though that wasn’t true either; much of its walls were pockmarked and ponies in a style of armor that wasn’t part of the records were manning it. Regardless he had an important task and he needed to find someone that could get him in touch with whomever was in charge of Canterlot or Celestia’s Order so he could tell them that the prison for himwas failing and failing fast.

With that, Clear squared his shoulders and joined the mob of ponies walking into the city.

Chapter One: Xvital

Chapter One

Xvital

As they were all drinking from their wine glasses, there was a knock on the front door. Xvital and everyone else frowned at this; they had been placed into the penthouse suite of one of Night's family hotels after they had saved the world three days ago and a contingent of Guards had been stationed outside the to keep the more persistent members of the press and others away. They had been trying to figure out which hotel they had been placed in as according to Captain Violet and what few fragments they’d gotten of the news from the outside world, all of the hotels had Guards at the penthouses’ doors with people living inside to fool anyone that got past the Guards. Outside of the Guard, only Tizoc had been in to see he-themsince that day, and even he had been required, and reluctantly agreed, to submit to having an illusion spell over his eyes (and another over the rest of himself, to disguise his identity from the public) for the trip in so he couldn’t tell where exactly they were.

Xvital frowned, thinking of her fiancé; she wished she could be with him more but he still had to deal with all the government stuff. There was a nightmare of things he had to go through in order to make sure there was no actual war breaking out due to the whole illegal capturing of Tizoc incident. The fact that both he and Well Branded had both spoken out had helped a great deal but there was still a lot they needed to do. Which meant talks after talks over the radio to convince the world that another great war was not breaking out as a result of what had happened in Canterlot.

Shaking her head, Xvital brought herself back to the present as the people outside the door knocked again.

Turning her head to the door, she summoned her magic as the rest of them moved to gather their own gear to defend themselves.

Going to the door, she was surprised to see it open and two elderly bat ponies that looked familiar entering the room with the Guards closing the door behind them. Behind her, she heard a faint gasp, and looked back to see Night Blade, his eyes wide.

“Mother?” Night said as he walked up besides Xvital. “Father?” Xvital could see the resemblance in the family in the bat ponies; seeing Night had the same mane as his father although not as grey and the same with his coat and his mother. “What are you doing here? How are you here?”

“Hello Night,” the mare said, smiling at Night as she stepped towards her son. In response, Night took a nervous step backwards.

“It has been a very long time since we have spoken with you, Night,” the stallion said. “The day of the Honour Festival, I believe.”

“The week beforeit, Father, but why are you two here?” Night asked again as he narrowed his eyes.

“Well Night, son,” the stallion said while looking at his wife, before looking at Night again. “We have heard of what you did and we finally found you and-”

“And now you care about me?” Night snapped out angrily. “Now that I have done something actually important you care about me? That I am worth something now‽ I’m worth being called son now?!” Night shouted, storming up towards them. “You two have screwed me up so massively and now you have the gall to try and act like parents‽” Night spat onto the floor and shoved his face into his parents’ faces. “You can both get the fuck out of here right now!”

“Don’t you talk to your mother like th-”

“Where the fuck do you get to talk to me like that?!” Night snapped into his father’s face. “Why the fuck do you even care; I am not embarrassing you in front of all of your fucking friends like I did during my talentmitzvah! Oh how fucking wrong of me to want something you don’t approve of and you know what, I don’t care! Get out now, I don’t want to see either of you EVER AGAIN!” Night screamed at the elderly ponies who backed up before running out of the room with Night slamming the door shut behind his parents before turning to face them.

And then Night began to laugh.

It was the kind of laughter you did when you survived something really hairy or when Vix-Lei said a really funny joke and it was really weird to see Night laughing that hard or smiling that big.

“I feel wonderful!” Night said in a cheerful tone, going to pour himself another glass of the wine before leaning over to kiss Page’s cheek. “I’ve wanted to do that for ages!Another celebration drink is order, eh Windy?” Night said overly cheerfully as he playfully elbowed the griffon.

“Yeah… right.” Wind Breaker sighed. “I think you’ve had enough, actually.”

Night Blade raised an eyebrow at him. “Oh? And what makes you say that?”

“Because the last time I saw somepony acting like you are now, they were blind stinking drunk,” Wind Breaker said bluntly. “Either this stuff’s suddenly gotten a lot stronger than it looks, or your tolerance levels have taken a nosedive.”

“I’m just happy, that’s all,” Night said with a shrug. “Not drunk yet but the day is still young.”

“Uh…” Vix-Lei blinked before she shook her head. “Okay, I’m going to say it but what the fuck just happened? I mean, I knew you had some major issues with your parents, and I can’t say I blame you after what we heard, but that… that was crazier than my youngest brother’s fashion sense.”

“Dare I ask?” Wind Breaker remarked.

“Bright orange ties on dark fur. Especially during important business meetings.”

“Yowch.” Wind Breaker shook his head. “I see what you mean.”

Night Blade sighed, drawing Xvital’s attention back onto him,

“Look Night, I can’t say I understand fully what your deal is your parents but-”

“But nothing,” Night said sharply. “I don’t expect any of you to really understand why that was so important to me and I would appreciate it if you don’t meddle in it,” Night placed down his glass and brushed his mane back, shuffling on the spot. “Excuse me,” he said before walking into his room, closing the door behind him.

Page immediately turned around and looked at her. “Don’t do it,” she hissed. “I know you have the best intentions at heart but don’t. Let Night have this, please.”

“I’m sorry, but I just can’t wrap my head around it and-” Xvital began defensively before Night opened the door and gave her a piece of paper.

“Here,” he said coldly, glaring like he used to do when they first met. “This is my older brother, Crooked Blade’s number. I’d rather you spit on my wishes in my face instead of going behind my back.”

“Night,” she began, feeling really guilty now. “I-”

“Xvital, takeit,” he hissed before shoving the paper into her chest. “You won’t have peace until you do this and again, I’d rather you don’t insult me by trying to play with my head from the background.”

Xvital winced at Night’s words, but what was worse, she knew that Night was right. She would have tried something if Night hadn’t given her this and she could only imagine how bad things would be if Night had found out. “Thank you,” she said awkwardly, going for the phone.

Night snorted at her, grabbing his coat. “Whatever; I am going out for a walk,” he said as he reached for the door.

“Okay…” Page said as she looked around the room. “And I am going to the Grand Library, to talk to the High Matron. Wind Breaker, do you want to come with me?”

Everyone paused to look at Night to see his reaction at this, worried that it might push Night a bit too far. Thankfully he seemed to be unaffected by this and merely shrugged his shoulders again. “Okay, be careful you two.” He slid his jacket on, attached his sword to his side and opened the door. He must have said the right things to the Guards before he left and closed the door behind him. Page went to grab her own jacket, lifting Wind’s jacket over to him before they went to the door before talking to the Guards and leaving the room.

“Well, if I remember stuff correctly, Rexy,” Vix-Lei said when the door closed behind her friends, wrapping her arm around the diamond dog. “Night never had a proper talent… whateveritwas, right? So I think we should try to make a proper party for him to enjoy, what do you say?”

“Um,” Rex said, clearly surprised by this and Vix-Lei took as this an affirmative.

“Great!” she said as she more or less dragged him out of the door, humming to herself with Rex still clearly confused by everything.

Now left alone in the room, Xvital sighed to herself. “Well, here goes nothing,” she said as she picked up the phone to call Night’s brother to get a better understanding of why Night would be so again-

“Hello, Major Crooked Blade’s office, whom may I say is calling?” Xvital blinked in surprise.

“Um, this is Xvital,” she said uncertainly. “I am calling to speak with Crooked?”

“Do you have an appointment?”

“Well no but-”

“Ma’am, I do not know how you got this number but-”

“I got this from his brother, Night,” Xvital interrupted. “He told me to speak to Crooked about something.”

There was a moment of silence, and then the person on the other end of the line spoke again. “One moment please.”

Xvital waited, shifting around on her feet as she flicked her magic around. Her having magic was still very weird and the fact that the Captain General told her that she was to be put into Academy to be taught how to use her magic was another fun fact. And it wasn’t choice; no, the Captain General said it as it was a fact.

Thankfully, it had stopped being so damn powerful and gone downwards to what Page and Rex said was a normal level although they weren’t sure considering how ahuizotls didn’t have magic. Thankfully she got better at controlling the fire and wasn’t setting her bed ali-

“Hello,” a voice caused her to jump again.

“Ah yes, this is Xvi-”

“My secretary already informed me to who you are,” the voice said, causing Xvital to wrinkle her nose. “I wish to know what this is about.”

Floundering for a few seconds, Xvital found her center. “This is about Night and your parents; there is something I want to kno-”

“I suppose I can arrange a meeting today with you to properly converse with you as I am busy at the moment,” the voice said, cutting her off again. “I will meet with you at the Glass Jewel in two hours. Please dress appropriately, miss Xvital.” He then hung up on her.

Xvital stared into the phone and was already dreading this decision, wondering if Night knew that this was going to happen.

She tilted her head, wondering what she could use as a fancy dress beyond what Tizoc got her as a gag.

Groaning, she held the receiver to her head and prayed that no one she knew would see her in it or she’d never hear the end of it.

Chapter Four: Gentle Step, Sweet Surprise

Chapter Four

Gentle Step

The house of the governmental heartbeat of Equestria was a massive marble structure at the Top of Canterlot, only a bit smaller than the castle and the headquarters of the Royal Guards. It was a sprawling structure, with elaborate pillars and statues of past heroes, the Virtues and the Goddesses. An army of artisans and craftsponies had spent years building the parliament forum and it was almost as spellbinding as the castle was. It was, however, where the phoenix Philomena tended to roost most of the time, her favourite place was the head of her former master.

It contained the largest number of courtrooms in Equestria and they were almost always bustling with decisions that could affect the nation, though today it was central chamber that was the eye of the storm as all the senators of Equestria, governors of Canterlot, Captains and the King were attending this session. The noise inside the main chamber was near deafening, though it was a reason why certain spells were invented for such certain circumstance.

Regrettably, Gentle and four of her Captains knew that they could not do so as this was a very important event and it would look horrible on them if they were discovered not to be listening to anything that was said. Besides that, Gentle was very interested in the outcome of the vote.

The senate vote had gone as well as she could expect; the fourteen senators that had voted against the Pardon were from cities that had either very notable changeling problems or relied heavily on illegal labour from changelings. She had to admit that she was impressed by their belief in their convictions that were not swayed by King Well Banded, her fellow Captains and herself voting for it, showing that they were dedicated to what they believed in and would not become sycophants in the future provided that they were not actual bigots.

The Upper Canterlot Governors had voted predictably; following the King’s actions. She had been surprised when Governor Bright Pledge had voted against the Pardon, causing an uproar and the hints of an actual fight could break out. She was briefly wishing for it as she could have a reason to actually do something proactive in this vote beyond standing next to the King with her Captains flanking them. She could see Captain Sweet Surprise getting more annoyed each passing second despite how well the mare hid it behind a strong blank mask with only flicks of her eyes showing any emotion.

After the announcer regained order in the room, Record Melody cleared his throat to address the Lower Canterlot Governors who had something planned for their vote and Governor Fer De Lance was going to do another speech. This damnable vote could have been finished hours ago if everypony hadn’t made a speech about their decisions before making their decisions.

Thankfully, it was not long winded like the others and the Lower had voted in unison for the Pardon and she had to hold herself back from smiling broadly at this turn of events. As she had done before and tuned out the speech save for keywords, she began to think of how much better things would be for her oldest friend now.

Based on the smiles her fellow Captains weren’t even bothering to hide, she was obviously not the only one who felt that way. Violet and Sweet had high hooved each other with Blazen smilingly widely and Standing was clearly itching to bring this order into effect in the West. Gentle on the other hoof had far more important things to do once she was out this forum.

Gentle Step walked through the halls toward her office, which Memorizing was using temporarily before they could requisition a more permanent one for him. She was eager to tell him the news personally for reasons she could not fathom at the moment but that could wait until after.

Opening the door, she saw Memorizing near a box of his personal effects while in the midst of unpacking when he looked up at her.

“Memorizing, I trust you have heard the news?” she asked as she came in, closing the door behind her.

“Yes, I have and I-”

“Must celebrate, I agree,” Gentle said as she walked towards her own desk, glad to be wearing her dress uniform instead of her armour. “In fact, I believe we have some free time this afternoon before your fellow Captains would like to meet with you again and I do have several years of personal days, vacations and the like.”

“Gentle, I-”

Before he could finish his sentence, there was a loud knock on her office door.

Frowning, Gentle Step turned to the door and opened it with her magic. “Can I help you?” she asked the ponies in the Internal Affairs uniform stepping into her office. She kept her face neutral while she tried to think of what exactly Internal Affairs would want with her. Her record was impeccable and highly recommended by her Captains who had voted into her position and the instructors who had given her the needed knowledge to operate her office properly.

“Step,” the leader of the ponies said with a shallow nod of his head. “We are-”

“My apologizes for interrupting, but I am Captain General Gentle Step,” she told them, narrowing her eyes slightly. “I am to be referred to by my title or sir.”

“Step,” the pony pressed, flicking his eyes from her to Memorizing. “We are not here for you today. We are here for the drone.”

“I-” Memorizing began.

“Why are you here for Captain Memorizing Gaze,” Gentle asked as she moved in front of her captain. “Also, I would like to have your names and numbers to lodge a complaint.”

“Strict Code, Four Three Two Four, Narrow Script, Three Eight Four One and Abiding Bylines, Eight Two Three Five Six,” he said. “As I was saying, we are here for the drone for breaking Royal Decree Two One Seven Five that prohibits members of the Fourth Tribe from any form of employment and it comes to our attention that he has broken this law. We need to question him for how long this crime has been ongoing and how many knew about it to bring those individuals to justice.”

“Perhaps you have not heard, but all laws regarding the prohibitions against Changeling employment have just been overturned,” Gentle said carefully, still trying to understand what exactly their plan was.

“We understand that; we were present when the vote was cast in favour of the Pardon. Internal Affairs is not against the Changelings redeeming themselves, we just have issues with individuals breaking the law.”

“As you yourself just said that the law has pardoned them.”

“And as you are no doubt are aware, Step, that the law does not protect those who have broken the law before the Pardon was passed. As such, the drone here is charged with a serious crime due to the murders of the Goddesses, the Virtues and the individuals attending the Demi-Goddess of Love’s Wedding that his ancestor’s Queen perpetrated and the sanctions against his tribe, his military record as a Captain notwithstanding.”

Gentle Step’s blood was now boiling as she saw what this was; an attack on him solely because they could. “Do you mean to tell me,” she asked in quietest of tones, “That you are here to arrest a good stallion merely for being a changeling who is holding down a job, when King Blueblood the Great himself created the Hidden Guard and declared their Captaincy would always be held by a changeling‽” she hissed the last word, her rage seeping into his voice.

“Indeed and-”

“Furthermore,” she barged her way back into the conversation, not allowing him to get a further word out. “In the thousand years since then, the Crown has upheld his declaration, and by royal decree have ensured that even when Changelings could not seek employment elsewhere, there would always be a place for them in the Hidden Guard.” Gentle Step’s voice was as cold as iron as she spoke. “As such, your attempted arrest of any of its Guards, merely for being changelings who are employed, goes against this royal decree and thus is an illegal act and could result in your own arrests if you attempt to press it.” She gave him a look. “Do I make myself clear?”

“With all due respect, Step,” the pony said. “This supposed royal decree, if it does exist, would need to be proven to back your claims. Would I be correct to assume that this decree was sealed as not to reveal the Hidden Guards to the public and would still be sealed? Such an action is a serious offense, Step.” Gentle frowned inwards, knowing he was absolutely correct. He saw this and pushed on. “As I thought. Until all matters are resolved, the drone is to come with us for questioning-”

“He is Captain Memorizing Gaze, not the drone,” she spat out, causing them to back up in defense. “You-”

“I’m not the Captain anymore,” Memorizing said abruptly causing her to do a double take. “Nor with the Guards. Due to matters relating to my Tribe and Hive, I have been in touch with King Well Banded and we, the King and I, are to meet shortly to go over the finer points of re-education regarding the changelings.” He then pulled out a letter and gave it over to the Internal Affairs agent who examined it before nodding his head.

“This appears to be legitimate,” the pony said. “We will wait for when you are done with your meeting with the King. Good day, Gaze, Step.” They then stepped out of her office.

“Memorizing, you’re quitting?” she asked as she turned around to face him. “But-”

“Gentle, I have always been your friend, and it will always be an honor for me to have worked beside you,” Memorizing Gaze said quietly as he placed a hoof on her shoulder. “But with everything that’s happened in recent weeks, I’m needed elsewhere now.” He smiled at her, causing a flurry of emotions in her heart. “Don’t worry, I’m not leaving Canterlot or anything, just this position.”

“I-I,” she struggled to come up with a proper reply with Memorizing giving her an odd look at her inability to speak. Finally she managed to say, “I understand.”

He continued to look at her before nodding his head slowly and teleporting out of her office, leaving her all alone. She tapped her desk before walking out of her office and into Lieutenant Flight, her long time second in command who was giving her a much worried look.

“Gentle, is everything okay?” the black-and-white-furred unicorn asked her as he placed a hoof on her shoulder. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t stop those damn IA agents from barging in. What did they want with you?”

“It was Mems,” she said softly, looking at the ground before shaking her head. “They wanted to question him but he quit… I’m taking the rest of the day off.”

He looked at her incredulously but before he could say anything, she teleported away.

Sweet Surprise

Of all the things she had been expected to do in her life, looking for her Captain General was the last one she had ever dreamed Lieutenant Mist Flight would ask of her. Tartarus, Gentle Step leaving work early was something she’d never expected the younger mare to do, as dedicated to her job as she was. But now she’d done just that, and Sweet Surprise had been the one chosen to go find her as Gentle lived in the South too.

The first place she had visited was Gentle’s home, opening the door with the spare keys the Captain General had given her in case of emergencies while making absolute certain to stay on the pathway as she remembered how touchy the mare was about her private property not being damaged. Those poor drug makers were still probably regretting crossing her backyard as a shortcut, especially after how Gentle scared them into turning themselves in by sharing her experiences in Tartarus. And of course, Sweet still remembered how annoyed her superior had been after the incident with the skimmer…

Poking her head in cautiously as not to make herself a target, she called out for Gentle Step. Hearing nothing, she stepped into her boss’s house and found the first floor exactly as she expected it to be; bland and spartan. Of course, she didn’t snoop around as she knew how upset Gentle would be if she had found out and it wasn’t her place to pry into her superior's private life.

She still went up the stairs to knock on the heavily ward protected doors. She was a bit alarmed to discover that Gentle had added her unique aetheric signature, and those of the other Captains, to the alarms as a non-threat as it meant Gentle had taken a snippet of their magic in the past without their knowledge. But on the other hoof, it meant that Gentle trusted them enough that they could go into her private studies where she no doubt kept her personal trinkets and artifacts she had collected. Luna Herself knew that Sweet Surprise kept several dangerous items in her own study at times that were potent enough that she refused Hot Rod and Sound Mind from entering on the off chance that something could happen despite the fact they knew it could be very dangerous.

After she had made her round through the entire house, she began to rethink her approach. She went over what Mist Flight had told her and replayed it in her head as well as how Gentle reacted. She snickered to herself, it almost sounded like Gentle was acting like-

She let out a gasp with a smirk growing onto her face. She knew exactly what was going on and where she could find Gentle.

It had taken some time to find the right one but there she was, the Captain General sitting at the bar with a drink in her hooves. Shaking her head at the sight, she cleared her throat loudly as she trotted over to Gentle and sat down beside her, ordering her own drink and told the bartender to place it on Gentle’s tab.

The mare gave her a look that lacked the usual sting and Sweet Surprise pushed her luck further by refusing to answer until she had taken a drink.

After a long drink, she placed her arm over Gentle’s back and said, “So Gent-”

“Take your arm off of me before I shove it down your throat,” Gentle growled, letting Sweet know she was going a bit too far. “Why are you here? How are you here?”

“I’m here because ol’ Misty was worried about you when you left this afternoon.”

“First off, you know he hates that nickname,” Gentle replied stiffly. “Second, I am a grown mare, I can leave whenever I feel like it provided I have alerted somepony of my departure,” she added before blinking, sighing and taking another drink from her alcohol. “You have yet to explain how you found me.”

“Again, it was easy,” Sweet Surprise said. “I just needed to think how you would react to what happened with Memorizing and as you were not home, it would make sense you’d be bar hopping.”

“That does not make sense,” she said. “The news was very distressing but how do you know I would not vent my frustration in the gym or by teleporting myself to the gates of Tartarus to vent my anger that way.”

“Come off it, Gentle,” Sweet scoffed, shaking her head. “You know why you’re so down that Mems temporarily left us.”

“Yes, he is my oldest friend, of course I am upset-wait did you say temporarily?”

“Uh,” Sweet Surprise trailed off as she tried to process the fact that Gentle Step was majorly crushing on Memorizing Gaze and had no idea about it. “Yeah, after his meeting with the king and several changelings, they’ve realigned his position to be the bridge between Equestria and the Queen of the Badlands Hive and by proxy the Fourth Tribe.”

“I see…” she trailed off, tapping the counter while looking off to the side. “Do you know where he is now? I would like to speak with him, I think…”

“He’s still in Great Library, I think, setting up his offices there; he is going to be working with a representative of their Queen. Not sure of her name.”

Gentle Step straightened up at this, finishing her drink off in a single shot. “Excuse me, I have to go,” she said before teleporting away.

Sweet Surprise just chuckled to herself. Little miss Bane of Tartarus really needed to open her eyes and admit her real feelings about Mems, in her opinion.

“Ahem.”

Sweet Surprise looked up to see the gruff-looking bartender. “Yes?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Your friend’s tab.” He slapped a piece of paper down on the bar in front of her. “Somepony’s paying this, and since she left and you didn’t…”

Sweet groaned, rolling her eyes. “Fine, but she owes me big for this,” she muttered, digging her coin bag out.